Ideas needed! Craft future programming at May 20th meeting!

What: Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting
When: Saturday, May 20, 2017, from 6:00 till 9:30 p.m.
Where: The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64111
Food theme: Favorite meeting-fare samples

Time to get creative
Join new Director David Means and your KaCSFFS friends for an evening of creative development this Saturday! It's time to plan the meeting programs for the next twelve months.

Barry Haldiman starts with a puzzler's overview.

Recent Directors have encouraged the discovery of interesting, hitherto-unknown-by-KaCSFFS collections, skills and talents of our members.

For instance, we've gained fascinating insights from Barry Haldiman's crossword-puzzle-creation skills.

We've been amazed and delighted by William McCullough's collection of Armed Services Editions, the half-sized paperback books that turned a generation of American soldiers into a nation of readers.

We've enjoyed Corey Barber's extensive collection of wonderful fantasy and sf art, and been enlightened by David Means-and-Family's collections of tabletop games (still providing us with interesting blog posts a year and a half later), plus most recently YA books (last month's fascinating program).

William McCullough and (most of) his collection of Armed Services Editions, many of them sf.

We also have been beguiled by interesting speakers, such as YM Rivadineira and her amazing costumes--and who could forget the R2 Builders, whose presentation has been considered by some the "best program ever"?

Then-Director Margene observes the R2 Builders presentation

We also have brought together authors doing readings, artists exhibiting fantasy and sf artwork, as well as panel discussions, such as the one in March, when Earline "Cricket" Beebe and Ty Gephardt gave an inspiring presentation on how to throw a great room party, or the one presented several years ago about the Kansas City connections to authors in our genres.

Recent meetings also have been more multi-media, combining live presenters in the room with remote interviews via FaceTime with authors K. B. Shaw, Julia Mandala, and P. R. Adams, or movie previews and videos, such as those produced to promote MidAmericon II. If you like that trend, please tell us!

And don't forget the food! KaXFEN love to eat, and we include some amazing cooks among our number. Several of our meetings each year are organized around food (the Annual Picnic; Thanksgiving, the Chili Cook-off). Are there other food-centered events we should consider?

The possibilities are as wide-ranging as our genres and interests. Please take some time to think about presentations you'd like to see, or any other hidden talents or amazing collections we haven't yet explored.

IMAGES: The photos of Barry and William were taken by Jan S. Gephardt. the photo of the R2 Builders' presentation is by Ty Gephardt, via Facebook. All are used with permission.

Author interview, Movie peek, and Anatomy of a great party: Don't miss the March meeting!

What: Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting
When: Saturday, March 18, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
Where: The Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111
Food Theme: Favorite "Room Party" food or drink

It's that time of year again . . . 

Don't forget to bring money for your annual dues ($25 cash or check; there's an additional $2 fee if you use a charge card). Only dues-paid members can vote on important club decisions.

One of these important decisions is who will be on next year's Board of Directors: March is also a month for self-nominations to the Board. If you think you'd be a good KaCSFFS Director, Secretary, Treasurer, or Communications Officer, March is the month to step up and say so. Elections will be held in April.

Author Interview with P.R. Adams

We'll kick off the evening's program with a live author interview. Whether or not you've had a chance yet to read this month's Reviewers' Reading Circle selection, Momentary Stasis, we hope you'll enjoy listening to our interview with its author, P. R. Adams. 

Momentary Stasis is a "hard sf" thriller set in a universe where humans have used alien technology to plant colonies beyond our Solar System. It tells the story of a US Army Special Forces sergeant who must down a rogue agent. But he and his partner discover that some of the biggest “power players” may or may not care whether humanity survives.

KaCSFFS is proud to offer a forum for emerging authors in search of a broader audience. The Reviewers' Reading Circle is designed to compliment our track record of inviting new, promising talent to be our guests at our annual ConQuesT sf convention--set this year for Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, 2017 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center.

NEW! Movie Trailer and announcement!
Kansas City native Alex Haughey's new feature film Prodigy will be screened at the Kansas City Film Fest, April 5-9 at the Cinemark Palace on the Plaza--and we'll be showing a trailer for it after our author interview. We'll have more information then, about the movie and its screening times/dates (main screening time: Saturday 4/8/17 at 10:00 p.m.).

Get your Room Party on!

Science fiction convention "season" in our region is heating up--and one of the classic pleasures of sf cons is the room parties. 

But all room parties are not created equal. Join Earline Beebe as she takes a break from accepting dues to round out our evening by leading a discussion about the good, better, and best practices for an excellent room party. 

What are the hallmarks of a good party? Is it possible to have a fun room party without spending a fortune? Whether you're a veteran of many conventions or brand new to the "con circuit," we hope you'll bring your own best ideas. You can help stimulate the conversation by bringing examples of great room party food ideas!

What are some common mistakes to avoid? It's just as important to know about room-party-goers' pet peeves. What are some of the fastest way to ruin a party, and how can they be avoided?

No discussion of room parties would be complete, however without telling a few tales. What are some of your favorite room party STORIES? Let's close out the evening with some good laughs over the best room party stories you can bring!

IMAGES: We are grateful to the European Parliament's post, "Economic governance explained," for the photo of the empty cash box used in our "Treasury Rejuvenation Month" graphic. Many thanks to author P.R. Adams for the cover image of Momentary Stasis. The Prodigy header is from the movie's Facebook Page. The photo of the party balloons is courtesy of 24 Yes Daily.