If you’re a Pacific Northwesterner looking for some extra nerdy fun this weekend, be sure to check out Westercon, held here in Portland this year (at the Doubletree Hotel, Lloyd Center). Westercon is hosted by the annual summer steampunk convention, GearCon, so think of the weekend as a big, delicious sundae of steampunk, SF, and fantasy fun.

Unstaged reaction to hugging Totoro.
Photo by Remy Nakamura.

As a giant nerd, of course I’ll be there. I never miss a chance for fun. Who can forget the time I saw Totoro and totally freaked out?

Here’s my schedule for the weekend:

Saturday, 7/2:

More Than Just Black and White: Humanizing Heroes and Villians
12 pm , Roosevelt room
Heroes and villains can’t be all good or evil. Join the panelists for a lively discussion of favorite heroes and villians and what makes them so interesting and learn how to craft complex and relatable characters to give your stories emotional impact.
with Carol Berg, David Boop, and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff.

Violence in Fantasy
2 pm, Jackson room
Battles, torture, swordfights . . . why do we see so much violence in fantasy literature? Is it a requirement? How much is too much? Do you as a writer have limits? Does every epic have to end in a battle?
with Anthony Pryor, Jim Doty, and John Shirley.

Sunday, 7/3:

Kaffeeklatsch
10 am, Multnomah room
Come hang out and drink hot beverages with me! I’ll be joined by writers A.M. Brosius, Erica Satifka, and Sharon Joss.

Wendy N. Wagner: solo reading
12 pm, Madison room
Before you grab lunch, spend half an hour having your ears tickled by my melodious voice. Nothing whets your appetite like a story!