Sep 30

Join the fun at ARCHON 43!

If you’re a fan or a writer of science fiction and fantasy, don’t miss ARCHON 43, the Midwest’s Premier Science Fiction and Fantasy event. This year’s theme is “A Celebration of the Imagination.” It will be held October 4-6 at the Gateway Convention Center and DoubleTree Hotel in Collinsville, IL.

This year I’ll be sharing Table 20 on Booksellers Row with Jennifer Lynn, author of the Bree MacLeod series–“Glimpse the world through the eyes of a modern-day shaman.”

See the complete Program here. We and other members of the St. Louis Writers Guild will make the following presentations:

SATURDAY


Publish Your Book (Without Spending a Fortune!)
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Steven M. Thomas (M)
Marquette B – Gateway Center 8:00 PM

Audiobooks for Authors on a Budget
AUTHOR – CRAFT
It’s easier than you think to join publishing’s fastest growing segment! Learn how to find the perfect narrator/producer and ways to promote your audiobook.
Jennifer Lynn (M),T.W. Fendley,Debbie Manber Kupfer,Steven M. Thomas
Madison C & D – DoubleTree – Collinsville
10:00 AM

Jules Verne, A Writer’s Guide to Imagination and Exploration
AUTHOR – FAN
Follow Jules Verne on his journeys. Poe and Dumas were his inspiration as to style, but the science, imagination, adventure, and camaraderie were all his!
Ronald R. Van Stockum Jr. (M)
St. Clair A & B – DoubleTree – Collinsville
10:00 AM

Writing Mental Illness
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Characters reflect real life, and sometimes are metally ill. Writers discuss the challenges and benefits of creating mentally ill characters.
Cole Gibsen (M),M. R. Sellars,Christine Amsden,Thomas Stratman
Salon 2 – Gateway Center
12:00 PM

Escape from Archon – An Interactive Puzzle Panel
GENERAL
The Plutonians are furious. They have heard that upstart Earthlings have downgraded their planet and they want revenge. They have traveled to our world and have infiltrated this convention. However as they are microscopic they can only communicate through a series of puzzles. Help us solve these puzzles to escape this room and save mankind!
Debbie Manber Kupfer (M),Joey Kupfer
Madison C & D – DoubleTree – Collinsville
4:00 PM

Writing Speculative Fiction for Children -Picture Books to Young Adult
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Not sure if you’re writing a middle-grade or young adult book? Learn how to write, pitch
and market stories for young readers.
Jennifer Lynn (M),Debbie Manber Kupfer,Jessica Mathews,T.W. Fendley
Marquette A – Gateway Center
6:00 PM

Writing Realistic Fight Scenes
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Do your fight scene seem outlandish or fall flat? Come get tips on making your fights a knock-out!
Thomas Carpenter,Walt Boyes,Kasey Mackenzie (M),Cole Gibsen
Marquette B – Gateway Center
6:00 PM

SUNDAY

When One Story Becomes Many
AUTHOR – CRAFT
How to proceed when you realize your story is too involved for one book.
Cole Gibsen (M),Robin Wayne Bailey,Glen Cook,Thomas Carpenter
Salon 1 – Gateway Center 10:00 AM

Writing What You Don’t Know
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Authors write about things they’ve never done all the time, whether it’s killing another person, working in zero gravity or something as “simple” as riding a horse. How much can you research and how much is built on reading other writers who may not have direct knowledge either?
Kristin Bailey,Ethan Nahté,Tracy Morris,Les Haven (M),Cole Gibsen
Salon 1 – Gateway Center 11:00 AM

Shamans, Druids and Wise Women-Writing the Mystic in Fiction
AUTHOR – CRAFT
Discover European Mystical alternatives to the Native American medicine man, including an introduction to the concepts of mystics, Druids, Scyrs, and wise women.
Jennifer Lynn (M)
Marquette A – Gateway Center 2:00 PM

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/join-the-fun-at-archon-43/

May 05

See you at the Crossroads Metaphysical Fair!

Come celebrate Mother’s Day weekend at the Crossroads Metaphysical Fair, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., May 11-12, at the Holiday Inn SW – Route 66 (10709 Watson Rd., St. Louis). Join me, other metaphysical authors and vendors, including Sandy Schulz of Earth & Wheel Pottery.


Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/see-you-at-the-crossroads-metaphysical-fair/

May 05

Join me May 8 at SLPA to discuss “Author Journey”

Join Brad R Cook, Cynthia A. Graham, Peter Green and me to explore our Author Journeys at the St. Lous Publishers Association 6:30 p.m., May 8, meeting at the Richmond Heights Community Center, 8001 Dale Ave. in Richmond Heights.

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/join-me-may-8-at-slpa-to-discuss-author-journey/

Nov 10

Join us Dec. 8 at 6 North in Ballwin!

Signed books by local authors make great holiday gifts! 

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/join-us-dec-8-at-6-north-in-ballwin/

Sep 02

Carrington Event — 159 years ago!

Available in print, Kindle & audio

Check out today’s Space Weather for information about the Carrington Event, which I referenced in my short story, SOLAR LULLABY. The legendary solar flare happened 159 years ago.

Auroras seen as far south as Cuba … and “As the day unfolded, the gathering storm electrified telegraph lines, shocking technicians and setting their telegraph papers on fire. The “Victorian Internet” was knocked offline.”

http://spaceweather.com

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/carrington-event-159-years-ago/

Jun 23

Check out Midwest Crystal Fest, 6/23-24!

This weekend, I’ll be at the Midwest Crystal Fest, held outdoors at Emmenegger Park in Kirkwood, Mo., sharing a table with my good friend Sandy Schulz of Earth&Wheel Pottery. She makes amazing horsehair and pit-fired pottery, including runes, beads, and bowls. Of course, I’ll have my books there, too!

Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

See you there!

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/see-us-this-weekend-at-midwest-crystal-fest/

Mar 29

Behind the Labyrinth of Time: the second blue moon rises

Research is one of the fun things about writing. When I was imagining my young adult novel, The Labyrinth of Time, I became intrigued by the idea of “double blue moons.” In recent times, we generally say the second full moon in a calendar month is a blue moon. A few times each century, you have two blue moons in one year, which is called a double blue moon.

On March 30, we’ll have the second blue moon of 2018, following one on Jan. 31.  The last double blue moon happened in 1999, and the next will be in 2037.

The idea of double blue moons inspired the “prophecy of the Peruvian elders” that’s at the heart of the adventure story in The Labyrinth of Time:

Beware the second blue moon’s rising. Stones will speak to men, and the song of Pachamama and Inti will fill your hearts. Tremble at the dark moon, which heralds the Light’s return. Only those who tread the Path of Knowledge may rise among the First Men and quench the flames of doom.

I took some liberties with the “dark moon” reference. There is a total lunar eclipse during this cycle, but it occurred on Jan. 31, 2018, rather than March 30 when the story occurs. And the next total eclipse visible in Ica, Peru, is Jan. 21, 2019, which is not part of a double blue moon pair…and that was too long for Jade and Felix to wait for the comet’s return.

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/behind-the-labyrinth-of-time-the-second-blue-moon-rises/

Jan 29

Blue moon, super moon, blood moon — see the trifecta Jan. 31!

January 31 brings a lunar trifecta: the super blue blood Moon! This full moon is the third in a series of “supermoons,” when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit — known as perigee — and about 14 percent brighter than usual. It’s the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a “blue moon.” The super blue moon will pass through Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”

Credits: NASA 360

In St. Louis, the best viewing will be from about 5:50 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. This “trifecta” hasn’t occurred over the U.S. in 150 years!

Beginning at 5:30 a.m. EST on Jan. 31, a live feed of the Moon will be offered on NASA TV and NASA.gov/live. You can also follow at @NASAMoon.

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/blue-moon-super-moon-blood-moon-see-the-trifecta-jan-31/

Jan 23

Meeting with young writers at Wildwood Middle School

Local authors Jennifer Stolzer and Brad R Cook joined me today at Wildwood Middle School to discuss “Writing Real People” with eight classes of seventh-grade students. We had some great questions and lots of participation, which made it fun for us. Hoping to see some of the 200+ students at Gateway Con in June and to read some entries from them in one or both of the young writers contests sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild!

Click image to enlarge.

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/meeting-with-young-writers-at-wildwood-middle-school/

Oct 27

Strange “blue auroras” sighted

Reprinted from Spaceweather.com

STRANGE ‘BLUE AURORAS’ SIGHTED: Last night, strange bands and rings of blue light appeared over parts of Scandinavia and Russia. Was it a weird type of aurora? No geomagnetic storm was in progress. The explanation may be a barrage of missiles fired during an overnight Russian war game, spreading a blue-glowing cloud of rocket exhaust around the Arctic Circle. Photos and more information are highlighted on today’s edition of Spaceweather.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/strange-blue-auroras-sighted/