FenCon, NTAB, and Howard Days

So I’m behind on posting about FenCon which was the weekend of February 23rd to 25th. I absolutely love attending fan conventions, especially as a guest panelist where I get to interact with fellow authors, as well as artists, musicians, performers, scholars, and experts on science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative fiction, poetry, art, and other subjects, and provide an entertaining and informative experience for the audience. Conventions are like a family reunion for those of us who have been attending for years, like myself, because often we only see our friends when we are at the conventions, once or twice a year. It’s always great to see old friends and make new ones. I started going to fantasy/science fiction fan conventions in 2011, which was the year that I first had one of my stories published. I was on some great, enjoyable, discussion panels this year with some really awesome people. If I listed all the wonderful moments and people at FenCon this year, this blog post would be three times as long, so I’ll spare you the long winded details. I met with many awesome old friends and made a lot of new ones too. You know who you are and I appreciate every one of you. I do have to give a shout out to a couple of people however: Michelle Muenzler a.k.a. “The Cookie Lady” for her offerings of free home baked cookies to everyone throughout the entire convention. The Earl Grey and the ginger honey cookies were my favorite. Also Rhonda Eudaly, FenCon Chairperson for inviting me to be a guest panelist at FenCon. I’ve know both of these amazing individuals who are excellent authors for years from the various conventions and other events we’ve attended together. They are always friendly and fun to be around.

I’ve been keeping a scrapbook of memorabilia from all of the cons I’ve attended over the years. It is fun to look back at the badges, panel schedules, and other things I’ve collected. If you are interested in FenCon, the website is at http://www.fencon.org

I got some awesome items for my scrapbook at this year’s FenCon from the North Texas Apocalypse Bunker table in the vendor room, courtesy of Mark Finn & Janice Schange. Check out the NTAB at http://www.northtexasapocalypsebunker.com for Mark’s blog and other cool and fun content. I spent four quarters on two 20 sided dice disbursed out of a gumball machine and got my favorite colors, blue and black. I bought a couple of Mark’s RPG books, Gobsmack, and Gobshite, (system neutral role playing game supplement rules for creating goblin characters and non-player characters) and the anthology The Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, from editor and author Adrian Simmons, who had his books for sale at the NTAB table and who I got to hang out with a bit during the con and after party. I also was given two free books from the NTAB library book repatriation project, which they were giving away as a “mystery” book with each purchase that was wrapped up so you didn’t know what you were getting until you opened it up. I’ve known Mark for many years from previous conventions and Robert E. Howard Days and he’s a good friend. This was my first time meeting his wife Janice, as they had only married in April 2023. While Mark was away from the NTAB table doing panels, Janice determined my random goblin name using the tables in the Gobsmack book and the results of my 20 sided dice rolls. I got Zung Rubbones for my goblin name, which Janice said sounded like some kind of goblin porn star. Hilarious! I got an NTAB button, some stickers, and some cool activity pages. In March I decided to join the NTAB Bunker Essential Support Team (B.E.S.T.) as a member of the DEPARTMENT OF BUNKER OPERATIONS DIVISION with the Bureau of Special Projects. (Which sounds like I’ll be doing some kind of secretive C.I.A. type covert intelligence shenanigans.) What it really means is that by paying a membership fee I am privy to certain member exclusive NTAB content, products, and get a B.E.S.T. member packet with buttons, stickers, a guidebook and other cool swag. Fun stuff indeed.

I am all set to attend Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, on June 7th and 8th this year. I have my hotel room booked and mailed my reservation for the Friday night awards and silent auction banquet. I’m looking forward to all the events, and fellowship with other Howard Heads, as we REH fans call ourselves. Some events that I’m especially excited about are the discussion panels, award ceremony, auction and banquet and getting to recite Howard’s poetry on the steps of his house which is now the Robert E Howard museum and a registered historical landmark. Hanging out with everyone at the pavilion in the park next to the Howard house and the Saturday night BBQ will be a lot of fun too. It’s been 10 years since I’ve attended Howard Days back in 2014 with my good friend Ethan Nahté, who introduced me to the event and many of the long time regulars attending. My return to this special event is long overdue. If you are a fan of Robert E. Howard’s stories and poetry, and have never been to Howard Days or visited the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains any other time of year, I urge you to go. This year, among the other many great Howard experts that usually attend, Jim Zub, writer for the current series of Conan the Barbarian comics will be a special guest. I’m really looking forward to meeting him and getting a few comics autographed.

Come out to Cross Plains and pay tribute to REH and his literary legacy and hang out with me and my fellow Howard Heads. http://www.howarddays.com

That’s a wrap for this entry. In the meantime, readers, I wish you and yours wellness and happiness. May fair winds fill your sails and your treasure chests always be full. Aaarrr!

Pastiche, A Retrospective by author Scott Oden

I’m reblogging this post by Scott Oden whose blog I have followed for many years. It has some great information and insight into Scott’s writing process and what it takes to write stories in the style and voice of Robert E. Howard. Take it away Scott:

Yesterday, Friend o’ the Blog Stan Wagenaar suggested I talk about writing pastiche — REH/Conan pastiche in particular. Well, as it turns out, last July I wrote my thoughts about that very thing. It’s a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of how I wrote my two licensed pastiche stories: “The Shadow of Vengeance”, […]

Pastiche, A Retrospective

The Ghost Lights

https://igg.me/at/the-ghost-lights/emal/1775509

My friend Tim Stevens has created a crowdfunding effort to help him with post production costs for his first feature film. He is working to try to get it finished in time for the 2021  Independent Film Festival Spring season. I’ve enjoyed Tim’s short films in the past and this feature length movie looks like it will be just as excellent as his previous work. Please contribute if you can and share the link to the crowdfunding site to spread the word.

I know these are financially difficult times for most people, but if everyone who hears about the project contributes even just $10, I know it will help Tim to reach his goal and be able to realise his dream of finishing and releasing his first feature film.

In this age of ongoing global pandemic and economic crisis I feel that it is important that we be able to turn to films, books, music, and all forms of art and creative expression as a way to help escape from the doldrums, anxiety, and stress of our mundane everyday existence and to inspire us to create new works ourselves.

Please help support and promote independent artists and filmmakers like Tim Stevens.

Thank you, and stay safe, stay well, and stay creative.

Publishing Pirate Poetry In a Perilous Pandemic

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” -H.P. Lovecraft

So it has been a long time since I have written and posted anything in my blog. Life has certainly taken a turn down a dark, strange, and terrifying alley since my last post several months ago with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S.A. in the Spring of 2020. I have been fortunate to have been able to work from home all this time and continue to support myself and family and be able to isolate myself from the general public and possible exposure to the virus. Most of our necessities are able to be delivered or obtained with contact free curbside pickup fortunately which my wonderful wife Ali has been able to take care of, allowing me to focus on work and other things.

I haven’t been writing much unfortunately other than bits of poetry from time to time. However, I have been able to get three poems of mine published in an anthology which was released in October 2020. Island Terrors and Sea Horrors is edited by Ethan Nahté and features twenty short stories and sixteen poems from Ethan Nahté, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, H. G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Alfred  Lord Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Washinton Irving, and more.

Included are my poems “Drag Me Down to the Depths of the Sea” “A Pirate Adrift”  and “Doom of Destiny” which I have recited at many events as my pirate persona Lars Shortshanks, with The Seadog Slam piratical performing troup. Ethan asked me earlier this year if I wanted to contribute to this anthology that he was putting together and if I had any stories or poems I thought would fit with the theme of the book.

I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be included amongst so many great authors. Coleridge, Poe, Lovecraft, Stevenson, and Tennyson are some of my favorite classic poetry and prose writers and I really like Ethan Nahté’s stories and poetry. I’ve recited some of his poems which are included in this anthology at some of the pirate shows at which I’ve performed. Ethan’s writing has the quality of being able to evoke a powerfully visceral emotional response from the reader, especially in his horror stories that leave one terrified, shocked, and gripping the book,  anticipating what will happen next.

Ethan and I did an interview together about the book and other topics on internet radio station tmvcafe.com with William Snider a.k.a. Zombie Zak on his live broadcast show After Rot.  Below is  the link to the archived recording of the show.

AR394 – Larry Atchley Jr and Ethan Nahté

Also noteworthy of late, I recently joined The Fort Worth Poetry Society which was established in the year 1910 and is the oldest continuously run poetry society in the  Southwest. Steve Sanders, my friend and fellow shipmate in the Seadog Slam pirate poetry performing troupe, and former President of the Fort Worth Poetry Society invited me to join at the end of last year. I had considered joining for some time, and Steve’s urging me to become a member sealed the deal so to say. I attended my first meeting with the other members in December. We all met using Zoom which is how I will most likely continue to attend even after the Pandemic is over because the meetings are held quite far from where I live and work so it will be difficult to make it there in person most months. Here’s a link to their site: https://fortworthpoetrysociety.wordpress.com/

I’ve been re-reading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings which is something I do every few years as it’s one of my favorite fantasy books and a great influence on and inspiration of my own fantasy writing. I also have set myself the task of reading all of Robert E. Howard’s stories and poems which I started at the beginning of this year in 2021. I’ve read a lot of his work over the years but there is still much of his prolific writings that I’ve yet to read. He wrote I believe, over 300 stories and more than 100 poems so this is a considerable task to read them all, but I want to experience to entire range of his work, including historical fiction, westerns, weird west, action adventure, boxing, horror, and not just the primarily sword & sorcery Conan and Kull tales that I have mostly focused on in the past.

I am going to wrap this post up, as it’s getting quite long and I had intended on finishing and posting it a few weeks ago but things in the world and my own personal life caused me to put it off again. About those things, maybe I’ll include in my next post. Until then I bid you all to take care, stay well, healthy, safe, and in good spirits. And keep reading everything you can get your hands on.

From Pastiche to Original

Author Scott Oden reveals how his Conan pastiche writing influences his original character stories, and what sets the two apart from each other.

The Thread Between Conan and Grimnir (Tip o’ the hat to Stan Wagenaar, for inadvertently suggesting this topic) I consciously imitate Robert E. Howard in my original fiction, and I have done so since at least the late 1980s.  Some call it riding the coat-tails; others might think it a mark of depressed creativity — […]

From Pastiche to Original

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part Three

The next post in Scott Oden’s series on writing Robert E. Howard pastiche using his iconic character, Conan of Cimmeria. Please subscribe to his blog, it’s interesting and informative. And buy his books! They are excellent reading.

Read Part One here. Read Part Two here. “I hadn’t yet seen my fifteenth winter when I sacked my first city, part of a horde that came howling out of the north. Venarium, it was called. Aye, I’ve drawn blood in cattle raids, tribal feuds, rebellions, wars between barons, and on the road of kings.” […]

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part Three

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part Two

Part 2 in author Scott Oden’s series of posts about writing Robert E. Howard pastiche stories.

Read Part One here. This is a long post, so grab a frosty beverage and buckle in. So, we’re skipping ahead a few pages from the opening of “Conan Unconquered”. After the establishing scene of Conan receiving the hill-men, I laid out the frame story — soldiers on the night before battle, drinking ale and […]

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part Two

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part One

I’m sharing another of Scott Oden’s posts in his continuing series on how to write Robert E. Howard pastiche with his most iconic  character, Conan of Cimmeria. Here Scott pulls back the veil to reveal his processes and techniques.

After my post on the Art of Pastiche, the other day, I had a discussion with Matt John, freelance author and contributor to Monolith’s Conan board game, about pastiche writing and the flavor text in games.  He had a snippet he wanted me to read over, if I had the time, to see if he’d […]

Anatomy of a Pastiche, Part One

The Art of Pastiche

I’m sharing this post from friend and fellow author Scott Oden’s blog on writing in the style of Robert E. Howard. Please subscribe to Scott’s blog and buy his books. He writes some excellent tales.

They beheld a giant of a man clad in steel plate, a scarlet cloak draped carelessly about his broad shoulders.  One scarred hand rested lightly on the long hilt of a sheathed broadsword as, from beneath a square-cut black mane, smoldering blue eyes appraised the hillmen as a lion appraises its prey.  For all that […]

The Art of Pastiche

FrogCon 2020

I will be a guest author panelist at the first ever FrogCon at TCU in Fort Worth, TX this Saturday, February 22nd. FrogCon is a popular culture convention hosted by the TCU Library focusing on “geek” interests such as speculative fiction media, literature, arts/crafts, performances, music, tabletop and video games, and academic interests and future careers in same. It’s free for the public to attend and will take place from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with panels starting at 10:00 AM. Here’s a link to the official website: https://libguides.tcu.edu/frogcon

Check out the website for all the details. It should be a really fun convention and if it does well it will be back next year and hopefully for many more years to come so come out and help make it a success. Here are the discussion panels that I will be on:

10:00 to 10:50 room #3181 or 3182 World Building – Creating in-depth universes to play hosts to your characters, in fiction and gaming. What are some pitfalls we have all faced, and how do we get around them?

11:00 to 11:50 room# 3181 or 3182 The Bit I Remember. – What do we remember from books and comics read, and movies and TV seen, long ago, and why? What makes these glowing moments stick in our heads? And conversely, what falls away only to startle us when we return to the narrative years later?

12:00 to 12:50 Conference Room #1208 Insecurity, Imposter Syndrome, and other Creative Pitfalls – Being a creator is hard. You put your stuff out there and hope for the best. But there’s often that feeling of not measuring up, that your stuff isn’t good enough, that nobody cares.

Check the schedule on the site for more awesome panel topics. This may end up being the only convention that I will be a guest panelist at this year and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope to see you there.