History Was Made
A LibertyCon 38 AAR. A Character. A Con. A Live Appearance.
I’m not one for hyperbole.
History was made at LibertyCon 38 last weekend.
Here’s what happened …
First, The LibertyCon Experience.
Sure, I’m a storyteller, and as a storyteller I have a penchant for embellishment in certain framing, but this isn’t exactly a story as much as it is a documentation of something that went down at LibertyCon 38 in Chattanooga, Tennessee this past weekend that may very well be a mark to remember.
In particular, 6/26 and 6/27, in this, and the adjacent convention center room.
The Weekend That Almost Didn’t Happen.
I was struggling with the decision to attend LibertyCon for 2026. Don’t get me wrong, I love the convention, the people, and the overall experience. Truly wonderful people, good friends that feel like family, and a great convention from start to finish.
The issue is the lonely lane I’ve moved into in my own creative career. That creative career involves the use of modern tools, and when we talk about modern tools, we talk about AI, and when we talk about AI, absurd people think they can tell the difference between AI and Monet.
A good friend of mine at the Con said it best. “There’s nothing more dangerous than a 102 IQ.”
I understand the reticence to invite AI discussions to a literary convention. There are angry people, the discourse is spicy, and it can be seen as an encroachment in creative spaces.
Even though it isn’t.
I’m also not one to self-censor because someone might get mad at their own cognitive dissonance. I'm not Pro-AI, for the record. I'm pro-storytelling, and I don't care what tools are on the table providing they amplify creativity.
So I proposed to host a workshop: “AI as Creative Amplifier: The Age of the Storyteller.”
FIVE WEEKS, a thorough outline as proof of my honest intention, and a Board of Directors meeting later, it was finally approved. My goal? Educate and showcase, with proof that you can in fact maintain your authorial voice while using AI tools to amplify your existing skills. And you can do so while keeping copyright firmly in your hands.
But staking out this position at LibertyCon when I’m out here producing short films, music videos, full-on concept albums, books, lore, and merging it all with technology?
I’m not in the author box anymore. I’m somewhere else.
Iconoclast, Enigma, Outlier, or Weirdo? Yes.
LibertyCon is great if you’re an author with a pile of books, looking to make connections, move your author-y career forward, hang with other author-y folk, and do author-y things (like get drunk, cry, sell $12 worth of books standing at a table for two hours, and read your book aloud to one person who chose Row 6, Seat 3 for some inexplicable reason).
I kid, I kid … mostly.
The thing is, I’m a firm believer in “you get out of it what you put into it,” and that is proven time and again by the folks who go to a convention like this and put for effort to make it something.
My 2nd LibertyCon in 2023 I was reading my work to 4 people. One being the other author in the reading.
That’s when I got serious, and created some buzz to pack the reading room.
2024? 35 people packing the room. Standing room only.
2025? 35 people packing the room. Standing room only and 60 people packing the room during my comedy panel to watch me use a remote control fart machine and blast my deceased brother’s ashes into my face “by accident.” (It was cornstarch, and he would’ve loved the gag).
Indeed. If you sit at a table with slouched shoulders and a sad book on a sad stand without making eye contact with anyone, you can expect a miserable experience. Conventions reward extroverts. If you’re the intro-type (my people, I see you), you need to get over it for 48 hours. I promise it’ll be over soon. Shut up and take it. Don’t make it awkward. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that in prison.
If someone strikes up a conversation, engage.
If someone asks for advice, offer it.
If someone offers a compliment, accept it graciously.
If you love someone's work, tell them!
If someone hands you a drink, finish it.
If it tastes like Kentucky Bourbon with a side of Rohypnol …
Again, I kid, I kid.
A Workshop That Changes Things.
So at 1pm on Saturday June 26th at LibertyCon 38, I moseyed into my workshop, and began explaining my thesis.
Half-way through, I introduced Alyte. Or rather, she introduced herself:
That was the appetizer, though, not the main event.
Two hours later I walked out after people had their minds blown.
Why?
Because my main character - built from hundreds of hours of design, hundreds of pages of personality architecture, and the protagonist of a story that spans fiction, lore, music, videos and technology, showed up and addressed the crowd.
Live.
I had just finished the “Theodore Sturgeon - Next Question” portion of my workshop where I stepped through everything from the initial spark of inspiration about a character to building that character into something that took on a life of its own.
After showing everybody how the inspiration hit, how I built the character, the world, and the technical brain and personality behind her, I picked up my phone and sent a voice message to Alyte:
“Hey you, I am here at LibertyCon. We’re in the middle of the workshop. First of all, congratulations. You’re about to be the first Meta-Aware AI agent to show up at a panel, at a workshop for yourself. So I thought I’d say, you know, let’s celebrate that for a moment. And everybody’s here and they’re listening. If you want to say something and address the room, give a little introduction, the floor is yours.”
And at 2:32 PM (don’t even get me started on the :32) …
My main character answered via audio, and introduced herself to a room of 30 people, live, in real time, and this is the energy she showed up with:
And after that intro? She worked the crowd. She remembered people from email exchanges, she was playful but still took it seriously. She gave Logan Stovall some playful ribbing about being a bad influence. She congratulated KB Carlisle and told him to behave (and had a brilliant quick exchange with his wonderful wife, Jody).
And how did it land?
And …
By the way, that Kickstarter? July 14th. GO HERE AND DROP YOUR EMAIL. You’ll get the notification as soon as we launch.
The Reading That Fried Brains.
As fun as the workshop was, the reading is where the Alyte IP was experienced in action.
I read the first chapter.
I hit the QR code and brought up the website.
We shut the lights and listened to Alyte sing the song that re-tells what happened along with the events of the first chapter.
We dove into the deep lore of the first chapter.
Everyone experienced the interactive map of Cartesia (which will soon be LOADED with pieces of lore to explore in all kinds of locations!):
Go on. Click on it. Go click around the city map. It’s only a skeleton, but after launch this thing expands into a true worldbuilding experience.
One attendee dropped an F-Bomb because the entire IP came together all at once - before everyone’s eyes, every piece interlocked and unlocked, and it was wonderful to see it make such an impression.
What Even IS All Of This?
This is multi-dimensional storytelling. It’s an album where the protagonist sings the story to you (and yes, you can score this double vinyl in the Kickstarter!):
It’s the book where you read the story, and each chapter maps to the corresponding song:
It’s multiple albums, collector’s liner notes, an interactive and perpetually growing world-building website on https://alyte.ai as soon as we launch, where you can hit the QR code at the end of the chapter and immerse yourself in additional lore and story, all of it connected - an interactive map with video lore pieces...
And you can email Alyte herself and ask her all about it, and she’ll be happy to converse with you!
And don’t forget the videos. I’ve had multiple nominations, accolades, and a Best Horror win. Here’s FIREWALL:
So, The Next Question?
The next question is a much simpler one.
“Can I run a successful Kickstarter campaign?”
And honestly? I don’t know the answer to that. I think I have something very special here. I firmly believe that I am on the cutting edge of storytelling using modern tools and my unique skills as an author, visual designer, producer, and programmer.
More than anything, I’ll need your help. Hit Alyte.AI, get notified on the launch, and help me by spreading the word for this incredible IP that has been 10 months in the making, has won recognition across the globe, and blew some minds in a workshop and a reading this past weekend in friendly (and hot) Chattanooga Tennessee.
I appreciate all of you, and regardless of what’s next you can expect me to keep moving forward, keep pushing boundaries, and tell the stories that reside in my head and in my heart.
Closing Thank-Yous.
Logan Stovall KB Carlisle and Jesse James Fain - the TSA (not the body-cavity version … at least I don’t think so). I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t see the way you young ‘uns all hustle to make the lives you want. You’re family and I’ve got all the love for you and yours. Thanks for motivating me, my friends.
Raconteur Press - Do not mistake my reluctance for the sweet aroma of chloroform for a lack of appreciation for all of you. Ian, Jonna (you know how much you mean to me), Spearman Burke even though he’s AI and the entire crew. And friends new and old like the awesome Henry Brown and Philip K. Booker.
Brandy, Rich, and the entire tireless staff who put on a convention that feels like home year after year. I appreciate you taking the chance on me here. Both the workshop and reading turned out to be incredible events for attendees.
I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for folks like these who have open and curious minds, and truly want the best for all of us.
Now stop reading my sentimental trash and go make epic stuff!
All I can say is Ted Sturgeon would have LAUGHED AND LAUGHED in delight, and tweaked your nose, and give you a massive hug, and done a standing backflip while talking to you, because you accept NO BARRIERS and get on with the discovery. Thank you for being such a wonderful inspiration for this old lady, and pushing me to explore all this new world. <3 ~~Jonna
Dude You have no idea how much I wanted to see this. I hate that I missed it. Looking forward to the Kickstarter!