Countdown to Conference: 10 Reasons to Attend PPWC 2014 (That You Might Not Already Know)

By M.B. Partlow


1. Mark Leslie Lefebvre is Director of Self Publishing and Author Relations for Kobo. An advocate for booksellers, print on demand, ePublishing, and independent authors, Mark has given talks about writing, book-selling and publishing throughout the US and Canada, as well as in Paris, London, and Frankfurt. Yeah, and he's a published author, as well.

2. Can I interest you in a Carriger or a Ryan? Perhaps a Firespider? This year, the bar at the Marriott is crafting special drinks in honor of each keynote speaker, only available for the duration of conference.

By OCAL, clker.com

3. HOT DAMN Designs is hosting a reception on Friday night in the library next to the bar. Free and open to everyone. Grab a drink and head in for the Kim and Jennifer show! Giveaways, fun and...are those cover models in the corner that you can take your photo with?

4. The chocolate cake is back for dessert at Saturday night's dinner. Yum!

5. A dead body! On stage! If you haven't signed up for Murder in Aspen Leaf, part of the Thursday Prequel, you'll miss the chance to see our murder victim make her acting debut. Please, do not call 9-1-1. Unless you find a second body.

By OCAL,clker.com

6. The shoes. Realistically, there's nothing more fun than the betting pool on how tall our conference director will be in her tallest heels of the weekend. And if anyone has a radar gun, we'll clock how fast she can move in those stilettos.

7. Becky Clark has offered (threatened might be a better word) to present part of her Thursday workshop using interpretive dance.

8. Deb Courtney is running another fabulous on-site flash fiction contest. Bring your mad writing skillz and wait for the prompt. Pencils down when Deb calls time.

9. Chuck Wendig's beard. Some say it's the source of his power.

10. MK and Brian Meredith onstage in their underwear! That got your attention. In a very special workshop on Sunday, Lights, Camera, Kiss, our fearless leader and her equally fearless husband have volunteered to play the cover models for a photo shoot. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a kilt involved.

Here's our fearless leader, herself, talking about Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2014:

About the Author: MB Partlow, 2013 Programming Director for the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, is hard at work getting fantastic speakers and participants for the conference.  You can reach her at programming@pikespeakwriters.com or find more information on the 2013 Pikes Peak Writers Conference at pikespeakwriters.com.

PPWC 2014 Q&A - Gail Carriger

Gail Carriger, Author, Keynote

1. What was the defining moment that made you realize you wanted to be an author?

The moment my best friend had a short story accepted. She was 15. I figured if she could do it, so could I. Two years later I sold a short to the same market. She now works in the publishing industry, so I’m still trailing behind.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Tea.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Oscar Wilde.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

TeslaCon is a full immersion steampunk event. I was expecting it to be more like a standard convention so, at first, I was overwhelmed. Soon, however, I started thinking about the same way I would a Renaissance fair, then I really got into it and had a wonderful time.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

She-ra, I hope. Because she's awesome.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

That when you pursue a career producing a creative product you must learn how to manage a small business. Most of my time every day is not spent writing it's spent managing the business around making myself a successful author.

About the Author/Keynote: New York Times Bestselling Author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in higher learning, a fondness for cephalopods, and a chronic tea habit.Her books are urbane fantasies mixed with steampunk comedies of manners. Her debut novel, Soulless, won the ALA’s Alex Award and was nominated for the Compton Crook, Campbell, and Locus Awards. Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, Timeless, Soulless Vol. 1 (the manga), Soulless Vol. 2 (the manga of Changeless) were all New York Times Bestsellers. The first in her steampunk Finishing School series for young adults, Etiquette & Espionage, released Feb. 5 2013, was an instant NYT Bestseller. The next book in the Finishing School series, Curtsies & Conspiracies, releases Nov. 5, 2013. She will release the first book in her new adult series, Prudence, in the second half of 2014.Her other hats (neither pith helmet nor fedora) have included tromping the globe excavating ancient cultures, torturing undergraduates with science, and writing cryptic reviews of YA novels for the Horn Book Guide.You can find Gail through her agent, Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency (www.nelsonagency.com), via her website (www.gailcarriger.com), on Livejournal, Blogspot, Twitter, Goodreads or Facebook.

*A Note From Our Programming Director:*

If you're wondering what kind of workshops will be offered at this year's PPWC, we have updated the sampling on the website.

When you're visiting Pikespeakwriters.com, click on the "PPWC" button, and then "PPWC Workshops." Or use this link: http://www.pikespeakwriters.com/ppwc/workshops/

This is not an exhaustive list. We offer more than 60 workshops on a huge variety of topics, plus 15 Read & Critique sessions (in three different flavors) you can sign up for when you register.

See you in April!

MB