GGC 2019: GeekGirlCon, Ali Raphael Interviews

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this conversation, Ali took time to have this brief chat with writer Virginia McClain about her two on-going series, VICTORIA MARMOT ("Twilight-meets-Harry-Potter's-secret-feminist-lovechild') and THE CHRONICLES OF GENSOKAI  ("Song-Of-The-Lioness-meets-Avatar-The-Last-Airbender-with-a-dash-of-Shogun"), as well as what it's taken to bring the two stories to this point and what she has planned for herself, once the two series wraps up.

Virginia also imparts some advice to new, independent writers which she says 'isn't necessarily for everyone'... but that's not how it comes across, in all honesty! There's some great hints and tips for writers of all styles and genres, wanting to get their books out into the world, especially when it comes to self-critique during the editing phase. A cracking listen.

Thanks to Ali for setting it the conversation and to Virginia for taking the time out of her busy GeekGirlCon. Find out more about her work at http://virginiamcclain.blogspot.com/ 

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Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with Virginia McClain(GeekGirlCon, 17th November 2019)

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this conversation, Ali spoke to someone who is behind one of the most fascinating projects we've come across: Rebecca Demarest is the one-woman powerhouse behind Mneme Press, a company dedicated to improving and increasing diversity in script and playwriting, sharing these plays with willing theatre groups, while also driven to publish the plays and books in an attractive and compelling format, rather than the dry and lacklustre manner that they may have been done in the past.

This was the second year that Rebecca has had a booth at GGC, increasing the floor space of the company's representation to not only show of the new titles in their portfolio (including new titles debuting at the show, SCARY MARY, THE DEPARTMENT OF SOUL RECLAMATION and HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY), as well as being a 'base of operations' for any writers at the con taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), giving encouragement - and rubber ducks! - to anyone participating.

It's a great company with bold and worthy ambitions and we wish them all the very best. Thanks to Ali for setting it the conversation and to Rebecca for taking the time out of her busy GeekGirlCon. Find out more about Mneme Press at https://mnemepress.org/. 

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Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with Rebecca Demarest, Mneme Press(GeekGirlCon, 17th November 2019)

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this last conversation post of the con, Ali had the chance to talk to two entertaining comics creators, Adriana Ferguson and Kristen Van Dam, the blistering minds behind a number of webcomics including MINOR ACTS OF HEROISM which looks at the relationships behind a rag-tag, diverse collection of superheroes. Ali mildly fangirls out to Adriana and Kristen about the brilliant roster of characters in their books in this incredibly entertaining chat!

Thanks to Ali for setting it the conversation and to Adriana and Kristen for taking the time out of their busy GeekGirlCon. MAOH is currently of hiatus but you can follow along with the series as well as finding out more their work at http://www.minoractsofheroism.com/  

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Image Credit: Liz Kelly, Flickr
Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with MINOR ACTS OF HEROISM(GeekGirlCon, 17th November 2019)

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this conversation, Ali spoke to author Kira Jane Buxton about her debut book HOLLOW KINGDOM, a very unique story told from the perspective of a crow named S.T. - fellow writers have described the novel as 'The Incredible Journey meets The Walking Dead', a description which should certainly grab your attention as an individual read!

Kira talks about her inspirations for her books, her own experiences with her own pet crows, advice given and taken for new writers and also how she approaches the task of knuckling down and putting words to paper, as well as Kira's take on GeekGirlCon and cosplaying. It's a fabulous, loose and informal chat between two women that are interested in each other's perspectives.

Thanks to Ali for setting it the conversation and to Kira for taking the time out of her busy GeekGirlCon.

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Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with Kira Jane Buxton (GeekGirlCon, 16th November 2019)

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this conversation, Ali spoke to podcaster/designer/entrepreneur Jordan Ellis, co-creator of Jordan Déne, a successful and influential brand that embraces smart fashion and bold empowerment. The company has grown to envelop publishing, websites, blogs and podcasts, developing a strong community that follows the brand from strength to strength. 

Jordan talks to thoughts and ambitions about other collaborations that the company would like to grow, as well as talking about the importance of the message that Jordan Déne is making. She also discusses really practical advice that she would give to those that would follow her path in creating their own business or creative endeavour. Some very motivational stuff!

Thanks to Ali for setting it the conversation and to Jordan for taking the time out of her busy GeekGirlCon. Find out more about the company at https://jordandene.com/  and follow their endeavours on social media at https://twitter.com/jordandenenyc and  https://twitter.com/sartorialgeek. 

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Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with Jordan Ellis THE SARTORIAL GEEK (GeekGirlCon, 16th November 2019)

Over the weekend of 16th/17th November 2019, GeekGirlCon 2019 set up shop at The Conference Center in downtown Seattle, WA,  celebrating women in science, tech, gaming, comics and more, working to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else. "Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another."

The Convention Collective had boots on the ground for the duration of the event with writer/correspondent Ali Raphael taking in all the sights and sounds of the show, as well as taking time to talk with some incredible creatives in attendance.

In this conversation, Ali spoke to YA writer Aiden Thomas about their two upcoming novels, CEMETERY BOYS - a Dia de Muertos paranormal romance about Yadriel (a gay, trans brujo) who accidentally summons the wrong ghost - and LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS, a dark sequel to, and reimagining of, the classic Peter Pan story. Aiden also spoke to their excitement at becoming known and recognised in the literary landscape, as well as giving their thoughts, hints and tips on their writing process and also their influences. 

It's a great, informal loose chat - taking in all sorts of subjects including music playlists, Pinterest and THE OFFICE! Thanks to Ali for setting it up and to Aiden for taking the time out of their busy GeekGirlCon.

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Intro Music: 'Punky', bensound.com

GGC19: In Conversation with Aiden Thomas (GeekGirlCon, 16th November 2019)

'An Englishman In San Diego' - an unofficial fan site and news resource for the San Diego Comic-Con, also covering news, updates, reviews and commentary for Con-related pop culture – all from an Englishman’s perspective.