Taking a brief break from Vampire Month while I talk to you about what I am doing over EasterCon…

The programme for the weekend is now live and can be seen and downloaded here:

https://www.mancunicon.org.uk/whats-on/programme/

On there you will see the following:

True Love and Trophies (Panel) 19:00 (1 hour) in Room 6

Ruth Frances Long (m), Jacey Bedford, D.A. Lascelles, Justina Robson and Kate Soley Barton

The link between SF&F and Romance. Romance may be the ultimate crossover genre, found in everything from horror to hard SF, urban fantasy to space opera. But it can be a two-edged sword — nothing makes the audience happier than True Love Winning Against All Odds, but few things can make a reader wince as much as the Shoehorned In Love Story, The Girl As Reward, or the Completely Inappropriate Time To Declare One’s Feelings. Join our panel for a discussion about what SF and fantasy can learn from the romance genre, how speculative narratives are changed by the female gaze, and how to craft a believable love story in the most extraordinary settings.

So, yes… this is where you can definitely find me over the weekend, in room 6 at 7pm talking about romance. With some pretty awesome folks by the looks of it. The rest of the weekend I will be in and out, checking out other panels and generally meeting people. It is looking like it might be a  very interesting weekend.

If you are already a member of the conference then make sure you pop along to see me in my panel (and please take photos!¬ No one ever seems to get photos of me on panels and stuff).. If you are not a member of the conference already then you may be out of luck as the places are now all filled. Though you may get lucky…

If you see me around the conference make sure you say hi. I may be carrying a stock of Tea Society and Lurker badges…

I also plan to do a blog post of the weekend here, with my own photos. So check back here to see what I did and where I went and who I talked to…

Now, we can return to our scheduled programming… with our next Vampire Month victim lined up ready for Tuesday…