On the road again: Boston, day 6; Arisia, day 4

I had the very first autographing session of the convention, so it seemed somehow fitting that I would be part of the last joint reading panel today. As you might expect from an event starting after noon on the day when most fans were checking out, no one showed up to hear me or Michael Ventrella read from our works. Staring at an empty reading room is always a bit rough on the ego, but it's happened to me before, and it'll happen again, so I'm reasonably used to it. In this case, it was nice to get to meet and chat with Michael, who as it turns out plans to interview me at some point for his blog.

The daylight hours before and after the reading largely went to work, as you might expect.

The evening brought a fine dinner at the always wonderful No. 9 Park. Most of the meal was excellent, as always. The two foie dishes were amazing, and the cheese course was the best of this trip. The dessert, however, was weak and not up to the rest of the meal. Still, No. 9 Park remains, for me, a must-eat place when in Boston.

More work awaits, then packing, and tomorrow morning is work, then travel home.

On the road again: Boston, day 6 - Arisia, day 4

Today was a work day in con clothing. I did at least get a moderate amount of sleep, which was a lovely treat. Some work followed, then a quick lunch at Trident, a little bookstore and cafe that I quite like.

From there I scurried back to the con and was a member of a panel on businesses and business ethics in the future. I'd hoped we would focus primarily on alternative ways to create businesses in the future, but instead we stayed nearer to the topic of ethics. The audience was small, 15 or so, but hardy and quite involved, so the discussion stayed lively throughout the hour.

After much more work came a delight: dinner at one of my favorite Boston restaurants, No. 9 Park. The meal was, as always there, excellent and is so far the best I've eaten this trip.

The con is winding down; only one dead dog party and the con suite remain open. I'm going to walk to clear my head, then turn my attention to writing. At this stage of a novel, I can never get enough writing time, because improving what's there is so much easier than throwing down the words the first time. Plus, it's cool to be reading the book, even though it's in rough shape and my edits are numerous and necessary. To it I go!

On the road again: Arisia, day 3

I began the day after a rather long and delicious sleep, so I entered the small hotel gym with more than my usual enthusiasm. The previous day, free headphones had been plentiful, so I left my earbuds in the room. This gym still hates me: no free headphones. So, I walked the treadmill while alternately watching the silent TV and pondering Children No More.

The race each way across the glassed-in walkway was thrilling, as always.

Dave Seeley, who is the artist guest of honor, led an art show tour that I quite enjoyed. Dave began by discussing the works he had on display--and asking me to talk a bit about his cover for the Transhuman anthology--and then gave his perspective on quite a few other pieces in the show.

From his tour we went to a bellydance performance in the main ballroom. We emerged a sweaty forty-five minutes later with two distinct impressions:

1) All the dancers were at least decent, with several very good and quite a lot of fun to watch.

2) It is possible to fill a ballroom with so much fan ass stench that the smell actually begins to solidify in the air and obscure your vision.

Rarely have I been happier to hide for a few minutes in my own, fan-ass-free room and breathe its odor-free atmosphere.

Dinner was a great tasting menu at No. 9 Park. We'd read some foodie online comments that suggested the place had lost its way, but our server at Oishii had recommended it, so we gave it a go. The foodies were wrong; she was right. With the exception of an unsatisfying and extremely sticky dessert, each course was delightful. I highly recommend this place.