Fall 2017 Book Tour Dates: INFINITE STARS, MONSTER HUNTER, PREDATOR, JOE LEDGER

For those wanting to connect, here are my confirmed tour dates so far for Fall 2017. Still trying to fill in open weekends in November with dates in either Arkansas, Nebraska, or Iowa. John Morris (aka Alexi), hope to see you there.

Oct. 5-8, 2017 New York Comic Con, Javits Center, New York City, NY, Guest, Book Launches: Predator: If It Bleeds (Titan) and Infinite Stars (Titan)

Oct. 18, 2017 Signing: Barnes and Noble, 11323 W 95th St, Overland Park, Kansas, 7-9 p.m.

Oct. 21, 2017 Signing: Barnes and Noble, 960 S. Colorado Blvd, Glenda, CO, 2-5 p.m. with Peter J. Wacks, David Boop, Julie Frost, and Holly Roberds

Oct. 28, 2017 Signing: Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 NW Expy Ste 135, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 3-5 p.m.

Oct. 29, 2017 Signing: Barnes and Noble, 5231 East 41st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1-4 p.m.

Nov. 1, 2017, Signing: Barnes and Noble, Columbia Mall,2208 Bernadette Dr, Columbia, Missouri, 6-8 p.m.

Nov. 3, 2017  Signing: Barnes and Noble, 6130 SW 17th St, Topeka, KS, 7-9 p.m.

Nov. 3-4, 2017 Writing Workshop: Science Fiction Worldbuilding, Johnson Country Library-Central Resource Branch, Overland Park, KS Critique and Lecture sessions plus signing (see link for details)

Nov. 5, 2017 Signing: Books-A-Million, Central Mall, Ninth Street, Salina, KS, 1-3:30 p.m.

Nov. 11, 2017, Signing: Maker Faire, Barnes and Noble, Oak Park Mall, 11323 W 95th St, Overland Park, Kansas, 12-4 p.m.

Nov. 12, 2017, Signing: Books-a-million, Legends Outlets, 1859 Village W Pkwy f101, Kansas City, KS 66111 1-4 p.m.

Nov. 25, 2017 Signing: Barnes and Noble, 6510 N. Illinois St., Fairview Heights, IL, 1-4 p.m.

Dec.2, 2017 Book Signing: Barnes and Noble, 6300 S. Main Street Suite N101, Aurora, CO, 2-5 p.m. with Peter J. Wacks, Holly Roberds, and David Boop

Dec. 2, 2017 Book Signing: Storybook Brewing, 3121 A North El Paso Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 6:30-9 p.m. with Peter J. Wacks, David Boop, Holly Roberds

Dec. 3, 2017 Signing: Barnes and Noble, 4045 S College Ave, Fort Collins, Colorado, 7-9 p.m. with Peter J. Wacks, David Boop, and Holly Roberds

The Returning Blog Tour Schedule, Part 2

Well, after a brief break for the July 4th, holiday, the blog tour for my second novel, The Returning, has resumed and I’m late posting links to it but here they are: 

Friday July 6 Heidi Ruby Miller Heidi’s Pick Six Interview
Saturday July 7 FMW Podcast Interview
Monday July 9 Jeremy C. Shipp The Value Of Writers In Community
Tuesday July 10 The New Author Dialogue: Making A Booktrailer On A Budget Part 1 http://the-new-author.blogspot.com/2012/07/conservation-with-bryan-thomas-schmidt.html
Wednesday July 11 Jeff Rutherford Opening The Door To Imagination: My Discovery of SFF
Thursday July 12 The New Author Dialogue: Making A Booktrailer On A Budget Part 2
Friday July 13 Claire Ashgrove World-Building : Vehicles Of The Davi Rhii Universe with Short Excerpt/Also: I rejoin Adventures In SciFi Publishing Podcast for an interview live from ConQuest 43 in Kansas City with my pal Brent Bowen.
Monday July 16 Keenan Brand Author Profile & Excerpt
Tuesday July 17 Madison Woods Guest Post: My Core Assumptions & My Writing
Wednesday July 18 Rachel Hunter Guest Post: On The Careful Use Of Ordinary Moments To Build Character In Science Fiction
Thursday July 19 Grace Bridges Character Profile: Davi Rhii with Excerpt
Friday July 20 Anne-Mhairi Simpson Guest Post: How My World Travels Have Informed My Worldview & My Writing
Monday July 23 Livia  Blackburne’s A Brain Scientist On Writing Guest Post: How To Market Your Book (& Yourself) At Cons
Tuesday July 24 L.S. King Character Profile: Miri Rhii with Excerpt
Wednesday July 25 Dana Bell Guest Post: The Saga Of Davi Rhii-Keeping The Next Book Fresh
Thursday July 26 Louis B. Shalako Interview
Friday July 27 Frank Creed Guest Post: One Advantage Of Series- It Gets Easier With Each Book
Monday July 31 Wrap Up & Giveaway Blast at www.bryanthomasschmidt.net/blog

The tour will run through July 31st and also have another interview at Adventures In SciFi Publishing podcast amongst others. Links will be added to this post as things develop. My heartfelt gratitude  to all who have hosted and helped make this tour a success. 

And in case you missed it, here’s the posts we did in Part 1 of THE RETURNING Blog Tour:

Tuesday, May 29 Blog Tour Schedule & E-Book Release
Wednesday, May 30 Functional Nerds Guest Post: Tools For Worldbuilding (Guest Post) 
Thursday, May 31 Anthony Cardno  Guest Post: How To Run a Blog Tour For A Sequel Without Spoiling Book 1
Friday, June 1 Gary W. Olson  Character Profile & Excerpt: Xalivar
Monday, June 4 SFSignal Guest Post: 15 Science Fiction and Fantasy Thrillers Worth Your Time
Tuesday, June 5  Andrew Reeves/Jaded Muse Video Blog: Boxes (What’s yours?)
Wednesday, June 6 Reader’s Realm Excerpt from Chapter 2/ Brad R. Torgersen Catching Up With Interview
Thursday, June 7  Linda Rodriguez Guest Post: 5 Tips On Social Media For Today’s Author
Friday, June 8 Linda Poitevin Guest Post: Approaching Book 2
Monday, June 11 Elizabeth S. Craig: Mystery Writing Is Murder, Special Write Tip Guest Post: Surprise v. Suspense / Review at Functional Nerds
Tuesday, June 12 Matthew Sanborn Smith/The One Thousand: Character Profile & Excerpt: Farien Noa
Wednesday, June 13 Leah Petersen 5 Minute Interview
Thursday, June 14 Mae Empson Character Profile Interview & Excerpt: Tela Tabansi
Friday, June 15 Joshua P. Simon Interview
Monday, June 18 Bibliophile Stalker Guest Post: Culture In World-building
Tuesday, June 19 Mary Pax Dialogue: Why I Love Space Opera / Book Day Post
Wednesday, June 20 Moses Siregar Guest Post: What Makes A Story Epic
Thursday, June 21 Jaleta Clegg Guest Post: Food in Borali System
Friday, June 22 To Be Read Interview & EBook Giveaway
Sunday, June 24 THE PLATFORM Internet Radio with John Rakestraw “Finding Your Imagination
Monday, June 25 Grasping For The Wind Turning The Tables: SFFWRTCHT Interviews Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Tuesday, June 26 Ray Gun Revival Short Interview & Character Profile & Excerpt: Yao Brahma
Wednesday, June 27 AISFP Blog Essay: The Importance of The Responsible Use Of History In Fiction: Steampunk/Jamie Todd Rubin Dialogue: Space Battles In The Golden Age & Beyond
Thursday, June 28 Oops! Glitch! Post postponed to tomorrow due to unexpected travel of host blogger.
Friday, June 29 K.D. Weiland Guest Post: The Most Important Rule Of Writing: Be True To Yourself
Saturday, June  30 Patty Jansen Guest Post: Can There Be Space Opera Without Science?
Tuesday July 3 Book Day 2: Print Release!!!

Also, you can still get The Returning at 33% off for a limited time from me in either print or ebook (both signed) here.


Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novels The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Book Clubs Year’s Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, and The Returning, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and several short stories featured  in anthologies and magazines.  He edited the anthology Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 for Flying Pen Press, headlined by Mike Resnick. As a freelance editor, he’s edited a novels and nonfiction.  He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter under the hashtag #sffwrtcht. A frequent contributor to Adventures In SF PublishingGrasping For The Wind and SFSignal, he can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Bryan is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

The Returning Blog Tour Schedule

It’s hard to believe it’s here. I get all emotional because of all the behind the scenes chaos I went through while writing it, but I’m about to be the author of two published novels and I’m thrilled and humbled at the same time. So you know what that means: another blog tour. Just last October, I was off promoting the novel I’d longed to write for 27 years, The Worker Prince. Now, it finally has a sequel, The Returning. It’s got another brilliant Mitch Bentley cover. More of the action and multi-layered plotting, larger-than-life characters and humor mixed with drama. It’s even got blurbs by three of my favorite writers, now also my friends.

It has everything, and you can find out for yourselves on June 19th! But right now, here’s the scoop on the tour and how you can preorder signed paperbacks or ebooks at 25% off on my store or at Barnes & Noble here.

The Vertullians are free and have full citizenship but that doesn’t mean they’re accepted. Someone is sending assassins to kill and terrorize them, riling up the old enmity all over again, while Xalivar is back seeking revenge on Davi and all those who defied him. Davi, Farien and Yao reunite to investigate the murders, finding their lives and friendships threatened by what they discover. Meanwhile, the new High Lord Councilor, Tarkanius, Lord Aron, and Davi find themselves fighting all over again to preserve the unity of the Borali Alliance, while even many of their allies and friends work against them to tear it apart. Davi and Tela find their future together threatened by difficulties with their relationship, and Miri’s adjusting to her new status as a non-royal. The action packed, emotional, exciting Davi Rhii story continues.

370 pp · ISBN 978-0-9840209-4-2 ·Trade Paperback · $14.99 tpb $5.99 Ebook  · Publication: June 19, 2012

“The Returning has romance, assassins, tension, both modern and classic science fiction notions, and very smooth writing. What more could you want? Bryan Thomas Schmidt keeps improving. As good as THE WORKER PRINCE WAS, THE RETURNING is better.” – Mike Resnick, Author, Starship, Ivory

“The Returning blends themes of faith with classic space opera tropes and the result is a page-turning story that takes off like a rocket.” – Paul S. Kemp, Author, Star Wars: Riptide, Star Wars: Deceived

“A fun space opera romp, complete with intrigues, treachery, dastardly villains, and flawed but moral heroes.” Howard Andrew Jones (Pathfinder: Plague Of Shadows, The Desert Of Souls) on THE RETURNING

To preorder your signed paperback for $11 + shipping, click here:

To preorder the ebook in whichever format you prefer, click here: (be sure and enter format desired in the box)

Preferred Format (epub/mobi)

To preorder from Barnes & Noble, click here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-returning-bryan-thomas-schmidt/1108892375?ean=9780984020942

And please visit these awesome blogs for more information including excerpts, interviews, guest posts and more all through June and July 2012! I’ll insert links as they become available as well as updating specific content which is still being determined.

THE RETURNING Blog Tour

Tuesday, May 29 Blog Tour Schedule & Book Release – www.bryanthomasschmidt.net/blog (You’re there now)
Wednesday, May 30 Functional Nerds Guest Post: Tools For Worldbuilding (Guest Post) 
Thursday, May 31 Anthony Cardno  Guest Post: How To Run a Blog Tour For A Sequel Without Spoiling Book 1
Friday, June 1 Gary W. Olson  Character Profile & Excerpt: Xalivar
Monday, June 4 SFSignal Guest Post: 15 Science Fiction and Fantasy Thrillers Worth Your Time
Tuesday, June 5  Andrew Reeves/Jaded Muse Video Blog: Boxes (What’s yours?)
Wednesday, June 6 Reader’s Realm Excerpt from Chapter 2/ Brad R. Torgersen Catching Up With Interview
Thursday, June 7  Linda Rodriguez Guest Post: 5 Tips On Social Media For Today’s Author
Friday, June 8 Linda Poitevin Guest Post: Approaching Book 2
Monday, June 11 Elizabeth S. Craig: Mystery Writing Is Murder, Special Write Tip Guest Post: Surprise v. Suspense / Review at Functional Nerds
Tuesday, June 12 Matthew Sanborn Smith/The One Thousand: Character Profile & Excerpt: Farien Noa
Wednesday, June 13 Leah Petersen 5 Minute Interview
Thursday, June 14 Mae Empson Character Profile Interview & Excerpt: Tela Tabansi
Friday, June 15 Joshua P. Simon Interview
Monday, June 18 Bibliophile Stalker Guest Post: Culture In World-building
Tuesday, June 19 Mary Pax Dialogue: Why I Love Space Opera / Book Day Post
Wednesday, June 20 Moses Siregar Guest Post: What Makes A Story Epic
Thursday, June 21 Jaleta Clegg Guest Post: Food in Borali System
Friday, June 22 To Be Read Interview & EBook Giveaway
Sunday, June 24 THE PLATFORM Internet Radio with John Rakestraw “Finding Your Imagination
Monday, June 25 Grasping For The Wind Turning The Tables: SFFWRTCHT Interviews Bryan Thomas Schmidt
Tuesday, June 26 Ray Gun Revival Short Interview & Character Profile & Excerpt: Yao Brahma
Wednesday, June 27 AISFP Blog Essay: The Importance of The Responsible Use Of History In Fiction: Steampunk/Jamie Todd Rubin Dialogue: Space Battles In The Golden Age & Beyond
Thursday, June 28 Oops! Glitch! Post postponed to tomorrow due to unexpected travel of host blogger.
Friday, June 29 K.D. Weiland Guest Post: The Most Important Rule Of Writing: Be True To Yourself
Saturday, June  30 Patty Jansen Guest Post: Can There Be Space Opera Without Science?
Monday July 2 FMW Podcast Interview (delayed due to editing issue)
Tuesday July 3 Book Day 2: Print Release!!!

The Blog Tour Resumes Friday, July 6, after the holiday with more fun!!!!

And if you missed the prior book’s blog tour, here’s that roundup.

I also did posts in my popular Write Tips series on Planning A Blog Tour and Preparing For A Blog Tour Even As You Write.

For specific info on this series, The Saga of Davi Rhii, click here.

For this book’s page, click here.

For The Worker Prince page, click here.

To order my debut novel, THE WORKER PRINCE, Book 1 in the  Saga Of Davi Rhii, use the links at the bottom:

 What if everything you thought you knew about  yourself  and the world turned out to be wrong?
 For Davi Rhii, Prince of the Boralian people, that  nightmare has become a reality. Freshly  graduated from  the prestigious Borali Military  Academy, now he’s discovered he was secretly  adopted and born a worker. Ancient enemies of  the Boralians, enslaved now for generations, the  workers of Vertullis live lives harder than Davi had  ever imagined. To make matters worse, Davi’s  discovered that the High Lord Councillor of the  Alliance, his uncle Xalivar, is responsible for years of abuse and suppression against the workers Davi now knows as his own people.

His quest to rediscover himself brings him into conflict with Xalivar and his friends and family, calling into question his cultural values and assumptions, and putting in jeopardy all he’s worked for his whole life. Davi’s never felt more confused and alone. Will he stand and watch the workers face continued mistreatment or turn his back on his loved ones and fight for what’s right? Whatever he decides is sure to change his life forever.

326 pp · ISBN 978‐0‐9840209‐0‐4 ·Trade Paperback · $14.95 tpb $4.99 Ebook  · Publication: October 4, 2011

The Worker Prince: Book 1 In The Saga of Davi Rhii  Trade paperback only   EPUB or MOBI — please specify in notes on order

Or you can order at Amazon here: The Worker Prince


Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novels The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Book Clubs Year’s Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, andThe Returning, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories featured  in anthologies and magazines.  He edited the new anthology Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 for Flying Pen Press, headlined by Mike Resnick. His children’s book 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Jokes For Kids from Delabarre Publishing. As  a freelance editor, he’s edited a novels and nonfiction.  He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A frequent contributor to Adventures In SF PublishingGrasping For The Wind and SFSignal, he can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Bryan is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

Blog Tour Roundup: The Worker Prince

Well, my first book tour and first ever blog tour was a lot of fun. Truly a blast. And I think all the bloggers and readers who participated. The comments were encouraging and helpful. The posts were fun to write and participate in. Timing was fairly smooth in most cases. And I think we provided worthwhile and diverse content for everyone. So thank you. I look forward to the next one and I look forward to hosting blog tours as well.

Here’s a list of all the posts broken down by category/type for easy access. I hope you continue to enjoy them and, please check out The Worker Prince. You can purchase it here: 1 5-star & 6 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS. If you do, please review it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com and send us a link. You can get a free chapter from the sequel before it releases next year.

 

Guest Posts: (Blog/post title)

SFSignal: 15 Science Fiction Classics With Religious Themes

Juliette Wade: The Worker Prince, Worldbuilding & The Clashes of Culture

Mary Pax: Coming Of Age & The Quest To Belong

Bibliophile Stalker/Charles Tan: 7 Tips For Being A Good Beta Reader

Functional Nerds: Working With A Small Press For Authors

Matthew Sanborn Smith:  My Approach To Storytelling

Jeremy C. Shipp:  The Importance of Strong Heroines

AISFP: Why I Like Old Fashioned Heroes

Patty Jansen: How To Promote With Social Media Without Offense

Moses Siregar: Relatable Characters

Livia Blackburne: SFFWRTCHT & How To Run A Social Media Event

 

Dialogues:

Jamie Todd Rubin: Dialogue: Golden Age SF’s Influence on The Worker Prince

Laura Kreitzer: Laura & Bryan Talk Writing

 

Worker Prince Novel Excerpts:

Anthony Cardno:  Exclusive Excerpt From Chapter 10

Grasping For The Wind: Exclusive Excerpt of Chapter 3

Mae Empson: Interview & Excerpt: Chapter 7

Andrew Reeves: Author Spotlight/Excerpt from Chapter 5

Simon C. Larter: Excerpt

 

Reviews:

Jaleta Clegg: Review: The Worker Prince

Apex Reviews: Review: The Worker Prince

Grace Bridges: Review: The Worker Prince

Rick Copple: Review: The Worker Prince

Raymond Masters: Review: The Worker Prince

Jenn Baker/Pony Tails Book Reviews: Review: The Worker Prince

Lyn Perry: Review: The Worker Prince

 

 

Interviews:

Anthony Cardno: Author Interview

Brian Knight: Interview with me & Davi Rhii/Author Bio/Blurb

Travis Perry: http://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/ – Author Interview

Nicole Peeler: Interview with Lord Xalivar (antagonist, The Worker Prince)

Grasping For The Wind: Author Interview

Gene Doucette: Author Interview

Sarah Hendrix: Author Interview

Mae Empson: Interview & Excerpt: Chapter 7

William J. Corbin/Silverthorn Press: Author Interview

L.M. Stull: Interview

Andrew Reeves: Author Spotlight/Excerpt from Chapter 5

 

Other:

Podcast: Functional Nerds Episode #78 with Bryan Thomas Schmidt (hey, that’s me!)

Residential Aliens: Rivalry On A Sky Course (Davi Rhii prequel story)

Grasping For The Wind: Mediation Between Xalivar and Davi Rhii

 


Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, the collection The North Star Serial, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. He’s also the host ofScience Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.

Conclave 36 Launch Report

Well, it’s Monday and I’m supposed to post, right?I know. It’s my usual day. Some of you come here looking for an interesting post to start your week, so here I am. I’ve been lying on bed post whirlwind Con Launch trip, trying to motivate myself to write and feeling overwhelmed. But I’ll do my best.

The Con itself brought many opportunities.

It began when I registered and dropped books with Larry Smith and Sally Kobee, the friendly dealers who graciously agreed to carry my books despite my ignorance of proper percentages and pretty much everything else. They had a huge table and I was honored to have them allow me any space. Thank goodness I finally had a few sales to give them something for their kindness! (Yes the photo is badly out of focus but stupid me forgot to take another in my rushing insanity of talking with readers so it’s the best I have. Apologies.) Sally and Larry frequent 36 cons a year and I remembered them from World Fantasy 2010 in Columbus.

 

1) My first panel as an Author. That was titled “The Death Of The American Author” and was supposed to cover the changing face of publishing, which we did. But we couldn’t decide if the title really was relevant to our beliefs about where publishing is going. My fellow panelists were new writer Gary W. Olson, whose debut novel is coming in December from Damnation, the same people who publish Realms Of Fantasy in its latest incarnation; Jim C. Hines, DAW author of seven fantasy novels about goblins, princesses and more; and L. Warren Douglas, author of 8 novels in the 90s and 2000s from Del Rey and other sources. To add to the pressure, Hines decided my first panel was the perfect spot to make me moderator. I, not wanting to fail to prove my mettle, took his challenge and rose to the occasion fairly successfully from what I could tell (and was later told). I don’t know that we solved any problems but the discussions was interesting.

After that, Hines, Olsen and I stayed put for the panel “Self Promotion and Marketing” with Hines moderating. This was an interesting discussion on self-promotion through social media, blogging, and other means as well as networking strategies and why it’s important at all to do it, but also to be true to yourself and your comfort zone. After all, bad publicity can be harmful and counter its opposite so working outside your comfort zone is not something to undertake without care.

Next, my first exposure to filk came with Seanan McGuire’s concert. The filk band Wild Mercy backed her. And unfortunately, late due to the panel, I then saw only about 20 minutes before my publisher texted to say he’d arrived with a shipment of my book, which I had not seen an actual final copy of yet. So naturally (and understandably to Seanan who later forgave me instantly upon hearing the reason), I rushed out the door to get my hands on those!

It was fun to meet Tim Ambrose, who’d accepted and suggested I make a series of my “North Star” space opera stories at Digital Dragon Magazine and

Next, on the free table, I discovered some real finds in great condition and snatched those up. These included Asimov and Leiber mint condition paperbacks from 1957 and A March 1967 and June 1968 issues of Analog featuring stories from the likes of Ben Bova, Harry Harrison and Poul Anderson and edited by John W. Campbell. Yes, that’s right, I said FREE!

Saturday began with “Keeping In Character,” a panel on techniques for characterization where Seanan nominated me to moderate, and so I again did. This panel had Emmy Jackson, a new fantasy novelist, Christian Klaver, and J. Warren Douglas on it in addition to Guest of Honor Seanan McGuire and myself, and devolved quickly with Mr. Douglas’ poorly chosen examples of points he tried to make which made the GOH wish to strangle him along with many attendees. To make matters worse, he proceeded then to continue trying to explain himself because “if we’d just understand him all would be fine.” Moderating such a situation is challenging to say the least but it did make for the most talked about panel at the Con, which I moderated, so I get that feather in my cap, I suppose.

Next, I had lunch with my publisher, Tim Ambrose and we discussed sequels, future projects, contracts and the con at a local middle eastern restaurant where our waitress vocalized her disappointment at my choice of Fish N Chip rather than middle eastern cuisine which 1) was what I was in the mood for and 2) would have meant choosing something I was unsure about and chancing dissatisfaction when Tim was paying and I was in dire need of my first meal of the day. So no thanks.

After that, I hung out in the dealer room a bit before joining Jim Hines, Emmy Jackson and Joe Ponepinto for a panel on “Writing Groups” wherein we gave insider tips on how to find a group, when you need a group, how groups operate, problems with groups, etc. Attending were such fun people as Charles Zaglanis and Christine Purcell from Elder Signs Press and Con security friend Laura (she and her husband Bill were a lot of laughs, especially the time I tested Bill’s security training by pick pocketing him).

Then it was rush back to my room and prepare time as I had a reading. I read through the passage again twice, ate a quick bite, and rushed back to the Con to await my most feared moment which then proceeded to go very well and wound up with everyone present except my unsupportive publisher (wink wink) buying a copy. I mean, gees, Tim, support your writers already… This led to my first autograph request, as opposed to earlier when I’d run through the Dealer Room signing every book in sight with the author’s name as a “courtesy” to future buyers. Despite Dealer’s complaints, I really do think those autographs were later a hit.

After that I hung out until Saladin (sal-uh-deen) Ahmed did a great reading from Chapter 3 of his forthcoming “Throne Of The Crescent Moon,” which he’d also read from at World Fantasy. And then hung with Saladin, Jim Hines, Christian Klaver, Tim Ambrose, and Seanan by the bar for a while. Here’s a picture of us pretending we actually like each other at Jim’s suggestion.

On Sunday, I pretty much hung out in the dealer room, after a nice breakfast with Charles Zaglanis and Christine Purcell, and spending time with Serena, my Brazilian website programmer, who came by just to see me and make sure I got to the airport. I think the city decided they’d had enough of my antics and wanted to be sure I left. Not sure. I do know that as soon as I got through security, they called my row and I had to bored so I was left little time for further mischief locally. And that was Conclave and the book launch of THE WORKER PRINCE, my novel debut.

My Schedule: MCC-Longview Literary Festival

Next weekend I will be apeparing at the two day MCC-Longview Community College Literary Festival with other authors of diverse genres and backgrounds. Here’s my schedule. I will be around much of Saturday and in and out Friday because of my panel being late afternoon.

Location: MCC-LONGVIEW

500 SW Longview Road,
Lee’s Summit, Missouri 64081-2105
Telephone: 816.604.2000

Friday, October 14, 2011

2:00 p.m. – Setup [Education Center]

4:00 p.m. – Connecting With Readers Through Social Media (Panel)[BU103A]

Panelists: Toriano Porter, Linda Rodriguez, Bryan Thomas Schmidt 

5:00 p.m. – Killing Off Characters (Panel) [Education Center]

Panelists: Marti Verlander, Steven F. Murphy, Bryan Thomas Schmidt

 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

10:00 a.m. – Meet-N-Greet Authors [Education Center]

12:00 p.m. – Self-Promotion 101 (Panel) [Education Center]

Panelists: Karin Gastriech, Lewis Diuguid, Toriano Porter, Spencer Wendleton, Bryan Thomas Schmidt

1:00-2:15 p.m. – Autographing at Table [BCU103A]

2:30 p.m. – Creating Characters That Come Alive (Panel) [Education Center]

Panelists: Lindsay Martin-Bowen, Marti Verlander, M.C. Chambers, Bryan Thomas Schmidt

A Book Day Thanks

We all have our Writer’s Journey and it’s different for everyone. Although I thought of this story idea in my teens, it wasn’t until 2008 that I actually began to seriously dream of being a published novelist. To be there three years later, is still unbelievable. Here’s the Acknowledgements from my first novel, reprinted here because these people all deserve so much thanks.  In this case, I just don’t have words.

Acknowledgements

The idea for this story came to me when I was a young, fifteen-year-old science fiction fan living in a small Kansas town where it sometimes felt like dreaming was the only way out.  Over the years, I lost my original notes, but the idea in my head and the names Xalivar and Sol stayed with me.

It took me twenty-five years to start writing it and I wrote daily through some of the toughest trials I’ve experienced in my life.  So this book you hold in your hand is a victory in many ways, and I’m very excited and proud of it and hope you’ll enjoy it and share it with others.

Thanks go first to Lost Genre Guild for inspiring me to try writing for Digital Dragon and to T.W. Ambrose for encouraging me to write more space opera stories, and then agreeing to publish them. An abridged version of the prologue to this novel first appeared in Digital Dragon’s May 2010 issue.

Secondly, thanks go to fellow authors like Blake Charlton, Ken Scholes, Jay Lake, Mike Resnick, Leon Metz, Jason Sanford, Moses Siregar and Grace Bridges who have supported, encouraged and advised me time and time again, no matter how silly my questions were or how many times they’d heard them before.  Special thanks to Blake and Grace for taking time to read and offer more specific advice to help me grow as a writer and to Mike Resnick for advice in figuring out this crazy business.

Thirdly, thanks to first readers and friends like Larry Thomson, Tim Pearse, Jeff Vaughn, David Melson, Todd Ward, Mike Wallace, Andrew Reeves, Chris Zylo Owens, and the members of the FCW-Basic Critique Group for actually seeming to enjoy my writing even in its roughest form and for giving me feedback which helped me to improve it greatly.

Fourthly, thanks to friends like Charlie Davidson, Aaron Zapata, Mark Dalbey, Nelson Jennings, and Greg Baerg, who, along with some of the guys above, have helped me escape from behind the desk and keyboard and laugh a little bit when I needed it.

Fifthly, thanks to Mitch Bentley for actually reading the book before creating the awesome cover art.  And thanks to Randy Streu, Jen Ambrose, Paul Conant and Darlene Oakley for their editing and advice, the El Paso Writer’s League for encouragement and fellowship, and Mike Wallace for the science of the Boralis solar system. Thanks also to Jeana Clark for the solar system map which brought it to life for me.

Thanks to you, the reader, for taking a chance on a new, unknown writer.  I hope you like it enough to come back for more.

Thanks to God for making me in His image and giving me the talent and inspiration to do this and continually opening the doors. I look forward to seeing what’s behind the next ones.

 

Let me add a few names of people who weren’t mentioned but would have been at this point if I wrote that today, including blurbers and others who’ve supported me so much: Mitchell Bentley (what a cover–sorry, I meant to add you in!!!!), Maurice Broaddus, Saladin Ahmed, Jaleta Clegg, David Lee Summers, my parents–Ramon & Glenda, whose thanks comes in the book’s dedication, Jamie Pearse, Sarah Hendrix, John H. Stevens, Kaolin Fire, Lee Gunter, Louis B. Shalako, Michelle Ristuccia, Shaun Farrell & Adventures In SF Publishing, Kevin J. Anderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kat Richardson, Sam Sykes, Patrick Swenson, Eric Reynolds, Johne Cook, John DeNardo, Charles Tan, John Ottinger, Lyn Perry, Mike Ray/RedstoneSF, Anthony Cardno, David Rozansky, John A. Pitts, Brian Knight. I know I’m still forgetting someone, but at least this is a better list.

 


Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, the collection The North Star Serial, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. He’s also the host ofScience Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.

The Worker Prince Blog Tour–Schedule & Introduction

WP Blog Tour stops:

Being a small press, Diminished Media Group can’t afford to send me to big cities on a book tour. Instead, I am doing the tour online. Thanks to generous friends, I will be appearing on 29 blogs and 1 podcast as part of this tour. Here are the dates, links and a description of what you can expect to find. I hope you’ll check it out. For general information on the novel itself, click here. NOTE: Since the links don’t go live until the date scheduled, clicking links early will not find the specific links. Please keep that in mind.

Oct. 1 www.bryanthomasschmidt.net – intro and schedule/ Residential Aliens: Rivalry On A Sky Course (Davi Rhii prequel story)
Oct. 2 Anthony Cardno –  Exclusive Excerpt From Chapter 10/Author Interview
Oct. 3 SF Signal – Guest Post: 15 Science Fiction Classics With Religious Themes
Oct. 4 Brian Knight –Interview with me & Davi Rhii/Author Bio/Blurb
Oct. 5 Juliette Wade – Guest Post: The Worker Prince, Worldbuilding & The Clashes of Culture
Oct. 6 Jaleta Clegg – Review: The Worker Prince
Oct. 7 Travis Perry http://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/ – Author Interview
Oct. 8 Grace Bridges – Review: The Worker Prince
Oct. 9 Nicole Peeler – Interview with Lord Xalivar (antagonist, The Worker Prince)
Oct. 10 Grasping For The Wind www.graspingforthewind.com – Exclusive Excerpt of Chapter 3/Author Interview/Mediation Between Xalivar and Davi Rhii
Oct. 11 Rick Copple – Review: The Worker Prince
Oct. 12 Mary Pax – Guest Post: Coming Of Age & The Quest To Belong/Book Blurb
Oct. 13 Gene Doucette – Author Interview
Oct. 14 Sarah Hendrix – Author Interview
Oct. 15 William J. Corbin/Silverthorn Press  – Author Interview
Oct. 16 Mae Empson  – Interview & Excerpt: Chapter 7
Oct. 17 L.M. Stull – Interview
Oct. 18 Jamie Todd Rubin – Dialogue: Golden Age SF’s Influence on The Worker Prince
Oct. 19 Bibliophile Stalker/Charles Tan – Guest Post: 7 Tips For Being A Good Beta Reader
Oct. 20 Andrew Reeves – Author Spotlight/Excerpt from Chapter 5
Oct. 21 Raymond Masters – Review: The Worker Prince
Oct. 22 Laura Kreitzer http://laurakreitzer.com/ – Laura & Bryan Talk Writing
Oct. 23 Jenn Baker/Pony Tails Book Reviews – Review: The Worker Prince
Oct. 24 Functional Nerds  – Guest Post: Working With A Small Press For Authors
Oct. 25 Simon C. Larter – Excerpt
Oct. 26 Matthew Sanborn Smith – Guest Post: My Approach To Storytelling
Oct. 27 Jeremy C. Shipp – Guest Post: The Importance of Strong Heroines
Oct. 28 AISFP  – Guest Post: Why I Like Old Fashioned Heroes
Oct. 29 Patty Jansen – Guest Post: How To Promote With Social Media Without Offense
Oct. 30 Moses Siregar – Guest Post: Relatable Characters
Oct. 31 Livia Blackburne – Guest Post: SFFWRTCHT & How To Run A Social Media Event
Nov. 1 Functional Nerds Podcast #78 – Bryan Thomas Schmidt

These bloggers and I have worked hard to give you quality, unique content every day. Even the interviews are different. So I hope you’ll take the time to visit their sites and poke around a bit to see what they’re all about. They’re good people all and I’m honored by their friendship and support!


Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, the collection The North Star Serial, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. He’s also the host ofScience Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat every Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.