500 Vampires, No Waiting

When discussing panel possibilities at LibertyCon, I kind threw a bunch of ideas into the ether.

Apparently, one of them got picked up.

So, of course, I'm moderating.

500 Vampires, No Waiting
How many vampire types are out there? Do you prefer the supernatural? The aliens? The Wesley Snipes movies? Declan Finn moderates this panel on the many varieties of Nosferatu.

• Karen Bogen
• David L. Burkhead
• Declan Finn
• Amie Gibbons
• Louise Herring-Jones
• Daniel Humphreys
• Tom Tinney

With six people on the panel (not counting myself) this is going to be interesting. The 60 minute panels are closer to 50 or 55 minutes. I figure I may not have time for more than six or seven questions.

For the record, this is an evolving post. I'm going to edit it with any additional content from other members of the panel. And yes, I'm going to give the authors the questions ahead of time so they don't have to think all that hard about it.

1) Let's go down the panel and have all of our panelists introduce themselves. If you could touch a little bit on your vampire "cred," that would be great.

2) There are so many varieties of vampires out there it's almost hard to keep track. There are the supernatural vampires -- be they Bram Stoker's "zombies with fangs," as his great grand nephew Dacre Stoke put it, the vampire courts of Jim Butcher, Larry Correia's, or even Sherrilyn Kenyon and Laurell K Hamilton. Then there are the superpredators -- the Atlantian nanotechnology of Lyndsay Sands, the vampires of Blade, or even, dare I say it, vampires that sparkle. What is your own, particular spin on vampires and vampirism? Supernatural or super predator? And why did you decide to go that way?

3) What is your favorite vampire story, or vampire type, that was not created by you? What was it about the particular spin that you enjoyed?

4) In all of the vampire media that you've been exposed to, what do you find is the worst execution of vampires? Please try to avoid any answers that involve the word "sparkling."

5) What are your thoughts on totally secularizing vampires that are supernatural? Where they have all the powers and abilities of the original Dracula, and yet have no relationship with crosses?

Even at one minute per person and per question, that's at least thirty minutes... thirty-five if I add a comment or two. This doesn't even count questions from the audience.

If you have a question you want to ask any of these guys, let me know, and I'll see what I can squeeze in.

Meanwhile, if you're interested, have a glance at my own version of vampires with the Dragon award nominated series Love at First Bite.

Speaking of Dragon Awards, join in the discussion on the current Dragon Awards here.

LibertyCon 2019 schedule

LibertyCon will be hosted in Chattanooga Tennessee. This time, it will be in the local convention center. Which you'd think would happen more often. Just look at DragonCon.

Fri 02:00PM Tropes of Modern Urban Fantasy What are the most common and most unique tropes found in Urban Fantasy today. David B. Coe moderates this fascinating discussion.
(Panelists: David B. Coe / D. B. Jackson; Declan Finn; Amie Gibbons; James Hunter; David E. Pascoe; Lydia Sherrer)

After Love at First Bite and Saint Tommy NYPD, as well as having read Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Larry Correia, and the first 8 books of Laurell K. Hamilton (ie: before she became a porn author), I should be able to cover this one in my sleep.

Fri 05:00PM Opening Ceremonies

I don't think I need to explain this one.

Fri 08:00PM What's New from Silver Empire Publishing Russell Newquist moderates this panel on what is new from Silver Empire Publishing. (with Declan Finn; Daniel Humphreys; Morgon Newquist; Russell Newquist)

Self explanatory.

Fri 10:00PM Reading: Declan Finn & Melisa Todd Sat 02:00PM Autograph Session (Finn, Gallagher)

Then there's this.

Sat 06:00PM 500 Vampires, No Waiting 500 Vampires, No Waiting: How many vampire types are out there? Do you prefer the supernatural? The aliens? The Wesley Snipes movies? Declan Finn moderates this panel on the many varieties of Nosferatu. (Panelists: Karen Bogen; David L. Burkhead; Declan Finn; Amie Gibbons; Louise Herring-Jones; Daniel Humphreys; Tom Tinney)

So, um, oops.

When I asked to be removed from a panel at LibertyCon, I was told, "No problem. Just let me know if you have any ideas." Or something like that.

My comment was, "Why not a panel on the 500 types of vampires?"

So that happened.

Sun 10:00AM Kaffeeklatsch

Sitting around with every guest imaginable over coffee.

Sun 01:00PM The New Voices of Horror Michael H. Hanson moderates this panel on what new in the evolving genre of horror. (Panelists: Declan Finn;Valerie Hampton; Michael H. Hanson;Louise Herring-Jones)

If you want, I recommend buying copies of either My Saint Tommy NYPD series. or my Love at First Bite novels

Or

Silver Empire's Heroes United

If you have the time, stop in to my Dragon Awards discussion and tell me some of your favorites.

RAVENCON, 2019 SCHEDULE

This upcoming weekend, I will be at RavenCon. My schedule looks a bit like this.

Friday

5 - 7 pm (Private, Optional) Meet and Greet for Guests / Green Room

7 pm (Opening Ceremony) Large Auditorium

8 pm (Panel) Music and Art Influences in SFF Stories and Novels / Room F
Where have our panelists used music or art in SFF stories or novels, or seen it used? What are your favorite examples? When you share a playlist with your readers, is it always the same music you wrote to?
Guests: (Moderator) Gray Rinehart, Declan Finn, Alexander G.R. Gideon, James P. Nettles

This should be fun. Especially when it feels like half my posts on the blog are music posts.

Saturday

3 pm (Panel) Combining the Mystery/ Detective Genre with SF / Room L
Although humanity changes very slowly, in the future the methods used to commit crime and enforce laws will certainly change. What elements of detective fiction make for satisfying science fiction? What elements of science fiction make for satisfying mysteries? In the cold world of cyberpunk, does justice usually prevail?
Guests: T. Eric Bakutis, Declan Finn, Jack McDevitt, Joan Wendland, Meriah L. Crawford (M)

Having written at least three straight up murder mysteries (It Was Only on Stun!, Set to Kill, and Codename: UnSub), not even counting the "fantasy with mystery elements" in Love at First Bite and all of Saint Tommy, NYPD,

I think I can make this work.

And I'm on this panel with Jack flipping McDevitt.

5PM: Signing

9 pm (Panel) Letters Written From Hell – The Horror Writing Process / Room L
Ever wondered how seemingly normal people come up with such horrific ideas? Are they, in fact, normal? What kind of research do they do? How far into a psycho's psyche do they have to get? Do their subjects ever get to them? Come find out, if you dare.
Guests: Pamela K. Kinney, Lexie Carver, Declan Finn, Michael Cieslak (M)

BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

"Normal" people. Heh heh heh.

That's not even the dark one. The next one is after any potential children at the con are asleep.

11 pm (Panel) Exploring the Dark / Room L
What draws us to the horrific? What role does horror have in society? Does gore/hyper-violence and/or a comic/humorous tone in horror conflict or complement psychological horror?
Guests: Mark Geary (M), RS Belcher, Lexie Carver, Declan Finn

This should be interesting since this is going to be just me and one other person. Though talking about "horror in society" might be a wee bit pretentious.

Sunday

11 am (Panel) Classic SFF / Room L / Moderator
What makes a classic? And what’s the lifespan of a classic? Nothing lasts forever… what can you think of that was long accepted as a classic but no one thinks of now?
Guests: Dina Leacock, Declan Finn (M), L. Jagi Lamplighter, Nathan Skreslet, John C. Wright.

Yes. I'm moderating this one. And I'm on with Jagi. And with John C. Wright.... No big deal.

Granted, it's also 11 am on Sunday morning of a convention. Let's see who's going to be awake. Hopefully, I'm one of them.


1 pm (Panel) Beyond John Williams / Room E
John Williams is the man, but he isn't the only one. Who are some other great film score composers?
Guests: Declan Finn, Jason Hamlin (M)

I could make this a three hour lecture all by myself.

The Year of Three Conventions

This is another year where I'm going to do at least three conventions.

If you're going to be nearby, come and find me



RAVENCON 14. In Williamsburg, VA, from April 5-7.

LIBERTYCON ... Yes, I scored tickets. Mainly because a fellow author at Silver Empire changed her mind on going.

Chattanooga, TN, from May 31-July 2

DRAGONCON... Did you doubt I'd be going? I'd go to this convention even if they didn't have me as an attending Pro.

As always, in Atlanta, August 30-September 2

Be sure to have plenty of copies of my books when you come. I can only carry so many copies before I hurt myself by accident.

Be well, all.

Hell Spawn  Death Cult

Social Media Whining

On the one hand, I love the internet.

The internet enabled me to self publish, which in turn got me a publisher.

On the other hand, there's so much stress and melodrama that I could have done without it and become a plumber.

Come on, you know it's true. And the last few months should prove it better than anything.

Let's simply start with the egomaniacs who are so super sensitive to comments and posts that they have to lose their minds.

Starting Small

I mean, heck, there was a project where I was so thrown by editorial comments that I went to a group of friends and went, "Okay, I'm showing A, B, and C, so I can imply and the audience can infer D, E and F.  But the editor is seeing X, Y, and Z .... what am I doing wrong?"

So, of course, I ask what I'm doing wrong, in a post about my personal anxieties .... and said editor decided to go bat guano insane, then whine bitch and moan about how "unprofessional" I am that I was complaining about them....

Huh?

Welcome to the internet, where your personal anxieties about the quality of your own work are actually considered insults to someone else...

Then again, in Sad Puppies Bite Back, I had conservative authors SWATted, and Lefties proclaimed that SPBB threatened them.

So this isn't about any one person. This is about, well, the internet.

Don't worry, I'm certain that someone is going to whine about this post too.

No, seriously. It's insane. My friend and fellow author Jon Van Stry wanted to celebrate with friends in a group on Facebook about how his sales had gone up! He found marketing that worked! Isn't it great!

Then at least one person decided to go outside the group and bitch about how it was "bragging" to mention how good your sales were....

Welcome to social media.

• You can't be happy -- you're bragging.
• You can't be sad -- you're either pathetic or playing for attention
• You can't be angry about politics -- you might alienate readers
• You can't be anxious -- you might offend someone even more insecure than you are.

Social media, where it's all about the "me" in media.

Hell, there are also whiny little bitches who block me, then complain "Declan Finn is passive aggressive!!!" .... Really? Unblock me, I can be aggressive aggressive if you want.

But no, there's a reason I've gone on a recent rampage of unfollowing or blocking people on Facebook. Why? Because social media is a sewer. It's filled with people who want to get a reaction. And I don't want to play in the sewer. We're now at the point where a lot of people (correctly) deride tabloid sights like File 770 for being a bot-filled rumor mongering sewer... but they don't seem to see social media as a whole is much the same thing. It's like high school all over again. Everyone, go get your cliques! Then make fun of the fat guy / nerd / geek / "outsider". If that person hits back, belittle them some more because all of the insults are merely "constructive criticism." Huh?

Again, it's high school. But instead of high school cliches, first we can break down by politics. Then by profession. Then a splinter group forms so they can make fun of the larger group, and then bitch whine and moan about individual members, because God forbid civility happens. "X isn't Left/ Right-wing enough."  "Y isn't / is too Libertarian."  "Z is a prima donna / playing victim / bragging / trolling / isn't serious" (that I've seen all at the same time).

Social Media at Large

And it's not just local social media. It's not just my streams. Or my groups. Or just personal interactions. Take the larger view in the regular world.. Expand this to social media at large.

It's no longer "avoid the comments section, and you'll be fine." For the past three, maybe four years, we've seen the "comments section" become a living, breathing part of the internet. Social media has elevated the sewer of comments to general discussion....

Or, looking at it from a different angle, social media has lowered online discussion to what used to be dismissed as "the comments section."

Every thread has has potential to become a flame war, and duel of the trolls. If feels like half of every post made online threatens to turns into "I hate X." Every thread turns into some type of virtue signaling. What group defines what the signal looks like. "I hate Vox Day / Trump / the Alt-Right" are just some of the virtue signaling I've seen on threads, public or private... and those aren't even the Leftists.

Hell, think I'm exaggerating? Look at half of the Sad Puppies "discussions" from 2015. Half of it was the bots of China Mike's File 770 throwing mud, and another quarter is by "professional" authors, mostly employed by Tor, throwing mud. The rest of the discussions were ... actual discussions, with real ideas being exchanged. Mostly by Brad or Larry.

And today? Today it's gotten even worse.

Look at the Origins or ConCarolinas BS. All of that was generated by glorified lefty trolls on Facebook. Either trolls who libeled Larry Correia, or trolls who claimed that John Ringo's fans "made them feel unsafe."

That was enough to get both of these bestselling authors removed from conventions.

Online, we have a Twitter channel called Diversity and Comics, and it's mostly about observing the downfall of the major comic book series and companies. He started his own comic book Jawbreakers... and it's starting to look like comic book "professional" Mark Waid went after his publisher to prevent Jawbreakers from being distributed.

Jawbreakers is now a fully funded kickstarter projected, and making money hand over fist.

So, I will acknowledge that these stories have happy endings.... mostly. Larry had been banned from Origins, but Origins has lousy attendance (according to people I know who were there, with photos).

But ConCarolinas has vowed never to bow to SJW and online pressure about guests ever again.

Jawbreakers will be published despite outside pressure.


But still, does anyone remember ten years back? The active phrase about the internet was "don't look at the comments."

Now, imagine back then if the comments of a blog or a YouTube channel actually dictated guest attendance at Cons.

Imagine if a flame war meant whether or not a product could be carried in a store.

Imagine a flame war having real world consequences and dictating what celebrities can show up at what locations?

I'm trying to imagine this happening as recently as five years ago. It would have been insane. I honestly can't imagine that it would have happened even two years ago, but I may just be way too optimistic about this.

But now? Mobs of trolls believe they can destroy people through slander / libel, and in some cases, they come close.

These "mobs" are only about twenty, and sound like hundreds.

Any number of authors have come under attack in the hopes that online lynch mobs will hurt them, or destroy them, or get them unemployed. It's been done to me. It's been done to Brian Niemeier. It's been done to Jon del Arroz. On the level of conventions, it actually worked (once) against Larry Correia and John Ringo. It's up for grabs to see if it'll work on that level again.... I'm certain someone will try. I don't think it's going to work, but we'll see.

So, yes, social media is important. Don't get me wrong. But it can also be a pain in the ass, where one whiny little a-hole can make the noise of twenty, whining and crying whatever narrative they like. Social media has lowered the standard of conversation online to such an extent, it's barely worth talking to some people.

Just remember, non illegitimi carborundum, and the internet is filled with the illegitimi.

Just like high school.

And this is why I don't write about high school. I write about adults in college. And setting things on fire.

Honor at Stake & Demons are Forever

Live and Let Bite

WorldCon Melts Down

[EDIT: Brian Niemeier has all the details. It's so, so stupid.]

It's funny. Because Monday was going to be a post where I discussed social media whining and how Facebook and Twitter have lowered the level of discourse to the sewer that used to be dismissed as "the comments section."

Then James Gunn gets taken down by social media, so I figured I needed at least a little editing on that post before it went live.

Before I could get to editing THAT, World Con melts down.

Now, I'm not entirely up on all of the details, but I've got enough to make my head

So far, the gist is this: a typo in a World Con bio led to one of their guests being "Misgendered." According to the rules of conduct of WorldCon, the con ITSELF violated their own rules by misgendering this person.....

In short: the SJWs at World Con can't SJW ENOUGH for the SJW "masses" at the convention. This means the SJWs melt down online, while sane people sit back and laugh at them, because we saw all of this coming years ago. By "we" I mean Larry Correia, Brad Torgersen, and everyone else kicking around in 2015 who were shaking their heads at the slow motion train wreck that has apparently kicked into fast forward.

Meanwhile, middle aged white guys like John Scalzi noted that he was only allotted one panel at WorldCon, and the morning coffee meeting. His only comment at first was "Huh." He, of course, seemed to realize that he did not show sufficient enthusiasm for the Party, and stated later on Monday that he was happy to give up all of his panel time...  I wonder if that's code for "I'm taking my ball and going home."

Meanwhile, as Jon del Arroz has pointed out, Scalzi seems to have been spurned in favor of .... well, any local writer of whatever random minority status they could get, and throwing them on every panel, whether or not they have any relevant experience. Because apparently, experience is racist because it's "a white thing."

.... That last part is supposed to be a joke. Time will tell if it becomes the latest drivel about racism.

It has been a glorious train wreck in the making. Time will tell if this really does become the end of World Con.

Heck. I don't even know how Jon del Arroz's lawsuit is going. If that kicks into high gear soon, things will become even MORE entertaining.  Heh heh heh.

Meanwhile, enjoy some books that are relatively politics free, and all about action, high explosives, and true love .... with some violence and bloodshed thrown in for fun.

Honor at Stake & Demons are Forever

Live and Let Bite

ConCarolinas Postscript

You can't turn your back on a leftist douchebag for five freaking minutes before they decide to pull something else.

The other day, I said this entire mishegas with CaonCarolinas and John Ringo was over. I even sent them a letter of congratulations. I even started making plans to talk Superversive and Silver Empire publishers into joining me in their dealers room.

And then I see this from David Weber.

THE CONVENTION ISN'T EVEN OVER A WEEK and the lefty lynch mob is trying to get the two sane members of the Con Committee, Jada and Luis, kicked off. They've even started a petition to get 600 signatures to remove them.

Weber wishes to have as many people as possible buy supporting memberships for 2019 and

post on the Carolinas Facebook page that we have done so — one by one — and why, and inform them that if, in fact Jada and Luis are evicted from the concom, they may have our money this year, but they will never get it again.

Weber continues.

For myself, I will say only this. If, in fact, Jada and Luis are removed from the concom, then ConCarolinas is DEFINITELY going back on to my list of cons I will not attend, and I will be urging everyone that I know to never attend that convention again.

We are not telling them that they cannot invite whoever they want to invite. We're telling them that once an invitation has been issued, they have no business revoking it just because of online hysteria, whether it comes from the left or the right. If the people fighting to remove Jada and Luis from the concom simply cannot or will not understand that, and they win, then this convention in my opinion will deserve to die because it will have voluntarily cut itself off from the 50% (minimum) of fandom which does not approve of banning anyone.

This is their decision. We can weigh in, we can hope to sway them in the direction of open-mindedness, civility, and sanity. We can't MAKE them go there, but if they decline, then we don't have to go wherever the hell it is they think they're going.

Weber has set up his own counter-petition, wherein he notes

We're here to support Jada Hope and Luis Diza's stance on the demands to disinvite guests at ConCarolinas based on unfounded and unproven stories posted by Internet pressure groups.

Our goal is to obtain as many signatures as possible as a way of demonstrating who is truly in favor of diversity by raising our voices. We'd like to count them in the hundreds, but we'd really rather count them by the thousand.

This is not a petition to support inviting guests who the con committee believes would be problems for the con or who do not seem, to the con committee, to be a "good fit" for the people who attend ConCarolinas. We who sign this petition are saying only that once an invitation has been issued, the guest invited should not be subsequently disinvited simply because someone else planning to attend the con will be uncomfortable in that guest's presence.

We believe that no one, left or right, should have an ex post facto veto right over who can and cannot be invited to a convention nor should the vocal minority, who do not work for the con in any capacity and are simply attending A PRIVATE EVENT of their OWN FREE WILL , be allowed to exert that kind of influence over a convention.

We believe that if ConCarolinas ejects Jada Hope and Luis Diza from the Convention Committee (the managing body of the convention) and reverses the position they have taken on the dis-invitation of guests, then no one who believes in freedom of expression should attend this convention ever again.

Some of us have attended ConCarolinas in the past, as either a ticket-buying attendee of the con or as an invited guest. Under the ‘I’m signing because...” section please indicated if you’ve attended in the past as a guest or attendee and if you will attend in the future if they are removed.

The video below shows the apology that Jada Hope made at the end of ConCarolinas 2018 on June 3rd to John Ringo and re-emphasized the con's commitment to an inclusive atmosphere for all people.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/concarolinas/permalink/10157152092094460/

See, ConCarolinas? This is what happens when you give in once, even just a little, to the lefty mob. They owned you once, even for a little while, therefore they're certain they can own you again. They won't go away until they are routed or until they win. They'll wear you down, howl for your blood because they have nothing better to do with their endless hate, and you endure them until they go away in search of other prey. They took one look at what they saw as your capitulation over Ringo, "knew" they could do it to Correia, and moved onto Origins. I expect they're going to shoot for DragonCon next, just because.

But hell, look at how low these leftists set this bar: 600 signatures. That's it? They think that's all it will take? I have more members in my author Facebook group.

I really hope that DragonCon is looking at this infiltration and going "oh Hell no." Because this is what some bozos are going to try to do to them -- maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. I am sick and tired of all of these muthaf****in lefties trying these dumbass muthaf****in tactics to screw up my muthaf****in conventions. Literally tired. I was going to go to bed, tuned into Facebook and discovered THIS BS.

Enough is enough.

On the bright side, a side by side comparison at the moment between the two petitions ... is no comparison. The numbers by the fake lynch mob are laughable next to the steamroller that is Weber's petition. I think there are some people at Con Carolinas is going to look at the "remove Luis and Jada" petition and face palm, wondering "Why did we ever believe these a-holes were a threat? There are so few of them." I mean, the only way that the lefties can get their petition through is if they borrow all of the Chinese bots from File 770. And right now, I wouldn't put them up against Weber's army.

When Weber says "fire for effect," he means it.

Anyway, if you want to drop comments on the idiots and make fun of them for trying this in the first place, click here.

If you want to join the wave of people at Weber's petition in support of sanity, click here.

And if you've done that and you have the time, the Dragons are coming, go nominate stuff over there. If you don't have your ballot filled out already (either IRL or in your head,) here's my list. It includes the lists of other people, so there are options. Just remember to vote.

And if you've done all of that...
Here, have a book about vampires and Vatican ninjas
Something to relax to. Because they have no politics.
[And, book two]

Now pardon me, I'm going to bed.

Grab the Popcorn

Part of the trend in all the various and sundry lefty lynch mobs is just how violent they are. Now, sure, I will occasionally have thoughts of beating people to death with a blunt object, or my bare hands, but I try not to say it to someone's face. Or even behind their back. I beat them to death in my books. Simple, easy. Murdering people is such hard work, especially if you want to get away with it.

But these lefty psychopaths coming out of the woodwork are like they're rejects from a Murder She Wrote episode.

Take for example, a threat waged against Diversity and Comics, Richard Meyer, on Twitter.



And that is a comic book "professional."

Heck, Marvel author Mark Waid has decided to unleash his hordes of fans on Meyer to get him thrown out of conventions, and to get his independently published comic book removed from book stores.

Then of course, you have Larry Correia, who's had years of being libeled with every name in the book. And the recent BS with both him and John Ringo being uninvited from conventions. They like to claim that the fans are violent. And yet the leftist douchebags of Vile 770 and their ilk have sent packages to Jon's home, call up and harass his family, and go after his kids...

Hate to break it to these little nervous fuckers, but if they think we're violent just by talking to them, they should see what happens when they try to go full Anti-Fa on us and attack. Then they'll get to see what violence looks like. Granted, they're relatively spineless, so it may require a simple slap upside the head. Because after all, their violence is protected speech, our speech is violence. Morons.

But it's like they don't remember there are laws against slander and libel. There are laws against fraud. There are laws against conspiracy to commit fraud. There are laws against making threats of physical violence.

Oh look, we have all of the above.

Frankly the only thing that has kept the lefty lynch mob from our full legal vengeance is our mercy, or that we're busy getting on with our lives. Good lord, even Vox Day never bothered getting little Andrew Marston thrown into a nuthouse or arrested, apparently (or so I've heard) because Vox pities the little douchbag.

But now it's starting to get on our nerves. Larry and Mrs. Correia seem to be on the verge of fed up. Ringo has been talking to a lawyer and collecting evidence. People are archiving and screen-shotting Vile 770 to the inevitable lawsuit against Mike Glyer, and we have been for years.

Enough is enough.

When will it end? It will not end with lawsuits. I don't even think it will end when they become a violent angry mob and actually attack some people. It will end with the violent lefty douchebags are all in jail and the slanderous muthafuckas online are broke and bankrupt, because we own everything they ever had in the settlements.

These muthafuckas want to mess with us? Fine. Let them.

If they physically attack us, we will defend ourselves -- and I've seen Anti-Fa rallies, they use Molotov cocktails and gang up on people 6-to-1, so we will not be held responsible.

If they attack us online and try to destroy our businesses, we'll sue them and we'll win. [Hi, China Mike. How are you doing?]

They want to destroy us. They won't stop until they're bankrupt, in jail, or both. And they'll still whine that we started it and it's all our fault.

We'll all need money for the eventual lawsuits we file, so you might want to buy my book or chip in a few bucks to Patreon.

Grab the popcorn folks, because this is going to be awesome.

Non illegitimi carborundum.

The Dragons are coming.

If you don't have your ballot filled out already (either IRL or in your head,) here's my list. It includes the lists of other people, so there are options.

Just remember to vote.

Has everyone gone insane?

The past few weeks have been strange, and it's not just me. I know it isn't.

Hell, start with 2018. Cons have gone straight downhill.

WorldCon: "We must ban Jon del Arroz! He might record us doing something untoward to him! He's wearing a body camera to prevent us from taking him outside and beating him with baseball bats! We must pre-ban him! Something we did once to child molester Walter Breen, and never to his accomplice Marion Zimmer Bradley!"

We go from that to

ConCarolinas: "Oh, people just didn't feel safe about John Ringo. We had to get rid of him for safety's sake."

And now .... WTF?

Origins: "Larry Correia believes in the wrong things. We won't talk about what he believes that is BadThink, we'll just disinvite him as the Guest of Honor the same day he's announced."

Now, people were annoyed about WorldCon screwing around with Jon. WorldCon deliberately worked around their own rules to do it, but they at least tried to cover it up within the letter of the law.

People were really freaking irritated when they did it to Ringo. Ringo tried to blow it off at first, claiming that they made his life easier. Then ConCarolina worded it in such a way that it looked like Ringo was the problem.

Then, within the month, another lynch mob forms on Larry Correia and boy are his fans pissed. Origins can't even be bothered to answer Larry's questions about rescinding his invitation. Hell, they didn't even bother talking to him first -- a consideration ConCarolinas at least gave Ringo. Though Origins organizer Jack Ward seems to have more than enough time to send out consoling emails to the vendors, explaining that no one who complains was ever going to attend....

Excuse me, jackass-- er, Mr. Ward -- but did you consider that a bestselling author might -- just might, grant you -- be a bigger draw than .... whoever else you have on your list? (No, seriously, I looked at the image they had for their big names this year. I can't pull them out of a lineup.) And how exactly would you know that "they were never coming"? Because I know people who are asking for refunds over this. Better question: how do you know that any of the people slandering and libeling Larry are coming to the convention?

But, Hell, Origins didn't even try to cover up what they did to Larry. "Oh, he indulges in WrongThink, we're kicking him out."

Are ... you ... fucking ... kidding me? What is the point of this? "Hi, I'm going to slit my own wrists by uninviting a big name bestselling author from my flailing convention, and double down by trying to besmirch his good name behind the scenes, opening myself up to all sorts of lawsuits, BUT I'VE FLOWN THE FLAG FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO LIKE ME."

There's stupid and then there's suicidal. Hence "Go woke, go broke."  Can't you just wait to see what Origins attendance is going to be next year?

You know, way back when, I tried to keep my politics low key. I generally don't like opining in public. The closest I ever wanted to come with Sad Puppies Bite Back, and that was so detached from politics, I'm happy it even made contact with reality from time to time.

Last year was insane. Last year incurred threats, rumors, lies, and BS from people who would have been on "my side" the year before.

This year, we have this BS.

 I think I'm just about done with playing nice.

Here, have the book that pissed off everyone because it was nominated in the first annual Dragon Awards.

And let's see if we can get one of its sequels a follow up nomination in horror, for Good to the Last Drop.

The Dragons are coming.

Here's my list. It includes the lists of other people, so there are options.

Just remember to vote.

Correia was Ringoed

Way back when, the Democrats destroyed the career of Robert Bork, a man who was Harvard Law, and was a nominee for the Supreme Court. The latter was worth destroying him over. They dug up every ounce of dirt they could find, and when they couldn't find, they created.

"To Bork" someone became a political verb.

Once again, SF fandom is trying to make another name into a verb: To Ringo someone -- to get a conservative uninvited from conventions they were already invited guests at.

Thanks to ConCarolinas caving into the SJW lynch mob of Facebook (or maybe they just gave them something to hang their hat on, who knows?) when they uninvited John Ringo, the SJWs think they can do the same thing to Larry Correia.

This time, the convention is Origins Game Fair.

Apparently, this was posted before Larry was contacted -- not to ask him about what's real and what's not, but just to tell him of their decision.

Their announcement?

Heh heh heh. No, "we don't want controversy."  In which case, Ward is in for a really crappy couple of weeks. Maybe months.

Yes, they don't want discourse. God forbid anyone there think!

And by the way, you meant "ReSCIND" Mr, Ward....

So, how do you want to read this?

Is this "OMG, we have a raving pack of fringe leftist psychopaths telling us that Larry Correia is a homophobic / racist / Nazi / wife abuser" BS that we've seen since Sad Puppies first began?  Or is this "Our true believers have informed us that he is a thought criminal / conservative and we should ban him?"

And, let's break this down a little....

• What are these "personal views," Ward? [I'm sorry, did I just presume your gender?]
• Is this the Straw Larry so hated by the "TruFen"? 
• Did you actually ask Larry about ... anything? No, you didn't.
• Hope you enjoy a weekend of processing refund requests.

To quote Ringo: Get woke, go broke.

Though to be honest, I was sort of surprised this even worked once, on Ringo. He's a bestselling author. He doesn't need the PR by going to cons. He goes to have fun and hang out. Larry too is also at the level where con appearances can only help the con, not himself.

But hey, it makes the SJWs feel good. It makes them think that they're getting something done. I suppose that pointing out to people that this will only force Larry to have more free time is a waste of time.

Now, I'm not going to suggest sending an email to GoDaddy about how the originsgamefair.com site is being used by John Ward to defame Larry Correia. 

....Though you can email at abuse@godaddy.com, and send something like, oh, I don't know....

Dear GoDaddy Abuse,

I wanted to write to let you all know that the individual known as "John Ward" who is listed as the sole contact for the domain "originsgamefair.com" is using his domain to target and harass a "person of color" named of Larry Correia (who's Portuguese). He is using the email associated with the site to post on Facebook and are attempting to damage his livelihood and reputation with baseless attacks he does not source, and refuses to elaborate on the removal of Larry as a guest at an event. As "John Ward" is the sole contact for the account, the use of "originsgamefair.com" is clearly an arm of the attacks on Mr. Correia. Larry. I do not know what you can do to stop this abuse but I am hoping there is something.

Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

XXXX

I mean, that would be strange, right?

And after all, would it do any good to contact Mr. John Ward at the Game Manufacturers Association, 240 North Fifth Street, Columbus, OH 43215, Company Phone: 614-255-4500, extension 102?

Maybe it would.

I mean, it's not like they violated their own code of conduct of anything ... okay, they did, but these are SJWs here! It's not like they have to play by their own rules. Their rules are for little people. Like you. 

I'm sure that's not something you'd want to tell them, is it?

Hell, you know how deranged this is? This punched a hole in reality, and we apparently either had Twitter interference from an alternate dimension, or Cat Rambo had something warp her brain enough so that she made a sane statement on social media.

So that's bizarre. 

And, yes, Cat has it right. Larry was announced as the GUEST OF HONOR.

Even better, he was announced as the GOH the exact same day they yanked him. It happened within hours.

I'd love to see what this is going to do to their attendance in the next two years.

The question I have? Who's next?

Huh... You know, I'm going to be an attending professional at DragonCon this year. (Yes, really.) I look forward to seeing what bullshit awaits us there, too.

Speaking of which....

The Dragons are coming.

If you don't have your ballot filled out already (either IRL or in your head,) here's my list. It includes the lists of other people, so there are options.

Just remember to vote.

Marvel at #SDCC 2017: Captain Marvel, Thor, and Infinity War

This will not be a comprehensive look at everything Marvel had at San Diego Comic Con this year.

In part because they dropped an Avengers trailer during SDCC .... and it's been leaked, and taken down in short order. It's come back and forth from being released online, and taken down.

So, to start with, the most important piece of news ... Punisher will be in The Defenders.

And if he isn't, they've got a trailer to explain (the 60 second mark)

Well, that didn't add much ... but show us that Stan Lee is still alive. Good for him.

And now, we've got Thor: Ragnarok

I was a little worried that they were going to be focused on the wrong things in this one. I like that Bruce Banner appears in the trailer as Bruce Banner. It could have been all too easy for them to have the not so jolly green giant have all the screen time. But seeing Mark Ruffalo is reassuring. And ... is that Hulk versus Fenris? Really? Huh.

Though I'm amused that Jeff Goldblum is even in the franchise now.

I especially like how Loki is revealed here. I was wondering how they were going to handle it. Also, gee whiz, they're using GUNS. Heh.

But, damn it, I want to see how Doctor Strange shows up in the film. I'd rather it would be more than just a glance at the end.

Again, we've got more of a humor vibe here, with our opening to the trailer. Definitely more of a Guardians, over the top vibe here.

Also the Avengers Infinity War trailer opened with the Guardians running into space debris ... Thor. Who looks pretty much like he does here, only far more run down.

Speaking of Avengers Infinity War, it's got some poster art.

So, there's that.

In other news, they're discussing Captain Marvel. In the comics, Carol Danvers, air force fighter pilot, was kidnapped by aliens called the Skrulls, experimented on, and turned into a neigh-invincible, flying juggernaut who shoots lasers out of her hands.

In the Cinematic universe .... Captain Marvel will be set in the 1990s.

... What?

Okay, it's been confirmed that the Skrulls will actually show up. They've been wary about showing another alien race here. Though I'm wondering why they haven't used the Skrulls before this, given that they've had ample excuses and opportunities to do so. Especially since, in the Comics, the Skrulls have been at war with the Kree (of Guardians) forever ... why were the Kree at war with the Nova Corps in Guardians? But I suppose that legal issues have been settled, and Captain Marvel will settle the Kree-Skrull war? Who knows?

The film will also star Samuel L. Jackson with two eyes. Because the 90s.

Yeah, I have no idea why they'd set it in the 90s. The actress they have for Captain Marvel, Brie Larson, looks like she's 12. Unless they're going to say that the powers have slowed down her aging ... but if that's the case, where the bleep has she been through: three alien invasions, a robot army, and a SHIELD meltdown?

The answer is probably ... IN SSSSSPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAACCCCCEEEE.

But we'll see.

All in all, it looks like Marvel is going to stay on top for a while. As long as you don't count their network TV shows. Those just look like they suck.

LibertyCon XXX AAR

I don't have an awful lot to say about LibertyCon, so this will be a short one. In fact, I think I said everything the other day on that podcast with my Silver Empire Publisher and Editor. It's a nice little con where the best parts are probably the conversations that take place in the hallways.

You know, the drive by conversations with Chuck Gannon, or Jeff Dunteman. Or casually conversing with a friend I only knew from Facebook as he sharpened the little knives I brought as giveaways. It was nice to meet Hans Schantz in person, and Karl Gallagher.

It's a fun little con. My only concern was going to be if internet drama turned into real life drama. Thankfully, it doesn't.

That's... really the short version. I made a lot of bad choices for LC XXX, including a hotel that was off the bus route (which I was lied to about), I drove down from New York, and not fighting for panels I was better suited for. My publisher wants to do LC XXXI for the release of A Pius Stand. So I'll probably do that as well. We'll see.

But it was nice to drive down and see John C Wright and Jagi on the way to Chatanooga. They were awesome hosts, as always. They're good people. Anyone says otherwise, I will fight them in the street.

Anyway, the Dragon Awards are due Monday. Just remember: Awards.dragoncon.org. I have three eligible books out, so .. .enjoy.

LibertyCon 30 Schedule is up

LibertyCon, 2017, has a schedule up.

My personal schedule for the convention can be found right here.

This time, I'm slightly screwed.  My 2pm signing on Saturday will be opposite the Baen road show. So I'll be interested to see who I get to show up.

I've got a reading on Friday with Gail Z Martin, so cool.

Saturday at 6 .... Gothic Horror and the Birth of Vampire Romanticism.  Huh. I guess I'll have to fake it.

Right after that, at 7PM: Revenge of the Podcasters.

Sunday is a light day, with the Kaffeelatsch at 10am, and the "Influence of Dark Urban Fantasy on Mainstream Media."

What could go wrong?

Best Horror in the Dragon Awards, 2017

To begin with, let's have a conversation over what I've been making all the fuss about.

In 2017, I'm hoping to get one of these.

Take a look.

Nice, huh? They look nifty, right? They really are. They're about ten pounds each, perhaps more, of pure, handcrafted, blown glass. Each one of them is unique, so no two of them look a like. There is literally no other award like it.

Here, let's pull back a bit.

When I started the year, I out and out said that I would lay money on Live and Let Bite being the winner in horror for the second annual Dragon Awards, this September.

And it wasn't boasting. I figured it was simply logical.

It had everything good from the trilogy to date, and more of it.

It had more romance

It had more action.

It had more vampires.

It had an expansion of the vampire lore I'd already established.

It has SpecOps minions, it has terrorist attacks with RPGs, shootouts, vampires going to war with street gangs, the mafia, the NYPD, other vampires, leveling three separate buildings, gun battles with Vatican Ninjas, miniguns, mental warfare, a vampire that took a MOAB to the FACE, and everything short of demons... Because I'd already done that. I have shootouts that make Underworld look like a day trip to Chicago.

....Okay, wrong comparison.

But now ... I'm not entirely certain that people like it more than Murphy's Law of Vampires. 

It seems that Marina Fontaine suggest edthat there wasn't as much of a threat in Bite as in Murphy's.

Jim seemed to have an issue with how perfect some of my fight scenes went.

And JD Cowan's review seemed to encompass the entire series.

Though I'll admit, it was nice to see Injustice Gamer's review: "Declan thinks this will win him a Dragon Award. I'm not going to tell him he's wrong.....This is the best entry for the series so far."

Heh.

Anyway, Murphy's vs. Bite is going to be a coin toss. Which is strange, but not the first time I've been wrong. Please remember, I didn't think that Honor at Stake would go this far. I wasn't expecting any of the accolades it got last year. I didn't expect it to go farther than an "it's okay" while I worked on a half dozen other projects.

So ... what do I know?

Thankfully, as I mentioned in my last Dragon Award post, both Murphy's and Bite are eligible

Don't worry, I'm not going to kvetch if you prefer one of my books over another.

Again, I'm obviously the last person to judge.

Anyway, The Dragon Awards are open and ready for nominations, and I have a list of suggestions for you. If you already  have a good idea of what you want, just click here to go and vote for them immediately. The instructions are right there.

Or: sign up for my mailing list in order to get free stuff.

The Love at First Bite series. 

    

Hunting the Dragon (Award)

It's occurred to me that I've been a little too cavalier in these Dragon Award posts, and I should probably start spelling out what the bleep is going on a little bit better before I go on a tear.

To start with, Dragon Con is one of the biggest SFF conventions in the United States, if not on the face of the Earth. Held in Atlanta each year, Dragon Con hosts a minimum of 60,000 people each year -- and we will probably never know how much they really host, lest they get in trouble with the fire marshal (I'm not even kidding).

I have, of course, posted Dragon Con reports, so many that if you click the tag DragonCon, you'll see all of my reports.

And, of course, Dragon Con has created its own award -- the Dragon Award, pictured left.

Aren't they shiny?


Unlike a certain other set of awards that shall never be named, the Dragon Awards give out awards by genre. The Dragon Awards are also unique in that they do not go by calendar year, but from the start of July to the end of June.

Dragon Awards won by John C Wright, Brian Niemeier
and Nick Cole 2016

I've done this list a few times already. Once was done over on the Superversive SF blog, using a list of Superversive books from last year that fit their standards. That was a bit of a problem with several of the books, since not all of them were SFF. Set to Kill was one of the books on the list, but not eligible -- since it's a murder mystery that takes place in Atlanta, at a place called WyvernCon, in the middle of a political war about Tearful or Hydrophobic Puppies versus Puppy Punters from traditional Big Publishing. Obviously, this book has no similarities to real events.

Heh.

Moving on.

I've mentioned the genres, and I've mentioned the place. Now here's the important part: the who.

Who can vote?

ANYONE

Yes, anyone can vote in the Dragon Awards, whether you have attended the con, or if you will never attend the con.

You can vote here, once you're registered. Keep in mind, you can only vote for each book ONCE. If you try to vote for, say, Murphy's Law of Vampires in more than one category, like best horror / best fantasy / best YA, your ballot will be invalid.

I will reiterate, because this has been a problem: this isn't a calendar year eligibility process, nor are these categories by length, but by genre. And yes, you can wait until the end of July to nominate various and sundry novels for the Dragons. You can vote at the end of July if you like.

I don't recommend waiting quite that long, since the Dragon award website encourages early voters.

So, vote early, vote often?

.... Nah, only if you're in Chicago.

DISCLAIMER:

I have not read all of the following. In some cases, I've had less and less time to read the more I write.  And I've submitted to ... a lot this year, so I'm a little all over the place. Also, there are some genres I just don't read, usually. I tend to avoid Horror and Alternate History, even though there are some books that are going to change my mind (Brian Niemeier and Lou Antonelli, for example, for horror and Alt History, respectively).  If you have thoughts or suggestions, then by all means, COMMENT.

And now, UNLEASH THE DRAGONS

Best Science Fiction

Escaping Infinity: Richard Paolinelli.  I reviewed this book, and it was awesome.  This is my candidate. This is also the candidate of Jon del Arroz. So this should tell you it's not just me.

Timothy Zahn: Thrawn -- Yes. It's out. I haven't read it yet, but it's on order. And yes, I do suspect this to be the Godzilla that bigfoots the entire proceedings. Any other author on this list, if you're reading this, get your fans to vote, and hope Zahn doesn't want the award.

God, Robot, by the Wrights, et al: Missionary robots. I interviewed the authors of this anthology last year.

Torchship Pilot, Karl Gallagher. You might recall him. I interviewed him on the show a few times. He's an awesome guy, and he should probably win on the hard SF aspect alone.

Blood of Invidia, by Tom Tinney. Vampires from space. Hemophagic aliens. Yes. Interesting, ain't it. Haven't read it yet, but I've had Tom on the show twice before. 

The Secret Kings, Brian Niemeier: This is book three. Souldancer was book #2, and won best horror in 2016. I;d say this is also eligible over in horror, but the description looks very Space Opera. Read it and you tell me in the comments. When I asked Brian on my radio show, he didn't have an opinion. The description reads like David Weber versus Cthulhu.

Discovery, Karina Fabian. NNNUUUUNNNNSSSSS IIIIINNNNN SSSSSPPPPAAAACCCEEE

Best Fantasy Novel 

(Includes Paranormal)

Murphy's Law of Vampires: This is here mostly as a place holder. In part because I don't want to be the schlub who doesn't vote for his own book. Especially since Murphy's is the choice of Richard Paolinelli.  Also, I've got multiple books out this year, so this helps. This one could go here, or it could go in horror. There is not, as yet, an Urban Fantasy category.

However, if you wants someone interesting, and who isn't me, then there's Keeping the Faith, by William Lehman: Don't let the 2015 date on Amazon fool you, this came out in November of 2016,  Take a look at it. Think of it as less urban fantasy and more .... forest fantasy. Long story.

Let's also consider Jon Van Stry and his Hammer Commission, book 3, Loose Ends. I haven't read it, but it's eligible. I would have put him in horror, even he doesn't think it works.

Amie Gibbon has also suggested Psychic Undercover (with the Undead) by Amie Gibbons

Young Adult

Rachel and the Many-Splendored Dreamland, by L. Jagi Lamplighter. I've only read book 1 of Jagi's series, but I've liked enough of it to conclude that I'd suggest people take a look at this before voting. Richard confirms this one.  As does Jon del Arroz.

Swan Knight's Son  / Feast of the Elfs / Swan Knight's Sword by John C. Wright.   FOR THE RECORD,  I've asked, and if anyone votes for John under YA, he'd rather shoot for Swan Knight's Son

Path of Angels, Dawn Witzke. Yup, my cover artist has a book out. It's Christian dystopia road trip.

Yes, it is another long story. How'd you guess?

Van Ripplewink: You Can't Go Home Again -- a CLFA contender for Book of the Year, and on the Superversive list. Give it a whirl.

Best military science fiction or fantasy novel

There is some overlap here between the military SFF novels and their other categories. If one is torn between two Monster Hunter Memoirs, or two Hammer Commissions, or two Finn books, voting here and in scifi or fantasy is the easy way to split the baby.

Ringo, Monster Hunter Memiors: Sinners  and / or Ringo, Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge are both eligible. And they are both awesome. Also, I needed something for this section.

Star Realms: Rescue Run, by Jon del Arroz.  Jon's another good guy, and I think that giving him an award would be highly, highly ... amusing. Heh heh heh. It's a long story. Start with BayCon, and work forward from there. If the book's half as awesome as he is, it deserves a look.

There's also Cartwright's Cavaliers, which was mentioned in my circles lately.

Perhaps Loose Ends and Cartwright's Cavaliers should go here as well. But that's a coin toss. DragonCon will decide what goes where. So don't worry.

Best alternate history novel 

This will be Lou Antonelli's first DragonCon ever! Can you imagine that?

I think that we should do something nice to commemorate this, and see if we can get him a Dragon Award for his book Another Girl, Another Planet

No. I'm not suble. But Lou's a good guy, and he literally does panels on alternate history, time travel, et al. And this is his first novel.

I can't think of anyone I'd rather give it to.

And yes, I know that Harry Turtledove is the king of this genre, and he has Armistice: The Hot War book 3.  But, like with Zahn's Thrawn novel, just because he's the big name in the room doesn't mean I'm not going to vote for Lou.

Also, going back to the book a moment, this is the plot of AGAP

Dave Shuster has been confronted by secret government agents over a photo taken by a Mars lander of a graveyard complete with crosses on Mars. Shuster claims that – in an alternate timeline – he was a low-level bureaucrat in the administration of a joint U.S. – Soviet Mars colony when he was caught up in a murder mystery involving the illegal use of robot technology.

In that timeline, the Cold War took a very different turn – largely influenced by Admiral Robert Heinlein, who was allowed to return to Naval service following World War II.

When Shuster is thrown into a power vacuum immediately upon his arrival on the Mars Colony in 1985, he finds himself fighting a rogue industrialist using his wits with some help from unlikely sources in a society infiltrated by the pervasive presence of realistic androids.

Okay, I now have to buy this one and read it ASAP

And, as I'm just discussing what's eligible right now, there is also the juggernaught that is Eric Fint and his 1632 fanbase. He's got three books out this year ... however, I think he already got a Dragon Award, so I don't even know if he wants another one.

• 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught
• 1636: Mission to the Mughals
• 1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflotz

They're eligible. I have yet to start the series yet, so no advice from me.

Best Apocalyptic

I hate dystopias. It's one of the reason I cowrote my own.

Codename: UnSub, by me and my coauthor, turns San Francisco into a wasteland that's being haunted by a serial killer. I can say that The Injustice Gamer really liked this one.

Cadain's Watch, the sequel to Daniella Bova's Tears of Paradox, is out. And boy, is it apocalyptic. No idea if I'll be able to read it before voting.

I suppose I should take it as a sign of improvement that I actually had candidates last year. This year? Nada.

To steal from the CLFA list, however?

People's Republic.

Liberty Lost.

Best Horror

Live and Let Bite ... As I've said before, this is the book. This is where I'm putting my money. I have made my case for it to win a Dragon. As I said before, this is everything from Honor at Stake and does more. Romance? Action? The stakes? Pressed down and overflowing.

It's just logical.

Yes, I would love for this book to be registered under "Urban Fantasy," and then thank God that there isn't a Harry Dresden book out thus far this year, but aside from that ... I have demons and vampires and minions with machine guns. This is probably where I will make my stand, whether I like it or not.

Murphy's Law of Vampires ... no, this I'm not recommending, again, since there's Live and Let Bite. Murphy's is merely eligible, and that's about the extent of it.

Jon del Arroz concurs. Really.

Then again, given my luck, everyone will vote for Murphy's and ignore Bite. Which will confuse me no end.  Richard already has.

And .... that's it. Sorry, I'm not a big fan of horror -- too much nihilism, depression, and "let's kill people who are too stupid to live."

For the record, I would like someone to tell the Dragon Awards to start an Urban Fantasy genre (also known as the "Jim Butcher award"). Perhaps a paranormal romance category?

I'm going to start skipping at this point, for reasons that will become clear. Please forgive me on this.

Best science fiction or fantasy series, TV or internet: 

Grimm is in its last season. I'll guess this would get it, just so it can get one before disappearing.

Arrow ...? Maybe.

iZombie is coming back, and it is the best Zombie show ever.

Luke Cage ... was boring. Don't do it.

Yes, Lucifer is eligible, but I wouldn't suggest it this season. Too much time spent with his mother. Yes, really.

Stranger Things was suggested last time.

Best SFF Movie

Doctor Strange -- My personal favorite... Yeah. That's about it. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them -- Not a personal favorite of mine. In fact, I think it is interesting for what it added to the world, not because it was a particular engaging film.

I'd rather Dr Strange than Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Kong: Skull Island ... I never got to see.

Wonder Woman ... I'm hopeful.

The Mummy? God, I hope not. No more Tom Cruise!

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter .... no, no no and HELL NO.

Spider-man: Homecoming. .. Is coming out in July, and is eligible for NEXT year. So we'll see how that goes.

It's a coin flip until further notice

Best PC / console game: 

I'm sure there will be people who toss up between

• Final Fantasy XV  (Not holding my breath)
• Titanfall 2?  Perhaps. I've heard good things about it.
• Total War: Warhammer. I've seen some good reviews on this one.

As for the rest ... damned if I know. I'm still catching up to Rise of the Tomb Raider. And no one I know wants to give props to Mass Effect: Andromeda.

However, there are people out there who have some thoughts on the matter. The Injustice gamer can help you fill these in, if you're interested.

• Best comic book
• Best graphic novel  -- The Injustice Gamer has thoughts on these
• Best science fiction or fantasy mobile game
• Best science fiction or fantasy board game
• Best science fiction or fantasy miniatures / collectible card / role-playing game

Enjoy.  CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE IN DRAGON AWARDS NOW, IF YOU WANT TO. But, again, you can hold off until July if you like.  But I'd do it sooner, rather than later, if I were you.

Feel free to post some reminders and thoughts.

No, really. Please post your thoughts and suggestions below. I need all the help I can get.

If you haven't already, check out some of the books below.

And if you have, please leave a review.