A-Kon

I usually post convention reports within a day or two of the convention. Right now I’m writing this post at 33,001 feet. Yup, I’m in a plane bound for England. But that’s the next post.

A-Kon 19 (they’ve had some practice) went very well. As usual there were somewhere over 15-16K Japanese animation fans. They just love the stuff and A-Kon is very good at ensuring they get the sort of experience they’re looking for.

We all survived the writers' workshop, of which I was one of the critiquers. I’m hoping those brave souls who partook of our input found it of value, despite the sea of red ink we poured all over their creations. The actual writers’ panels were very well attended. I had a total of eight with two stints of three in a row. That takes a bit of a toll and by Sunday afternoon I was feeling the fact that I’d not been drinking enough water to remain hydrated. I made sure to consume a lot of H20 and I stopped feeling like I was going to die. I got to spend time with Lee Martindale (lee_martindale), Melanie Fletcher, Tom Knowles and Heidi B (heidi2524). Also got to be on a couple of panels with David Drake. Both went over quite nicely with the fen.

I got home at about 8:30 Monday evening and then was back on a plane Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. It was a hectic two days, but almost everything managed to get done. What didn’t will be there when I get back.

Next post – London. I’m up to my usual research hijinks so I’ll keep you informed of what’s new in the heart of Britain.

And So It Begins...

Editorial-- that magic time when my editor looks at my hard work on Madman's Dance and goes "meh" (at least for certain parts) and then proceeds to help me fix my prose. She has the first half of the book in her hot hands while I'm straightening out some plot problems in the second half. Yes folks, this is a LONG book. I should have that second portion to her by the 8th or so.

I actually like this part of the book creation. Some authors dread it, but I'm blessed with an editor who knows my series intimately and will thump me on the head (electronically) when I send a character off in an inappropriate direction without good reason. You gotta have someone willing to take you to the woodshed.

In between the second half clean-up, I'm reading and critiquing submissions for the A-Kon Workshop. Some of them remind me of where I used to be. In a few years I'm hoping those newbie writers will look back and realize how much they're grown in the craft. It's what makes the journey worthwhile.