The first day of LTUE was AMAZING!
I (finally!) met Andrea Pearson, whose book I beta read back in August. I talked about it here, too. She was on four panels today, and will be on two tomorrow and three on Saturday. It was awesome to finally meet her after only having contact through email for so long. She’s releasing two books soon too. One comes out on the 20th, and the other comes out in April.
Some of the other panelists I saw today are Ali Cross, Bryce Moore, Stephen Gashler, Howard Taylor, David Powers King, James C. Duckett, Johnny Worthen, L. E. Modesitt Jr., Bryan Beus, Jason King, S. A. Butler, Peter Orullian, Rebekah R. Ganiere, Maxwell Alexander Drake, and M. K. Hutchins.
My favorite panels from today were the “Writing Fantasy” panel and the “Using History and Folklore to Enrich Your World” panel. The “Writing Fantasy” Panel was basically a bunch of nerds all fanning about which fantasy elements and books we love the most. Peter Orullian is apparently obsessed with dragons.
The “Using History and Folklore to Enrich Your World” panel was really helpful for the world building I’m doing with Powerful. I asked a couple questions about various cultures and religions that folklore can add. They talked a lot about using greetings, food, and codes of conduct to show religion and society without telling.
After that panel was over, M. K. Hutchins and I spent a lot of time talking about various religions and what they can add to a story. And then, she told me she wanted to read my book when it gets published! It was awesome!
Tomorrow I’m planning to spend more time at the symposium. I’ll have more to post then!
~Alyson
