MidSouthCon 32 Photo Roundup, Herding Bees, and Sundry Other Diverse Ruminations

They're pretty nice guys, when they're not defending the evil Galactic Empire.

MidSouthCon32 pics!

As promised, I'll shortly post the best of my MidSouthCon photos. There were some great cosplayers in attendance this year, and just wandering the halls watching people was great fun.

Fans of the show Supernatural will recognize the tan raincoat immediately. Yes, that's Castiel! Which shows what power a simple prop can take on, when it becomes associated with a compelling fictional character. It didn't matter that Castiel is male -- when one dons the tan raincoat and the loose tie, one becomes Castiel, to anyone familiar with the show.

Fans of Archer will recognize the ISIS crew, including Pam with her trademark shark puppet! Archer wasn't with them this trip -- maybe next year.

The dauntless members of Expedition Unknown! This photograph is unusual in that the Stay Puft figure was not visible to the naked eye when the photo was taken. Or maybe it was, and what were my eyes doing running around naked anyway?

Not all the attendees were human. I could never get this fellow to talk, but he was rather deft at delivering small packages.

Just say 'Arrrr..."

Steampunk cosplay was popular this year!

Sir Coors of Light, defender of domestic beverages!

And not a single dwarf-tossing joke was made...

The image above is the lineup for next year! I'll get to rub elbows with the likes of Cory Doctorow and Melissa Gay, which means I've got all year to work myself into a mumbling star-struck tizzy.

MidSouthCons are truly a blast. You meet great people. I always come away energized and ready to plunge back into writing with recharged batteries and renewed zeal. Not renewed veal. I still have awful dreams about that particular incident.

More Pics 

I thought I'd close today with a few images of spring for my winter-weary northern readers.

Our pear trees are in full bloom. I took the camera outside and discovered the bees are already hard at work, and I managed to capture a few images of them. If you're still locked in by cold and snow, I hope this brightens your day.

Look closely at the sky, and you'll see bees in flight. No, I wasn't stung; they paid no attention to me at all.

Spring is here, and soon all the grey dark days and snowstorms will just be memories.

Meralda and Mug Update

The new Mug and Meralda book is still underway at a breakneck pace. I'm going to estimate its final word count at around 80 thousand words, which means I will be finishing it up in a couple of weeks. 

First draft, that is. My plan for the next month or two looks like this:

1) Finish All the Turns of Light.

2) Put it aside. Dive back into the new Markhat book I just finished, The Darker Carnival. Get it whipped into shape and submitted to Samhain. 

3) As soon as The Darker Carnival is submitted, pick up All the Turns of Light and get it ready for submission. I'm still not sure where I'll sub the new Mug and Meralda. Samhain doesn't do YA, so I'll be considering this question carefully in the next few weeks. 

4) As soon as Turns and Carnival are out, start on a new book. My goal for 2014 is to write and submit at least three full-blown novels. 

Will the third book be the long-delayed Wistril novel, entitled Wistril Ascendant? Or will it be something new entirely?

No idea yet. I'm sure something will occur to me when the time is right.

One last thing -- Brown River Queen could use a few more reviews. If you've read it and liked it, please consider visiting the book's Amazon page and dropping a few stars for me!

MidSouthCon 32!

MidSouthCon 32 has come and gone, and as a grinning survivor of the juggernaut that was the 32nd MidSouthCon, I am happy to report it was a rousing success.

The Memphis Hilton was packed with science fiction and fantasy fans of every sort. There were gamers, costumers, filkers, authors, artists, publishers, cosplayers, and lovers of the strange and unusual, all packed into the Hilton with one goal in mind -- to have a lot of fun.

Mission accomplished, because fun was had by the steaming, giggling metric ton. I met a lot of great people. Sat in on some writer's panels that were illuminating and entertaining. I saw truly stunning art, and listened to some great Celtic autoharp music.

And that was just sitting in my truck in the hotel parking lot. Things really got moving once I ventured inside the Con itself.

Did I take pictures? Of course I did. The one above shows three old Con friends who favor the universe of the Doctor. They don't say much, but they do freak out the people on the hotel elevators.

I haven't had time to go through all the photos I took, and that's not going to happen today. What the Con gives in entertainment it takes in strength, and I am beat right now. So I'll just post a few pics and some news this week, and post more later.

The crew from Expedition Unknown was of course on hand, to showcase their paranormal sleuthing skills in panels. In the image below, investigator Tanya Vandesteeg demonstrates a novel use for an infrared temperature gun.  

I was inducted into the Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame, and my book Brown River Queen was 1st runner-up for the Darrell Award for novel of the year. Not a bad haul!

I met and spoke with author Kellie Armstrong, who wrote Bitten, which is now a TV series. She was gracious and patient and I hope she returns to MidSouthCon soon. I also met Toni Weisskopf, publisher of Baen Books, and she is also a Jedi Master of Being Cool.

As I said, MidSouthCon was a blast. But it must also be noted I am no longer in my teens or my twenties or my thirties (we'll stop there, lest I discover I am a mummy and vanish in a cloud of dust), so I must now crawl toward the nearest couch in rapt anticipation of The Walking Dead. 

Take care, folks! Buy some books!

Link to The Five Faces on Amazon

Fried Convention Catfish and the Unwavering Stares of Dogs

The above is Primary Paranormal Research and Editorial Assistant Dog Lou Ann, who is giving me her patented 'Why aren't you writing?' look.

A bout of springtime hay fever reduced my word count by half last week. It's hard to simultaneously generate deathless prose and expel a continual stream of violent sneezes, and sadly the sneezing took precedence.

For any other writers out there struggling with allergies, I can recommend over-the-counter Allegra. It knocked the allergies nearly flat, and only reduced my IQ (via the 'antihistamine haze') by about 10 percent. Seriously, the other stuff I've taken leaves me barely able to babble and grasp soft objects. I don't know why, but old-school Benadryl and the like rendered me so groggy I had no choice but to go to bed and wait until October to roll around.

Now I can muddle along, slower but that's better than nothing.

Hopefully the allergies will fade, and I can get back to full word-slinging mode.

Random Eatery Review

I am currently overwhelmed by an unseemly desire -- no, not an unseemly desire, but an unholy craving -- for fried catfish.

And there is no better source of fried catfish in all the land than Old Taylor Grocery, pictured above a few hours before they open. After they open the place will be surrounded by vehicles.

It is an old grocery store, and yes, it looks it. That's part of the charm. You sit on the porch and wait until your party's name is called, and you watch life on Main Street in Taylor, Mississippi amble past.

Inside, the rough-hewn walls are covered with writing. It's a decades-old tradition that people sign their names on the walls (and the tables, and the ceilings) and leave a word or two of home-spun wisdom. Writer Willie Morris left his name there. Prince Charles left his as well, and we are told he found the fried catfish delicious.

Old Taylor has a website, and a menu is available online.  I suggest the Large Fillet Catfish plate, because LARGE + CATFISH.

Alas, I must needs console my aching hunger with, um, let's see -- half a Pop-Tart and what appears to be hummus. Let's hope it's hummus, anyway.

But one day soon, Old Taylor, one day soon...

MidSouthCon32!

If you plan to attend MidSouthCon this year, shoot me an email (franktuttle at franktuttle dot com). I'll be there, dressed as an unremarkable middle-aged human male. I'm taking my camera and will post lots of sweet con pics soon after.

This year, under the SCHEDULE tab on the Con website, you can create an account with a scheduling service, pick all the events you want to attend, and then consult your schedule from your phone or mobile device. No more lugging around dog-eared Con schedule books! No more trying to remember where events are held, or when! 

I suspect everyone but me has been using this feature all along. But if you're another poor Luddite, check it out -- it's free and quick and easy.

A Link for You to Love

One of my very favorite hangouts on the Web is a place called io9. 

Io9 features everything from cutting-edge science news to the latest in affairs of geekdom. You'll find short but brilliant indie films sandwiched between articles about gravitational waves, the latest on SF and fantasy books, and a host of other tidbits too numerous to name. As a source of story ideas, it simply can't be beat.

Do yourself a favor and add this one to your bookmarks. 

IO9 link

Last Words

First, the image I posted in last week's blog (along with the offer to send a free print copy of BROWN RIVER QUEEN to the first person to correctly identify the object) was a brick. A close up of a brick.

I meant to make it really easy, but in retrospect I was so enamored of my new camera's macro function I couldn't have identified the image either, even had I know it was an extreme close-up of something.

So, to make up for that, I'll send a free signed print copy of BROWN RIVER QUEEN to the first person who asks for one in the comment section of this blog. 

If you haven't read any Markhat, here's a good place to start!

Time for me to get back to work. Take care all, and remember -- oh. I forgot.

In Which I Fan the Flames of Controversy and Wax Rhapsodic About Weevils, Pt. 1

This is Petey, another of our rescue doggies. You've seldom seen photos of Petey because even after all these years he retains a stark terror of having anything pointed at him. But with my new telephoto camera, I can be a great distance away and still catch him being contemplative.

Petey has a habit I've not seen before. To amuse himself, he will scoop fallen leaves or soil into a mound. He does this by keeping his back legs planted, and turning in a circle while digging or scooping with his front paws.

Then, when he has built a mound of sufficient height and diameter (he is very particular about the exact dimensions), he circles it, barking and snapping, as though it were animated and moving.

The other dogs just watch, giving each other 'there's one in every pack' canine eye-rolls. Petey ignores that too, because he's made himself a tiny world of pure joy and he's happy in the moment.

There's a lesson in there for me. Sadly, I lack the delicate motor skills and balance required to shape debris into a properly sloped mound. But I'm working on it.

Pond EVP Session

I've mentioned here before that I can't offer any explanation regarding my experience with EVP captures and locations.

All the EVPs I've captured have been in cemeteries. Which doesn't make any sense to me, so I sometimes go to places at which I am relatively sure no corpses are buried, marked or otherwise.

Case in point: one of the small ponds behind our house.

I was there yesterday, accompanied of course by Supernatural Research Dog Lou Ann, and I brought my Zoom portable recorder and my camera.

It was a lovely day, as you can see. I was in short sleeves, a faux-diamond tiara, and my most elegant evening gown, which sadly was not revealed in the reflection of the water. 

I sat down, took the photo above, and held an EVP session while Lou Ann searched the water for poltergeists, selkies, or inexplicable falls of beef jerky.

This was the view directly above me. As I said, it was a beautiful day.

Oh, and one quick note to any paranormal researchers out there -- dogs CANNOT resist field microphones topped with a fur wind-screen. There's a moment of high drama in the recording in which Lou Ann sees the mic, which I placed on the ground beside me, and snatches it up because the furry wind-screen makes it look like a recently deceased rodent or other tasty treat. 

I got the mic back before she chomped down or dived into the pond with it. But it was close, so lesson learned.

I listened to the recording twice, and like all my other mundane locales, there's not the least hint of anything unusual on it. 

But it was fun watching Lou enjoy her swim while the wind sounded through the bare trees.

Writing Update

The new Mug and Meralda book now stands at slightly over 40 thousand words. I wish I could talk about it without adding spoilers, but there's no way to do that, so details will have to wait. I will say the single word romance. There, I said it. You may now speculate.

Markhat has news too -- I posted this last week, so if you already know The Five Faces is available for pre-order, or that Brown River Queen is now available in print, skip ahead. 

By the way, if you happen to be a book reviewer and you'd like a free print copy of Brown River Queen, email me! I'm franktuttle at franktuttle dot com, and I'll get you a book out pronto. 

Finally, a few words about maintaining a 2K a day writing habit.

I've developed a twitch in my right eye (that's not a joke). Not sure if it's related, but my left elbow appears to be coming apart like a cheap action figure's molded-plastic arm. And I'm going to need a new keyboard when this book is done. 

But the book is getting done, and it isn't taking years. So my arm can fall off and my eye can turn around backwards in my skull and it'll all be worth it if I can maintain this pace.

I want my new robot body NOW.

Thoughts on Anonymous Amazon Reader Reviews

There's a petition going around written with the intent of telling Amazon to remove the anonymous book review feature as it currently exists.

No, I won't link to the petition, and I won't mention the particular author who is the driving force behind it. Mainly because I suspect ulterior motives -- what a coincidence, you've got a new book coming out shortly, and it suddenly occurred to you to push a controversial public petition, using your press contacts to drive it. As SNL's Church Lady would say, "How convenient."

The petition cites the actions of troll reviewers as justification for insisting on real names to accompany reader reviews of books on Amazon.

I believe this is a bad idea on a number of levels. First of all, it's pointlessly intrusive. If you bought my book and read my book and didn't like my book, you have every right to say so without showing anyone your ID. I don't need to know your name. Nobody does.

Too, let's say you're a schoolteacher who enjoys bloody zombie horror, or you don't want your elderly granny to know you just gave 5 stars to Ride Me Cowboy, a Tale of Lust, Love, and Little People in the Wild Wild West. You shouldn't have to trumpet your private reading tastes to every search engine on the internet.

Finally, demanding real names on Amazon book reviews is rude. This is just my opinion, but it seems to me that someone got a couple of poor reviews and couldn't abide the mere idea that someone on the internet didn't venerate their each and every word and turn of phrase, and this is their way of making sure that never EVER happens again.

And that's all I have to say about that.

My Private Mars Mission, and a Background Image

It wasn't easy, building my own Mars probe in my shop using only material sold by Sneed's Hardware on University Avenue, but I did it, and the image above was obtained during my probe's touchdown.

Or was it? A free print copy of Brown River Queen goes to the first person to correctly identify the subject of this photograph. Respond in the blog comments section!

This is my current background image. It's a photo I took of the propane gauge on our tank, which resides under a steel hood but nevertheless manages to pick up a lot of dirt and debris. I like it because, um, I've received numerous sharp blows to the head over the course of my life. 

You can download the whole huge image by clicking  here.

Okay, back to work for me! Take care all, and remember -- there only has to be a snake in your hat once to make checking worth your while. 

Things That Go Bump 2014, #2: Vapor Interaction Observation Chamber (aka the Fogbox)

In keeping with my tradition of meddling with Things With Which Man Was Not Meant to Meddle, I've built a new ghost hunting tool. This new tool started out as the Vapor Interaction Observation Chamber, but from now on I'll be referring to it as the Fogbox.

Frank's neighbors express their approval of his paranormal endeavors.

That's exactly what a fogbox is -- a box full of fog. Why fog?

Because fog is a suspension of tiny water particles in air. Really tiny particles. Moving them around should be easy even if you're some sort of discorporeal energy entity (i.e., a ghost).

People I know and trust have told me they've been touched, had their hair pulled, felt cold little hands slip into theirs during paranormal investigations. Now, I've never experienced anything like that. A couple of years ago, I'd probably have dismissed their claims as imaginary or contrived. But then two things happened. One, I recorded my own EVP phenomena, which proved to me such events are neither always faked nor always imagined. Second, I got to know paranormal investigators who I trust. If they say they've had their hair pulled, they've had their hair pulled.

From their experiences, I can theorize that some agency (let's call it Agency X because I'm hesitant to use the g-word) is capable of infrequent, small-scale physical exertions on material objects. I don't know by what means Agency X exerts these forces, but let's assume they do.

My Fogbox is an effort to capture any small-scale physical effects photographically. Simply put, you fill the lighted chamber with fog. Then you wait for disturbances within the fog or upon the condensation on the inside pane of each of the chamber's sides.

Here's what the Fogbox looks like in action:

But let's back up a moment, and I'll describe its construction.

I took an 18 inch by 24 inch sheet of clear acrylic sheeting and cut it into two 12 by 18 sheets. I then separated these sheets with three-quarter inch pine stock. The top frame member is removable so the interior of each pane can be cleaned.

So what's all that tubing and the wires and the switch do?

The switch box controls two devices. One is the fan that sits atop the Fogbox. It draws artificial fog from the fog cylinder via the black hose and pumps the fog into the chamber.

The other powered item is the blue LED light strip that lines the sides and the bottom of the chamber. This serves two purposes -- one, to light the chamber, and make any motion or markings on the panes easily visible. Two, it looks really cool.

Fog usually occurs when the air temperature equals that of the dew point, but I'm a busy guy and I don't have time to go chasing fog around with my box so I make my own. You take one part pure glycerin to three parts distilled water. Mix well. Put that in a metal container and heat it. Draw off the resulting fog. Yes, it's harmless to breathe. I originally planned to use dry ice, but you can't get dry ice here in Oxford, so I had to drop back to the old Halloween glycerin-and-water recipe.

Here's what the Fogbox looks like with the fog not heated yet. The metal cylinder on the left, which looks suspiciously like an old coffee can, is an old coffee can in which a frame holds a small metal cup above four burning candles. The candles heat the mixture of water and glycerin. The fan and the tube draws this fog into the chamber.

Here's a shot of the Fogbox getting filled.

This is after about 10 minutes:

And here we are full of fog, and glowing!

A close up of the Chamber:

An even closer shot:

Total cost was about 30 bucks. I used an metal watch box as a switch box and the whole thing is powered by an old 12 volt wall transformer. The fan is a 12 volt PC fan of the 'squirrel cage' blower variety.

I just used what I had lying around; nothing about the parts or dimensions is special.

I think the Fogbox would be best used in a location known for high activity.

My hope is that one day a face will appear in a Fogbox and stick out its tongue before writing 867-5309 on the pane.

Markhat Release News

Brown River Queen will be released in print on Tuesday, March 4! So if you've been waiting for a print copy, your wait is nearly over. Of course the ebook version is available now. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention that a new Markhat book, The Five Faces, will be released in ebook format on June 17. You can pre-order now, unless you want to make me cry. You don't want that, do you? Of course not.

Meralda and Mug Update

The new Meralda and Mug book, All the Turns of Light, is proceeding quickly. Is it possible I'll be complete or nearly so with the rough draft by the end of the month?

Yes it is. I don't want to jinx it by saying too much, but it could happen. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

That's it for this edition of Mad Science. I would like to wish a final farewell to Harold Ramis, who brought Dr. Egon Spengler to life and inspired me to do inadvisable things to common household items in the name of Science. 

Don't cross the streams, buddy. See you around.