LTUE and Great Pub

I had so much fun at LTUE (the scifi and fantasy symposium at BYU). I don't know how else to describe it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I served on some great panels, mingled with many writers and Duders, had a wonderful book signing, and read a couple of chapters from THE SCORCH TRIALS to a very enthusiastic audience.

Just a sampling of my favorite moments:

1. I was honored to record a couple of live podcasts of WRITING EXCUSES with Brandon Sanderson (MISTBORN, WHEEL OF TIME), Howard Tayler (SCHLOCK MERCENARY), and Dan Wells (I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER). These guys are hilarious, and all three of them are very good friends. So you can imagine the fun we had, especially fed by the crowd of people that was hundreds if not pushing a thousand. You can listen, for free, to the result by CLICKING HERE. You can also learn more about these three yahoos who made me the butt of all their jokes.

2. Speaking of being the butt of jokes, I was also "honored" to be the main buttster for Brandon's keynote address on Saturday, also in front of many people. Best line: Brandon squinted at his notes and said, "This is getting too dry, make fun of Dashner." He looked at me and said, "You stink." Then he said, "My notes actually say that, 'squint at notes and then tell Dashner he stinks.'" Hey, any publicity is good publicity!

3. Brandon's address was really, really, really good. The basic gist was that there is some great stuff in speculative fiction and people who say differently are stupid (though he said it much more intelligently and inspiringly). Boo yah! I don't think I ever realized just how funny Brandon was until this conference, where he was Guest of Honor and really let himself go.

4. Serving on a panel and talking with L.E. Modesitt Jr., one of the most successful scifi/fantasy authors ever. I've known him for several years now, and he's always been so real and down to Earth and inspiring.

5. What I mostly enjoyed was seeing and hanging out with the attendees at the conference. It gets better every year, and I really had a great time. Hello to everyone I met, saw again, ate with, talked with, discussed writing with, etc. Especially to the Duders who came!!!


I also wanted to share a couple of cool articles in which THE MAZE RUNNER was mentioned, especially since these are both huge publications:

1. The L.A. Times: CLICK HERE.

2. Publisher's Weekly: CLICK HERE.