The Worlds of Michael D'Ambrosio

Just returned from my second convention in Tennessee in less than a month. It’s always a pleasure returning there. I had an opportunity to see many friends in addition to those from Connooga and I picked up quite a few new fans for my novels. I also had an opportunity to meet a new rising star in the writing world, James Hodgson. If you have a chance to look him up, he’s a class act and a very talented writer.
Now I have a little time before my next conventions in May, SciFiValleyCon and BaltiCon so I’ll try to make some headway on chapter two of Queen of Pain. While relaxing at Midsouthcon, I came up with an idea for my Space Truckers script. I want to write a prequel to it after coming up with a wild plot line that I can use to set up Space Truckers. Night Creeps 2 should be available soon and Night Creeps is catching fire right now. I can’t believe how many copies I’ve sold of late. Thanks for joining me and come back soon for another update on my projects and appearances.

Finally catching my breath after a great weekend in York, Pa. at CentralPaComicon. Congratulations to Alicia Lurye and her staff for a great job in bringing this convention to maturity. The Wyndham Gardens Conference Center was sold out on March 14th and 15th with many being turned away. I want to thank all my new fans who purchased books and those who took time to stop and chat with me as well. I really had a great time with all of you and look forward to returning next year. I’m still awaiting a release date on Night Creeps 2 which should be soon so all of you who purchased Night Creeps, hang loose. I’ll have a date soon.
I will be back in the York area on June 13th at the York Emporium Book Store at 343 W. Market St. for SciFi Saturday. I’ll also be at Carlisle High School for their charity event on May 30th from 11 to 4. They are hosting several authors to help raise money for charity. I’ll have more on those events as they draw closer.
Coming up next is Midsouthcon in Memphis. I’ve been invited back for the third year in a row and I’m very excited about it. I’ll be moderating panels on Friday at 10:00, Back to the Future: a discussion on time travel, portals, and wormholes; Saturday morning at 9:00 Will The Internet Achieve Sentience; then I also have 8:00 on Friday night: Meet the Guests; 10:00 on Saturday morning: Screenplays, Scripts and Space Opera; 10:00 in the evening: Writing Science Fiction; and Sunday at 12:00, Genre Roulette. Join me next week for a review of the convention and more information.

After returning from a fun-filled week in Chattanooga, the weather brought me back to cold, harsh reality. Finally, after recovering from a number of setbacks, I’m finally catching up with things. First of all, thanks to everyone at Connooga for a great time. Pictures can be found on Facebook under my page and Connooga’s as well. Lots of costumes and fun activities including a chance to see the lovely GiGi Edgely (remember Farscape) once more. It’s always a pleasure to see many of my writer friends for whom Connooga is a regular stop every year. There are so many, I won’t even try to name them. I will say that when we get together, it’s always a good time for everyone. Despite a snowstorm that dumped eight inches of snow on Chattanooga, the attendance was still extraordinary. I’m already looking forward to next year.
There’s been a slight delay in the release of Night Creeps 2 because of yours truly. I haven’t been available for feedback on the cover among other things due to weather related headaches. It will be available soon, though, I promise. I finally completed my responsibilities to my very patient publisher. For those of you who begged me to do the Night Creeps sequel but with more … adult material, you’re wish was my command. Night Creeps 2 takes the series from R to an X, particularly the last few chapters. While writing this type of material was new to me, I did come up with a way to include it in the story while adding humor and excitement and not detracting from a good horror tale.
After several pitches of Space Truckers, I had my heart broken once again by the movie gurus. The back breaker is that it would cost too much to make. Heck, Guardians of the Universe cost Marvel $170 million to make. I would think they’d realize that Sci-fi isn’t cheap unless it’s Sharknado. So what’s a writer to do?
Well, I’m teaming up with a very talented comic artist, Michael Harrington, and my Space Frontiers publisher Dianne Helm to create a comic series for The Eye of Icarus using Kickstarter to help fund it’s creation. More to come on this. I’m also torn between writing the sequel to Princess Pain and novelizing my Space Truckers script.If time permits, I’d like to complete both this year.
Coming up on my schedule is CentralPaCon in York, Pa (March 14th & 15th), MidsouthCon in Memphis, TN (March 20th to 22nd), ScifiValleyCon in Altoona, Pa. (May 15th to 17th), BaltiCon in Hunt Valley, MD (May 22nd to the 25th) and many others listed under appearances.
One of the things I’ve found discouraging as a writer is that it is so hard to get reviews for books. I recently received one from a great writer in her own right, Kim Richardson, who had a lot of good things to say about Princess Pain. Kim is tough and doesn’t give accolades away so I was overwhelmed by her initial remarks for Princess Pain. I’ll post the complete review when it’s available.
For those who know my truck at the conventions, the Sci-Fi truck is back in action as of today with a new engine. The old one succumbed to a stuck accelerator cable that redlined while I was driving. Imagine how fast I was going and even more, how quickly I got there. I can’t complain because the old Vortec V-6 did me proud for 333,000 miles. If I had a space ship, I’d want that engine in it. So when you see that tailgate with my fractured time logos on it pass you at warp speed, you know it’s me heading to one of my favorite conventions. A special thanks to the law enforcement officers who have cut me slack for traveling at warp speed. Come back soon for new details and appearances as well as a summation of my next two conventions.