Rockstar Storytellers at MarsCon, Michael Merriam Joins as Guest Storyteller
Rockstars fans who are also confolk, you're in for a treat.
No, not a treat: More like a gourmet storytelling meal.
We're back at MarsCon this year. We haven't done a Rockstars show at MarsCon since 2012.
That was a great show and we're all psyched to recreate it with this year's lineup. We've got Laura Bidgood, phillip andrew bennet low, Courtney McLean (in all likelihood with The Dirty Curls) and guest storyteller Michael Merriam.
I'm really looking forward to sharing the stage with Mr. Merriam for a number of reasons. First, there's the fact that his writing is just great. Second, though (and this is probably more important,) he was one of the first writers to treat me as a contemporary rather than an interloper as I was coming up in the biz. That's really important for an emerging artist. You go into the game burdened by peer fear, and every time another artist in your field simply acknowledges you, it's huge. (I still sometimes get giddy over that first time Lois McMaster Bujold passed by at a con and stopped to greet me... by first name, no less.)
So, yes, it's great to be in a position to introduce Mr. Merriam on a stage in front of a group of friends and fans.
Third, Mr. Merriam is one of those guys who's stepped onto the "storytelling" scene and owned the Hell out of it from the start. You may not have seen me write him up much (because we're too closely associated to do a general review without raising conflict of interest concerns) but he's on par with the other rising stars I've kept an eye on: People like Christie Marie Kent or Hope Cervantes. You can get a glimpse of his live work here and here. Those are glimpses, though, and I can attest to the way a taped performance never quite measures up to the real deal, live. I mean, The Song Remains the Same was a fine film, but it was no night at Madison Square Garden.
So it's March 8 at 10 pm. We're at MarsCon, which goes all weekend.
You'll be there, won't you?