Adventures in Zookeeping Release Party

Last weekend was MileHiCon, one of my favorite local SFF conventions. I was on a couple of panels this year, but the real highlight of the convention was the release party and reading for ADVENTURES IN ZOOKEEPING, an anthology that includes my story "The Fourth Lemur." This is the second of the charity anthologies (all proceeds go back to MileHiCon) put together by Sam Knight that I was lucky enough to be included in. In fact, last year after releasing SIDEKICKS, Sam Knight asked for suggestions for the next anthology, and I was the one who suggested the title/theme "Adventures in Zookeeping."

On Saturday, we gathered in the ConSuite for a dual release party along with the contributors of another anthology, DOMESTICATED VELOCIRAPTORS, and then we ventured downstairs to one of the panel rooms where we had the chance to read our stories to the room. For many of the authors, this was their first time doing a public reading, but everyone did a fantastic job. I tried to break the tension a little bit by standing up on my chair to read, rather than going up to the front like everyone else.

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Adventures in Zookeeping and Domesticated Velociraptors authors and fans mingle in the ConSuite

Listening raptly as Adventures in Zookeeping authors read their stories aloud

Ever wonder how much fun it would be to be a zoo keeper if your wards included the strange, the supernatural, the not-of-this-earth? This collection of speculative fiction ranges from were-lemurs to a breeding program for a Lovecraftian horror. Edited by Sam Knight. This anthology evolved from a panel at MileHiCon in Denver, Colorado, titled "So You Want To Be in an Anthology?" The stories contained within were contributed by attendees of that panel. All net proceeds are donated to support MileHiCon.

So those "were-lemurs" mentioned in the book description? Yeah, that's my story. Except, maybe it's not that simple. Maybe there's more to that weird, somewhat human-looking lemur that shows up in the zoo, maybe that bite the zookeeper got isn't doing exactly what she fears it's doing.

Next week I plan to interview some of the other authors from this fun anthology, so please stop by to learn more about their stories, and pick up a copy of ADVENTURES IN ZOOKEEPING when you have the chance. It has some very fun stories in it, and it helps support an excellent science fiction and fantasy convention that has always made me feel at home.