Paternus: Wrath of Gods - Fantasy Novel Hardbacks Kickstarter
Sep
8
to Sep 28

Paternus: Wrath of Gods - Fantasy Novel Hardbacks Kickstarter

The Kickstarter for Paternus: Wrath of Gods (The Paternus Trilogy, Book 2) signed and numbered hardbacks launches at 8AM EST Tuesday morning, September 8 and will run through September 28 at 11:59 EST. You can follow along and receive a launch notification by clicking HERE.

For anyone who missed the Kickstarter for the Rise of Gods (Book 1) hardbacks and would like to have one – never fear! – they will be available in a number of the pledge levels. And nearly every level has a discount ("Early Bird") tier for early supporters.

Some of the pledge level rewards and add-ons:

Signed & Numbered Wrath of Gods Hardbacks
Signed Trilogy Paperbacks
Gallery Quality Posters
Exclusive Wrath of Gods Bookmarks
and MORE!

Anyone who already owns or pledges for Book 1 will have numbers for Book 2 matched.

These hardbacks will be printed to the same specs as Book 1, and the character illustration will be of Asterion, The Bull, rendered by the fabulously talented Felix Ortiz.

View Event →
Aug
22
to Aug 25

TitanCon/EuroCon Belfast, and Panel Schedule!

After WorldCon in Dublin, I’m heading straight up to Belfast for TitanCon/EuroCon. Looking forward to seeing the city and meeting more awesome authors and readers. My panel schedule:

Alien: 40 years on, Panel

23 Aug 2019, Friday 13:00 - 14:00, Lagan A (Hilton Belfast)

It's four decades since Ridley Scott's iconic Geiger-designed SF horror burst (literally and figuratively) onto screens. Join our panel discussion the film, its themes, its influence, and more

Felicity Keane (Royal London Group), Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media) (M), Mr. Richard Stephenson James (titan con), Fionnuala Murphy

The Matrix - 20 years on, Panel

24 Aug 2019, Saturday 13:00 - 14:00, Lagan A (Hilton Belfast)

In 1999, cinema viewers across the world were asked "What is The Matrix?" Twenty years on, the question still remains. On its face a groundbreaking SFX blockbuster, it can be read as a transgender parable, a treatise on the Philosophy of Mind, an object lesson on the dangers of Sequelitis, and more.

Ms Cheryl Morgan (Wizard's Tower Press) (M), Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Felicity Keane (Royal London Group), RB Kelly

View Event →
Aug
15
to Aug 19

WorldCon Dublin, and Panel Schedule!

The last WorldCon I attended was in Kansas City in 2016, and I’m thrilled to be headed over the pond for the Dublin WorldCon this year!

Happy to say I’ve also been asked to serve on three panels, and to deliver an academic paper. I’d love to see you! Here’s my schedule:

Living in the future: 2019 depicted in film, Panel

16 Aug 2019, Friday 12:00 - 12:50, Liffey Room-2 (CCD)

1982 saw the release of some very different takes on the year 2019: Akira, The Running Man, and Blade Runner. How does the future now differ from what the creators of the 1980s predicted? How relevant are the issues they foresaw, whether or not the details were correct? What contemporary works are looking at the future 40 years from now, and which do we think portray more or less plausible futures?

Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Annalee Newitz, Rick Wilber (Western Colorado University), Robert JE Simpson (CinePunked) (M)

Unfamiliar philosophies, Academic Paper

16 Aug 2019, Friday 14:30 - 15:20, Odeon 6 (Academic) (Point Square Dublin)

1. Dyrk Ashton – ‘Deleuzian Reflections in The Lord of the Rings’
2. Sean Robinson – ‘Closer than Brothers: Grindlewald’s Crime was Love’
3. Dr Kristina Hildebrand – ‘Characters of Colour in the Whedonverse’

Mythological science fiction, Panel

17 Aug 2019, Saturday 14:30 - 15:20, Alhambra (Point Square Dublin)

Science fiction has been described as modern mythology, but it also has a long history of taking themes and tropes from existing mythological traditions and reworking them. The panel will discuss science fictional stories whose structure or themes echo those of existing mythological tales from around the world.

Deirdre M Murphy (M), Dr Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame (U.S.A.) in England), Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Vida Cruz

Fantasies of Irish emigration, Panel

18 Aug 2019, Sunday 16:30 - 17:20, Stratocaster BC (Point Square Dublin)

Urban fantasy abounds with characters from Irish mythology and folklore, but most of these stories are set in London or America rather than Ireland itself. The panel will examine the influence of Irish culture on urban fantasy and the abiding popularity of Irish mythology across the diaspora.

Randee Dawn (Variety/LA Times), Deirdre M Murphy, Dyrk Ashton (Paternus Books Media), Veronica Belmont (Sword & Laser) (M)

View Event →
Jan
19
to Jan 22

ConFusion conference 2017

In January of 2016, ConFusion, in Michigan, was the first conference I attended as a writer. I knew absolutely no one and no one knew me. This year I return as a panelist. What are they thinking?!

Here's my schedule! (So exciting ;):

Saturday 1/20, 10:00 AM, Ballroom A&B. Reading: Dyrk Ashton, Emmy Jackson, Ferrett Steinmetz. Authors read from current or forthcoming works

Saturday 1/20, 11:00 AM, Interlochen. Panel: Screenwriting in Genre. What does it take to be a screenwriter in SFF? How is screenwriting different from prose fiction? Sam Morgan (M), Mallory O'Meara, Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck (James SA Corey), Dyrk Ashton.

Saturday 1/20, 4:00 PM, St. Clair. Autograph Session. Come meet your favorite authors, artists and musicians and have them sign things! (Please limit your signing requests to 3 items per person). Matthew Alan Thyer, Dyrk Ashton, Mishell Baker, Brandon Black, Elly Blake, Gail Carriger, Suzanne Church, Michael Cieslak, Seleste Delaney, Kate Elliott, Amal El-Mohtar, Janet Harriett, Christian Klaver, Jeffrey Alan Love, Mark Oshiro, Cherie Priest, Adam Rakunas, Jason Sanford, Michael J. Underwood

Sunday 1/21, 11:00 AM, Interlochen. Panel: Long Tail of the Tall Tale. Tall tales, like their fairy tale cousins, are reinvented in every culture around the world. Handed down through generations, they provide context for how humans relate to each other and to stories. How have these oral traditions influenced today’s fiction? Is there such a thing as a modern tall tale? Dyrk Ashton (M), Michael J. DeLuca, Sarah E. Gibbons, John Chu, Bernadette Bosky.

 

View Event →
Dec
13
9:00 AM09:00

Reddit Fantasy AMA!

Hi Folks! I've been invited back to Reddit Fantasy to do another r/Fantasy AMA (Ask Me Anything)! Tuesday, December 13, 2016, I'll be fielding questions about, well, anything!

As soon as the forum goes live in the morning on December 13, I will post a direct link to the AMA to all my Social Media accounts, and pin it to the top on Twitter and the Paternus Books Media FB page.

I know there are a lot of folks who aren't familiar with Reddit, so here is some info that might help:

You need to have a Reddit account. All you need is name and email address. Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasy, in the upper right you'll see "Want to join? Log in or sign up in seconds."

My AMA thread will be posted and open at 9AM EST on the day. Any time after that, anyone can post questions throughout the day. It is recommended I wait until later in the day to start answering questions, but I'll be checking in and out all day and late into the evening

To find me and my AMA on the day:

  • Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasy and log in.
  • On the main page of r/Fantasy, you'll see a whole list of threads. Mine might be right there and easy to see, but it might not. It will say something like : "I'm Dyrk Ashton, Author of Paternus. Ask Me Anything!" Click on that and you're there. You can enter questions and participate just like in any discussion forum.
  • If you don't see it, you can search my name in the search box under "Welcome to /r/Fantasy" in the upper right of the main page. The AMA should be the first on the list that shows up.
  • OR, you can go to the upper left of the page and click on the "New" tab. Newly posted threads show up there, and mine should appear there pretty much all day.
  • If you get lost in Reddit, which I do all the time, you can get back to r/Fantasy by going to the far upper left where you will see "My Subreddits." Click on that and scroll down to "Fantasy." That will get you back to the r/Fantasy page where you can scroll to find my thread or search my name again.

Some tips:

  • To the left of my thread, you'll see a sword. If you click on the blade it will flame - that means you like the thread - so go ahead and do that ;)
  • You'll see up and down arrows next to people's question posts. Those are for you to vote the post up or down on the list. Up if you think they are relevant, down if you think they are not. This is not for like or unlike, just relevant or irrelevant. You can only click these once, and no you can’t click your own. You can ignore them entirely if you like, I think many people do.
  • Formatting is a little weird on Reddit. There are special things you have to do to put in a link or make text italics or bold, but I don't think you have to worry about that. One thing that might help, though, is to know that you need to hit two hard space returns to make a new paragraph.

(Note - in the right column of the r/Fantasy main page, there is a list of AMAs. Clicking on my name will NOT take you to my AMA, it will take you to my bio on the paternusbooks.com website)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I might even know the answer.

That's it, thanks everybody! Hope to "see" you there!

Vty,

D

View Event →
Book Signing, Perrysburg OH!
Jul
30
1:00 PM13:00

Book Signing, Perrysburg OH!

Meet Dyrk Ashton, local author of the contemporary mythic fantasy novel Paternus, former actor, and widely recognized knucklehead. Book signing, reading, Q&A. Knuckleheadedness guaranteed.

Free and open to the public. Come on out, support a local artist as well as an independent, local bookstore.

If you'd like a book signed, there will only be a very limited number of copies available at the event. You may want to order on Amazon and bring it on the 30th.

Thanks!

Paternus Books Media

View Event →
May
13
5:00 PM17:00

SFWA Conference Chicago-Book Signing

May 12 - 15 I'll be in Chicago attending the annual SFWA Conference and Nebula Awards Ceremony! (so excited). Friday the 13th (eek!), 8-9:30 PM is a mass signing with many of the biggest names in Science Fiction and Fantasy in the country. And me. Weird. And I'm announcing here for the first time - free copy of Paternus to the 1st few brave souls to visit my table/booth/space/corner hovel. I'll even sign it (unless you'd rather I not, might decrease the used bookstore resale value ;).

View Event →
May
1
3:00 PM15:00

May 1 Release Day Event!

Join us for the official

Paternus Release Day Event

If you missed Fantasticon, here's another chance to get a signed copy of Paternus!

Sunday May 1, 3-4:30 PM. Grounds for Thought bookstore and coffee shop, Bowling Green, Ohio.

Reading, signing, and drawing for a free book! A limited number of books will be available for sale.

Thanks, hope to see you there!

View Event →
Apr
16
to Apr 17

Fantasticon Toledo!

Hi folks! Here's a chance for Toledo area peeps to purchase a personalized, signed copy of Paternus before it's release! I'll be selling and signing copies at Fantasticon, Seagate Convention Center, downtown Toledo, on Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17. Come on down and say "hi!"

Fantasticon

View Event →
Mar
1
7:00 AM07:00

Reddit Fantasy AMA!

Somehow, some way, I've been given a coveted slot in the extremely popular r/Fantasy AMA (Ask Me Anything) forum - Yikes! Tuesday, March 1, 2016, I'll be fielding questions about, well, anything! My upcoming novel Paternus, books, movies, acting, writing, fantasy, self-publishing, the film business, my dissertation on the The Lord of the Rings films, the fabric of my underwear, it's all fair game. Wade in, put me to the test, watch me fall on my online face.

As soon as the forum goes live in the morning on March 1, I will post a direct link to the AMA to all my Social Media accounts, and pin it to the top on Twitter and the Paternus Books Media FB page. That will help you find it.

BUT, I know there are a lot of folks who aren't familiar with Reddit, so here is some info that might help:

  • You need to have a Reddit account. All you need is name and email address. Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasy, in the upper right you'll see "Want to join? Log in or sign up in seconds."
  • My AMA thread will be posted and open at 12 Noon EST on Tuesday, March the 1st. Any time after that, anyone can post questions throughout the day. I may check in and out, but it is recommended I wait until 6PM EST to start answering questions. I’ll be “live,” then, from 6PM til 10PM or so EST.
  • To find me and my AMA on the day:
    • Go to https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasy and log in.
    • On the main page of r/Fantasy, you'll see a whole list of threads. Mine might be right there and easy to see, but it might not. It will say something like : "I'm Dyrk Ashton, Author of Paternus. Ask Me Anything!" Click on that and you're there. You can enter questions and participate just like in any discussion forum.
    • If you don't see it, you can search my name in the search box under "Welcome to /r/Fantasy" in the upper right of the main page. The AMA should be the first on the list that shows up.
    • OR, you can go to the upper left of the page and click on the "New" tab. Newly posted threads show up there, and mine should appear there pretty much all day.
    • If you get lost in Reddit, which I do all the time, you can get back to r/Fantasy by going to the far upper left where you will see "My Subreddits." Click on that and scroll down to "Fantasy." That will get you back to the r/Fantasy page where you can find my thread or search my name again.

Some tips:

  • To the left of my thread, you'll see a sword. If you click on that it will flame - that means you like the thread - so go ahead and do that ;)
  • You'll see up and down arrows next to people's question posts. Those are for you to vote the post up or down on the list. Up if you think they are relevant, down if you think they are not. This is not for like or unlike, just relevant or irrelevant. You can only click these once, and no you can’t click your own. You can ignore them entirely if you like, I think most people do.
  • Formatting is a little weird on Reddit. There are special things you have to do to put in a link or make text italics or bold, but I don't think you have to worry about that. One thing that might help, though, is to know that you need to hit two hard space returns to make a new paragraph.

(Note - in the right column of the r/Fantasy main page, there is a list of AMAs. Clicking on my name will NOT take you to my AMA, it will take you to my bio on the paternusbooks.com website)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I might even know the answer.

That's it, thanks everybody! Hope to "see" you there!

Vty,

D

 

View Event →