For the April meeting, Gary Jonas will be our guest. Gary is the author of the novels MODERN SORCERY (first in the Jonathan Shade series) and ONE-WAY TICKET TO MIDNIGHT as well as the short story collection QUICK SHOTS. They are available as e-books and as trade paperbacks. The second Jonathan Shade fantasy novel, ACHERON HIGHWAY, is currently scheduled for a September 2012 release. In addition to novels and stories, Gary has also written screenplays.

For the April meeting, we will be welcoming Wil McCarthy, who will read from his latest writing project and perhaps field questions on some of his other endeavors.

The March Dead Dog at our place went fairly well with a good turnout. I unfortunately did not make the April Movie Alternate as I was still recovering from the sprint at work to launch the YSL exhibition... but I trust it was mazing as always!

For the March meeting, it’s the return of Name That Sci-Fi Tune! Come to compete, or simply be amazed! Tim Simpson has kindly agreed to MC the program.

The February Dead Dog at Jim’s was a lot of fun and a fair number of people attended. I ended up in the back playing games much of the evening, but things seemed lively all over. I wasn’t able to make the alternate, but hope things went well. This month, Dave and I are hosting the Dead Dog – plan to stop by after the meeting!

And the week after DASFA it’s AnomalyCon 2 (March 23-25; http://anomalycon.com)

For the February meeting, we will have a panel of three authors, moderated by Mario Acevedo. The subject is “Salty Language is In Effect: The Outré in Genre Fiction.” On the panel will be Jesse Bullington (The Enterprise of Death), Jason Heller (Taft 2012) and Stephen Graham Jones (Zombie Bake-Off and MileHiCon 44 Toastmaster). Don’t miss it!

This month, John Stith is our guest. He has written a number of novels in the hard-science vein, including Redshift Rendezvous (Nebula Award nominee), Manhattan Transfer (Hugo Award Honorable Mention), Reunion on Neverend, and Reckoning Infinity (on Science Fiction Chronicle's Best Science Fiction Novels list for its publication year, on the Nebula Award preliminary ballot), Scapescope, Memory Blank, Death Tolls, and Deep Quarry.

This month, Dr. Steve Lee will talk on some of his latest Mars research … always interesting and entertaining!

This month we will also finalize plans (meeting time, any other details) for the August picnic.

I didn’t make it to the July alternate (heat wipes me out) but the DASFA Facebook page is up and running … if you haven’t joined and arranged to Like/Follow us there, please do so!

June 2011 DASFA Director-y

This month, we are lucky to have Connie Willis as our speaker. Fresh from her latest Nebula ward win (best novel for Blackout / All Clear), she may be talking about classics that are being neglected … or something else. Whatever it is, it’s bound to be both entertaining and enlightening, so don’t miss the meeting!

This month, Rhonda will run the meeting as I will be out of town and unable to attend.

This month, DASFA will host the dynamic writing duo of Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem. The inimitable Ed Bryant will show up to perform toastmaster introductory duties (which may or may not involve newspaper clippings).

This month, we welcome Todd Neff. A former Boulder Daily Camera staff writer (2003-2007) who focused on science and the environment, his book From Jars to the Stars: How Ball Came to Build a Comet-Hunting Machine was published last year. The novel tells the story of how Ball Aerospace—an organization evolved from the Ball Brothers Company of Muncie, Indiana and a group of students in a University of Colorado basement—managed to blast a sizable crater in the comet 9P/Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005.

This month, join Gary Raham for his presentation, “Wandering on the dinosaurs’ last seashore,” and enjoy a journey to an ancient Colorado that features dinosaurs, sea monsters, giant crocodiles, and some surprising creatures that helped transform their world into the Colorado we enjoy today. Learn how Raham’s fossil hunting adventures and his love of good writing inspired his graphic short story, “The Dinosaurs’ Last Seashore.” See amazing fossils and some of the original art created for the work. Books available for purchase at $9.50 each.