Best-selling fantasy author Piers Anthony delivers a keynote speech at the 2003 EPICon (Electronically Published Internet Connection) conference March 7-9, at the Sheraton Suites-Westshore.The conference, which costs $150 to attend, offers a comprehensive overview on electronic publishing as well as detailed information on writing, self-editing, publishing and promotion. More than a dozen representatives of independent publishers lecture and lead the workshops.
The Freebie in all of this is a pre-conference book signing. Piers Anthony and more than 20 other writers sign copies of their work at Barnes & Noble-Carrollwood from 7 to 10 p.m. March 6.
If you're not a fan of Anthony, best known for his Xanth series, chances are you're not big on reading about the machinations of good and evil played out in a magical land populated by marvelous centaurs, harpies, gryphons, dragons, humans and mixed species. And that's perfectly OK.
Xanth began as a trilogy and now totals 24 of Anthony's 120-plus novels. Those who love the prolific author see him as a zany talent, while many critics view his writing as juvenile junk. Arguments for both sides abound. At the center is the sheer entertainment he offers in the form of wordplay and his knack for bringing make-believe nonsense to life.
Though Anthony is a Bay area resident, this is his first signing here since 1989. His explanation: He doesn't like to tear himself away from his writing, and the older he gets the more he prefers to spend time at home with his wife.
EPICon is a natural event to draw him out, though. He's a longtime promoter of alternative publications, via support for small presses, e-publishing and self-publishing.
Anthony is not opposed to more commercial publishing ventures or mainstream exposure. Disney is interested in optioning his novel Pale Horse, in which a man named Zane kills the Incarnation of Death and is thus forced to take his place. Word is that Jamie Foxx will produce and star in the film (probably a very loose, comic adaptation).
For more on Piers Anthony and/or EPICon, visit www.hipiers.com.
Barnes & Noble-Carrollwood is at 11802 N. Dale Mabry, Tampa. 813-962-6446.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2003.