Penguicon is just around the corner, though taking place in May (May 4th - 6th) this year instead of the usual April. Once again, makers, open-sourcers, scientists, artists, writers, science fiction and fantasy fans and aficionados, geeks, techies, nerds, cosplayers, and all manner of other wonderful people will be getting together in our yearly celebration of things we hold dear. If you haven't ever yet been to Penguicon, there is no better time, with new and exciting "escape the room" scenarios and a new geek burlesque performance in addition to the usual wide array of panels, talks, workshops, etc.

As for myself, I will be in attendance, but not nearly as busy with panels as I've been in previous years. I'll be doing a reading from my newly published short horror story, Snick, at 6pm on Friday night in the Writer's Block, then shooting over to Montcalm to run a writing workshop called Promptapalooza at 7pm. But Friday is my busy day as on Saturday my only event is a presentation on The Science of Beekeeping at 1pm in Baldwin. Sunday is free and clear. Hopefully this will give me plenty of time to attend and enjoy other panels.

Hope to see you there!

Previous Penguicon Posts:
Takeaway Tidbits: Penguicon 2017
Penguicon 2017 Recap
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Penguicon
Penguicon 2016 Recap

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!
Writing is Magic.
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.

 The awesome author of this week is author and pastry chef extraordinaire, Mary Beth King. I met Mary Beth though the Mid-Michigan Prose and Writing Group, and have been wowed by her writing style and lovable, despicable characters ever since. She is also a fellow NaNoWriMo champion, but with several more wins under her belt. :)

1. What do you wish people would ask you about your writing?
ANYTHING. I love to talk about it.  I could bore people for hours about how I got started, where I get me inspiration, etc.
It's one of my favorite topics of conversation ( or perhaps monologue) 

2. Which of your characters would you most like to meet and why?
Hmmmm,  I think I've already have met them.  I spend a lot of time walking around with characters in my head before I write about them. I put them into  a lot  situations and watch them react. Then  I decide if I like them well enough to put them in a story.  Sometimes they just don't flesh out enough and I abandon them, but not often. 
As a committed NaNophile with 8 years under my belt, I have noticed that come March or April characters will start floating around in my head and I'll grab onto to a couple and start the dance I just described. By the time November comes around, I'm ready to write. 
By then, we're old pals.   

3. What do being a pastry chef and writing have in common?
That's an interesting question.  Not being schooled in either endeavor, I tend go by feel.. 
I seem to be able to  sense ahead of time what will work out and what won't, whether it's a new recipe or story line.  I have some mechanics in both areas, but I run a lot on instinct and,  'well how bad could it be?' 
Over time it all seems to gel pretty well and then I have the confidence to keep going.

Mary Beth King has been a pastry chef in Ann Arbor for 26 years, she is married to a U of M  Math professor.  She thinks her only hobby other than biking, is writing novels. 
She has one publication so far, a short story entitled 'The Last Time' published by New Beginnings online magazine. 
She is currently working on a memoir/cookbook called 'Til It Looks Good: The true adventures of s real life pastry chef'.

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!
Writing is Magic.
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.