Party night

Here in Raleigh, I don't attend a lot of parties other than the small extended-family gatherings I usually host, but tonight marked the kick-off of the NASFiC with two SF parties.

The first was an open house at Baen's offices in Wake Forest. The food and conversation were both excellent, and I got to catch up for a few minutes with Eric Flint (the con's Guest of Honor), John Kessel, and my publisher/editor, the redoubtable Toni Weisskopf (the con's Toastmaster). I also had the chance to meet and chat briefly with Mary Robinette Kowal, whose first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, also came out yesterday.

From there, we drove to Quail Ridge Books for the launch party of the second issue of Sam Montgomery-Blinn's SF magazine, Bull Spec. The short readings were generally interesting, and I had a chance to at least briefly meet so many local SF/fantasy writers that I couldn't catch all their names (sorry, folks; I was already tired). Sam even made a point of mentioning the Children No More charity program, for which I was grateful.

All in all, a fun evening.