Because all my friends are doing it, I guess I will, too. We’re now a week away from one of my favorite conventions, Shore Leave! Many of the program participants have started to receive tentative schedules, so, for the benefit of those who actually want to know where to find me next weekend, here’s the lowdown.

 

FRIDAY, JULY 8

7PM–9PM in The Valley Room
The Third Annual Shore Leave Comedy Roast for Charity:
The Character Assassination of Robert Greenberger
Make a donation to the American Red Cross and watch writer-editor-politician Bob Greenberger get skewered by a panel of his peers, including Michael Jan Friedman, Peter David, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, Marco Palmieri, Kate Greenberger (Bob’s daughter), and yours truly, all presented by roastmaster Alan “Sizzler” Kistler.
PLUS: Special surprise guests!

 

10PM–Midnight in the Hunt-Valley Corridor
Meet the Pros
Come chat with all your favorite Star Trek authors and have them sign your books. And after you’ve done that, maybe stop and say “hi” to me, too.

 

SATURDAY, JULY 9

10AM–11AM in the Chase Room
What Makes a Villain Great?
I and others will yammer about what qualities or stories make a villain a great character in their own right.

 

1PM–2PM in Salon E
Time Management for Professional Writers
I will be at this panel to serve as a cautionary tale, while Aaron Rosenberg will represent the example you all should aspire to emulate. Keith R.A. DeCandido will moderate.

 

4PM–5PM in Salon F
Game of Thrones
A bunch of people who had nothing to do with making Game of Thrones will talk about it as if they know more than the audience sitting in front of them. Which is kind of ridiculous, now that I think about it. Obviously, this panel will be full of spoilers if you’ve neither read the books nor watched the first season of the HBO original series.

 

SUNDAY, JULY 10

Noon–1PM in the Derby Room
Writing for Canceled Shows
A bunch of tie-in writers will tell you the pros and cons of finding out the series which spawned your latest book is now pushing up the daisies.

 

1PM–2PM in the Derby Room
Star Trek Vanguard: Still Going Strong
Me, Marco Palmieri, Dayton Ward, and Kevin Dilmore talk about the saga as a whole, dish on the new anthology, and maybe tease some info about the next two novels, Dayton and Kevin’s What Judgments Come, and my own work-in-progress, Storming Heaven.

 

2PM–3PM in Salon F
From Tie-in to Original
A whole bunch of tie-in hacks talk about become original SF/F hacks. Why it rules, why it sucks, blah blah blah.

 

SPECIAL SUPER BONUS STUFF!

I won’t be at these screenings, but if you missed the first two roasts, this is a great chance to see them where they began!

FRIDAY, JULY 8

Midnight in The Valley Room
DVD Screening
The Second Annual Shore Leave Comedy Roast for Charity:
Funeral for the Career of Michael Jan Friedman
Adults only for this unexpurgated encore of last year’s roast. If you go, ask Lew to play the bonus features!

 

SATURDAY, JULY 9

Midnight in The Derby Room
DVD Screening
The First Annual Shore Leave Comedy Roast for Charity:
Keith R.A. DeCandido
Adults only for this unedited look back at how all this madness got started. Skip the bonus features. They suck.