On the road again: CoastCon, day 2

A panel that starts at noon on day one of a convention is a bad idea indeed, yet that was my lot today. So, after walking along the Gulf of Mexico and diving deep into memories of my youth, I cleaned up and headed to my panel room in the convention center portion of the Biloxi Coliseum.

One person showed up, but she had made a very special effort to get there: After working all night at her hotel job, she had slept less than five hours and come to see me. So, rather than bagging entirely, as I would normally have done with an audience of one, we instead talked about the topic--finances and writing--and then about writing in general, until she had no more questions.

John and Traci Picacio then joined us on a ride to a local barbecue joint, The Shed. Before any of us had finished the third bites of our various orders, we had all agreed: The Shed rocks. The experience is interesting--in a good way--and the food is delicious. If time permits, I'll go back.

I attended and participated in multiple other panels today. A highlight was being the third (and by far the most junior) writer on a discussion of writing series; the other two authors were Michael Moorcock and David Weber. I learned a lot just listening to them, and though I talked more than I probably should have, I think the audience had a good time.

The evening was sufficiently crammed with activities that we had to wedge in dinner rather late, so we ended up grabbing a very unhealthy meal at a Whataburger, a local instantiation of a chain I'd frequented in college. Memories, memories; being so close to the Gulf really does take me back. I miss the beauty that once was the west coast of Florida, but she is gone, never to return.