ConTemporal 2014 quick recap

ConTemporal is a local steampunk convention.  The nice folks who run it were kind enough to invite me as a guest, so I did one panel Friday early evening and two more appearances on Saturday. 

Steampunk cons provide some of the best people-watching of any cons.  The costumes are wonderful and plentiful; though I didn't do a serious census, at a glance it felt as if as many people were wearing costumes as were not.  I enjoyed roaming the halls and checking out the dealers' room.

My first panel was at 5:00 p.m. Friday and was on what professional writers' organizations can do for you.  The con had been open for only a couple of hours when we started, so the audience was predictably miniscule, but the other two panelists and I chatted amiably with those few who came to see us. 

I sat Saturday for an hour at a table in the dealers' room, but as a writer who does not sell his own books, I had nothing on offer.  I did chat with a few friends who were wandering the room, so that was nice.

My final event was a panel on world-building, which drew a decent audience for a con of this size.  We talked about many aspects of this part of writing, and the audience seemed interested the entire time.

If you're really into steampunk and live in this area, check out ConTemporal next year.