Tag: Boskone 2023

Weekly Update – January 30, 2023

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

I’m dropping the weekly blog post a day early to remind you that the Superhero Fiction Writers “first book in the series” promo begins today!

All these titles will be available for free on January 30, and you can go here to browse the titles and then jump to their respective retailer to get them.

You’ll notice that Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins is on the list. If you’re already a fan, the sale day would be a great time to send a copy to someone as a gift. If you haven’t read it yourself, correct that horrible, terrible oversight now, and then you can get started on the series in advance of the final book, Zero Day, dropping later this year.

Even though the group sale is one day only, I am making Secret Origins free for the whole week! That’s five days in which to pick up the book for yourself or a fellow reader.

Speaking of Action Figures, work continues on the cover for book eleven, Zero Day. It’s taking more time because it’s going to be a double-sized wraparound cover to commemorate the double-sized finale of the series. And I am calling this a blessed venture, because my cover artist Tricia recently posted the WIP image you see on your right, and it received praise from no less than Randy Milholland, creator of the beloved webcomic Something Positive!

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for an early 2023 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Untitled Seventh Book: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • None scheduled

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

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Weekly Update – January 24, 2023

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

Starting this week on a positive and self-promotional note: the Superhero Fiction Writers group is planning a series of quarterly promotions for 2023, and the first of those launches next week with a “first book in the series” promo.

All these titles will be available for free on January 30, and you can go here to browse the titles and then jump to their respective retailer to get them.

You’ll notice that Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins is on the list. If you’re already a fan, the sale day would be a great time to send a copy to someone as a gift. If you haven’t read it yourself, correct that horrible, terrible oversight now, and then you can get started on the series in advance of the final book, Zero Day, dropping later this year.

Even though the group sale is one day only, I am making Secret Origins free for the whole week! That’s five days in which to pick up the book for yourself or a fellow reader.

On a more sober note, if you were at Arisia last weekend, you may not have heard that (as of this writing) ten people who were at the event tested positive for Covid despite the show’s vaccination and mask mandates. In light of that news, I’m feeling more comfortable in my decision to take a pass on Boskone. I’m negative for Covid, thankfully, and I don’t feel like pressing my luck.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for an early 2023 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Untitled Seventh Book: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • None scheduled

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – January 17, 2023

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Event, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

Arisia is behind me, and unfortunately, I mean that in a larger sense.

Event organizers warned us that attendance would be down this year as people were still squirrelly about attending large gatherings (especially if they were resistant to mask and vaccine mandates while attending). They were right and the foot traffic in the dealers room was not what it usually is, which meant sales were, to put it diplomatically, disappointing.

If this was a one-time occurrence I might be inclined to try and ride it out and return in 2024, but frankly, my ROI at Arisia has been falling for the last few years. Breaking even is acceptable, but doing the show at a loss several times, even a small loss, is simply not good business sense. I’ve always said that if you’re serious about making a go at writing professionally, you can’t take a loss at conventions just because they’re “fun to do.”

Now it’s time to take my own advice.

It’s not an easy decision because I do enjoy the show. I like the social aspect, I like talking shop with other writers, I love doing panels, but I don’t love paying that much in membership fees, dealer fees, parking, gas, and food to do it.

With that in mind, I have also decided to withdraw from Boskone next month. Boskone went ahead with the 2022 show despite the Omicron surge, and everything I heard from folks who were there was that it was a ghost town. I can’t imagine this year will be any better, especially in light of how thin Arisia was, so I’ve cancelled my appearance there too.

Will I ever return to either event? Can’t say. Maybe things will improve and I’ll be willing to give the shows another chance, but for the foreseeable future, I’m done with them and moving on to other adventures.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for an early 2023 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Untitled Seventh Book: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • None scheduled

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – January 3, 2023

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

Happy New Year, everyone!

Keep your fingers crossed and hope that the pandemic doesn’t ramp up again to spoil the start-of-year convention season here in Massachusetts. Arisia is back after two years of inactivity, and Boskone is having its second rebuilding year (it went up in 2022 but was a shell of its usual self), and I’m happy to say I’ll be at both, masked and vaccinated and ready to talk shop on a handful of panels.

My Arisia schedule, frankly, is a bit disappointing. I’d suggested two panels, put in for six, and was seated on two — neither of which are the writing fight scenes panel, which was initially seated with other people before being struck from the schedule entirely for reasons unknown. Anyway, you’ll be able to see me on the Crafting Memorable Villains panel at 11:30 AM Saturday, and the Mushy Middle: Conquering the Midpoint Swamp panel at 4 PM that same day. I’ll also be in the dealers room all weekend.

At Boskone, I’ll not only be sitting on panels for the first time, I’ll be moderating both of them! On Saturday at 5:30 PM, I’ll be leading the Writing Fight and Combat Scenes panel (yay!), and Sunday at 10 AM I’ll be moderating the Writing Realistic Teenagers panel. Still waiting to hear whether I’ll be in the dealers room but I expect to be there. I was accepted in 2022 but the Omicron surge led me to bow out, and I was told my space would be rolled over to this year.

I’m also waiting for an official word on a different project that, if it’s given the green light, will kick off the weekend after Arisia. All I’ll say for now is, if you’re an actor in the Central Massachusetts area, you’ll want to hear about it.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for a late 2022/early 2023 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2023 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.
  • Boskone 2023: February 17 – 19, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – December 6, 2022

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

With the year winding down, my focus continues to be on the start of next year, specifically the return of my Boston shows, Arisia and Boskone. I’ve already been accepted as a vendor at the former event, and I’ve been invited to participate on panels at both, so they’re shaping up nicely in those regards.

Whether either proves to be a financially successful show, however, is a big question mark. A recent update from Arisia predicted that attendance will be about 60 percent of what it was at the last show in 2020, partly due to lingering concerns among patrons about attending a large group event while Covid is still a factor, partly due to the event’s Covid policy, which requires proof of vaccination.

I’m frankly fine with the unvaccinated not being there, and I understand some people are still hesitant to be in large public groups, so I’m hoping to at least cover costs but I’m bracing to leave both shows in the red. It might take a while before either event is back to full power. We’ll see.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for a late 2022 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2023 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – November 22, 2022

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

I’m in that weird part of the year for me, when I feel like I’m simply trying to get through the holidays and make it to the start of the new year, so my general attitude toward a lot fo things is, “meh.” I know the concept of the New Year is completely manmade and largely arbitrary, but there it is.

I think for me it’s partly due to my anticipation of Arisia and Boskone at the beginning of the year, and those feeling are greatly amplified by the fact I’ve been to neither show since before the lockdown and I’m antsy as hell to get back into what is for me as much a social environment as it is a business one.

Will I see any of you at either show?

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for a late 2022 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2023 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – November 15, 2022

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

Another slowish week, but this is rather typical for the end of the year. I’m back in full swing on the next Strongarm & Lightfoot book, so it should come together quickly from here on out.

Now, a quick follow-up to last week’s comment on Twitter and its uncertain future. Over the weekend I set up an account on Mastodon, which seems to be where a lot of people are fleeing to in anticipation of Elon Musk driving Twitter into the ground. It’ll probably take me a while to ramp up there, but if you’re already on Mastodon, click the link to find my profile and give me a follow.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for a late 2022 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2023 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – November 8, 2022

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

Slow week this week. I’m fully back to work on the next Strongarm & Lightfoot book, and I’ve put in for vendor space at Boskone 2023, but that’s about it.

I will take the time to briefly address what’s going on over at Twitter at and how stands to impact me, and by extension anyone who follows me there. Count me among the many Twitter users who have zero confidence that Elon Musk won’t royally screw it up, but are taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether to ditch the platform. If you’ve already bailed on Twitter, remember that I am on multiple social media platforms and can follow me on any of those, or you can take advantage to subscribe to this blog and get notices via email whenever I post here.

There is a complete list of my social media outlets on my About Michael page.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Awaiting cover art. Scheduled for a late 2022 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2023 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.

Weekly Update – August 30, 2022

On By ronsonbeckIn Action Figures, Novels, Strongarm & Lightfoot, Well Behaved Women, Young AdultLeave a comment

The 2023 convention season continues to develop. I’ve thrown my name in for consideration as a panelist for Boskone, which I’ve vended at several years but I’ve never sat on a panel there, and I’ve already confirmed my interest in returning to Arisia. Hopefully there will be no new plague spreading this winter to ruin things yet again.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Issue Two: Black Magic Women: Work on the audiobook edition has begun, with Bethany Boles returning as narrator.

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Draft three is complete and the manuscript is with my editor. Scheduled for a mid-to-late 2022 release.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Elfish Motives: Work has begun on the audiobook edition. Tentatively set for a 2022 release.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

  • Arisia 2023: January 13 – 16, Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel.

MISC.

If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss any news from me, remember that I have a weekly newsletter that features some of the stuff you see posted here plus new, newsletter-exclusive material. Click this link to sign up.