Never Enough doesn’t really describe this year’s live events, because I’m pleased with how many times I got invited to speak or read in public. I’m not sure I could have managed anything more. 

Lectures:

At Cypress Lawn in Colma in September

I spoke to Angela Hennessy’s “Over My Dead Body” class at the California College of the Arts on 2/20/18. My lecture was called “Memento Mori: Even Graveyards Die.”

For the “Memento Mori” evening of the Reimagine End of Life week, I talked about the history and dismantling of “Laurel Hill Cemetery: San Francisco’s Garden Cemetery” on 4/17/18 at the Swedish American Hall. The evening’s whole lineup is here.

I talked about how I came to write 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die at the Association for Gravestone Studies conference in Danbury, Connecticut on 6/21/18.

I showed slides of my favorite cemeteries from 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California on 9/15/18.

One of my favorite events of the year was speaking at the National Novel Writing Month Kick-Off Party at the Bindery on San Francisco’s Haight Street on 9/29/18. I talked about writing The Dangerous Type and Kill By Numbers during Nanowrimos — and using the skills I learned during the annual challenge to finish the third book in the trilogy, No More Heroes. It was really great to be able to give back to the program.

Professor Steven Brown invited me to speak to his horticultural class as San Francisco’s City College on October 1, 2018.

My last lecture of the year was near to my heart.  For years, I wanted to trace the development of San Francisco’s Old Mission Cemetery through tourist postcards.  I finally got to do it as part of the Odd Salon’s “Cemetery Stories” event during the Litcrawl on 10/20/18. My lecture was called “Postcards from History.”

Readings:

Love to Death
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Old Devil Moon, 3472 Mission Street, San Francisco
With Anna Avery, Danny Thanh Nguyen, and Sumiko Saulson
I read the bloody bits of “Valentine” from my brand-new collection Alondra’s Experiments.

FogCon
The Spectrum of Horror
Friday, March 9, 2018 at 8 pm
E.M. Markoff and I talked about the Horror Writers Association, then read selections from our work. I reading two of the ghost stories from 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die and the bloody bit from “Valentine” in my Alondra’s Experiments chapbook.

Me and E.M. Markoff at FogCon.

FogCon
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
Friday, March 9, 2018 at 9:30 pm
Members of Broad Universe read a 5-minute excerpt in two rounds, hosted by Rebecca Gomez Farrell. Participants included Sarah Grey, LS Johnson, and Liz Green.
I read the initial seduction from Lost Angels and the beginning of “Catalyst,” another story from Alondra’s Experiments.

FogCon
Strange California reading
Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Contributors to the Strange California anthology read portions of their stories, moderated by J. Daniel Batt. Participants included Lara Blackwell, Marion Deeds, Chaz Brenchley, K. A. Rochnik, Juliette Wade, and me.
I read the necromancy scene from “Guardian of the Golden Gate,” the Alondra story that appeared in the anthology.

Marion Deeds, K. A. Rochnik, and me at FogCon

Author Fest
San Mateo Public Library
Saturday, July 14, 2018 at noon
Emerian Rich gathered a mob of authors: S. G. Browne, Jonathan Fortin, Tina Gibson, Laurel Ann Hill, Mercy Hollow, Lea Kirk, E.M. Markoff, R. L. Merrill, Valerie Frankel, Sumiko Saulson, J. Malcolm Stewart, Dave M. Strohm
I read the attack on the beach from No More Heroes.

WorldCon
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
Saturday, August 18, 2018
E.C. Ambrose, Sue Burke, Elizabeth Crowens, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Jude-Marie Green, Sally Wiener Grotta, J. Tullos Hennig, L.S. Johnson, E.M. Markoff, Tina LeCount Myers, Roberta Rogow, Katheryn Sullivan, Wendy Van Camp, Erin Wilcox, moderated by me.
I read Haoun flirting with Raena in the arcade from No More Heroes.

The Vogue Theater
Thursday, September 13, 2018
I read “Sado,” the scene in the Japanese restaurant, from Lost Angels before the showing of Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis de Sade in Quills.

30 in 30 Portals reading
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Old Devil Moon, 3472 Mission Street, San Francisco
I read my succubus Lorelei meeting David Bowie from an unfinished story that I started during the class, thanks to Carson Beker.

Me, with Mercy Hollow, E.M. Markoff, and Emerian Rich

Tales of Horror
San Mateo Public Library
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Participants included Emerian Rich, Mercy Hollow, E.M. Markoff, R. L. Merrill,
I read part of “Sakura Time,” the Japanese ghost story from the third Alondra chapbook, Alondra’s Adventures. The well-attended event was even more fun because all the authors wore costumes.

Miscellaneous Live Events:

Bay Area Book Festival
Saturday, April 28, 2018
I spend another Saturday hanging out with the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Horror Writers Association at the Book Festival this year. I didn’t sell as many books, but the company was really fun.

Ken Hueler, Jeff Seeman, EM Markoff, Matthew Brockmeyer, me, Anthony De Rouen, Ambyrhawke Shadowsinger, and Crystal Romero with Carlos.

The 2nd Annual Imagination Fair at Bay Con
Saturday, May 26, 2018
I joined the crew to chat about cemeteries. Setting up my table was extra fun because I brought along some of my favorite Halloween decorations.

Book Signing at BayCon
Sunday, May 27, 2018
I did my first book signing at BayCon this year.  And yes, I rocked my “Call Me General” t-shirt.  I split the table so that half was my nonfiction (in this case, cemetery) books. The other side was space opera and succubi.

Book Signing at WorldCon
Thursday, August 16, 2018
I also did my first book signing at this year’s WorldCon. In fact, I did two!  The first was at the SFWA table in the Dealers Room, where people surprised me by being most interested in 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die.

I did a second signing at the Broad Universe table, thanks to Wendy Van Camp.  In that case, people were more interested in The Dangerous Type, the first space opera novel.

Convention Panels:

BayCon:

Fan Fiction: A Stepping Stone or a Waste of Time?
Saturday, May 26 at 10 am
Moderated by Denise Tanaka, with me and David Coronado.
Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series, started building her fan base by writing serious Harry Potter fan fiction. The novel Fifty Shades of Gray started out as Twilight fan fiction. The panel will discuss and debate the pros and cons of writing unauthorized media tie-in fiction. Can a beginning writer gain any worthwhile skills in plotting, dialogue, or narrative exposition by writing in an established franchise?

On Beyond Rey
Sunday May 27, 2018 at 11:30 am
I moderated, with Carrie Sessarego and Denise Tanaka.
Now that women are central to the new Star Wars movies (other than Solo), what are some more female-centered projects that should come to the big screen? Bonus points for older works that should be rediscovered.

Master Class:  Getting Out of the Slush Pile
Sunday May 27, 2018 at 5:30 pm
Emerian Rich and I talked about all we’ve learned about how to pitch, how to submit, and how to behave so you’re invited to submit again.

Fiction Set in or around the Bay Area
Monday May 28, 2018 at 11:30 AM
Moderated by Chad Peterman, with Fred Wiehe, Jennifer McGaffey, Katharine Kerr, and me.
Come talk about your favorite hometown books and maybe get some new ideas for your reading list.

WorldCon:

What Turns People on to Horror?
Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 3 pm
San Jose Convention Center
E.M. Markoff moderated, with Fred Wiehe, Scott Sigler, Richard Kadrey, me, and LS Johnson.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Roller coasters and skydiving, horror movies and dark fiction, mythology and folklore: what scares us and why are we drawn to it? Members of the Bay Area chapter of the Horror Writers Association share their first experiences with horror and discuss how their fears inspire their work. Audience members are encouraged to share their own experiences.

Photo from Ellderet.com, used by permission.