Mike Douton's Stuff and/or Junk

I am fortunate enough that that couple of SF’s bigger cons are within commuting distance from Rhode Island. Coming up next month is the 51st installment of Boskone. This is going to be my third time rolling in to that con. I’m excited for this one. Seanan McGuire is the Guest of Honor. There are a lot of names I’m happy to see again and new names for me to discover.

And it’s going to be my first time on the con programming.

Ayup. I’m part of the shindig. Check this out from this year’s schedule.

Flash Fiction Slam, Sun 09:30 – Sun 10:50, Burroughs

Join Boskone’s first Flash Fiction Slam. Eleven (11) writers compete for the title of The Flash, reading their own original fiction — which must tell a complete tale within a 3-minute period. Our expert panel of judges will score your work on a scale of 1 to 10, and you automatically lose 1 point for going over your 3-minute time. You may only read your own work. The reader with the top score wins! Sign up before the con for one of eight (8) advance reading slots on a first-come, first-served basis by e-mailing erin.m.underwood@gmail.com. Or sign up onsite at Program Ops in the Galleria for one of three (3) at-con openings. A waiting list will also be available.

Panelists:

• Paul Di Filippo
• Nancy Holder
• James Patrick Kelly
• Erin Underwood (M)
• Walter Jon Williams

So I’m not really in the guidebook or anything, but I am going to be a part of this. I saw it announced on twitter two weeks ago. Remember the line from Ghostbusters, “If someone asks if you’re a god, you say yes.” I signed up before I could talk myself out of it. Then I timed myself reading one of my stories and realized three minutes is a hell of a lot shorter than you think it is. So I wrote a fresh story. I’m still tweaking it, but damn, I’m happy with it. Doubly so because keeping things short isn’t usually my strong suit. It was definately a challenge to keep someone so concise.

I am confident in my story. I might not win. I can’t control how well the other people in the contest write. I can control the quality of what I’m going to present.

And it’s a damn good story I’m proud to read to these people.