Even if I wrote a novella, I couldn’t catch all of the pieces that made this past weekend a complete and utter delight. The people, the conversations, the setting, the food, the people, the nerdery, the shenanigans, the people…if you can make your way to NC in March, I strongly recommend FantaSci as a con to check out.
Really the only thing missing was MORE of my favorite people, so seems like it will only keep getting better from here. I’m going to talk more highlights with one of those faves, the inimitable Kacey Ezell, on her youtube channel this week, so check that out for further shenanigans.
For the non-novella-but-still-chock-full-of-goodness report, please continue:
Friday:
The day kicked off with a visit to the Baen offices. I smiled so big the entire time my face hurt for hours. So many books! So many incredible authors - both present and on the page! Amazing people dedicated to bringing books to our eager, nerdy hands. Also...we got to take home books. I SAW THE BOOKS AND I HAVE THE BOOKS and only the fact that I live in an RV gave me any measure of restraint.*
Already riding a nerd high, I returned to the hotel for actual con time. Strike that - first my awesome husband and I secured tacos (because of course), and THEN there was actual con-time to do. There were many, many hugs, so many high fives, and delightful panels.
I hope all of them are returning panels next year - Out of the Hat led to some great questions (as you'll see one pictured below) and an eternal feud (no pictures of that. It involves dragons. And the overwhelming wonderfulness of Anne McCaffrey's version of them. ;) ). Alien Archaeology was hysterical and I broke character approximately infinite times, but in my defense evacuation portals are hilarious.
The swearing panel...oh man. It was so much fun, and we didn't even get to alllll the wonderful curses out there. On a serious-ish note, I find curses in sci fi/fantasy to be a clutch culture and character building tool, so it's super fun to talk about. Also we got to learn a new curse, which requires a deep growl and underbite, as the panelists recreated in the hotel bar post-panel below.
See? So much joy! Friday ended laaaaate, because of course it did, but the laughter was more than worth the lack of sleep.
Saturday:
Started off Saturday with a walk, in which we did not at all deface people's cars by drawing in pollen**, and then ran right to the CKP Year Ahead panel. There is SO MUCH awesome stuff coming, y'all - and I'm not just talking about in Fallen World and Hit World and 4HU, where I have things*** but also new series and growing series and such good, good stories all over the place. Have you signed up for the CKP mailing list? You might want to check that out, just saying.
Later in the day, our Cats in SFF panel went off the rails in a very cat-like way, as everyone on it was so much fun and so was the audience. I'd like to always be on that panel in the future. We get to tell cat stories, share about favorite fictional cats, and ultimately act like cats in that there are no rules and we go where we want.
Saturday continued on with the third annual 4HU Dining Out. I got to reprise my role as Madam Vice, where I remain cat-appropriately off the rails and take revenge on those who have offended me -- ahem. Deal out punishment? Ok, a little of both. Much fun was had, and I'm looking forward to next year, where I hear there maaaay be...two Madams Vice? Hmmmm.
The night didn't end there - there were fantastic conversations to be had, and, until 1mumblesomething in the a.m., karaoke to belt out. It was so, so much fun.
Sunday:
Brunch, hugs, and Closing Ceremonies. We couldn't hang around nearly as long as I wanted, since we had a trailer to prep for travel day, and I missed about a hundred people I wanted to say goodbye to or chat with longer. Such is the way of cons, and why there must always be next cons.
Joel, Mari, Dave, Scott, Yvonne, Alex and all the FantaSci con leadership + staff are amazing, and I'm so glad they let me play in the sandbox. There's so much more awesomeness ahead, but for now I'm going to go ride this con-high into finishing a story or two...
Hope to see you there next year - AND at my next upcoming con: the always amazing Liberty!!
*reader, there was no restraint, whatsoever. I have so many new books, and absolutely zero regrets.
** for legal reasons, this is a joke. And if it weren't, it was only on people's cars that we knew. But also it didn't happen. So.
*** Since I am also talking about those things: LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL COVER!! New Fallen World anthology, coming next month:
