Archives for March 2016

March 24, 2016 By Laurel Anne Hill

Call for San Francisco Bay Area Authors: Sell your books at the 2016 San Mateo County Fair

AUTHOR DAY BOOK SIGNINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ON JUNE 18, 2016, 2-6 P.M.
CALL FOR AUTHORS!

San Mateo County Fair, San Mateo Event Center, Expo Hall, Galleria Stage

AUTHORS SELL & SIGN THEIR BOOKS: SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2-4 P.M. Twenty to thirty local authors will gather near the Literary Arts Stage in Expo Hall to sell and sign their books on June 18. Two authors will share each table, as shown in the photo above. Tables will have a drape, but no backdrop wall for hanging signs. Authors will receive free entry and parking passes for the day. In the past, the parking lot has filled up fast on weekend days. Author participants are advised to arrive at the parking lot 11 to 11:30 in the morning.

Followed by a “Writers Helping Writers” discussion period (4-5 p.m.) and “to-be-announced” finale (5-6 p.m.). A number of the authors present for the signing generally volunteer to participate in the 4-6 p.m. programming.

This year, the vendor and jungle exhibit sections are being moved to a different building. The change will provide room for other exhibitors, such as the youth department, in Expo hall. It also means no more squawking parrots.

Interested authors should contact Laurel Anne Hill, Literary Stage Manager, before April 20th if possible.

For more information about Author Day, contact Laurel Anne Hill at: http://www.laurelannehill.com/Contact.html. The SMCF website is at https://sanmateocountyfair.com/.

March 18, 2016 By Laurel Anne Hill

If it’s Tuesday, this can’t be RadCon (Reflections by Laurel Anne Hill)

February, 2016, gave me twelve days on the road, in the air, or at various events. At times I’d awaken in the morning, momentarily unsure where I was—without a clue of what day of the week greeted me. All my return trips happened on Mondays. So my first morning home, I’d see the familiar “cat eyes” (recessed ceiling lamps) staring from the other side of my bedroom and know Tuesday had arrived.

RadCon—picture 3,000 people gathered at a Red Lion Inn—never ceases to amaze me. Enthusiasm and dedication abound annually. There’s a big student turnout, too. A high proportion of all attendees wear costumes, ranging in complexity from cute antennae, to superheroes, to steampunk versions of The Six-Million-Dollar Man. The scratched-and-faded upright piano tucked into one of the corridors is always a bonus. Any moment may bring a sonata—jazz—or, maybe just chop-sticks. The music resonates and I love every note.

Once again, I was lucky enough to spend a day at Chiawana High School and speak to students about writing. A total of around 200, I think.

My panels included:
The Real Lab: Sometimes things go very right in the lab, and sometimes things go horribly wrong. A group of scientists discussed the sometimes terrifying, often hilarious, crazy things that can happen when working in the lab. (Thank you Berlex alumni for contributing your stories to me.)

The Best Writing Advice I Was Ever Given: My first contribution was “You can do it!” What an English teacher said to me in high school really made a difference.

The Devil’s in the Details: Visualizing the scene when writing to keep from confusing the reader.

This year, David and I took in the performance of the Ignition Fire Troupe. I’m embedding their promotional film from RadCon 2013. The actual performance—in the Red Lion courtyard—lasted way longer. Over a half hour. Maybe an hour? I didn’t pay attention to time. Spectacular!

IGNITION

RuddyGore: On February 21, I had a walk-on role at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The Lamplighters performed Ruddygore, my favorite Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. I won this honor at the Lamplighters silent auction fundraiser last year. Here’s a photo of me in costume, ready for my appearance in Act I. Being part of the cast for an afternoon was so cool. Cast members went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and at home. The Lamplighters, formed fifty years ago, are a beloved San Francisco tradition for many good reasons. I always enjoy the way the cast gathers with the audience in the lobby after performances.

laurel at ruddygore (2) cropped — Laurel Anne Hill, all prepared to meet Sir Despard Murgatroyd of Ruddygore

Digital Author & Indie Publishing Conference, February 26-28, Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys, CA. I had the honor of serving on a panel on the opening day: Beyond the First Draft—Editing Your Work & When to Hire a Pro. Phil Giangrande moderated. My fellow panelists were Deanne Brady and Mike Robinson. This informative event was organized by Tony N. Todaro, CEO of West Coast Writers Conferences (WCx2) and President of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (GLAWS). I’ve not self-published before, except blogs via my website or podcast commentaries. I came away with the feeling that, “Yes! I could do this.” Thank you, Tony. And thanks to all of your many volunteers.

March is my stay-at-home month. Now that I’ve turned in my tax materials to my accountant, I’m actually going to clean the house. However, I’m also getting ready for April.

Wine Country Comic Con: Roseland Lions Club is hosting the first ever comic convention in the North Bay. Wine Country Comic Con, which will be held April 23 and 24th, 2016, at the Sonoma County Fair Grounds will be open from 11am to 6pm both days.

Wine Country Comic Con aims to bring an amazing convention to the area, with guests, panels, cosplay contests, and so much more. All proceeds from the convention’s fundraising activities, including tickets and sponsors, will go towards the creation of an early learning center for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with speech and behavioral problems. This cause is especially dear to the convention’s founder, Uriel Brena, whose son has Autism and who is a big fan of comics.

I’ll have a table in the artists/authors area. Look for the blonde lady in steampunk clothing with her hand up the innards of a furry puppet.

Warm wishes,

Laurel Anne Hill, Award-Winning Author of Heroes Arise
(http://www.laurelannehill.com)

March 6, 2016 By Laurel Anne Hill

Fair Trade Bananas and a Free-Range Chick

I zip down the freeway in my 1991 Mazda Miata. Blood draw at Lab Corp. Pick up fair trade bananas at Whole Foods. Return home in time to work on the income taxes. Review my notes from last weekend’s writers conference. My to-do list overflows. My brain keeps track in sentence fragments.

One parking spot remains open near the blood drawing center. I slip into the slot with ease. My stomach gurgles. I last ate twelve hours ago. No big deal for me. Far too many people in this world, however, live with hunger every day, and the situation has nothing to do with blood tests. Lack of food security is one of the world’s most critical issues. If only solving the problem was as easy as parking a Miata.

According to The Hunger Project, 795 million people—one in nine in the world—don’t have enough to eat. Fifty percent of those are farmers/farming families. I bet they’re not working in a fair trade environment. In a fair trade system, explains Co-operative news, workers get paid a living wage in conditions that are safe and secure. Labor is voluntary and workers have a right to collective bargaining. Producers are guaranteed a fair price for the goods they produce.

For well over a century, says Equal Exchange, banana conglomerates in Latin America have have been notorious for poor working conditions and blatant labor abuses. Several have been sued by their workers for respiratory illnesses, cancer, infertility, and birth defects, a result of continued exposure to pesticides used on the banana plantations.

These poverty and labor issues are why I and some other members of my Methodist church are going out of our way to purchase fair trade bananas—or eat no bananas at all—during this Lenten season. I plan to continue the practice even after Lent’s in my rearview mirror.

I enter Lab Corp. The phlebotomist draws my blood. I notice a photo of two young women posted on the wall. One wears a white ruffle gown—not the typical prom or wedding dress. Maybe for a Quinceañera celebration?

Regardless, no daughter of an exploited banana farmer could own a dress like that. I sigh, and think about Juanita, the Latina main character in my spirits-meet-steampunk novel manuscript: The Engine Woman’s Light. Juanita, a heroic resident of an alternate 19^th Century California, is well-acquainted with hunger, poverty and danger. And she’s never even seen a banana tree. She just wants to save the lives of people society throws away, and then marry the man she loves.

Which carries my thoughts back to the writing conference I just attended in Van Nuys, California: Digital Author & Indie Publishing Conference, presented annually by West Coast Writers Conferences (WC2). Tony N. Todaro, Executive Director of WC2, planned an amazing lineup of speakers and faculty. How honored I was to be included on a panel. And I learned so much—about publishing and promotion—and not only from other members of the faculty. What a great place to network! I no longer feel fenced in by traditional publishing options.

The phlebotomist tapes a gauze pad to my arm. I head for my little red car. Bananas, networking and publishing. I’m off to shop fair trade while my train of thoughts travels along a free-range track.

An indie publishing house I highly respect continues to consider The Engine Woman’s Light. I hope they accept my work. But if it’s not right for them, I’ll self-publish. Twenty years makes for a long gestation. In this era of free-range authors, it’s time to birth my baby.

But one mission to accomplish at a time. I rev up the engine and get going.