Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson’s blog “Things That Go Bump In My Head” focuses on horror fiction writing and features author interviews, writing advice, short stories and editorial pieces. She is the author of two novels in the science fiction and horror genres, “Solitude,” and “Warmth”, and a Young Adult dark fantasy series, “The Moon Cried Blood”, which was originally a novel.  Her fourth novel “Happiness and Other Diseases” will be released October 18, 2014.  She is also the author of a short story anthology “Things That Go Bump In My Head”.  She writes for the Oakland Art Scene for the Examiner.com. A published poet and writer of short stories and editorials, she was once profiled in a San Francisco Chronicle article about up-and-coming poets in the beatnik tradition. The child of African American and Russian-Jewish American parents, she is a native Californian, and was born and spent her early childhood in Los Angeles, moving to Hawaii, where she spent her teen years, at the age of 12. She has spent most of her adult life living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Friday

Flash, Green Arrow, and The Atom; is DC conquering TV? on Friday at 4:30 PM in Bayshore
(with Doug Berry (M), Lon Sarver)

While Marvel dominates movie theaters, DC has been quietly building a strong presence on television. Is this their best bet? Which hero should be the next to get a show?

Horror Addicts BoF and Book Release Party on Friday at 8:30 PM in Stevens Creek

(with Emerian Rich (M), Jason Malcolm Stewart, H.E. Roulo) AND Sumiko Saulson, Laurel Anne Hill, Loren Rhoads, Lillian Csernica,

    Join the gang from Horror Addicts for a discussion of what’s new with them, and a book release celebration for the Horror Addicts Guide to Life.

Saturday

A Costume Is Not Consent! Dealing With Harassment at a Con on Saturday at 11:30 AM in Ballroom A
    (with Violet Ruthless, Julie Shepard, Mary Anne Butler (M))

Are you wondering what to do if you feel you are being harassed while at a convention? If someone else comes up to you asking for your help with a complaint about harassment, do you know who to contact or where to take that person? Meet with some experienced con-goers, members of the BayCon staff, and a representative of FLARE (the convention safety and security team) for an explanation on what to do, who to look for, and where you can go for help.

The Persistence of Racism on Saturday at 1:00 PM in Stevens Creek
[I am moderating.]
(with Lon Sarver, Gregg Castro, Brad Lyau, Helen Stringer)

It’s been 150 years since the end of the Civil War and an end to overt slavery in the US. While some people will point to the great deal of progress made in race relations since then, others will point to the continued mistreatment of minorities, blacks being incarcerated for longer terms and at higher rates than whites charged with the same offenses, and a lack of financial opportunities for disadvantaged minorities compared to whites. Is it time to have a national dialogue on race? What issues could go into such a dialogue? What resolutions might we look for as a result?

Writing Across the Gender Divide on Saturday at 2:30 PM in Ballroom A
[I am moderating.]
(with Jay Hartlove, Sarah Stegall, Kiri Callaghan, Chaz Brenchley, S L Gray, Sandra Saidak)

Men who write stories with female lead characters. Women who write stories with male leads. What are the pitfalls in writing about someone who is fundamentally different, especially when writing in the first person? We live in a society that doesn’t encourage its members to expose all their feelings, especially when those feelings involve attraction or discomfort. That can make it difficult to understand how a person of the opposite sex reacts in the same situation that you are are in. So if a woman reads a story with a first-person female character written by a man, does the character’s reactions and inner voice ring true, or does it seem like a man who is cross-dressing? How does a writer learn to express a believable inner voice for a character that belongs to the opposite sex?

BoF: World Goth Day on Saturday at 4:00 PM in Cypress
(with AE Marling, Sarah Pugliaresi, Jean Batt, Emerian Rich (M), Seanan McGuire)

On May 23rd, join your fellow Goths in celebration of World Goth Day. (Yes, the actual Day is Friday the 22nd. Goths are mysterious and fickle — roll with it.)

Sunday

Celebrating A Girl of Wonder(land): Happy 150th Birthday, Alice on Sunday at 10:00 AM in Lafayette
(with Emily Jiang, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Kay Tracy, Helen Stringer (M))

Up until 150 years ago children’s books were mostly intended to instruct rather than entertain. All that changed when mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll, published Alice in Wonderland in 1865. that book went on to inspire many other authors, artists, and even movie-makers. The panelists discuss the influence of Alice in Wonderland after 150 years.

Commercial Space Travel Challenges on Sunday at 1:00 PM in Saratoga
(with Berry Kercheval, Jay Reynolds Freeman (M))

Blowups, production problems, political opposition, and regulation costs are some of the problems facing commercial space travel. What does the next year look like for SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital Sciences, Sierra Nevada, Blue Origin and other entrants. Will you be able to buy a ticket to orbit, or Mars, in your lifetime?

Themed Reading: Pop Culture Invades SF/F/H on Sunday at 2:30 PM in San Tomas
(with Emerian Rich)

Gaming. LARPing. Comic books. Sometimes the things you love to spend your spare time on finds it way into the stories you love to read. Hear authors who’ve figured out how to blend pop culture and speculative fiction read from their stories.

BayCon Website

~ by Sumiko Saulson on May 12, 2015.

Posted in Everything Else