IFCON

Liz and I are honored to be celebrity guests this year at IFCON in Victoria British Columbia. We're so excited to be a part of this for a ton of reasons. The con benefits the BC Children's Hospital, which is the coolest reason to have a conference, and the good news is the entire conference is almost SOLD OUT!

Liz and I will be there selling dreadfuls, posters, pictures, patches so look for us at a corner booth in the vendor hall. We also have a ton of events we are doing/going to attend.

Friday October 30th 7PM We will be at the VIP Meet and Greet off site at The Royal Canadian Legion
Saturday October 31st 4PM - (In the Small Workshop Room)We will have our Naughty and Scary Dreadful Panel
Saturday October 31st at 9PM at The Royal Canadian Legion - We will be guest judges at the adult costume contest (and we get to hang out with Ari Lehman, AKA the first Jason from Friday the 13th)
Sunday November 1st Liz is doing a celebrity photo op (all proceeds go to the BC Children's Hospital) this is at 2PM in the vendor hall.

There will be a ton, and I mean a ton of guests from TV, movies, comics, art... this could go on and on. There are movie screenings, panels, photo ops, food trucks, special demonstrations, a masquerade ball, live bands, once in a lifetime celebrity panel opportunities... There's so much, I can't even keep track of it all. Pretty much, if you like anything that has to do with pop culture, it's going to be there.

So if you are in the area, or are thinking of traveling, get your tickets quickly! Check out their website for all the info: Get Tickets Here

IFCON
October 31 - November 1 2015
Pearkes Recreation Centre 
3100 Tillicum Rd
Victoria BC

Here's our nifty promo vid we did for them:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7fvxccg2d76h7dt/IFCON%20VID.MOV?dl=0


I know so much insane work has gone into this and we want to thank everyone involved that has literally spent years making this happen. See you all in Canada soon!

Steamposium 2015

Steamposium is the newest steampunk conference in Seattle, and man is it fun. This year they had stars from Warehouse 13, Steamgirl, and the new GSN show, Steampunk'd, We not only vended this year but also took part in panels. We met a ton of new awesome people and got to hang out with some of our old Northwest steampunk friends. Last year was awesome, but this year ratcheted it up a notch with more going on and more night time activities. This year I actually got to see the costume contest as well which was a cool treat. Shockingly cool costumes. It always amazes me how people can come up with such complex and detailed costumes.

Like just about every con, we can't wait until next year where there is rumor that Liz might be able to do a Naughty Dreadful Pajama Party!

Next up for us is IFCON in Victoria British Columbia Oct 31-Nov 1st. See you in Canada!

With our friend Andy

Lizzie at the table

Me with Brewskibot! Steampunk R2D2 that will serve drinks!

The table before the chaos.

Lizzie at post con sushi back in Gig Harbor. 

Naughty Dreadful, Awesome Updates and Linkies!

Naughty Dreadful

We just got finished with the latest photo shoot for the Naughty Dreadful Issue #3, and I have to say these are the best photos yet! The models were awesome, the photographer absolutely knocked these out of the park. Of course I can only give you the teaser right now but I'm sure I'll be sharing more soon. I can tell you that the newest Naughty Dreadful will have a western theme as you can tell from the pic. 

Steamposium

Barring that something else pop up, (which it very well might) our next conference will be the Steamposium in Downtown Seattle. Last year was an absolute blast and this year looks to be ten times as big. We will be there vending yet again and this time we will have at least four issues of the dreadfuls.

Me and Sean Maher (yes, Simon from Firefly!) at last year's steamposium. 

Dreadfuls

Speaking of the Dreadfuls, check out the website and pick up your single copies or yearly subscriptions today! http://www.thedreadfuls.com/

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Linkies

The late great Jay Lake used to do a thing on his blog called, Link Salad, where he would give useful and relevant links to the community. In honor of his awesomeness, I want to start doing the same thing to help spread the word on things great, fun, rewarding, etc. Here we go!

The Steampunk, Circuspunk, neo Victorican, everything band, This Way to Egress got robbed while on tour. Lame right? You can check out their story and help them recover with a small donation here. http://www.gofundme.com/wzcsb4

Tales From The Goth Librarian II is OUT NOW by the amazing Kimberly Richardson. Published by Dark Oak Press. If you like awesome dark shorts, and finely written poetry, check this out: http://www.darkoakpress.com/goth2.html

Steampunk'd - GSN is having a new show this summer on steampunk costuming and creation! The magnificent Kato will be on it as well. Check out the press release here. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/06/15/gsn-to-launch-new-steampunkd-competition-series-this-summer-hosted-by-jeannie-mai/417668/

Mega prolific writer, insanely talented guy and probably the coolest dude you will ever meet, Stephen Zimmer has a new book out called Heart of  A Lion on Seventh Star Press. You must check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Lion-Stephen-Zimmer/dp/1941706215

One of my favorite Doom Metal bands, Loss is going on tour this fall!!! If you are on the west coast you must give them a listen. Killer. http://lossdoom.blogspot.com/

Like Mystery Books? Who doesn't? My amazing friend, Teresa Burrell has another book out in her long running Advocate series, The Advocate's Geocache! Check her page out: http://teresaburrell.com/

Amazing Weekend at The Brass Screw Confederacy

What an incredible idea. Take the entire Victorian town of Port Townsend, Washington and turn it into a Steampunk haven. The place is so awesome. Almost everything in the downtown area is of Victorian nature. The buildings are old and authentic, the art is awesome, (they have a huge cog statue in the middle of a park.) and the people are wonderfully eclectic. They have several steampunk stores, even the thrift stores advertise their steampunk goods. But none of it is Victorian stuffy at all. There is plenty of punk in their steampunk. They have a volunteer run Food Not Bombs coffee house called The Boiler Room, tons of book stores, unique antique shops, and awesome places to eat and drink.

The Brass Screw Confederacy is not exactly a con but more of a complete invasion of steampunk goodness in many of the buildings. The museum, the VFW, the rental halls, everything had something going on of the genre. They even had tin plate photographers and roving musicians dressed in appropriate garb on the streets. Port Townsend is to Steampunk what Port Royal was to pirates. Complete immersion with something awesome happening around every corner.

The crowds were awesome and we had a great time vending. Even the restaurants were fun. We had dinner at the already steampunk flavored, Cellar Door which is in the basement of a huge Victorian building and another at Sirens, an upstairs gastro-pub overlooking the ocean.

We stayed at two different places. The Manresa Castle, an old haunted place where priests once roamed the halls (we got one of the three haunted rooms) and The Belmont, a five room hotel smack in the middle of the action with bare brick wall and twenty foot ceilings.

In addition to vending, they had several things going on in the evening with bands, bars, after parties, and on Saturday night we attended the Hootenany, which took place in a real World War 2 barracks building. They had burlesque, bands, more bars and even an absinthe room. We partook in all of them and it was glorious. Jody Ellen performed as well as the Nathaniel Johnstone band and my favorite steampunk band, Marquis of Vaudeville from Texas.

Sunday we took the morning to properly explore the shops. The World's End is a steampunk/pirate shop that was too cool. Highly recommend you check that out if you get the chance to visit. We had the honor of vending across from Otherworlds, which is a steampunk/fantasy horror brick and mortar store in Edmunds Washington who now carry all the current single issues of our Dreadfuls!

Liz and I can't say how excited we are to get back their next year. It was such a great experience!

Our table in the vending room

The passionate Marquis of Vaudeville

The haunted Manresa Castle. It's said that a woman jumped out of the top floor window above the door. 

Lizzie with our table assignment

This is what happens when you sit at a table all day. 

In the absinthe room at the Hootenany.

Just one of the awesome buildings. 

Quick shot inside the steampunk store, The World's End. 

The Brass Screw Confederacy

Photo by: Nyk Fury

This weekend Liz and I will be at The Brass Screw Confederacy in Port Townsend, WA. This is a really neat "Con" that is more of a gathering/transformation of the entire city into a steampunk/Victorian/Alternate History haven for the weekend. There will be bands, vendors, burlesque, meet ups, peep shows, and after parties galore. Yes, I totally said peep shows. We will be there selling Dreadfuls, Steampunk novels, patches, posters and more as featured vendors and we are really excited. Check them out here. http://brass-screw.org/

To add to the awesomeness, we will be staying at the uber- beautiful and haunted Manresa Castle. So we hope to see all our local friends. The event starts on Friday afternoon and goes until Sunday.

All Kinds of Good Things

There is so much awesomeness going on right now, I thought I'd share. Lizzie and I are doing tons of stuff so here we go!

The Gig Harbor Beer Fest
While this isn't work related, we are fiends for getting out and exploring everything we can. We've always wanted to go to the local beer fest and this year we are so there! Food and massive amounts of local brews. We can't ask for much more. Looking forward to trying some weird suds. Here's the link for the people in the area. http://gigharborbeerfestival.com/

Emerald Downs
It's well known that we like to get all snazzy and go to the horse races. This year will be no different. We're heading to derby day this weekend where we will bet and have several Mint Juleps. Go Danzig Moon!!

The Brass Screw Confederacy
It's not a con, it's a massive gathering of awesome steampunk-ness that will take over the Victorian town of Port Townsend WA in less than a month. They have burlesque, music, vendors, peep shows... yes, I said peep shows, and after hours parties for this very special event. We will be there as featured sponsors selling and signing Dreadfuls, books, posters and more! So if you're planning on coming (you totally should if you're in the Pacific Northwest) come say hi and get a drink with us when the vendor hall closes. Check it out, this is a very different steampunk event.
The Brass Screw Confederacy

Dragon Con
Lizzie and I are professional guests of the mighty Dragon Con this year. Personally, I've been dying to get back to Atlanta to see so many friends and this is such an honor to be invited to the con. I think we'll be doing panels so I'll let you know more on that when the schedule comes out. Till then, Lizzie is already working on some really fun Cosplay for the weekend. I'll give you some hints: GoT, Planet Terror, maybe Big Hero 6?
DRAGON CON

Here's the crew from my last D*C

IFCon
What can I say, this year we are so humbled by all the awesome cons we get to attend. IFCon is a first year all around blockbuster con happening in Victoria BC. Lizzie and I will not only have an entire booth there, but we will be doing panels and will be the celebrity guest judges at the adult costume contest. We are so excited to get back to Canada. Victoria is such an amazing city. If you've never been, you need to look into going. Imagine a European city with killer nightlife, shockingly awesome architecture and sweet British style pubs.
Check them out here

Cosplay Cruises
Speaking of the masterminds behind IFCon, they are doing something really amazing in less than a year. Cosplay and themed cruises!! They already have a Cosplay Cruise and a Power Ranger Cruise planned but they want your help. They need input on what you would like to see for future cruises. This is a simple, super quick survey (no signup required at all). Help them out and tell what you would like to see. They would be very appreciative for your input and I will give you a hug.
Take the super fast survey

Steamposium
Last year's Steamposium was an absolute blast. We got to meet some of the cast from Firefly, Steam Powered Giraffe, Steampunk Boba Fett, and Kato and the Steam Girls... It was awesome. This year we will be back, slinging Dreadfuls and hanging out with some fabulous people at Seattle's newest steampunk convention.
Check out their site here

Victorian Adventure Enthusiast

The great folks at the Victorian Adventure Enthusiast blog wrote a wonderful article on their experience with Liz and I's new Penny Dreadfuls. It's gotten quite a lot of traction with sixty seven Facebook shares right now, so I thought it would be cool to continue to boost the signal.

Please give them a visit and of course share, like, tweet, pin, comment, link, anything if you feel the love. Thank you so much to The Victorian Adventure Enthusiast and to you for reading and helping with even more signal boost!

Check them out here: Victorian Adventure Enthusiast
(In case my link is wonky):

http://www.victorianadventureenthusiast.com/index/the-dreadfuls-penny-novels-get-a-make-over/

As always, you can visit our site: www.thedreadfuls.com for single issues or yearly subscriptions delivered to your door!

Norwescon Awesomeness

Our second year at Norwescon was yet another great time spent with great people from every corner of fandom. We sat next to author Thomas Gondolfi, and newly Hugo Award nominated Jennifer Brozek. With the second issue of The Dreadfuls literally just out, it was a great opportunity to meet new fans, friends and get to see so much cool stuff.

George R.R. Martin was the guest of honor so there was plenty of Game of Thrones cosplay and they had an Iron Throne attendees could snap pictures in. Norwescon has always been impressive since they have such a wide variety of fandom going on. Like many of the mega-cons, there is a big cross section of love for all things pop culture and media and we're just excited to be a small part of it. Thank you Norwescon, we can't wait until next year!

We have several cons in the works so I'll let you know more as we do, but many exciting things are happening. We just got the email that we will be attending the mighty Dragon Con this year as professionals and we are tickled to death about it! So Atlanta, we will be seeing you in September!

Without further adieu, pictures from Norwescon!

The royal court at The Iron Throne!

House Valentino

More House Valentino

Lizzie Looking amazing as usual in front of the table.

FedEx Wedding Dress. She denied cosplaying a "mail order bride"

Wicked Fairy Lizzie

A brilliant Pop Up Cafe perfect for GoT fans. Yes, you read that correctly, that says "Reek Dog" I had several of them and they were great! 

I just had to get my picture with this awesome Princess Mononoke

Awesome Thundercats cosplay. She even had the spots on her arms and hair. 

The Dreadfuls

Lizzie and I are so excited to announce the arrival of our new website for our new quarterly publications of The Dreadfuls. The Dreadfuls are a fresh take on the Penny Dreadful but with new stories, new monsters and new adventures. 

We want to provide inexpensive yet quality publications every four months delivered straight to your mailbox that not only gives you fresh stories but also an array of new twists for your entertainment.

The Naughty Dreadful

Each issue of The Naughty Dreadful has a spicy (18+) short story in it as well as Victorian-esque tips for ladies. The first issue features practical beauty tips that may have been forgotten through time. To add to the excitement, each naughty dreadful comes with a custom sexy color photo shoot inside each edition. Yes, a centerfold if you will. But wait, there's more! To add to your ocular pleasure, every issue will have full color posters from the photo shoots with pictures not in the magazine (sold separately and once again quite inexpensive)

The photo shoots are done by some of the brightest and most talented photographers in the region, professional makeup and we feature some of the most red hot up and coming models in the industry. Lizzie wrote the first story, The Sanguine Deceit, a twisty yet sexy yarn about a mysterious woman that ends up on the doorstep of a lady inventor.

The Scary Dreadful

Want a little more chills in your read? The Scary dreadful features a braand spanking new spooky story from some of the best Steampunk and Horror writers in the underground and will feature custom art from new talented artists in every issue. I had the pleasure of writing the first story, called The Age of Wonder, about an private investigator in Lexington, Kentucky that encounters some otherworldly artifacts that lead him to a life changing and world altering adventure.

The best part is our website is NOW UP AND RUNNING! Check it out for more information on each issue as well as a store where you can get individual issues, posters and Yearly subscriptions for a very reasonable price!
www.thedreadfuls.com 

We debuted The Dreadfuls at this year's Steamposium in Seattle and it was a huge success! So, if you'd like to get something fun in your mailbox, check out an issue of The Dreadfuls at the website!

Advertising and Updates

First off I need to make a call for anyone that would like to get some free advertising for their project. Lizzie and I are working on a cool project that we will reveal at Steamposium in Seattle on Sept 26th. We're looking for anyone that has a book, project, movie, short film, website. store, anything etc... We will make your ad for you, we just need to know what you'd like to advertise and what you'd like to say in the ad. So please, anyone that would like some free exposure, shoot me an email. Hazeltherabbit@yahoo.com

We even did a photo that you're sure to like. Here's a behind the scenes shot:

Secondly Lizzie will be re-releasing her short Depths of Passion and she has a shiny new cover! We'll let you know when it will be available. Behold the awesomeness:

Ooh! I have a new author pic which I'm pretty excited about. My last one is quite old so it's nice to have an updated one. The cool thing is I should have new ones more frequently now.

In the next blog I will explain this.