Ah, I love this time of year.  Barbecuing on my terrace, enjoying warm afternoons with a cold beer…

…and, the second weekend of July, the convention known as Shore Leave. This fan-run convention in the Baltimore area features a huge lineup of author guests, including many notable (and notorious) Star Trek novelists.  It also draws some pretty serious media celebrity guests — this year’s roster includes Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff from (among other things) Battlestar Galactica, Torri Higginson from Stargate Atlantis, Kevin Sorbo of Hercules, and more.

I love going to this convention to see my author buddies. Many great memories have been made hanging out in the hotel bar trading stories until last call (and beyond).

And now, on top of all that, I look forward to the roast.  This year our guest of honor (read: victim) is Michael Jan Friedman, the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 books, numerous comic books, and a produced episode of Star Trek Voyager (though why anyone would admit that, I’ll never know).  It’s shaping up to be a great show, and I think it’s one that the fans and the pros will all enjoy.

Now, after last year’s roast of Keith R.A. DeCandido, some folks asked me if we had taped the show. We had, and I produced a DVD of the event. We are doing the same thing this year for Mike’s roast (though hopefully better than we did last year). Before anyone asks, the DVDs are only for the performers, senior crew members, convention bigwigs, and those on the VIP comp list.

You might ask, “How does one get on the VIP comp list?” Easy, you become one of my co-producers, a job that for most people will entail no actual work. If you want to know more, e-mail me…