Welcome back to the Boskone 56 Mini Interview series! Today we are sitting down with Trisha Wooldridge, Barry Lee Dejasu, and Kenesha Williams, all of whom have decided to shared some great memories from their convention photos!

Trisha Wooldridge

Trisha J. Wooldridge writes short stories, novellas, novels, articles, and poetry about bad-ass faeries, carnivorous horses, social justice witches, vengeful spirits—and mundane stuff like food, hay-eating horses, social justice debates, writer advice, and alcoholic spirits. Her recent work includes stories and poems in Gothic Fantasy Supernatural Horror, Dark Luminous Wings, Wicked Haunted, Darkling’s Beasts and Brews, Nothing’s Sacred Volume 4, and the HWA Poetry Showcase Volume 5. She’s a freelance editor of over fifty novels and three anthologies. As child-friendly T.J. Wooldridge, she’s published poetry and three spooky children’s novels. She spends rare moments of mystical “free time” with a very patient Husband-of-Awesome, a calico horse, and a bratty tabby cat. Join her adventures at www.anovelfriend.com.

Visit Trisha on her Facebook, Twitter, and Website!

With many conventions to choose from and limited time in your schedule, what attracts you to Boskone?

I stepped away from Boskone several years back because I was doing too many conventions, but I returned a few years ago with some friends and was exceptionally surprised at how much more diverse and welcoming the convention had come to writers of color, of different ages, and of different backgrounds. There was more involvement in programming from attendees, and a lot more attendees than I remembered. It maintained a lot of the academic and thought-provoking panels and aspects I’d always appreciated, but had bloomed into something even more encompassing of genre literature and culture. I had an amazing time on panels, attending panels, interacting in the dealer’s room and with con staff, that I decided to make it one of my regular conventions again.

What is your favorite memory of a fan interaction at a convention? It could be you as a pro interacting with one of your fans or you as a fan meeting someone you admire.

I was at DragonCon on an SFLit panel about Women in Science Fiction, and after the panel, Lois McMaster Bujold, Kathryn Hinds, Sunder Addams, and I found a corner and chatted feminism and growing up geek women and how it influenced our writing and our lives. There were decades difference between all of us, so it was absolutely awesome and fascinating! It was a situation where we all were pros and fans and neither all at once; we all spoke freely, geeking out over our passions. And something that could ONLY happen at a convention!

Do you have a favorite photo from a book event or literary convention? If so, when and where was it taken? What do you enjoy most about this photo?

This was ReaderCon 2011, when Neil Gaiman won his Shirley Jackson Award. I happened to be getting out of a panel just as the Jackson awards and literally ran into him. I noticed the award and (in my head) was super cool and congratulated him on the award, then asked for this pic–which was taken by noneother than Amanda Palmer!

Who is your favorite literary character of all time? What is it about this character that you admire?

My favorite literary character of all time is Tasslehoff Burrfoot from the DragonLance Chronicles. His entire race (kenders) basically all had ADHD, which I didn’t know I also had until recently. But in my teens, he resonated true in what I now would call “neuroatypical”, and he developed coping mechanisms without giving up who he was…and his friends worked with him.

Barry Lee Dejasu

Barry Lee Dejasu is a writer of weird and horror fiction, and a member of the New England Horror Writers. Recent publications include the short stories “Tripping the Ghost,” published in the anthology WICKED HAUNTED (2017), “The Sleep Harvesters” (2017, in the NecronomiCon Providence Memento Book), and “Before This Night Is Done,” a limited-edition short story chapbook. An illustrator and artist, he is also a photographer with an eye for oddities in architecture and nature. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

With many conventions to choose from and limited time in your schedule, what attracts you to Boskone?

Boskone has for years proven to be the most well-balanced, thoughtful, intelligent, progressive, and inclusive cons that I’ve ever attended. I wouldn’t dream of picking another one instead.

In 10 words or less, how would you recommend Boskone to a friend or fan?

Speculative fiction con, written and otherwise, all weekend. Let’s go!

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

I would love to rewatch the film DARK CITY (1998) – in the form of its Director’s Cut. I was lucky enough, the first time I saw it, to have not seen a single preview or had any prior knowledge of it beside the poster, but given the drastically different presentations of the theatrical cut and the Director’s Cut, I would love to have an opportunity to have even less clues as the movie goes on of exactly what was going on, and to experience the film with a truly naive mind, all the better to experience its amazing twists and revelations.

They say you can find hints of creators in their work. Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. most closely resembles you? Why?

I’d say that although certain characters in my stories have similarities to aspects and quirks of my personality, “I” show up far more in my photography. I see the world, and especially my hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, in a particularly weird manner, and I try to capture that as much as I can. (You can see some of what I see on Instagram, @barrydprov).

Do you have a favorite photo from a book event or literary convention? If so, when and where was it taken? What do you enjoy most about this photo?

As with many things in life, I have many favorites when it comes to photos from events and cons. However, perhaps the largest number of them come from the Northeastern Writers Conference (Necon), held in Portsmouth, Rhode Island – my very first and longest-running con that I regularly attend.

Can you share some details about upcoming projects or what you’re working on now? Do you have releases in 2019 that readers should look for?

Unfortunately, as of the time of this interview, I have nothing confirmed for upcoming projects. However, I can say this: I currently have four short stories out in the aether, which I am hopeful will find homes in as many publications. Keep an eye out in 2019!

Who is your favorite literary character of all time? What is it about this character that you admire?

Oh, goodness, what a difficult question to answer! I don’t know if I’d call him a favorite, but perhaps Detective Hank Palace, from Ben H. Winter’s LAST POLICEMAN trilogy, utterly haunts me to this day. The world is literally coming to an end, and has already fallen into anticipatory chaos – so why should a detective try to solve a suicide which may, in fact, be a murder? Because in a world falling into ruin, he’s got to do something – and being a detective is the only thing he knows how to do. I admire that, and I can in many ways relate.

Kenesha Williams

Kenesha Williams is an independent author, screenwriter, speaker, and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Black Girl Magic Lit Mag. She took to heart the advice, “If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself,” and created a Speculative Fiction Literary Magazine featuring characters that were representative of herself and other women she identified with. She has happily parlayed her love for the weird and the macabre into Black Girl Magic Literary Magazine, finding the best in undiscovered talent in Speculative Fiction. Kenesha was awarded First Runner Up for Best Short Screenplay for the Women in Horror Film Festival 2018 and her essay “Step into the Bad Side: Black Girl Magic Villains: was published in Fireside Fiction Quarterly in January 2019.

Visit Kenesha on her Facebook, Twitter, and Website!

With many conventions to choose from and limited time in your schedule, what attracts you to Boskone?

Boskone 2018 was my first Boskone and the people, the panels, and the opportunity to impart on the young Boskone participants in the Dragon’s Lair was an amazing experience. I couldn’t wait to come back for 2019!

Do you have a favorite photo from a book event or literary convention? If so, when and where was it taken? What do you enjoy most about this photo?

My favorite photo from a literary convention is this one from Stokercon, the Horror Writers Association (HWA) convention. In it is 2018 Lifetime Achievement award winner Linda Addison. She is an unofficial mentor to me, and I admire all of the work she’s done on the page and for other writers, especially writers of color. This picture also contains the amazing Victor LaValle who has an amazing body of work and is also the author of my favorite graphic novel of 2018, “Victor LaValle’s Destroyer”. In this picture are also six new friends, three I knew only online until the conference, one I met at Boskone the month before, and two I met at Stokercon. It was an amazing night and an amazing experience.

Can you share some details about upcoming projects or what you’re working on now? Do you have releases in 2019 that readers should look for?

January’s Fireside Fiction Quarterly contains an essay of mine, entitled “Step in to the Bad Side: Black Magic Female Villains” that I’m excited about. I don’t think good guys or girls should have all the fun!
I have a fun cosmic horror/science fiction story in Boundary Shock Quarterly, also coming out in January that I’m excited about.

Register for Boskone 56 today!