What a week!  All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Samhain and Dia De Los Muertos all in the same weekend.  It's a great excuse to curl up with a good book on ghosts, vampires, haunted places and restless spirits and enjoy.

The week kicked off with a two-day signing at the Carolinas Renaissance Festival.  Garb, goodies and great entertainment--plus hundreds of fantasy readers!  Who could ask for a better time!
 

The Days of the Dead blog tour is wrapping up, but if you missed a post, don't despair.  The content will remain long after the blog tour is history.
 

Here's a recap of where I've been and what we talked about:

Temple Library Reviews http://templelibraryreviews.blogspot.com/ (Bulgaria) 
log host Harry Markov asked in-depth questions about the world of the Winter Kingdoms, and we discussed how the magic works, the worship of the Lady, and the secrets of the vayash moru.

When Gravity Fails, www.SolarisBooks.com (UK).  Blog host Mark Newton wanted more details about what to expect in Dark Haven, and so I was happy to oblige!

Pat's Vampire Notes http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com (US)  Host Patricia Alter interviewed me about the vayash moru (not a big surprise on a vampire-themed site!) and about writing quirks, inspiration and favorite characters.

Boris Legradic (Austria), host of  the Letters from Lausanne blog at  http://borislegradic.blogspot.com/2008/10/gail-martin-answers.html

 also explored Dark Haven and the Chronicles of the Necromancer series from a writer's perspective, wanting more of the mechanics behind the story.
            

On the Shelfari blog (US) http://shelfari.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/why-do-you-read-what-you-read.html, I delved into why we choose what we do to read and what that says about us as readers.
 

My friend Wayne Kelly came at things from a completely different angle.  For his blog, I took a humorous look at marketing from an undead perspective. (Canada) http://www.onairpublicity.com/blog/?p=241
 

On Speculative Horizons (UK) http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/

James and I talked about "Innovation vs. Expectation" in genre fiction and what we're looking for in a book for it to excite and satisfy.
 

On AsIf DreamHosters (AU) http://www.asif.dreamhosters.com/doku.php, Alissa and I discussed what it would be really like to be immortal undead.
 

 So there you have it—the whole crazy week.  Please take the tour, leave a comment and support all these wonderful bloggers who have been kind enough to open up their sites to me.
 

And keep an eye out for me in early November as a guest blogger on John Marco's blog at http://johnmarco.blogspot.com/.  I'll be musing on how our lives would be different if the dead spoke to us in unmistakable ways.
 

Thank you for going around the world with me on this Days of the Dead blog tour!  If you're in the Charlotte area, I'll be at Books A Million at Concord Mills Dec. 13 Noon – 2 p.m.  See you then!

Well, if the financial markets and the U.S. presidential election aren't scary enough, consider this—next week we have All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Samhain and Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  Something about this time of year makes human beings look over their shoulder and expect to see someone looking back at them across the threshold between the living and dead.
 

Cool, huh?
 

That's why I'm doing my Days of the Dead international blog tour from Oct. 25 – Nov. 1.  There will be all-new questions, new interviews, giveaways, sneak peek surprises and all-new comments at these sites:

Oct. 25  Temple Library Reviews http://templelibraryreviews.blogspot.com/ (Bulgaria)

Oct. 26  When Gravity Fails, www.SolarisBooks.com (UK)

Oct. 27 Pat's Vampire Notes http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com (US)

Oct. 28 Boris Legradic (Bulgaria)  http://borislegradic.blogspot.com

Oct. 29  Shelfari.com (US)

  Wayne Kelly (Canada) http://www.onairpublicity.com/blog/

Oct. 30  Speculative Horizons (UK)http://speculativehorizons.blogspot.com/

              AsIf DreamHosters (AU) http://www.asif.dreamhosters.com

Oct. 31  Chronicles of the Necromancer Blog http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A3BY1E11C6GBS2/rss.xml

There will also be a giveaway on www.Bookloons.com (Canada) for signed copies of The Blood King plus signed limited edition advance review copies of The Blood King. In early November, I'll be a guest on author John Marco's blog http://johnmarco.blogspot.com/.

Please tour these great sites, add them to your bookmarks and blogrolls and put in your two cents on the comment boards!

In other news….I will be the guest author at the Carolina Renaissance Festival Oct. 25 – 26, so please  stop by and see me.  I'll be signing The Summoner and The Blood King, and I have a limited number of Dark Haven chapter previews to hand out!

Met a lot of great folks at my signing at Books A Million at Concord Mills on Oct. 18.  (I'll be back there Dec. 13).  MonsterCon was so much fun—I hope you've seen the videoblog.  And on Oct. 21, I was the guest at the Charlotte Writer's Club, where I had the chance to talk with about 60 writers and readers about the business of writing and fantasy fiction.  Fun!

A writer friend of mine (and fellow Broad Universe member), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, is launching her new book, Tomorrow's Memories (Mundania Press), and I wanted to share details with you. http://www.mundania.com/books-tomorrowsmemories.html. 
This is the long-awaited sequel to Yesterday's Dreams, an urban fantasy based on Celtic Mythology. You can learn more about the book at www.sidhenadaire.com/books/TM.htm. She's also giving away the chance to win a replica Scottish Claymore sword for anyone that purchases a copy of the book through the Mundania site and is attending Philcon (www.philcon.org) Details of the launch party and raffle are at www.sidhenadaire.com/promoTM.htm. Prize donated by Griffon's Claw Armoury (www.griffonsclaw.com)

I had a great time over the weekend at MonsterCon.  It's a horror/comics/SF-F convention that is in its second year and is held in Concord, NC. 

The show had a nice turnout and an eclectic combination of gaming, vendors and panels.  I had a lot of fun on a panel about the Dark Knight and the various incarnations of Batman, and then at the end of the day, I had a great time on another panel about the interplay of horror and humor.       

Among the other highlights—I joined the Southern Horror Writers' Association, so watch for me wherever they show up.  And I met actor Brian Krause (Leo from Charmed) who was a very nice guy and kind enough to sign an autography for my daughter, who is a true Charmed fan.  You can watch all the fun on my video blog here: http://www.youtube.com/v/VEFD4ud5uE4

Coming up next:  I'll be doing a signing at Books a Million at Concord Mills on October 18 from noon – 1:30, and I'll be signing at the Carolina Renaissance Festival on October 25 and 26.  I'm really excited about my Days of the Dead blog tour that kicks off October 25.  Watch the blog for more details, but I'll be guest blogging on sites in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Bulgaria with all new interviews and musings.  
 
There are lots of exciting new ideas in play for 2009—keep an eye on my site and you'll be the first to know!

If you were at DragonCon, I hope we connected.  If you weren't, I hope you take a look at my videoblog--it's just a fraction of the fun we had.

After a white-knuckled trip down to Atlanta from Charlotte (isn't it always?) we arrived with only minutes to spare before the author registration line closed.  I had a 10 pm panel on "Fightin' and Writin'"--how to write engaging and (en)grossing battlescenes.  On the panel with me was noted military SF writer John Ringo and two former special ops guys. Given that everyone except me had been in the military, I'm possibly the only one on the panel who had never really seen combat. (That's OK with me--I have a vivid imagination.) 

Fortunately, the audience was mostly interested in the technicalities of medieval warfare, which none of us had personally experienced, and that made for a lively discussion. As you can see on the videoblog, I ran into old friends Davey Beauchamp, Jean Marie Ward, Chris Jackson and JF Lewis, and made new friends with Lori Hildebrand, DM Paul, KL Nappier, Elyssa Malcohn and Ray Franks (MonsterCon--Concord NC)

On Saturday, I fueled my need for java with the perfect boo brew--a cup of Black Dog coffee from Coffee Shop of Horrors.  These guys have great positioning--with names like "Reanimator" and "Netherworld", as well as really good coffee.  You can watch my tribute clip here:  http://www.audioacrobat.com/playv/WDmlR5Kx
 

Saturday was my day for a reading/chat and we had a good time talking about books in general as well as my world of the Winter Kingdoms.  Whenever I wasn't on the panel, I was in the dealer room or at someone else's panel.  I enjoyed getting to see Mike Lee, Laurell K. Hamilton and Sherrilyn Kenyon talk about "how dark is too dark" (there apparently is no such thing as 'too dark').  
 

Sunday I was busy with a panel on Viral Marketing/Web 2.0 (as you may know, marketing is my 'day job' and I don't seem to be able to outrun it, even at a con!)  Actually, I love to talk about podcasting and online marketing tools like social media, SEO, etc. because it's just plain fun!  And then late night, I was on a really neat panel called "Memento Mori" all about ghosts and the supernatural, a long-time obsession of mine.  My fellow panelists were Christina Barber, Jonathan Maberry, Elizabeth Donald and John Everson, and we had some good stories to tell!  On the day 3 videoblog, you can also catch author/artist Janna Wurts, Alethea Kontis and Sherrilyn Kenyon, plus comic artist Mike Bocianowski with his Yets!
 

Of course half of the fun of DragonCon is watching the costumes.  I even got my picture taken with "Londo Mollari" from Babylon 5! (It says so on his business card.)  People-watching is a real sport at DragonCon, and there are so many amazing costumes (as well as silly, salacious and things that make you go "hmm") that it's hard to know where to look.  My personal favorite was the Elvis Vader you'll see on the videoblog.
 

And then there were the celeb sightings.  We spotted Walter Koenig (Checkov/Bestor) and Mickey Dolenz (Monkees) and waited to see Adam West (best known to my son as Catman from Fairly Odd Parents) but missed out on seeing him.  We passed Katherine Kurtz on I-85 on the way down (hard to miss the Deryni license plate and I recognized Katherine at the wheel).  And of course, every podcaster, artist, author and media attendee is a celeb in their own right--so it makes for a jam-packed weekend.
 

Of course, the only sad part about DragonCon (besides the fact that it has to end) is that there is too much good programming and not enough hours in the day.  You can't possibly get to every track you'd like to see, and choosing is hard.  But there's always next year!
 

And if you missed them, here are the links to Days 1-3 at DragonCon!
 

Day 1:  http://www.youtube.com/v/hK7XOYgrGEA
 

Day 2:  http://www.youtube.com/v/zQnfvLl85Hk
 

Day 3: http://www.youtube.com/v/8UEbJwAgnCA
 

See you at MonsterCon (Oct. 4-5) and the Carolina Renaissance Festival (Oct. 25-26)

I will be on at least three panels with one reading at DragonCon—please come and say hi!  I'd love for the reading to turn into a time to chat, so please come and hang out with me!  I'll be reading from Dark Haven.

Here's what I know of the schedule:
 

Fri, 10 p.m., Fightin' and Writin'—Techniques for writing battle scenes Manila/Singapore/Hong King Room, Hyatt
 

Sat. 4 p.m.  Reading from Dark Haven—Roswell Room, Hyatt
 

Saturday, 8:30 pm, Memento Mori (Ghosts and Afterlife)-- Hyatt Cairo Room -
 

Sun, 4 p.m. Virtual Marketing and Web 2.0  Hilton-Cherokee
 

There is may also be a Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading—If so, I'll be there!
 

September Ghost in the Machine podcast guests are Lou Anders with Pyr Books and Alethea Kontis, SF editor.
 

I've had several recent blog interviews, including one with The Book Swede and one with Phantastich, a German SF/F publication which will run the interview in February when the German translations come out.  I hope to be able to get a translated version to re-post!  And there will be an upcoming review in the Bulgarian SF magazine, Starliter and on Australia's Dark Animus.com.
 

And a new schedule addition—on Oct. 4-5 I'll be at MonsterCon, Concord NC—don't know yet about panels but hope to share that soon.
 

Looking forward to 2009, here's the latest con schedule:  StellarCon, LunaCon, RavenCon, ConStellation and ConCarolinas.

How's your summer?

I've turned in the line edits to Dark Haven, so the book is now out of my hands until I get one last look in galley format.  And I'm close to 100 pages into writing book 4—now if we could just agree on a name for it!
 

The last month of summer has been busy with family and work—along with getting ready for more appearances this Fall. 
Labor Day Weekend—DragonCon in Atlanta

Sept. 8—Charlotte Writer's Night Out at Joseph-Beth

Oct. 18—Books a Million at Concord Mills

Oct. 21—Charlotte Writer's Group at Joseph-Beth

Oct. 25 – 26—Carolinas Renaissance Festival

October 26 – 31—Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Tour
 

Do you belong to a book club or reading circle?  Now there are Reading Guides for The Summoner and The Blood King—great discussion-starters!  Download them free from the Sneak Page.
 

Check out my 2008 Ghost in the Machine author podcast schedule—provocative conversations with today's newest science fiction and fantasy authors. In August—military SF/F author Andy Remic and gaming author Mike Lee.  Andy and I had a great time talking about censorship and how society decides which authors are "safe" enough to be permitted to write "disturbing" fiction.  (We realized that if either of us turned in our current novels as high school students today, we'd get a one-way trip to the Guidance Office.)  Then Mike and I talk about how gaming and fiction influence each other—and whether that's a good thing or not.  It's all fun—listen in and find out what the fuss is about!
 

And in case you missed it—check out the 2008 Hawthorn Moon Sneak Peek event—Get a first look at Dark Haven—amazing cover art, book excerpts, audio readings, interviews and more! http://www.chroniclesofthenecromancer.com/page/page/4571270.htm

Dark Haven: Book Three in The Chronicles of the Necromancer won't be available until February, 2009, but you can get a first look right now!

You'll find the awesome cover art by Michael Komarck, plus two different excerpts, interviews with me, Tris Drayke and Jonmarc Vahanian, web audio of me reading from one of the excerpts, a special video, a new Ghost in the Machine podcast, and giveaways!  Also new—signed bookplates for those who can't make it to a live signing and book club discussion guides for libraries and reading circles.
 

Find the goodies on www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer as well as partner sites  SolarisBooks.com (UK) and ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com (US), Bookloons.com (Canada), SciFiChick.com, FantasyBookCritic.Blogspot.com (Canada), and SFSignal.com (US)! Different sites have different giveaways and downloads.
 

Check out the new Dark Haven page at http://www.chroniclesofthenecromancer.com/page/page/4571270.htm

Last weekend, I attended ConCarolinas for the first time as a guest author.  What a great weekend!  To kick things off early, Misty Massey (Mad Kestrel) and Faith Hunter (Host, Seraph) and I had a joint signing at a local bookstore.  Misty, Faith and David B. Coe were all guests on my Ghost in the Machine podcast as a pre-ConCarolinas kick-off.  They returned the favor by having me as a guest on their blog. You can listen to the interviews on my homepage, along with my newest June interview with Jeffrey Thomas (Deadstock).

Having done RavenCon, BaltiCon and ConCarolinas in a row, it was beginning to be like old home week.  I saw many of the same authors at two out of the three events, and some at all three.  Tony Ruggiero, Davey Bauchamp, Michael D'Ambrosio, David B. Coe, Stuart Jaffe, the PodioBooks crew and podcasters Mur Lafferty, Stephen Euin Cobb, and author Danielle Ackley-McPhail were just some of the folks I had the chance to hang out with on several of the weekends.  You'll recognize some of the other folks from the Ghost in the Machine podcast—Sabrina Luna, James Maxey, Ed Schubert and David Talon.  I met John C. Wright at BaltiCon and RavenCon, and Mike Resnick at ConCarolinas.  And Elaine Cordivae and I had to travel all the way from the outskirts of Charlotte, NC where we both live to Baltimore to reconnect!

The panels at ConCarolinas were a lot of fun—a good thing, since I was on nine of them!  Some of the titles included Podcasting 101 and Vampires, and on Sunday, gamer Charles White and I ended up on two panels about using myth and religion in writing and gaming, and I was on a large panel about the paranormal along with several ghost hunters and psychics.  And of course, there were the great costumes, the dealer room, and a fun con suite.  Check out my interview with Stephen Euin Cobb on "The Future and You" podcast:  http://www.thefutureandyou.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=346310 

I was also reminded about one of the things I truly love about conventions—the enormous generosity and compassion of fandom.  Author Lynn Hardy was soliciting books from all of the ConCarolinas authors for the project she founded called DedicatedToOurDefenders.org.  Lynn's program sends SciFi and fantasy books to the troops overseas—a good book can be read by up to 200 military personnel who often have few other ways to spend their free time.  Davey Bauchamp had his "Writers for Relief" edition available—a compilation of short fiction from a variety of well-known authors to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  Fandom has always had a big heart.  I am also so moved by the compassion in action I see at every con in terms of inclusiveness and creating a space where everyone can be valued for his or her contributions.  Con volunteers—and especially the dedicated folks who run the con suite—are a rare and wonderful breed.  For many people, fandom is a family.  That's true magic.

Want to see more of ConCarolinas?  Take a look at my day-by-day videoblog--Day 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3x5_-UICLU ; Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp1YAuymN1E ; and Day 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExD281qlU9A

Coming up next!  June 21 is the sneak peek for Dark Haven.  Two excerpts, web audio readings, a special videoblog, interviews with me (and with Tris and Jonmarc) and best of all—a first look at the amazing cover art by Michael Komarck.  Giveaways, my latest interview ..onPage radio and other good stuff will be spread out over a number of SF/F web sites, so check back here to get all the details.  And on June 30, fantasy author Mark Chadbourn (Lord of Silence) is my next Ghost in the Machine guest.

I'm also now on Facebook and Squidoo (www.squidoo.com/summoner), so be sure to friend me. 

Next up—making final edits to Dark Haven so that I can start writing book 4! 

I spent Memorial Day Weekend in Baltimore, MD for my first Balticon, and it was a great experience!  Lots of old friends like Tony Ruggiero, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elaine Corvidae, Jean Marie Ward, Mur Lafferty and Jeri Smith-Ready, plus new friends you can meet in my videoblog like John C. Wright, the PodioBooks crew and Ghost of Honor Douglas Adams--and a Rapid Fire Reading from The Summoner for Broad Universe.

It's been a whirlwind, with late-night conversations about ghosts and the supernatural, fun discussions over food and drinks, and more exciting panels to attend than there are hours in a day.  That doesn't even begin to describe the fantastic dealer's room, the anime track and the art show. 

Day One started late on Friday evening.  I'd arrived on Thursday, so I spent the time trying to be helpful.  Jean Marie Ward and I stuffed program bags until after midnight, and Friday morning, I put my admittedly limited culinary skills to work chopping vegetables in the kitchen for the con suite.  Had a great conversation with the other volunteers over red peppers and Swiss cheese as we worked our way through the mountain of fresh produce for hungry con-goers.

Of course the heart of any con is the lounge and the con suite.  After Opening Ceremonies and the "Meet the Guests" reception Friday night, we spent several hours catching up with friends old and new over dinner and munchies.  Then it was on to more panels to discover the secrets of podcasting and ghostbusting.

Day Two began with the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, which was a blast (you can see clips on my videoblog).  I was on a panel about building web sites (a nod to the Chronicles of the Necromancer site!) and on another panel about the "golden age" of sci fi (interesting, but not really sure how I ended up there!).

Of course the highlight of Day Two was the masquerade—I have video of some of my favorite costumes on the third vlog.  We finished up with a midnight panel on Vampires featuring Tony Ruggiero and Jeri Smith-Ready.  Day Three was a short one for me—I headed home for some family time over the holiday.  Of course I'd loaded up on new books and great finds in the dealer room! 

Starting May 30, I'm at ConCarolinas along with friends and Ghost in the Machine podcast guests David B. Coe, Faith Hunter and Misty Massey!  And you can bet I'll bring along my camera.

Click on the videoblog links and get a peak at what I've been up to!

After an 11 pm panel on whether the remakes of old movies and TV shows are better or worse than the originals, I was up early on Sunday for a 9 am session on podcasting and a 10 am Koffee Klatch.  Then only a few more hours before it's time to catch the flight home.

It's been a good convention.  I've enjoyed meeting many other authors and indulging in the kinds of great conversations you only usually get at a convention.  And while there's never time to get to all of the discussions and entertainment you'd like to see, I made it to most of them.  Videoblogging the con was also a new experience and a great way to meet people.  So if you're in Richmond next year in April, make sure Ravencon is on your list of must-dos.

I'll be vlogging at Balticon in May, so I hope to see you there, and if not, you can come along via the vlog and see the highlights!

http://www.audioacrobat.com/playv/WB7Lmfh4