For those of you who plan on attending Shore Leave 34 (Friday, Aug. 3–Sunday, Aug. 5) in Hunt Valley, Md., and are interested in hearing me yak about various subjects, or just stalking me, here is my schedule.

Friday, August 3

“The Dark Knight Returns“
6PM–7PM in the Hunt Ballroom
I’ll discuss the new Batman movie with Greg Cox (who wrote its novelization), Glenn Hauman, Allyn Gibson, and comic-book historian Alan Kistler.

“Ray Bradbury: Authors’ Retrospective”
8PM–9PM in the Hunt Ballroom
Michael Jan Friedman, Marco Palmieri, Steve Wilson, Scott Pearson, Kathleen David, and I will talk about the work of the late SF master, its impact on the genre, and its particular influences on us as writers.

Meet the Pros
10PM–Midnight in the Hunt-Valley Corridor
Come out and meet all the author guests in one big gathering. Buy books to be autographed, or bring your own from home. This is your best opportunity for author autographs — don’t miss it!

Saturday, August 4

Seminar: Story Development
11AM–1PM in the Concierge Suite
Editor extraordinaire Marco Palmieri, New York Times bestselling author David R. George III, and I will be leading this free two-hour workshop for new writers in which we will focus upon the elemental mechanics and fundamentals of story structure for narrative fiction.

“Leverage: The Con Goes On”
3PM–4PM in Salon A
I’ll join Leverage tie-in authors Greg Cox and Keith R.A. DeCandido, and fellow fans of the show Aaron Rosenberg and Bob Greenberger, to spend an hour waxing ecstatic about this modern-day Robin Hood series.

“Star Trek Vanguard — The Finale”
4PM–5PM in Salon A
Marco Palmieri and I will share our thoughts about the planned conclusion of the series we developed together eight years ago, and which premiered at Shore Leave in 2005. We’ll also do our best to channel the spirits of fellow Vanguardians Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore, or maybe Skype them in on my laptop.

Sunday, August 5

“David Mack”
2PM–3PM in Salon A
Yup, I’m a one-man panel for my final hour at this year’s Shore Leave convention. I’ll be talking about my recently published books, my upcoming work (including my new TNG trilogy, Cold Equations), and answering fans’ questions about my work. If the crowd can refrain from throwing rotten produce at me, I might also preview the new trilogy with a short reading from book one, The Persistence of Memory.