If this sounds like your thing, you can find us at the Hilton, Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, from 3 p.m. this Friday until 5 p.m. on Sunday. I hope you’ll join us. I especially hope you’ll attend a panel of mine. Or two. Or all of them. The one thing I’ve learned over the course of my writing career is you can never be too rich or have too many fans.

Seriously, the thin thing is negotiable.

Jean Marie’s 2009 Capclave Schedule:

Friday, 8 p.m.
Fantasy-Mystery – From Harry Dresden to Rachel Morgan to Sookie Stackhouse to Anita Blake, a lot of popular urban fantasies/paranormal romances seem to be mysteries. Why add this element to the mix? What works and what doesn’t when you combine them?
Panelists: Andrew Fox (m), Peter Heck, Victoria Janssen, Jean Marie Ward, Diane Weinstein

Friday, 10 p.m.
Kryptonite for Characters – What do you do to limit your characters and keep them from being too powerful? What flaws do you give them? How do you have them grow and gain without becoming gods?
Panelists: Diane Weinstein (m), Davey Beauchamp, Neil Clarke, Tom King, Jean Marie Ward

Friday, 11 p.m.
Are Vampires Still #1? – Why are vampires so popular? Is anything likely to rival them—werewolves? Zombies? What? Whose vampires are the best and why?
Panelists: Andrew Fox (m), Davey Beauchamp, Darrell Schweitzer, Jean Marie Ward, Lawrence Watt-Evans

Saturday, 11 a.m.
Paranormal Romance—Just Chick Lit? – Why is the main character in paranormal romance usually female? Is the audience meant to be women only? What is the right balance between the paranormal and the romance? (And, the moderator adds, why the heck aren’t there any men on this panel? Hmph! I have a feeling I’m going to have to be a very bad girl on this one.)
Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (m), Mattie Brahen, Mindy Klasky, Victoria Janssen

Saturday, 1 p.m.
Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading – Join the Broads of Capclave as they read fast-paced excerpts from their latest fictions. There will be chocolate.
Panelists: Jean Marie Ward (m), Diane Arrelle, Roxanne Bland, Kelly A. Harmon, Victoria Janssen

Sunday, 11 a.m.
Paranormal Versus Urban Fantasy – Is paranormal romance just another name for urban fantasy? If not, what is the distinction? How do writers determine the right balance between paranormal and romance? Is it just classic boy meets girl or does being a paranormal make it different?
Panelists: Scott Andrews (m), Catherine Asaro, Karen Newton, Edmund Schubert, Jean Marie Ward, Diane Weinstein

###

Claudia (from Interview with a Vampire)

Want to see–and read–more?  It’s all at Beyond the Veil.  Enjoy!

- FINALLY getting to see a panel with James Marsters (with green hair, no less) and Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones in Torchwood).

- Running into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years directly afterwards.

- Hanging with friends like artist/writer Marianne Plumridge and her husband, artist Bob Eggleton, Jana Oliver, Teresa Patterson and my roomie Dorie. Also ran into the old Press Room gang–Star, Leigh, Kelly, Dave & Phyl. (Randi couldn’t make it, but I did talk to her and the new bambino.)

- Dinner with Crissy Brashear (owner and publisher of Samhain Publishing), Jacob Hammer (Samhain’s office manager), Alex Ross (Jacob’s girlfriend) and writers Ally Blue and Rosemary Laurey/Georgia Evans and her husband George at Nikolai’s on the Roof, the extraordinary restaurant on the top of the Hilton. The company was fabulous and the dinner… Well, let me put it this way, the meal started on plates with gilded images of Faberge eggs and ended with the presentation of a single red rose to all the ladies.

- The amazing historical and Steampunk costumes, and dressing up in my own less amazing Steampunk outfit (see Marianne’s great picture of her husband, artist Bob Eggleton). At least the hat, the rose from Nikolai’s, and all of Marianne’s DragonCon pics were splendid.

- Sitting back-to-back with William Shatner, Kate Mulgrew and Leonard Nimoy at the DragonCon Awards Banquet. (BTW, they’re actually serving meat now–the banquet, I mean, not the stars.)

- The Cruxshadows concert. (Duh!)

- Surviving a four-panel Sunday running from 10 a.m. (after the Cruxshadows concert–ow!) to 11 p.m., after the “sex panel”: “Sex in SF/Fantasy–Too Much or Not Enough?”

- The Lost Boys concert at the Pirate Ball followed by costume watching at the Marriott Starbucks, which has replaced The Perk as the ultimate people-watching destination since the Hyatt has gotten pissy about photos in the lobby.

- Sitting next to Rogue on my last panel, “Under Raven’s Wings: 200 Years of Poe”, listening to three of his dramatic readings, including the awesome “Annabel Lee”, and having him autograph this year’s Cruxshadows single for Bree and me when the panel was done. And day-um, he smelled good. White musk, I think. (Made me wish I’d packed my favorite Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab scents, but I’ve been afraid ever since my hand lotion triggered Barbara Hambly’s allergies at World Fantasy Con.)

- Drinking 12-year-old Glenlivet single malt in the Green Room at the Hair of the Dog Party (i.e., the clearing of the Green Room after the Dead Dog Party). I didn’t even know they had Glenlivet in the Green Room.

- Getting back home to Greg and the Duz. Gotta recover in time for next year, after all.

Are we there yet?

DragonCon, the world’s greatest summer camp for wayward adults (2009 edition), starts in five or six days, depending on whether you count the Alternate History Track Meet & Greet at Max Lager’s brew pub and the concerts Thursday night.  (I do.)  I’m pumped.  I’ve got my postcards (for Fantasy Art Templates, the art book slated for release in March 2010).  I’ve got bookmarks for Master of Crows, Grace Draven’s fabulous fantasy romance.  I will have postcards and bookmarks for the spouse’s web site, Intravenous Caffeine as soon as they arrive at home of an Atlanta-based friend.

But I don’t have a thing to wear!

Actually I’ve got quite a lot.  I need it, because in addition to the Meet & Greet, the Time Travelers Ball (Friday, September 4) and the Pirate Party (Sunday, September 6), I’ve got eight panels!  And once again, The Powers That Be have blithely assumed that I will be conscious and capable of carrying on intelligent conversation with the likes of Peter David and Katherine Kurtz at 10 a.m. on the morning after the Cruxshadows’ midnight concert.  They are so insane.  I am so doomed.  Of course, I’ll be worse at 1 p.m., Monday, September 7, when they’ve scheduled me on a panel with Rogue, the Cruxshadows’ lead singer.  Get your earplugs now.  Given the fan girl squee that’s building, you’ll need them.

There will be photos. 

Eventually.    Hope to see you there!

Saturday

You Say Religion, I Say Magic – An examination of the use of religion and magic systems in science fiction & fantasy.  What is their place and why?  Panelists: D.A. Adams, Linda L. Donahue, James Palmer, Stephanie Souders (Moderator), Jean Marie Ward. 1 p.m., Greenbriar Room (Hyatt)

They SHOULD Be Movies!  Books You Want to See on Film – Indulge your fantasies.  Talk about the books you most want to see on the big screen…and who’d you most like to see do them.  Panelists: Van Plexico, Jean Marie Ward. 4 p.m. Fairlie Room (Hyatt)

Sunday

Where Do You Go When You Need…? – The pitfalls and benefits of doing research for your writing.  Panelists: Peter David, Katherine Kurtz, Terri Osborne, James Palmer, Jean Marie Ward. 10 a.m. Fairlie Room (Hyatt)

Beyond Binaries – Gender Roles in Science Fiction & Fantasy – What fantasy and science fiction literature has gone beyond traditional gender definitions?  How successful is it?  Does this require aliens or magical creatures?  Panelists: Lee Martindale, Jean Marie Ward. 2:30 p.m., Greenbriar Room (Hyatt)

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading –The broad-minded science fiction and fantasy writers of Broad Universe bring you a buffet of snack readings just when you need it most.  Unlike most other DragonCon panels, this one will run two and a half hours to accommodate lots of writers, including some not listed on the guest list.  Panelists: Marcia Colette, Kathryn Hinds, Gail Martin, Racheline Maltese, Sandra Ann McDonald, Tee Morris, Jean Marie Ward, Trisha Wooldridge and more. 7 p.m., Fairlie Room (Hyatt)

Sex in Science Fiction & Fantasy: Too Much or Not Enough? – With the rise of paranormal romance, sex seems to have become de rigueur.  Is this right or wrong?  Why or why not?  Panelists: Sandra Ann McDonald, Van Plexico, Jean Marie Ward. 10 p.m. Greenbriar Room (Hyatt)

Monday

The Future of Urban Fantasy – Where does the genre go from here? Panelists: Jennifer Heddle, Althea Kontis, Heather Osborn, Jeanne C. Stein, Jean Marie Ward. 11:30 a.m., Montreal/Vancouver Room (Hyatt) 

Under Raven’s Wings: 200 Years of Poe – Poe’s influence on popular culture – sometimes in unexpected ways. Panelists: John Everson, C. Gilbert, Kat Richardson, Rogue, Stephen H. Segal, Jean Marie Ward. 1 p.m., Montreal/Vancouver Room (Hyatt)

Behold the cover for Fantasy Art Templates.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  And the pages inside are even better.  The release date has been pushed back to March, which suits me fine.  People buy more books in the spring, and this one is totally worth it.  I’m not saying that because I wrote it either.  The art is unbelievably lush.  Is it 2010 yet?