Chillin' in Chattanooga

This was FantaSciCon's first year, but you'd never know it. That's because the folks behind it (Dutch & Mikey, etal) have done a few conventions before. Having had such a blast at HallowCon last October, I tooled up to Chattanooga last weekend all set for a good time.

And a good time was had. The food, the conversation and alcohol were a nice way for this writer to relax. Met all sorts of new and intriguing folks: Ernie Saylor (editor of Aberrant Dreams Magazine), Rob Shelsky (writer of SF and time travel romances), his friend George, Pauline Griffin (Literary Special Guest) and R.D. Hammond, who goes by many names. I also reconnected with Walter Rice (he of the paranormal bent). I also got to meet Chris & Melissa Jones (SciFiSummerCon) and break bread with them. Since I'll be at their convention in June, it worked out great to do some strategic planning.

Now I'm home, unwinding and try to muck out the house before a friend arrives on my doorstep Wed. Since the house is a bit of a pit, that might take some doing. But still... maybe I can afford a quick nap to overcome the 'con lag'. Besides, I have to unearth my sweeper.

Later folks....

Gearing Up

Sojourn's manuscript has made it through the typesetter's capable fingers, proofed by both myself and a sharp-eyed proofreader (my buddy Nanette) and now it's back for revisions and then off to the printer. It's weird to see what you wrote all nicely set out on a page. It seems more 'official' or worthy of consideration than when it was a 'mere' MS Word file.

There is, also, the realization that once it's in print, I have to live with it. As it was, I made a number of tweaks to the galley (bad, bad author). Very soon the 'baby' will arrive, warts and all.

Not that this one has warts, of course. :) It's a cool story, one I'm VERY proud of. But just to keep me grounded, friend Nanette invited me over to her place to sample various teas to go with her marvelous gourmet brownies. (www.dolcielo.com) Chocolate and fine tea. A needed respite from the labor pains of a book.

Off to Fantasicon this weekend in scenic Chattanooga. Always a good time. A report will be in the offing...

Con Central

I managed to survive two conventions, back to back, on top of finishing the edits to my manuscript. And I didn't kill anyone, myself included. StellarCon was the first convention of what promises to be a busy year. Held in High Point, it pulled together a number of intriguing writer guests (ghosts as I call them) including the inevitable Tee Morris, Tony Ruggerio and a new acquaintance, Anthony Karnowski. I chatted with Anthony and his brother-in-law until the week hours of the morning on Saturday about a variety of topics. Very pleasant fellows. I finally got to meet the amazing Mur Lafferty and actually did a few panels.

Weekend #2 was in Roanoke (about a 7 and some hour drive from Atlanta) and SheVaCon. A bit quieter gig than StellarCon, it underwent some reorganization programming-wise in the last year. Some of panels didn't quite fit my capabilities, but I'm always willing to give stuff a try. Got to catch up with Laura Underwood & Stephe Pagel (Meisha Merlin Publishing) and hear what's new in their lives. Tony Ruggerio was kind enough to allow me to share his table in the dealer's room, so I hung there, with our mutual buddy Patrick, for much of the con. The trip home was LONG as I really don't like to drive more than about 5 hours at a stretch.

The convention isn't for a couple of weeks (Fantasicon in Chattanooga) so I get to muck out the house, plan the advertising campaign for the new book and generally try to find my brains. I have 12 cons on the books this year--I have to be a lunatic. The trick is finding the time to write the new book...