The first con of my year is this weekend in Walnut Creek, California. I’m very much looking forward to going back to FogCon.

Friday, March 10:

3 p.m. in Salon A/B: I’ll be moderating a panel called Social Media for Writers and Authors.  Joining me will be Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Valerie Frankel, Phyllis Holliday, and Heather Rose Jones.

Join our panelists for a nuts and bolts discussion from personal experiences in the brave new world of Social Media as Writer and/or Author. What platforms work for what? How do you get followers/fans? What is the most effective way to reach people who will buy books? How do you keep those people engaged and interacting on your networks?

4:30 in the Santa Rosa Room: Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, with Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Sarah Grey, and LS Johnson.  We’re each going to do two short pieces. I think I’ll reading something from No More Heroes — and maybe an excerpt from the upcoming Strange California book.

Saturday, March 11:

4:30 in Salon C: I’m participating in a panel called Pitches, Presentations and Proposals: making your point without resorting to kidnapping your boss. The other panelists are Karen Brenchley, Marie Metivier-DeMasters, and Alfred Nash,.

Having to get a complicated point across in a brief “elevator pitch” — or even in an actual presentation — can be very intimidating, whether you have five minutes or fifty. The legal system and basic moral sense mean you can’t really kidnap your audience for appropriate brainwashing: let’s talk about tips for pitches, presentations and proposals that won’t end in your humiliating arrest — and that might get other people excited about your idea. Whether for work or passion, being effective often depends on communicating your idea compellingly. Learn the common — and a few uncommon! — mistakes, and how to avoid them.

It should be a good time. If you’ll be at the Walnut Creek Marriott next weekend, please say hi.