Tee Morris

Writer, podcaster. and streamer

DragonCon

On the Arguments of “Cosplay Is Consent” and “Fake Geek Girls”

So I’m about to leave Facebook to get back to editing when this image from Being a Geek (via Lauren Harris) popped into my feed…

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I now post this for creative ladies like Lauren, Raven, Riddle, Jenn, Jean, Alexia, Freddie and cosplayers everywhere.  Some of these incredible creators I know. Some are total strangers to me. All of them are fans through and through, dedicating their time and talent to bring their favorite characters of comics, film, and television to life.

And no, they’re not doing it to get attention, score dates, or lure you into a bed strewn with roses. These ladies—and the guys who also cosplay—do what they do for the love of the genre and for the love of those characters.

They are also writers, gamers, and artists.

If you believe this, stop this sort of sexism when you see it. Whether it is Dragon*Con, Comic Con, or an entirely new convention, this kind of idiocy needs to be called out. After all, that is what the Science Fiction-Fantasy-Horror community is all about — acceptance.

Time we start practicing it.

Dragon*Con 2012: Booksignings, Parsecs, and Unabashed Geekgasms

Yep. It’s here. Dragon*Con.

Tomorrow morning, Pip and I hit the Interstate system of the Mid-Atlantic, heading to the grand event where tens of thousands of geeks of movies, television, books, costuming, and just about anything else you can think of descend on the unsuspecting city of Atlanta. We’re facing our busiest Dragon*Con ever (see what happens when you go a few years without hitting an event like this — they make you work!), and the breakdown is here:

Thursday

  • We check in. We see whatever we can. We party a bit with Alex White.

Friday

  • The Retro-Cast: Steampunk Podcasting & More – 8:30pm in Westin Int’l BC (Main Room)

Saturday

Sunday

  • Steampunk Author Roundtable (Part 1) – Sunday 1oam in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)
  • Book Signing, Larry Smith Books, Sunday 12:00-1:00 in Marriott Booth 309
  • Book Signing, The Missing Volume, Sunday 1:30-2:30 in Marriott Booth 614

Monday

  • Social Steam: Steampunk, Social Media, and Making It Work – Monday 10am in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)
  • Steampunk 101 — Monday, 11:30 a.m. at Hyatt Embassy D-F
  • How Do You Take Your Steampunk — Light or Dark? – Monday 1pm in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)

Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

Let’s see exactly what kind of trouble the two of us can get into this weekend. Pictures to come…

Parsec Awards Finalist

There may be a good possibility you are new to this blog this week. If you are — I hope you had fun in New Orleans! I hope to see you again in Savannah!

(If you are curious as to what I mean by that, stay tuned. I have another blogpost in the works about that.)

Being new to the blog, I’d like to bring you up to speed on some good news from the podcasting front, made official on receiving this badge:

If you are not enjoying podcasts because this is the first time you have heard of them, a podcast is some sort of online media (usually audio or video, but really any kind of file) automatically delivered using iTunes, Juice, Bloglines or some kind of app that can subscribe to its feed. It sounds complicated, but trust me — it isn’t.

The 2012 Parsec Awards, now in their seventh year, honors podcasts featuring Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, celebrating the best in speculative fiction. I’ve not been up for a Parsec since 2008 when Billibub Baddings and The Case of the Singing Sword won that year for Best Audio Drama (Long Form).

This year, however, I’m apparently making up for lost time…

Best Speculative Fiction Story: Small Cast (Short Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast

Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation

What makes this year’s Parsecs so special for me is that this year marks the first time Pip and I are appearing as producers, not just podcasters. Tales from the Archives also appears twice in the Best Short Story (Large Cast) category, and I don’t know who is more excited — Starla, Paul, or Pip and myself. We are so proud of the talented authors appearing in the Tales from the Archives (all of them — even the ones that weren’t nominated), but the Ministry’s presence at this year’s Parsecs only validates what we already knew. Thank you, everyone!

And to everyone in the Final Round, congratulations. To make the finals in the Parsecs is practically standing in the Winners’ Circle as far as I am concerned, and it’s a nice place to be. I wish you all the best of luck!

Onward to Dragon*Con…

Hot August Nights: Another Tour de Force from Tee Morris

Anybody remember May?

I do. Barely.

It was a full-on month, the 2012 edition of the lusty month of May, and when it was done, I figured “Yeah, the rough part of this summer is done. i can now kick back and coast until Dragon*Con (which Pip and I had already committed to last year). Nothing to worry about.”

I really have to learn to not say things like that. As August looms ahead, I’m now looking at the unintentional tour schedule Pip and I have cobbled together between June and now.

Mark your calendars…because we sure have!

August 8-12, New Orleans, Louisiana

Watch the Skies

August 25, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

alongside the steampunk talents of…

Dragon*Con

August 31- September 3, Atlanta, Georgia

  • The Retro-Cast: Steampunk Podcasting & More – Fri. 8:30pm in Westin Int’l BC (Main Room)
  • The World Is Bigger Than England: Multi-Culturalism in the Alternate History Environment — Saturday 2:30pm in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)
  • The Parsec Awards — Saturday, 4:30pm in the Regency V Ballroom — Hyatt
  • The Tech Stuff (hosted by Steve Riekeberg) — Saturday, 8pm in Hilton 204
  • Steampunk Author Roundtable (Part 1) – Sunday 1oam in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)
  • Book Signing, The Missing Volume, Sunday 1:30-2:30 in Marriott Booth 614
  • Social Steam: Steampunk, Social Media, and Making It Work – Monday 10am in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)
  • Steampunk 101 — Monday, 11:30 a.m. at Hyatt Embassy D-F
  • How Do You Take Your Steampunk — Light or Dark? – Monday 1pm in Westin Int’l A (Roundtable Room)

Write by the Rails (at Trinity Church, Manassas, VA)

8 September

Baltimore Book Festival

28-30 September

No, I didn’t plan the end of my summer to be as full-on as the opening of it, but for those of you who have been following my works over the years, you know what I’m going to do — lock my feet under the car’s inside lip, raise my hands up, and enjoy the ride!

See you all in the dog days of summer.

From the “Coming Out of Left Field” Department: The 2012 Parsec Awards

Holy Hanna on a hotplate!

This past Thursday, it turns out, was the day the 2012 Parsec Awards were announced. Now if you have never heard of the Parsecs, don’t sweat it — you’re about to get schooled on one of the most prestigious awards in podcasting and Science Fiction.The Parsec Awards, now in their seventh year, is awarded to podcasts featuring Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Whether it is fiction, fan news, or even geek-a-licious music, the Parsec Awards celebrates the best in speculative fiction and do so as part of the wild ride that is Dragon*Con.

(Pictured here is the 2011 Parsec brought home by Technorama. Good on ya, guys!)

It’s been a while since I’ve been up for a Parsec. In 2008 Billibub Baddings and The Case of the Singing Sword won that year for Best Audio Drama (Long Form), although you could argue last year I was in the Parsec Run as Tales from the Archives gained a nod for Best Short Story with “The Astonishing Amulet of Amenartas” by Nathan Lowell.

Nah. Pip and I produced that episode. “The Astonishing Amulet of Amenartas” was all Nathan, and more of a nice feather in the cap for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Now we’re up to this year’s Parsecs. I was chatting with Veronica Giguere when the announcements went live. I know this because she started chuckling and then said, “I’m laughing about the Parsecs, and about you in the Parsecs.”

I’ll say it again… [Read more…] about From the “Coming Out of Left Field” Department: The 2012 Parsec Awards

A Triple B: Blogworld and BEA in the Big Apple!

May was a blur. It dawned on me yesterday morning that since the middle of April I have been going full tilt. Starting a new job, a book trailer, visiting relatives, two book events, and the premiere of The Janus Affair only highlights the madness that was May. This week marks the end of a powerhouse of promotion and networking, and it seems only right that Pip and I end our power play in the city that never sleeps — New York.

What makes this trip an epic ending for our Janus Affair launch is we will be working both sides of the Javitz Center. Initially we were invited as guests of Blogworld. The amazing Cliff Ravencraft has put together one incredible podcasting track, and with the patience of Job (as he was finalizing everything in May…) he has worked both of us into the programming.

At the same time, Pip got us a signing at Book Expo America! [Read more…] about A Triple B: Blogworld and BEA in the Big Apple!