VeriCon
Oh, right. Con report.
VeriCon ’07: The Little Con That Could. Seriously, I’m just bursting with pride that it’s going so strong, and has lasted for seven years (with more to come!). This alone makes me happy about attending.
But there were other things to be happy about, too. Awesome guests; I was on panels with Guy Gavriel Kay, R. A. Salvatore, Sharyn November (editor of Firebird, for those who don’t follow YA stuff and aren’t giddy that she’s brought so many awesome things back into print), Vandana Singh, and Jeffrey Carver, with whom I shared a signing at the Harvard Book Store. And I got to pick Salvatore’s brain for my ICFA paper: double bonus! He gave me some invaluable intel about the backstage processes behind his dark elf series and others; I want my paper to be about not just the texts, but about how they have been produced. (Can you tell I’m an anthropologist going to a mostly-lit conference?) I also got to have a lengthy conversation with Sharyn, interesting chats with various people outside the Masq, and numerous meals with friends, thus fulfilling my social quota for the weekend. (So if I’m hermit-ish for a while, you’ll know why — that, and my pile of Stuff To Do.)
I also read “Nine Sketches, in Charcoal and Blood” at Milk and Cookies. It really was a hair on the long side, which I feel bad about, but since I wrote a large portion of it at VeriCon two years ago, I really wanted to read it there. And enough people came up to me afterwards to ask questions about it that I’m pleased with how it was received.
Now I’m back home. Apparently the cold in Boston was training me for the cold here. Hello, winter. Nice to see you. Please go away soon.