I had already made two appearances in the virtual reality world Second Life. I figured my third time would be old hat. Alas, the metaverse had it in for me. My scheduled appearance on Meet the Author with host Adele Ward (aka Jilly Kidd) went nowhere near as planned.

To start, Second Life was having rolling server shut downs. So when I attempted to login five minutes before the start of the show, I was blocked out and couldn’t get back in. Luckily I could still dial my voice into the conference line for the audio feed. However, a nice bloke named “Secondo” (a very apt first name) had to take my place on the stage. For the entire first half of the show, the crowd was convinced I had shown up in the guise of an ostentatious vampire complete with top hat, frilly coat, and fangs. I’m a horror fan, but more George Romero than Anne Rice.

Ah well, the show must go on. So I plodded on, reading the first half of “On Time,” the fourth story in The Love Book. I was a little nervous about reading the story in two parts as it slowly winds its way into the plot (unlike the other stories in the collection which attack from word one) and requires a bit more listener patience. It’s a great story, but you have to go with it to get to the payoff. Thankfully everyone seemed to enjoy Part 1. Then I was finally able to log in and my avatar appeared on stage. My luck seemed to be changing for the better. Or so I thought… I was booted out a few more times by Second Life’s server blackouts. Bloody ‘ell.

Luckily, I was finally able to get my tail back in-world, my zombie avatar revived once again, and just in time to read part 2 of “On Time,” giving the crowd a bit more of Daniel’s misadventures and strange obsessions. The fan response afterwards told me it was worth the gamble. Everyone liked the two installments of the story and were itching to read the ending.

If you missed it, you can watch the full video via SLCN’s site. Just click on the photo to the left.

And here are some snapshots from the event. Enjoy.

I’ll be making two appearances at the end of March to celebrate the release of THE LOVE BOOK.

The Love Book Reading/Release Party
When: Saturday Mar 22, 2008 @ 7:00 PM
Where: Freebird Books
123 Columbia Street
Brooklyn, New York 11231

What more could you ask for: booze, used books, and four bastardos a-readin’. Joining me will be fellow Blacksmiths for Literary Progress, Brian Cogan, Mike Faloon, and (flying all the way in from Chicago) Tim Hall. C’mon down to scenic Red Hook and join us at the finest little book shop in all of Brooklyn. More info at www.freebirdbooks.com.

“Meet the Author” in Second Life
When: Sunday, March 30, 2008 @ 5pm EST (or 2pm SLT or 10pm GMT)
Where: Red Sky Club in the Written Word Area
Second Life

This will be my third appearance on “Meet the Author” with host Jilly Kidd at the Red Sky Club in the Written Word Area. The show kicks off at 2pm SLT (or 5pm EST, 10pm GMT) and will be broadcast on SLCN TV.

If you’re a Second Lifer, or want to be, you can use this link to teleport.

To attend the event in Second Life, you’ll need to have the software. Grab it here.

If you just want to watch the show, you can view it live on SLCN’s site:
Live Stream | SLCN Site | Meet the Author page

Once again, I had a blast appearing on the Meet the Authors show in Second Life. Adele Ward (aka Jilly Kidd) and I had a great Q&A about short stories, influences, and my writing style. I read excerpts from “Taking the Happy Bus on Home” and “The Fabulous Omar,” both of which are part of my new collection of stories, The Love Book. Not only could the people who showed up enjoy the event, but it was broadcast throughout Second Life by SLCN.

Here are several videos from the event, including the reading of “Taking the Happy Bus On Home”. You can view the entire event footage on SLCN’s site.

Q&A Part 1

Here are some photos from the event:

My alter ego, Beelzebubba Rasmuson returns to Second Life this Sunday (9/9) for another in-world reading and discussion as part of the Meet the Authors program. I’ll be reading an excerpt of “Taking the Happy Bus on Home” from The Love Book as well as participating in a Q&A session with our gracious host Adele Ward and other SL residents. In addition, the event will be broadcast throughout Second Life by SLCN.

The Full Details are:

Meet the Authors
Host: Adele Ward (aka Jilly Kidd), produced by Joysco
Location: Joysco Convention Center with a simulcast throughout SL via SLCN
When: Sunday, September 9th, 2:00pm SLT (5:00pm EST)

I had a great time particpating in the first Meet the Authors event in Second Life with my fellow Podiobook authors Tim Hall and Seth Harwood. Our host Adele Ward (Jilly Kidd) did a fantastic job and the discussion covered everything from short story writing to podcasting to “don’t quit your day job kid.” It was great to see a good crowd show up for the event. I read a (somewhat) short excerpt from “The Fabulous Omar” which is part of my new collection of stories, The Love Book. Tim read a great piece called “Club It Up” from his Triumph of the Won’t collection and Seth read “Rebuilding Men” from his podiobook of stories A Long Way From Disney

Here are some photos from the event:

I’ll be reading an excerpt of “The Fabulous Omar” from The Love Book while talking part in the first ever “Meet The Authors” show in Second Life. I’ll be showing up as my alter ego Beelzebubba Rasmuson along with fellow Podiobook authors Tim Hall and Seth Harwood.

The Full Details are:

Lineup: Ken Wohlrob, Tim Hall and Seth Harwood
Host: Jilly Kidd, produced by Joysco
Location: Joysco Convention Center with a simulcast at sLiterary Events Center
When: Saturday, June 23, 3:00pm SLT (6:00pm EST)

Come visit us in-world for the event. We’ll be participating in a panel discussion on short story writing, podcasting, and also reading excerpts from our new audiobooks being released by Podiobooks.

Staying on the whiskey train to promote my new podiobook collection of short stories — The Love Book — I’ll be making an appearance in Second Life as my alter ego Beelzebubba Rasmuson along with fellow Podiobook authors Tim Hall and Seth Harwood.

The Full Details are:

Lineup: Ken Wohlrob, Tim Hall and Seth Harwood
Host: Jilly Kidd, produced by Joysco
Location: Joysco Convention Center with a simulcast at sLiterary Events Center
When: Saturday, June 23, 3:00pm SLT (6:00pm EST)

Come visit us in-world for the event. We’ll be participating in a panel discussion on short story writing, podcasting, and also reading excerpts from our new audiobooks being released by Podiobooks.