There really is no substitute for awesome, and I just had a three-day dose. I’m not even sure I can remember the whirlwind of activity that washed over me this weekend, much less synthesize it and report, but let me at least hit some highlights. Apologies to everyone I miss.
People. It was great to see family, writing group comrades, old friends, and fellow Rocky Mountain writers, and to make new acquaintances. Without meaning to exclude anyone: Erik Holmes and Platte Clark of the Story Monkeys (have I mentioned that Platte’s debut, Bad Unicorn, is out this spring? yeah, it’s awesome); all three of my cover artists, Jeff Brimley, Carter Reid, and Nathan Shumate; Rob Wells, Peter Orullian and Dan Willis; Danyelle and Lake Leafty (Danyelle is about to launch into a publishing spree like nobody’s business, and in real life it turns out she dresses like a princess… I should have guessed); Angie and Tracy Lofthouse; Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury; Steve Peck; Dianna Holland; con team friends like Diana Ault and Toad Mib; Andy Adamson and his writing group, Link, Dave, and… shoot, the other guy; Rock; J. Anthony and Sariah Shumate; and the Space Eldritch team — Carter, Nathan, Michael, Howard, Bob, and Brad.
Space Eldritch continues to roll forward as a juggernaut of awesomeness. We sold out of copies at the con early, but fortunately you can always get it on Amazon. All the contributors except David West were there, so Space Eldritch purchasers got to make a scavenger hunt out of collecting signatures. Space Eldritch II, you ask? Oh, hells to the yeah.
City of the Saints also sold out. The reception my quirky Mormon steampunk epic has got from the Utah fandom community is really gratifying. Did I mention the book is a finalist for the 2012 Whitney in the Speculative Fiction category? Boom!
I sat on five panels. Thanks to all the participants who made all of those panel awesome. Deren Hansen, Eric Swedin, and Kevin Evans taught me about technology and narrative and how to futureproof your science fiction; Larry Correia, Paul Genesse, Steve Diamond, and Aneeka Richins explained what “punk” literature is, and special props to Paul, who moderated with zero notice and did a great job; Space Eldritch!, and well done, Howard; Eric Swedin steered Al Carlisle, Jennifer Nielsen, Platte Clark, and me through a seminar on antiheroes, how and why; and Michaelbrent Collings, Aaron Patterson, Abel Keogh, and Mikey Brooks rampaged like a wolf pack over the subject of eBooks. Huge thanks to the audiences, too, who made it all fun and gratifying.
I got to spend more time with the filkers than I usually do, a three hour block on Thursday night. Big shout out to Julia and Brook West, who shared their lyric files with me. If only they could also share their singing ability, ha!
Shout out also to the Residual Hauntings Revived team of Tom, Jess, and Russ. I love chatting with those guys, on or off the air. Thanks to my other interviewers, whose names I’ve forgotten. Ha! A unique thank you to Brett Peterson, who scanned my head. I hope the kickstarter is a success, because I definitely want to be a 25 millimeter wizard.
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