Next week is Gen Con. I'm not officially on any panels, but I'm in the Authors Avenue in the Dealers hall, Booth AL, right across from Extra Life. I'll be there for most of the Dealer Room Hours. I've got morning breakfast meetings set up, and I will be attending the "What's New with Catalyst" panel. Other than that, my evenings are free. Let me know if you'd like to get together. Otherwise, come see me at my booth and say hello!

I'll have copies of:

• The Prince of Artemis V (new to Gen Con).
• A is for Apex (debuting at Gen Con).
• BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident (new to Gen Con).
• Arkham Horror: To Fight the Black Wind (new to Gen Con).
• The Last Days of Salton Academy (out of print).
• All the AIP books.

Hope to see you there!

Life has been busy, busy, busy, but good.

Writing
I've finished Rogue Academy: Iron Dawn, polish-edited it, and turned it in. I feel accomplished and actually pretty good about the manuscript. Of course, now I’m in that “I finished a novel, now what?” flail. It’s not that I don’t have stuff to work on. I do. It’s the fact that it feels like I’m doing “procrastination work” – which is what writing flash fiction, editing, and outlining is while I’m novel drafting. I’ll shake my brain out soon enough.

What am I working on now?

• Shadow Bytes – five pieces of Shadowrun flash fiction for a podcast.
• Editing the stories for A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods Lovecraft anthology.
• Prepping to write a Shadowrun novella, A Kiss to Die For.

What does my brain want to work on? After a call with my agent, a far future oceanic novella that I've been noodling over for about a year now. It might become a good Wit'n'Word writing group project.

Conventions
August – I have two major conventions coming up in August: Gen Con and WorldCon. I am a dealer at both and a panelist at WorldCon. I’ll find out this week if I have any panel things to do for Cat Labs at Gen Con. I’ve got my house/cat sitters in place. I’ve started my plans for packing. Gen Con will be more complex than WorldCon, but all of it is doable.

September – I’m participating in the North Coast Redwoods Writers’ Conference. I’ll be reading Friday night, 21 Sep, and teaching two workshops on Saturday, 22 Sep.

Household Stuff
Back patio – Our house is 30+ years old. We’re the second owners. We’re slowly making it look less like a 30+ year old house. The latest project is replacing the back red-brick patio with pretty grey paver stones. The Husband did most of the work. It’s involved and still ongoing. There’ll be a blog post about it soon. It’s not done because it includes replacing the deck stairs on the patio side of things.

Eating from the pantry – Twice a year, the Husband and I do what we call “eating from the pantry.” We don’t eat out. We don’t grocery shop except for fresh veggies and milk. We eat from what we have in the pantry and the deep freeze for the full month as a way of cleaning out the older / soon-to-expire dry goods. It’s also a way to save money. Of course, this means we end up with some strange meals by the end of the month. Bubble-and-Squeak for the win!

Kitties
All four of them are fat and happy. I’m sure you can see that from my Twitter and Instagram. Feel free to join us there.

“The End.”

There are no sweeter words to write on the first draft of a manuscript. Today, I finished the first draft of Rogue Academy #1: Iron Dawn. It’s 84,000 words. Long for a YA novel, but it’ll break 90,000 by the time I’m done. I tend to add into my manuscripts rather than take out. Now that I have the whole story down, I know what needs to be added and where. I know what can be foreshadowed and what can be cut. It’s a beautiful feeling.

I’m going to ignore the manuscript for the next five days to get ready for and go to the Washington State Toy and Geek Fest. I’ll be there with Books & Chains as a dealer. I’ll take one day off to sleep/rest, then I’ll spend the next ten days fixing the novel before I turn it in on July 15th.

This won’t be the last time I see the manuscript by a long shot. It will need to go through a reading by the Cat Labs fiction editor, the BattleTech line developer, and the BattleTech fact checkers. I hope that’s only two iterations of edits. Then a final polish. Then proofing. There may be another iteration of edits in there. I don’t know. We’ll see.

I’ll take a couple of days off to sleep after turning in Iron Dawn. Then I’ll begin the next project. Two of them actually; both Shadowrun.

The first is five flash fiction pieces for a podcast project. The second is my Shadowrun YA novella: A Kiss to Die For. I’m looking forward to digging into both projects. I love Shadowrun and I love new projects. They’ll be a good brain palette-cleanser for when Iron Dawn is returned to me with edits/revisions and I can look at it with fresh eyes and a critical mind.

Typing “The End” is always just the beginning of any novel. A sweet one. It is also the herald of something new to work on.

Dealers Room
If I’m at not a panel, I will be in the Dealers Room with Apocalypse Ink Productions. I will have copies of my newest books, including Arkham Horror: To Fight the Black Wind and The Nellus Academy Incident. Come by and see me.

• Friday 4pm – 8pm
• Saturday 11am -7pm
• Sunday 11am -5pm

FRI 5PM    Cascades 9        Start Writing, Stay Writing (Mod)
Have you dreamed of writing your own stories? Dying to get published? Maybe you are looking for tips to keep you moving forward? A panel of writers will share their favorite tips on getting started, staying motivated and improving your work. Panel discussion is designed for beginner or intermediate writers across a variety of forms like short story, novel and screenplay. This panel will provide a foundation for other writing panels and workshops this weekend.
James Gillen, Rebecca Brown, Jennifer Brozek (M), Julie McGilliard, Jerome St. Martin


SAT 1PM    Cascades 9        Jennifer Brozek Author Reading (Mod)
I will be reading from TO FIGHT THE BLACK WIND. Psychologist Carolyn Fern is searching for the cause of a patient’s terrible nightmares that leave her both mentally and physically scarred.


SUN 11AM    Cascades 9        Crafting Compelling Protagonists (Mod)
So often great stories also have great protagonists. A protagonist can pull audiences in or leave them out in the cold. This panel of authors will discussion what makes a compelling protagonist and how to craft one in your short story, novel, screenplay or other creative work.
Jennifer Brozek (M), Cat Rambo, John Lovett, Jerome St. Martin

Cover reveal, book release: Arkham Horror - To Fight the Black Wind. To be released on April 5.

Guest Blog: Rising Shadows. Why do I write horror? Let me count the reasons… 
 
Kickstarter: Broken Eye Books - good people. It's funded. Welcome to Miskatonic University! One week to go. My story “The Librarian’s Handbook is in the second anthology. The first is funded!

In Print: Look what's in print. My award winning #BattleTech YA novel, THE NELLUS ACADEMY INCIDENT! You asked for it to be in print, and Cat Labs heard you.

Interview: An interview with me on Andrea Dawn of the Dead: The Women of Horror Literature - Jennifer Brozek - The Author's Own Words. I'm the final girl who will try to keep you alive.

Norwescon: Here is my forthcoming schedule for Norwescon. If I'm not in a panel, I'm probably at my dealer's table in the dealer's room. No shyness zone around me. Come and say hello.

THURSDAY
Dealers Table, 4:00pm to 8:00pm

FRIDAY
Dealers Table, 10:00am to 7:00pm
Whipping Out That First Draft, 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 12
Reading: Jennifer Brozek, 12:00pm - 12:30pm @ Cascade 4
Social Horror, 6:00pm - 7:00pm @ Cascade 11
Anthologies Joy, 7:00pm - 8:00pm @ Cascade 11

SATURDAY
Dealers Table, 10:00am to 6:00pm
Why Agent? 11:00am - 12:00pm @ Cascade 11
YA's Role In Genre, 1:00pm - 2:00pm @ Evergreen 1 & 2
Autograph Session 1, 2:00pm - 3:00pm @ Grand 2
The Horror Of Being Twelve, 6:00pm - 7:00pm @ Cascade 10

SUNDAY
Dealers Table, 10:00am to 4:00pm

I will be at Anglicon this coming weekend as a panelist and with Books & Chains. If I'm not at the Dealer's table, this is where I am.

Friday:
Black Mirror: Too Much or Just Enough - Cascade 2, 2pm
The Best British Shows You're Not Watching - Cascade 2, 4pm

Saturday:
Sherlock Holmes in Every Incarnation - Olympic 2 - Saturday, 3pm

Sunday:
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Clara? - Cascade 2 - Sunday, 3pm

Both Raven and I will have mystery boxes to sell at the convention (perfect for that hard to buy for person in your life) as well as books and candles. Elise, of course, will have her fabulous chainmail.

Come by, say hello, get a book signed, and buy a gift for yourself or that someone special. Hope to see you there!

This weekend is OryCon. I will be there as a dealer and as a panelist. Below is my schedule. If I’m not in a panel, I’m probably at my dealer’s table. Come on by to see me. I'll have my "stealth book" with me. :)

Friday, 17 Nov 2017
4pm: GM School
A primer on how to run a game for those who are interested, and even those who have never done it. How to keep your players involved & interested in coming back. What campaign to pick for your players.

5pm: Writing and Art for the RPG Industry
A how-to workshop on what it is like to work for the RPG industry.

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Saturday, 18 Nov 2017
10am: I Quit My Job to Be a Writer! WHAT HAVE I DONE?
How do you stay focused when you're all by yourself and the realities of making a living via the written word come flooding in? Find techniques for forcing yourself to get words written and plots plotted, with time to get dressed and leave the house.

1:30pm: Reading with Jennifer Brozek
I will be reading from NEVER LET ME SLEEP and from FIVE MINUTE STORIES.

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Sunday, 19 Nov 2017
11am: Pamper Your Muse
How to get your creative mind to talk to you. How writing prompts, mind maps, creative dates with yourself, tarot and storytelling cards can help you tap the muse.


While I am not an official participant of the Cedar Hills Crossing Powell’s Sci-Fi Authorfest 11, I will be there with Josh Vogt who is an official participant.

I've got seven events (conventions, readings, appearances) left for the year. Here they all are. November has five events! Come see me read or talk or just come visit and buy books. I'm creating mystery boxes for the December events that will be perfect for gift giving. Otherwise, we'll have signed books and candles!

NOVEMBER
Jet City Comic Show - Tacoma, WA
(Dealer with Books & Chains.)
November 4-5. Details here.

Bellingham Holiday Book Festival - Bellingham, WA
(Dealer.)
November 11, 10 AM-2 PM. Details here.

YA Speculative Fiction Extravaganza @Village Books - Bellingham, WA
(Multi-author reading/panel.)
November 11, 7 PM. Details here.

OryCon - Portland, OR
(Panels. Dealer with Josh Vogt.)
November 17-19. Details here.

Multi-author signing @University Bookstore - Mill Creek, WA
(Multi-author reading/panel.)
November 25, Time 1-5pm. Details here.

DECEMBER
Anglicon - Sea-Tac, WA
(Dealer with Books & Chains.)
Dec 8-10. Details here.

ODDMALL - Bellevue, WA
(Dealer with Josh Vogt.)
Dec 16-17. Details here and here.

Hope to see you at some of these events!

I had the best time at Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous. This awesome relax-a-con, gaming convention is run by generous and skilled people, the fans were friendly and fun. It is absolutely worth going to.

While here, I got to:
- Judge the costume contest.
- Enjoy the panels.
- Meet long time fans.
- Eat at Roadhouse Diner and taste the spectacular PB&J burger (seriously it's good).
- Enjoy bison and beef.... man, it’s a cut above.
- Montana food in general! My goodness, is it ever good. (Huckleberry shakes!)
- Be inspired by local Montana stuff enough to write a new short story (draft draft is done).
- Be impressed by the lengths the COMCON when through to create an open and safe environment for everyone. Seriously, GFGR has one of the best Codes of Conduct and educated staff I've seen. They even went through an OSHA course on the prevention sexual harassment.
- Buy some local goodies.
- Almost die on the way home. Thanks to a suicidal deer, I’ve discovered that I do actually shriek when I think I’m going to die.

Thank you to everyone at Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous for inviting me to be their special Guest of Honor. I appreciate it and had a wonderful time. Take a look at next year’s GoH lineup. It’s going to be one heck of a party!

Here is my Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous schedule. Make sure you come say hello and get your books signed.

Hope to see you there!