ConGregate 2014: Official Athena's Daughters Launch Party & Panel

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to head to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a brief stopover at ConGregate, a new sci-fi and fantasy convention put on by some of the same folks who have extensive experience running RavenCon, ConCarolinas, StellarCon and Dragon*Con.

Most of the conventions I've gone to have been out-of-state (as in, I drive anywhere from 6-10 hours to attend) so it was nice to attend one that was relatively close to home! My con experience started on Saturday.

In the morning, I sat in on a fitness panel with @WriterMaggie (on which @janinekspendlove was a panelist. Meanwhile, Maggie and I functioned as the resident peanut gallery, and heckled her in a kind and loving way.)

In the afternoon, we went to a second panel about "The Myth of Strong Women," where I finally got to meet AD and Wynde author Tricia Barr for the first time! She, Janine, and several other fabulous ladies (plus our male moderator, who was an excellent sport) led the room in a discussion on what it means to write engaging female characters. (Hint: treat them as complex people, not types.)  They also talked about why representing all kinds of women is important in fiction, even if those characters aren't physically strong with typically masculine qualities. (Although we absolutely respect women who can do amazing physical feats: a reference to this video of Kacy Catanzaro completing the full American Ninja Warrior course came up more than once.)

After that, it was time for the official Athena's Daughters launch party! Authors Gail Z. Martin, Janine, Maggie, Tera Fulbright, and Tricia were all in attendance. We had a lovely spread of food ordered for the party, including a sheet cake, and had an excellent turnout considering the size of our cozy convention! I'm happy so many people were able to attend the launch. There was a free raffle with books and assorted prizes from some of the authors in attendance. We ate, drank, and signed our little hearts out.

Here are Janine and Maggie, setting up our head table:

20140725-150338-54218676.jpg

Our beautiful paperback -- complete with art cover by Tietjen Alvarez--next to another Silence anthology:

And the fabulous sheet cake, chosen by Tera:

The next day, Sunday, was our main programming panel on Athena's Daughters. Silence in the Library's CEO, Ron Garner, was our moderator. For an hour, Gail, Janine, Maggie, Tricia and I fielded questions about why we got involved with this project, why we thought an anthology "for women, by women" was important, and discussed why writing stories about female characters was individually powerful for each of us.

We also chatted about the amazing communal experience we'd had during the Kickstarter itself, being able to promote the anthology with a group of enthusiastic, talented women. We gave background on our individual works from the anthology, made callbacks to a few of the other crowdfunded campaigns, and brought up topics ranging from newly-genderflipped Star Wars characters to Jezebel to Joanna Russ. (I brought up Joanna Russ. I always bring up Joanna Russ. :)  )

Overall, it was an amazing con experience. I was so pleased to have been a part of it, and I can't wait to head back for ConGregate 2015 -- this time in High Point, NC. Next year's guests of honor will include Mike Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Albin Johnson, and Scott Rorie. Hope to see some of you there, too!

Athena's Daughters, Day 24: E.J. Lawrence, More Podcasting, and a Tricia Barr Novel Preview

Six days left in our Kickstarter campaign, and we are thisclose to breaking $31K! Thank you so much for continuing to share about our project! With luck and faith, we hope to break through a few more stretch goals before the week is over. Now, onto the link roundup:

Athena's Daughters author E.J. Lawrence did a guest post for the Silence in the Library blog this morning. In it, she talks about how her early love of science fiction eventually spurred her to a career in science. She also talks about the symbiotic relationship between the two, and the ways in which female figures in both fields can be positive role models for young girls and women:

"...And though female figures within the scientific community do help to drive young girls into the scientific fields...I believe that female figures within science fiction also serve [as role models] in that capacity. Perhaps more so, because in science fiction and fantasy for that matter you get to live out those ‘what ifs’ far sooner than we can make them happen for real, but those ‘what ifs’ drive us towards getting there that much faster."

Well said, EJ! Her full blog post is here on SITL's website.

Athena's Daughters also got a plug on DJ Grandpa's Crib a few days ago. Janine Spendlove appeared on the podcast to talk about the anthology and strong women in the episode "Thor's Hammer, Part 2." You can stream it live or download it via iTunes at the link!

I'm also excited to announce that AD author Tricia Barr released her first novel, Wynde, this week! Her story for our anthology is a direct tie-in to this novel. The latter is best classified as "military science fiction with a fantastical twist that features heroines Vespa and Gemini." Which just makes me squee. I can't wait to read it! You can find out more about Wynde or purchase it here at FANgirl Blog.

To everyone who has backed or shared about Athena's Daughters so far: thank you! We are blown away by your continued generosity and support. But the campaign's not over yet! If you're reading this and feel compelled to get on board while you've still got the chance, the link -- as always -- is right here.

Athena's Daughters, Day 7: More Previews! More Press! And the (updated) Rewards Rundown!

2013 copyright Autumn Frederickson.

Day 7, and we are over 19K and still climbing. I'm so proud of this anthology and how well it's doing. In the conceptual stages, we were all thrilled to be invited to this project, but to see it funded so quickly and continue to be a success now that the campaign's active is really gratifying for everyone involved. Thank you all for doing what you do!

I wanted to bring you guys another preview from our anthology. Author C.A. (Christine) Verstraete writes both flash and short fiction with a touch of the macabre. Her stories have appeared in various anthologies including Darlings of Decay, Feast of the Dead - Hors D' Oeuvres, 100 Doors to Madness, as well as Timeshares and Steampunk'd from DAW Books. Her new book is GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie.

Her story for "Athena's Daughters" is going to be awesome. In fact, you can still pledge for a "Tuckerization" in it, meaning you'd be written in as a character! So far, Autumn Frederickson has created a gorgeous illustration of C.A's protagonist, Marietta (see above). An excerpt of Christine's story is posted here on her blog:

"No one could remember the last soul who came to Devil’s Gulch and made such an impression. When she stepped through the doors of the Black Fiddle Tavern that day, all conversation stopped and silence fell like a heavy winter snow.

Everyone took notice because the woman just didn’t seem to fit in either the brass-embellished tavern or the burgeoning town. Miss Marietta Parsons was as plain as could be.

Marietta knew that everyone considered her plain, homely. But she didn't care. Nor did she take insult at the look of regret that flashed across the painted face of the striking bar owner Luella, who had posted an opening for a songstress and thereby lured Marietta to the tavern...

Let's also take a look at the current Rewards Rundown, updated to reflect achieved stretch goals:

-a digital copy of the “Athena’s Daughters” anthology, now also featuring stories by E.J. Lawrence, Tera Fulbright, Tricia Barr, and Jennifer Brozek -an email from one of our authors, personally thanking you for your contribution

-a digital copy of two Danielle Ackley McPhail novels (The Halfling’s Court and Yesterday’s Dreams) -a digital copy of Gail Z. Martin’s short story bundle including “Vanities,” “Buttons,” and “Steer a Pale Course” -a digital download of Maggie Allen’s album Last Call, recorded with her band Naked Singularity -a digital copy of Cynthia Ward’s short story “Gabriella” -a digital copy of Sherwood Smith’s novel Crown Duel

-an anthology cover upgrade, created exclusively for our book by artist Tietjen Alvarez -a digital download of Jean Marie Ward‘s short story bundle “Four For More” -a digital download of the audiobook of Danielle Ackley McPhail’s collection of short stories, Flash in the Can. -a digital download of Gail Z. Martin’s Jonmarc Vahanian short story bundle, including “Raiders’ Curse”, “Caves of the Dead”, and “Storm Surge,” -a digital download of Janine K. Spendlove’s novel War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human

-a digital download of Tera Fulbright‘s short story “Fires Within the Blank Page.” -a free digital download of Ginger Breo‘s illustration of the goddess Athena. Backers who purchase print copies of the book will additionally receive a free 5×7 print of Ginger’s art. -a free digital download of the audiobook for Janine K. Spendlove’s novel War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human

Here is a list of our upcoming stretch goals (a couple of which you are going to freak out over. because they're amazing):

At the $20,000 level, we will produce a limited hard cover run of Athena’s Daughters using the commissioned cover art by Tietjen Alvarez. This edition will be limited to a print run of 200 books.

At the $22,000 level, another story will be added to the anthology! Author Diana Peterfreund is the author of nine books for adults and teens about awesome young women doing awesome things: from breaking down the gender barriers of an all-male secret society to saving the world from killer unicorns. Her latest book, Across a Star-Swept Sea, is a gender-flipped take on the Scarlet Pimpernel set in a post-apocalyptic future. Her critically acclaimed short stories have appeared on the Locus Recommended Reading List and in the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol.5.

When we reach $24,000, Silence in the Library, our publisher, will produce a companion volume to Athena’s Daughters titled Apollo’s Daughters! This anthology will feature stories by some of the best male SF/F authors in the business. The stories will also feature female protagonists. Michael A. Stackpole, Aaron Allston, Aaron Rosenberg, David Mack, and Bryan Young have already signed on for the project.

Are you getting excited yet?! We still have 23 days to go! I can't quite spill the beans about some of the other stretch goals we've got planned, but I will say that you're bound to love them as much as we do.

Reading this blog for the first time? Or the twelfth? You can back us or share about the project here.