the pre-con jitters and ramblings about books

I haven't written much lately, because there just isn't that much going on around here that I can talk about. I'm writing a lot -- not as much as I want to, but still doing it every day -- and I've discovered that if I talk with anyone other than Andrew about my ideas, they lose the need to be told.

It's like I've said before: there are these ideas, knocking at the door, trying to get into our world, and the way we writers open that door is by writing the ideas down. I've also figured out that, for me at least, talking about story ideas is like looking through the peephole so I can describe what I see, but when I try to open the door by writing, whatever was on the doorstep has vanished.

So I can't talk about the ideas I have, which is what I'd probably be talking about right now.

I leave for Phoenix Cactus Con tomorrow, and I have these pre-con jitters that I haven't had in years. I've never been to this show, so I don't know what to expect (though I guess they're conservatively estimating over 4000 people.) I shipped out 160 Happiest Days, 25 Barefoots, and 25 Geeks yesterday to meet me at my hotel tomorrow afternoon. It seems like an awful lot (and I'm not expecting that I'll sell them all) but I'd rather deal with getting extras back home, than not having enough to sell. I'm bringing out some 8x10 pictures, too, because people seem to like those.

Once the rain settles down here, I'm going over to the office store to buy some sharpies, and then I'll start packing up my stuff. I've gotten really good at packing for cons over the years. You didn't need to know that, but occasionally I like to share fun facts that make me seem cooler than I am.

If you're going to the con, I found out that it's super affordable to get in: $25 for the whole weekend including preview night tomorrow (I'll be there for preview night, of course) or $20 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday. You know what rules even more than that? Kids under 10 are free! I love that the promoters are doing this, because it makes it an affordable family activity that allows geekdads and geekmoms to help their little geeklings gain levels in, uh, geek, I guess.

If you're going to the con, and you've never been to a con before, you may want to read my GiR "Concerning Conventions" which I wrote after doing several conventions last year.

Here's the schedule for Phoenix, by the way:

Friday Preview Night:

6:00 PM to 9:00 PM Vendor Room
6:30 PM to 11:45 PM Programming

Saturday:

10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Vendor Room
10 AM to 11:45 PM Programming <-- I'm performing at 8pm! Come see me or I'll cry.

Sunday:

10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Vendor Room
10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Programming

 

And there's gaming! Did I mention that there's gaming? Yeah, there's gaming, and you can get a gaming-only ticket for just eight bucks. Eight bucks! If I hit a lull in signing and stuff, I am so going to the gaming area. While the leak in my roof would rather I didn't have a lull, the geek in myself sure would like to play some German games, so I'm trying to convince myself that, either way, I win.

I plan to do a lot of conventions this year, partly because I'd like to fix this leak in my roof and finish some work around my house that's been delayed for over a year, but mostly because I just love going to cons. I feel at home when I'm at a con, and if I don't take care of my inner geek by going to conventions, he rebels in the most unsavory of ways. Everything I've seen about Phoenix Comic/Cactus Con makes me feel like this is the perfect way to kick off this year.

Semi-related, but on my mind so I'm posting it:

If I don't finish it tonight, I'll finish Elizabeth Bear's Hammered on the flight tomorrow. I really love this book, and can't wait to review it. Candidates for the next book include Joe Haldeman's Camouflage, Charlie Stross' Atrocity Archives or Halting State, or The Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthology from 1970 that I picked up on your (that's the royal "your") recommendation. I'm also working my way through Wastelands, which is an awesome post-apocalypse anthology, and perfect for picking up and putting down while you're "really" reading something else. I'm also considering Spook Country, though after Hammered -- which is the first post-cyberpunk novel I think I've ever read -- I may want to go with something different, like maybe Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners. Or maybe Coraline, which I'm deeply ashamed to admit I own, but have never read.

I just realized that I really like talking about books. Hm. Nice. Maybe I should get back to writing one.