Writers Cantina 2025

I think I captured the photo above from Jay Barnson's presentation on writing pulp. I attended another presentation he did on monsters from North American myths. I let him know that I was already using some of them in my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. However, I get ahead of myself. Let me back up.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was Writers Cantina time and my third consecutive weekend on the road. Things got interesting when I discovered that the hotel I had booked was not the pleasant place at which I had stayed the two previous years. That could be because I waited so long to make the reservation, not being certain whether I would be able to attend the cantina this year.

There was no signage on the hotel and men in lift worked on a big blank space over the entrance. Once inside, a young man with ties to India greeted me at the counter and assigned me a room on the third floor. It took a couple trips for me to get my stuff to the room and I decided I should send an email to a colleague about a matter we had discussed the day before. Problem. There wasn't any internet.

I went down again to the lobby and the the guy talked about some problem with the internet, but I had my laptop with me and was able to connect there. I headed back to the room, but the information superhighway refused to follow. Back in the lobby, the guy repeated the matter of some problem with the internet reaching the third floor. I suggested that he move me down to the second floor where I could enjoy the pleasant embrace of cyberspace. He said that would take some time and he would have to call someone about the internet issue. I sat down in the lobby and typed out my email and sent it--just before the world wide web terminated its relationship with my computer. 

Fortunately, the web reached back to ensnare me again, and hotel guy gave me a room on the second floor. I moved my stuff down in two trips. I should mention that I did encounter a few other people who were apparently guests at the hotel and even tried to speak with them--one instance being the couple who got off the elevator on the 2nd floor where I was waiting to get on. I noticed that the third floor button was still illuminated and called to them to let them know they were on the wrong floor. The only words they seemed to understand were the numbers two and three, but they did come back and we all rode up to the third floor. At breakfast there were several people who were speaking an Eastern European language, by my best guess. No one except the hotel guy at the desk spoke English to me.

During one trip back to the new room, I noticed that water dripped steadily from a metal box in the hallway ceiling outside my room. I reported that to the desk and he reported it to another guy coming from the pool. Later, I heard some activity outside the room door and I didn't see any more leaking. Also, the room across from mine had the door blocked by a big X of caution tape. 

Later, I learned that the toilet would continue to run after every flush if I didn't remove the tank lid and reach into the water to adjust the flapper. Additionally, the faucet on the bathroom sink would drizzle water back down the faucet and onto the bathroom counter whenever it was in use.

The night before the conference began, some of the presenters and panelists met for dinner. I sat with Lyn Worthen, editor at Camden Press, and Jim Curtis. The later edited the Space Cowboys anthology that contains my short story "Love under a purple Sky." The wings I had weren't great, but the sweet potato fried were pretty good.

I arrived early enough at the conference, where Nate recognized and greeted me, to help carry in comestibles before taking a seat in the lobby where I chatted briefly with Dave Butler. I didn't get to go to any panels or presentations he was on because I was scheduled to be on other panels at the same time. Dave West was there and we conversed, but again, I didn't get to see any of his panels.

I sat on panels about how to handle exposition, what to do about writer's block, and how to make the most of your writing time; I moderated a panel on writing short stories (what with that being almost all I've written during the preceding year).

Several of the Raconteur Press gang were there, including Jonna Hayden, Mike Burke, Rich Cutler, Nick Nethery, Wally Waltner, and others. Nick provided the highlight of the conference for me when he told me how much he enjoyed my Whip and Truth stories in the Wyrd West anthologies he edited. His dad particularly liked the characters. I hadn't been aware that he edited all three of those anthologies. I did not punch Wally, although I told him I should, for rejecting my submission for the Magic Malfunction anthology.

 The other memorable highlight was signing the contract with Raconteur Press for my adventure book for boys and finalizing the title. If all goes as planned, it should come out in November. Jonna assured me that the contract paragraph requiring loss of a digit for missing deadlines in the process was purely for shock effect and only seldom enforced.

 I had the most fun with the panel on making the most of your writing time. At one point, the lady moderating the panel held my paper nameplate in front of my face and told me I was done talking--I wasn't. I think it was during the time I was advising the young male writers on the importance of finding a wife who was devoted to them and their children and who would support them in setting aside undisturbed time for writing that she tried to cut me off. Later, she did tell me that I was fun to work with. I think she was sincere because we did laugh a lot, and I had to agree with her.

I attended some good presentations and panels, but the time spent meeting and visiting informally with other authors was an even better investment of time. I had nice conversations with Herman Hunter, Jared Garrett, and James Totten--among others. The only dark spot on the event was that I didn't get invited to a dinner or gaming session at the conclusion of the conference. Maybe I'm not as fun as I think.

 

 

Fred Phillips

 Interview with Fred Phillips

Author of

The Gold and Fire Series and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I have two projects that I hope to get across the finish line before the end of the year. One is the second book in the "Gold and Fire" series, which will be launching with "Dreams of Gold and Fire" from Raconteur Press on July 30. I think I have the title for the sequel in my head, but I'm not quite ready to commit yet. Things are always subject to change in the writing process, but I can say for sure that it will involve gold and fire. I plan to write the third book in 2026, and I'm pretty certain that it will be titled "Knight of Gold and Fire." That's as far as I have things planned, and that plan is only loose at this point. After that, we'll see where the story goes. Of course, it will be up to Raconteur when or if the others will be published.

The second project is a western fantasy for adults titled "No Man's Son." It features my magic wielding gunslinger Bartimaeus, who you can read about in "Blackhand" from the Rac Press Wyrd West: Cursed Canyon anthology. The first draft is done, and I'm currently letting it rest a bit before the second draft, which is my usual process.

There's also another fantasy novel that I finished in late 2024 that's making its rounds to potential publishers now. It's part "Monster Hunter"-style urban fantasy and part portal fantasy. Fingers crossed, I'll have some good news to report on that, too. If not, I'll likely go the self-pub route somewhere down the road. Sequels to it are planned, but on the backburner for now as I'm more focused on Gold and Fire for the immediate future.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?
The idea for "Dreams of Gold and Fire" goes back to my teenage years in the 1980s. It was originally written as a short story called "Golden Rewards." I never really liked that title, but those have always been a challenge for me. It was a much simpler tale then, about a boy who runs away from home and meets a dragon, a mythical creature that he's been teased and chastised for dreaming about. It was the first story that I ever felt comfortable submitting for publication. It got rejected, a lot.
The novel version started life around 2012 and was inspired by my own son. He was about six or seven, and he had this game he would play where he would ask really silly questions. When you would tell him that what he was asking about couldn't happen, he'd always respond with, "but what if it did?" That optimism found its way into the main character Aron, and the theme of the book became more about following your dreams no matter what the obstacles were. In earlier versions of the novel, I actually used my son's name for the character, but in the end, I didn't think it fit with the world, so I went back to the original name of Aron from the short story. (There's now a character in another of my worlds named after my son, so he still gets his moment, too.)

When Raconteur Press opened their call for boys' adventure books last year, I thought that the book was a perfect fit, so I pulled it out, polished it up and sent it in. Luckily, they thought it was a good fit, too.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes, I do. I've published stories in fantasy, science fiction, horror, horror comedy, and – believe it or not – the first story I sold back in 1998 was a romance. I'd say fantasy is my primary genre, with horror secondary (and it's usually closer to dark fantasy). The other genres are more rare, and I doubt that I'll ever write another romance since that one was kind of accidental. But never say never.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

I spent about 20 years in the newspaper business, and over that time, I talked to a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds with many different perspectives. Translating what was often an hour or more's worth of conversation into a relatively short and digestible article that still managed to show who they were brought a focus to my fiction writing as well. I don't think there are many wasted words in what I write. The story is constantly moving forward.
I think it also gave me an ear for conversation, which makes the dialogue a little more natural and helps me bring a voice to my characters.
The downside to that, of course, is the "just the facts" approach that was ingrained in journalism sometimes spills over  a bit too much into what I write, so I have to work to see the places where maybe a little more description is needed or where I might need to dive a little deeper into the details.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I've always been very passionate about music, in particular heavy metal. I play guitar (very poorly) myself and at one time had rock star dreams. Luckily, I'm a better writer than musician. I'm the kind of guy who gets annoyed when people try to talk to me while a favorite song is playing or when I go to a concert and the people behind me try to continue their conversation over the music.

A lot of my inspiration for writing comes from music. I often find the seed of a story, or even a novel, in a random song lyric. The end story usually has no connection whatsoever to the song. The lyric sparks the idea, which takes on a life of its own and leads me down another path.

That said, for those who know, there are always some musical Easter eggs hidden in my stories. Sometimes they're fairly obvious, other times you have to put two and two together, but they're almost always there.  

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I spend a lot of quiet time in the woods or on the water, which is often where my stories take shape. That's where I twist and turn the ideas and try to mold them into something interesting. Some of those ideas hang around for a long time. Obviously, the idea behind "Dreams of Gold and Fire" was born in the late 1980s. "No Man's Son" has been kicking around in my head for at least six or seven years. I have one idea that I'm about 25,000 words into that I've been playing around with for about 35 years. It will absolutely be finished and published one day, even if I have to do it myself.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?
I'm not sure that he's necessarily underrated in the grand scheme of things, but at least in the U.S., I rarely hear people talk about the late great David Gemmell. He was a big influence on me, and I think his name belongs in the conversation with the greats of the fantasy genre. If you read my stories about Bartimaeus and you've read Gemmell's Stones of Power books, you'll definitely see the shadow of Jon Shannow looming large in the background.

The thing that I love about Gemmell is his heroes are gritty, but at the same time, they don't really cross over into grimdark territory. He also understood that real heroes don't go on adventure after adventure for 25 or 30 books. For most, there are only a few moments of often-reluctant heroism, and I think he captured that well.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

The only one that's out there right now that's all mine is "Dreams of Gold and Fire." I'd recommend it because it's a simple, classic adventure tale. It's filled with action and fueled by hopes and dreams. My only goal when I sit down to write something is to tell a good story, and this book is a perfect example of that. It's fun, and it's the kind of thing that I would have loved to read when I was a kid. I think it can be enjoyed by the eight-year-old who is looking for something magical and exciting or the 50-year-old who is an adventure and dragon-loving kid at heart.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

After writing for most of my life, I actually gave up on it for about a decade. The short version of the story is that I finished my fourth book around 2000. It was, at the time, far and away the best thing I'd ever written, and I was convinced it was "the one." I sent it to hundreds of publishers and agents, and it was soundly rejected by every single one. It crushed me, and I decided that I just wasn't very good at this.

I returned to writing about 10 years later, but even then, it was just because I needed it. I wasn't that interested in submitting to publishers and didn't for another 10 or 11 years. In 2021, I saw an open call for dragon stories from Wolfsinger Publications. It turned out that I knew the editor from one of the early online writing groups I'd been in. I had a story titled "Domestic Dispute" that had been accepted by three different publications back in the late 1990s, and every single one of them had gone out of business before the story was published. I polished it, sent it in (with a tongue-in-cheek warning about its history), and it got accepted for a collection called "Crunchy with Chocolate." That inspired me to write a story for another anthology, and while it got rejected for that one, it was picked up by a different publisher. That really got the ball rolling for me again.
Around the same time, I discovered the WriterDojo Facebook group, which was fairly new, and found inspiration among the folks there. It was also where I first heard about Raconteur Press. Once I got published with Rac Press, it was off to the races, and I've been writing and submitting like crazy again ever since.

What’s it like being a Raconteur Press author? What can you tell us about the process involved in getting published by Rac Press?

When I found Raconteur Press, I really felt like I found my literary home. They have been fantastic with the short stories that I've had accepted in their anthologies, and everyone that I've worked with has been absolutely amazing through the process of publishing my first novel. They care about their authors and are willing to invest time and effort into making them successful, which is something that's become kind of rare in publishing these days. Where a lot of people are looking for the next big thing, they're willing to put in the time to try to develop you into the next big thing.
I've also never seen a publisher that's as honest and open with their authors. Sales and royalties are an open book, and you can view them any time. The contracts are simple and straightforward with no heavy legalese, and if you have a question, you can get a straight answer quickly.
They're growing like wildfire, and there's a cool community of writers and editors behind the scenes. If you have something that fits one of their open calls, I can't recommend them more highly.  

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

Would you like this million dollars that I have laying around? I think that would be a fantastic question to hear at least once.

Seriously, though, I think it would be around finally finding some success at writing later in life. Just recently, I talked to a writer on social media who was saying that she just turned 50 and hadn't been able to sell a book yet. She was asking the community if she should just give it up. The answer to that, for me, is a resounding no. I gave it up for a long time, and it was a huge mistake. I often wonder where my career might be if I had continued to write with the same drive that I had before that failure. It's one of the greatest regrets of my life.

On the other hand, getting the initial note from Cedar Sanderson at Raconteur earlier this year telling me that they were interested in publishing "Dreams of Gold and Fire" was one of the highest points in my life. I never would have experienced that if I'd given it up forever.
If being a writer is really your dream, I can promise that if you give up, you will look back on it with regret. I had my most successful year as a writer at the age of 51, and I'll be 52 when my first novel comes out. I don't care if you're 70 or 80 or 90, it's worth it for that shining moment that an editor says to you, "this is really good, and we want to publish it."

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

I don't really have a catch phrase or a go-to quote, but I often speak in quotes from "The Princess Bride," "Star Wars," and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," among others. It's amazing how often they have something perfect for the situation. Inconceivable, you might say.

People can find Fred at https://fredwritesfantasy.com and https://fredwphillips.substack.com. 

____________________________

Thanks to Fred for participating. I'm happy to point out that the two Raconteur Press anthologies he chose to include in the pictures to accompany his interview both contain stories by me. Fred and I have more in common than he knows, and perhaps we're about to have more in common.

I'm at Writers Cantina. It's Pioneer Day in this country, and fireworks are going off all around tonight as I write this. Earlier, I attended an informal dinner get together not far from my hotel. There were no casualties, as far as I know. I also got to chat with a couple authors, including the editor of the anthology pictured below. He even remembered that it also included one of my stories.

As far as writing goes, I've got a new story in the works. I sent off a story this week and will send off another next week.

 

Writers Cantina 2024

 

The weary miles betwixt Le Chateau du Chat Gris and the UCC prevented me from posting last week. Today I'll recount what I can remember with help from my recent newsletter. What I can't remember, I'll fabricate to the best of my recollection.

I made certain not to arrive exceedingly early. I learned my lesson last year with the hauling of ice and comestibles with Jana, John, et al. I arrived less than a half hour before the starting gun sounded and got checked in, collected my two shirts, and caught up with Colby and Rick. I then visited the rooms and decided which presentation I would first attend.

The local constabulary made an appearance and brought some strong opinions regarding our choice of vehicular positioning. Although we were a full tome of writers with our poetic licenses at the ready, we declined to throw down the gauntlet of semantics and the complete lack of prohibitory signage, and instead moved our cars to the graveled area.

A noticeable improvement over last year saw us in three rooms for presentations and panels where the AC wasn't permanently set to arctic blast. The cantina room where one talked, gabbed, gossiped, flattered, cajoled, and mingled with writers, food, and carbonated beverages maintained the polar temps but it was bearable in that more open environment.

The big issue concerned how my presentation on Forging Unforgettable Stories was going to be delivered and received. Fortunately, Jay made a timely appearance for the presentation preceding mine, and we got things figured out--after a fashion. I used the laptop furnished by the cantina for the presentation while following my notes on my own laptop. The audience participated and certainly gave the appearance of being attentive. No one had to be removed by paramedics for an acute attack of apathy with complications from boredom. I even noted a few folks taking photos of my slides.

I attended a great presentation by Gordon and Nancy on historic firearms. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the end to take care of another matter. The panel on writing historical fantasy that I organized with Dave, Daniel, David, and me, had standing room only. I had lost the erudite and cogent questions that I had prepared when I suggested the idea for the panel, so I had to fire my inquiries on the fly to keep the discussion moving. The other panelists rose to the occasion, providing thoughtful and interesting responses to my quick queries.

I enjoyed meeting editors and writers for Raconteur Press--what a fun bunch.

Here are a few of those who deigned to allow their picture to be taken:

Joe, Brad, and Jim

I also snapped a picture during the presentation by Larry and Steve of Writer Dojo on writing action scenes:

I believe Steve is saying, "The mig was coming at me like this..." - or something completely unrelated to that.

When the event closed on the second day--going longer than that off-Broadway play I starred in--that's totally not true. I have never... Well, I guess I have in fact starred or had the lead male role in one or more plays which were not on Broadway, but they all went the full 7 nights--I hung around until the event organizer literally shooed the last of us from the crime scene. However, the fun continued as I lingered with Dave, David, Josh, and another writer outside the locked doors of the venue in discussion of matters both arcane and mundane--which sounds like a book title: Matters Arcane and Mundane: How Secret Societies Control Your Daily Life. 

 

To top off the the great event, I was invited to sup with editors and writers for Raconteur Press. I got to talk Star Trek with Brad and another prolific short story writer who favored a Hawaiian shirt that day and preferred not to have his picture or name mentioned in social media--it totally wasn't Windward Noblue. Nancy's spicy spaghetti tapped my taste buds with a terrific little tango of flavor that I quite enjoyed. I had nice conversations with James and J.C. and a delightful little chat with Liddie about the Arthurian stories that she's crafting. I had a couple brief discussions with Mike at the conference but didn't get to talk much to him at the after gathering as he was tied up with more entertaining folks. 

I also spoke briefly with Liddie's dad at the conference, and enjoyed that as well. There was a discussion with Joe, Brad, and J.L. that was quite pleasant (see the picture above). Perhaps the most memorable conversation I had at the conference concerned a topic outside the ordinary: Mastitis. We got to that point because I kept asking questions to which, unbeknownst to me, mastitis was ultimately the answer. Once she learned that I grew up on a farm and had some understanding of the malady, the whole horrible issue came out. Although not quite as notable as the breast infection topic, a discussion followed at the same table about paranormal experiences with David, Josh, Daniel, and Janiel that was great fun.

The Writers Cantina was tremendous fun. I don't regret the trip and enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. It was more fun than a root canal and twice as exciting as any book by Faulkner--and I'm not just saying that.

In other news, I'll be sailing to Byzantium at the end of the week.

 

Writers Cantina

 

I rolled into the UCCC--which does not stand for Uniform Commercial Code Conference--for the Writers Cantina around 8:30. There were two other cars in the lot, a white van and something blue that was not a van. A man occupied the driver's seat of the white van. I approached the vehicle on the passenger side, and he didn't roll up the window, drive away, or brandish a weapon, so I introduced myself. He called himself Lee and hailed from an unnamed swath of sod and sage near Vernal. He was a writer. I had arrived at the correct location, but he told me the place was locked.

Another individual arrived and, without making inquiry with us, went toward the building. I lost sight of him as I continued my conversation with Lee. A fourth party arrived--and I use "party" to mean a particular individual for the express purpose of making the event sound more festive--and we three decided to storm the castle. We didn't see the third individual and therefore assumed he had gone inside. We would follow in force. Our plan stalled when we discovered that the door was locked. As we reconsidered our options, i.e., constructing a wooden horse, waiting outside the door, or going back to our cars, a gentlemen (I suspect he was the owner of the blue vehicle) opened the door for us, and the missing third individual reappeared to enter with us. 

After our assault rode the wings of the lone defender's courtesy to success, we proceeded to the dungeon of the place. Lee claimed one of the four central thrones while I reconnoitered, checking the layout and noting the exits. I returned to Lee and the third individual who tagged himself as Robert; he had traveled from Albuquerque. I refrained from making a Bugs Bunny reference because the last name drew my inquiry.

Later, Jana arrived with enough supplies to provision the Pacific Fleet for two weeks--in other words, barely enough for a pride tome of writers (or is it a font of writers? a ream of writers? a draft of writers? a proof of writers? an archive? a smudge? a script? a tome of writers -- that's it I'm going with tome because I like the sound of it and I can't see that anyone has used it before). Actually, our tome was more of a pamphlet. We were a pamphlet of writers because it was a small venue. After we carried in the provisions, I encountered Eric who brought two boxes of books for the paperback trading tables--singular prior to Eric's arrival--and I helped carry in one of the boxes. 

I encountered old friends David and David (both of Utah) who arrived as I was returning to lug more of Jana's comestibles back to the dungeon. John from Utah and I made the final trip (of many) to bear fardels of ice--leaky ones. We did not effect a change of the dungeon into Xanadu, but our efforts were critical in keeping the soft drinks cool--avoiding the Chernobyl-like disaster so often associated with sweaty writers and warm pop.

It was shortly after the ice-capade that I made a joking insult about Jay, and made my introduction accompanied by a small print disclaimer that I don't usually insult people until I know their names. He informed me that it was a common occurrence about which I should not be troubled.

The pamphlet was getting thicker by this time, and I decided I should sign in and get credit for my attendance and the free labor I had donated. At the bottom of the stair in front of the sign-in table, I met Sam and Shari from Pittsburgh. Sam and I traded at length in books, employment, and other such introduction currency before he decided that my dry wit and bland delivery called for a cleansing and refreshing beverage.

I decided to attend a panel discussion on the "Dos and Don'ts of Writing in Other's Worlds" which was led by Brad, Holli, and John. One attendee, Nick, had hit upon a clever plan to meet me by blocking my way into the room. We had a short discussion, and he let me pass after quizzing me about my favorite color and the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. 

Lincoln of Star told me he had an illustrated children's book coming out soon. In one of the sessions--maybe "How to Write an Award Winning Sci-Fi Story" by Brad or maybe John's "Story Prep and Submission"--I met Janiel of Utah. Shortly after that, I met Jake and Jarod, who write the Helios trilogy, and their editor Christine. We had an informative discussion.

I did skip one session because neither of the two choices interested me, and frostbite threatened to permanently disable me after two hours in one room with the AC set on "arctic blast" blowing directly on me. I was also hungry. I hit the supply depot, and paramedics carried me outdoors into the heat until I regained the complete use of my limbs--I understand that I can obtain attractive and fully functional prosthetics to replace the two fingers I lost somewhere along the way.

There were many more writers I didn't get to meet--but I understand that was at their request. There was something useful in all the sessions I attended. The most memorable may have been Brad's solo presentation during which he repeatedly moved from the visual on the screen behind him and back to his stack of books to raise whichever one he was referencing at the time. It was very enjoyable. I even picked up his Dragon Award-winning novel after the presentation.

I learned from David that I may be one of a hundred flipped quarters, but I haven't come up heads enough times to get noticed. My take away from writing in other's worlds was that one should do his research and should not be a jerk--I hope that doesn't categorically exclude me. In other groundbreaking news: genre's have tropes, and it's good to read both inside and outside your writing genre--way outside. I didn't think anyone else was familiar with Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre --which I became acquainted with in playing Avalon Hill's Struggle of Nations--a game that is virtually unplayable, or perhaps marginally playable--and David even knew all the lyrics. I had forgotten them long ago. Now I'm going to have to go read about John Churchill, the subject of the song.

The main disappointment was the complete lack of debauchery during and after the proceedings--although one novel proposal did promise to find "the key to immorality," but everyone agreed that it was an entertaining typo with the proper phrase being "the key to immortality." I should explain that I'm using "debauchery" as a substitute for RPG, Skirmish, Strategy, Tactics, or other tabletop games--as opposed to what you were probably thinking. Perhaps next year when the Writers Cantina may go two days instead of one.

_______________________

Friday night in the hotel room gave me the time I needed to finish chapter 19 in book 6 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. I should've completed it last week, but the chapter grew in the telling--and I also had to go back a couple chapters to add important stuff--but chapter 20 is nearly half written; part of it was the old chapter 19. Anyway, the fantastic story continues and oozes cool on nearly every page.

On a side note, I outlined my writing philosophy of The Trauma, The Drama, and The Dream, so that I can present it if ever called upon to do so. I don't think it's earth-shattering, but it is a good explanation of how to create stories the reader will love without getting confined in an iron maiden of story structure.--or at least the discussion thereof.