Illogicon, day 3

My 10:00 a.m. wake-up time (for an 11:00 a.m. panel) came way too quickly after a 6:15 a.m. bedtime.  Did I mention that I hate doing panels before noon?

The topic for the panel was very broad:  ebooks.  In the course of an hour, our group touched on all the major sub-topics, though, and the audience seemed happy, so it went well.

I stayed in the room for the next panel, one I'd found particularly interesting:  The Books That Changed Our Lives.  We panelists took turns discussing various books, the audience threw in a few questions, and it went well.  Here, courtesy of Gina, is a photo of our group just before the panel started.

As always, click on a photo for a larger version.

A group of us then dashed out for lunch at what looked like a promising Cuban place, The Havana Grill.  I'm sorry to have to report that the food was decidedly meh, just good enough that I ate most of it, but just bad enough that nothing was as good as I'd hoped.

I rested for a bit afterward and caught up on some work until it was time to head back for the 6:00 p.m. Closing Ceremonies, which were short and pleasant.  Final attendance was 350 people, so the con grew throughout the weekend. 

Before the Closing Ceremonies presentation was to start, Tim Powers commented that it was a shame that a nearby light saber wasn't more rugged.  The owner claimed it was and proved that assertion by banging it against the floor.  Tim said it was a shame they didn't have two, so they could fence.  I then learned that the other guy, whose name I did not catch, had learned to sword-fight SCA-style, and that Tim had fenced in college and continued fencing classes for 16 years afterward.

As soon as the panel ended, the other fellow dashed out of the room and returned a moment later with a second light saber.

Which is how we came to this picture, as Tim is deciding whether to have a short fencing match while wearing his leather jacket.

After a few experimental thrusts, Tim decided that the jacket was restricting his movement, so he took it off.

A short match to three points ensued.

Tim lost the first point by dropping his light saber.  He won the next two by striking the other guy's saber hand.  Here he is in mid attack.

So, the con closed on a bang, all in attendance had fun watching, and Tim showed that he still had a little of that old fencing magic.

More cons should end with fencing matches.

Illogicon, day 2

The con started too damn early for me today with a 10:00 a.m. panel on Finance for Beginning Writers.  The audience was initially quite small, half a dozen or so folks, but it tripled in the first 15 minutes as more people wandered into the room.  We discussed many different aspects of the money side of writing, from what to expect (not much money), to whether to quit your day job (most of us said no, but some argued it could be an effective way to focus), to how to manage the little bit of money you do make (pay your taxes!).  It went well, and everyone in attendance seemed happy at its end.

After a short nap in the car and a small burrito at a nearby Moe's, I returned to the con for a 1:00 p.m. panel on Science Fiction and Ethics.  The discussion ranged over a broad variety of related topics, and though all the panelists had strong feelings on many topics, we managed to successfully avoid much conflict.  I enjoyed this topic and could easily have kept discussing it for another hour.  The audience, which was a pretty good size, seemed to feel the same way, which was great.

During the next hour, I learned a couple of con-related, interesting things. 

First was that our local paper, the News & Observer, had run an article on the con.  The piece even quoted me, which I suppose is good, though more context would have been nice.

Then, Ticia texted me a picture from the con folks about a sketch that Tim Powers had done and then donated to the charity auction.

As always, click on an image to see a larger version. 

I think the sketch is very cool, and I didn't want to miss a chance to own one of Powers' drawings, so I changed my evening plans so I could attend the auction. 

After a little wandering and some rest in a quiet corner, I showed up for my 3:00 p.m. signing.  As is usually the case, I signed only a few books, talked to some friends who wandered by, and dreamed of being one of those writers whose signing line stretches around the block.  As these thoughts took their toll on my mood, I started marking up the signing announcement sheet.  Bored with that, I wrote a short, depressing story in lines wrapping around the page.

I planned to leave it there, but Jennie and Glennis spotted it, and Jennie snapped it up.  That proved to be a good thing, because a little while later one of the con folks said they had heard about it and asked if I would donate it to the charity auction.  I said, sure, and Jennie gave it to them.

If you blow it up and turn your head (or print it and turn it), you can read the few sentences of this bit of bleakness.

I then scooted off to the Baen Traveling Road Show, where I spoke about my books and my upcoming (and still not done) Heinlein afterword.  I also just enjoyed the show and the chance to learn about the upcoming Baen books.

Though I would normally have gone home at that point, I waited around until the charity auction began.  I learned there that somehow they had lost the sheet with the story, so it couldn't go up for auction.  I hope someone has it and enjoys it.

I asked if they would auction the Powers sketch early, and they agreed reluctantly but nicely to do so. 

It was the third item up. 

The auctioneer opened the bidding at ten bucks, and I sat silently as a few different folks bid it to $17.

"Twenty-five," I said.

The room grew a bit quieter.  A voice behind me said, "Twenty-six."

"Fifty," I said.

"I think I heard a 'comma, bitch,'" the auctioneer said.

A voice behind me, quieter this time, said, "Fifty-five."

"One hundred," I said.

No one in the room made a sound.  "Well, I suspect that's that," the auctioneer said, and it was.

I plead guilty to having to leave early, paid for the piece, and headed out to dinner.

Illogicon II, day one

I hit the con at a quarter to three, which gave me 15 minutes to pick up my badge and materials and set up for opening ceremonies.  That was tighter than I'd hoped, but I had trouble escaping from the work that was piling up even as I drove to the hotel.

Fortunately, one of the folks at the registration table recognized me, they were reasonably well organized, and so in only a few minutes I was set. 

Most of the guests couldn't make it for such an early opening, but Writer Guest of Honor Tim Powers had arrived the night before.  He and I sat behind the table at the front of the room and kicked off the event more or less on time. 

I talked a bit about Tim's fiction, which I love, and introduced him.  After he spoke for a few minutes, we were out of planned material--and the audience of maybe two dozen folks was still sitting there, expecting more.  Fair enough; we'd promised them an hour.

When no one asked a question, Tim and I proceeded to talk back and forth in a sort of barely organized stream-of-consciousness discussion that ended up focusing on life as a writer, particularly the annoying bits.  We discussed how much fun it was to be told that no bookstore had your books, or to be asked why you didn't write a bestseller.  Members of the audience asked a few questions, we answered, and before I knew it, we were done.  I think it went well, and getting to spend a little time talking with Tim, even in front of a group, was a treat.

I hightailed it from there to a nearby cafe that offers free Wi-Fi and worked madly to catch up on the tasks that had hit me while I was at the con.  Though I didn't eat anything and bought only a soda, I feel obliged to note that the food at the Cafe Carolina is decent, and the bandwidth was very good. 

A few minutes before six, I rushed back to the hotel for my reading.  I had expected no one to show, but about half a dozen folks did--though I knew all of them at least via email.  I tried to talk them into letting me off the hook, but they weren't having any of it.  So, I let them pick what I'd read:

1. "Lobo, Actually," which is in the recent Cosmic Christmas anthology
2. "The Strangest Thing," a non-genre, Southern story I've never read aloud
3. A few odd and action scenes from Fatal Circle, the thriller on the shelf that I plan to finish one day and from which I have only ever read the first page--and that only once

They chose number 3, so they got to hear quite a few pages of material no one has ever heard.  I did not throw bon-bons, but that's only because I didn't have any at hand.

I ended up on a quick work call after the reading.  Right after that, I learned the two booksellers wanted me to do a signing the next day, so of course I said, "Yes!"  I love booksellers!  We worked out the schedule, and then I spent some time talking with those booksellers.

Next up and last on my schedule for today was the Liars' Panel, which we did to amuse the audience and raise money for charity.  Sadly, the audience was quite small, though the people in it were great.  Still, we all answered outrageous questions, mostly told the truth but sometimes lied, and raised about two hundred bucks for Hopeline, the con's charity.

By this point, it was definitely time for dinner.  A small group of us dashed to BurgerFi, the first local franchise of this small chain, for tasty organic burgers and hot dogs, as well as sticky cheese fries.  It wasn't at all healthy, but it was good. 

From there, I headed home to work, which I did until now (five in the morning). 

In four hours, I have to get up for day two of the con.  No one should schedule me on a 10:00 a.m. panel!

More about the con tomorrow night.

On the road again: World Fantasy Con, Toronto, day 5

The big con event of the day was the World Fantasy Awards banquet, which I attended. 

I discussed with others whether the food here was the worst of any WFC banquet, and our final consensus was that no, it was not:  it was equally as mediocre-verging-on-bad as all the recent rest.  I was hungry, and the conversation was pleasant, so I ate it, but I did myself no favors by doing so. 

The awards ceremony was, on the other hand, a well-executed affair.  Toastmaster Gary K. Wolfe gave a funny and sometimes pointed opening speech that I thoroughly enjoyed.  He then handed out the awards efficiently and with grace, calling on a few folks to help him along the way.  I was particularly pleased to see Tim Powers' The Bicycle Repairman and Other Stories win for Best Collection.  If you don't know his work, you should; it is consistently marvelous. 

I spent more time socializing at this con than at most, though admittedly mostly with the same relatively small group of friends.  Still, that is an improvement for me. 

Tomorrow, I head home!