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I'm back from worldcon... The bottom line (in case you don't care to read past the cuts) is that I did everything I needed to do and generally had a good time, though I found the convention itself too 'diffuse', scattered as it was among several hotels and the convention center. My hotel was about six blocks from the Convention Center, and seemingly six blocks from every other hotel. The 'party' hotel, the Sheraton, was also five or six blocks from the Center... and five or six blocks from mine. As a consequence, there was lots of walking -- which was probably good for me from a fitness standpoint (and no, I didn't have any trouble with the altitude; didn't notice it at all, frankly), but was bad for a feeling of community and for meeting people. The con didn't seem to have a 'focus' for me: a place where you could sit with friends and converse, and everyone you wanted to see would eventually pass by.
I arrived late Wednesday afternoon, took the shuttle in from the airport, and checked into my room. I was sharing a room with the excellent David Coe (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
davidbcoe); he'd already checked in and there was a note that he'd gone to the dealer's room. I unpacked, being careful to use the drawers on the left side (that's an in-joke between David and me.... just move on), and walked down to the Convention Center. There I registered and got my badge, and saw several of the local CFG fans. They told me the location of the CFG suite (not in one of the 'official' hotels) -- and I never managed to get there. Ever.) I touched base with a few other people I saw wandering about, and finally went up to the dealer's room, which had already closed down. I called David's cell -- he was back in the room; we must have missed each other by only minutes. We decided to meet at a sushi restaurant in between the Center and the hotel. Had a great meal and a great 'catching-up' conversation, and when we finally returned to the hotel room and finished the conversation, it was after 11 local time and after 1:00 Am by my internal clock, which was still on Eastern time. We decided to call it a day.
Thursday was my first programming: a signing (hey, I actually had a line for a bit!) where I got to catch up a bit with Pati Nagle, who was signing next to me; and a panel on Magic vs. Science, which was okay and well-attended, but rather too dominated by the moderator. I attended David's reading, saw several people, including the DAW contingent of Sheila, Betsy, and Marsha, and Sheila and I changed the date for our meeting from Saturday to Friday, since she'd already read my manuscript and needed to finish reading the manuscript for the person she'd scheduled to meet on Friday (she wanted to change him to Saturday.) That evening, I made sure to hit the SFWA Suite, especially since the party that night was sponsored by DAW. The SFWA Suite was crowded and very hot, since the AC didn't to be working. Still, I hung there for a few hours, talking to Traci Castleberrytcastleb, Walter Jon WIlliams, John Helfer, Kerrie Hughes, and others, and listening in on the entertaining Ellen Datlow/Pat Cadigan/ Gardner Dozois show. George (grrm) wandered in; we talked for a time, then I wandered off with George to the party floor of the Sheraton, where we eventually hooked up with Melinda Snodgrass. Melinda and I decided the party floor was also too hot and went down to the Australia party for a time, where I ran into Janice (smofbabe) and others. And eventually, somewhere in the early morning, I wandered back to the hotel.
Friday I had a late breakfast with Sheila, and after a fair amount of just catching-up, we eventually talked about A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL. Aside from the general nitpicks, Sheila did her usual "Wow, that's a great idea and I wish I'd thought of it" portion of the critique: we're adding two POVs to the manuscript to enhance the impact of the final events. One of them I'd considered adding but hadn't; the other just makes a lot of sense to have from the beginning rather than only at the end (where he currently comes into play). So A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL will probably end up being about, oh, 20,000 words longer than it currently is. Good thing Sheila doesn't mind long books. Of course, this means that I have to get the changes to her by the beginning of October, so there's lots of work ahead in the coming days!
Afterward, I wandered around the convention center for a time, meeting up with Joe, Rusty, and Gay (and Ginger Buchanan) at one point, and having a longish conversation with John Douglas, a former editor of mine. Joel Zakem and I went out to a bar for a beer and chatted a bit. Friday evening was the big DAW dinner, and wow... was it wonderful. Sheila and Betsy had booked a dining room at the Brown Palace Hotel, an historic Denver hotel, and we had a wonderful four-course meal. There were, oh, twenty or so people there, so conversation was rather limited across and down the table. I was sitting next to Michelle (msagara) and Joshua (jpsorrow), the bulk of my conversation was with them --- Michelle I've known for a long time (and I love talking with her); Joshua I'd never met before in person, and he's delightful and interesting, as you might expect. John Helfer and Kerrie were there also, and Pat Rothfuss, Tanya Huff, 'Kate Elliot' (who I really want to get a chance to sit down with -- our conversations were far too fleeting and she's a truly interesting person)... Sheila, Betsy, and Marsha... and others whose names have slipped the sieve of my mind. *sigh* The menu struck me as one that the minnehahas would have enjoyed; they brought the chef out at the end and introduced him to us -- we applauded.
We were there from 7:30 to 11:30, and I was stuffed by the end of it. I got back to the room around midnight, took of the coat and tie, looked at my t-shirt and jeans and thought about the long walk to the Sheraton... and decided to stay where I was. Thus ended Friday.
The big scheduling item for Saturday was a Wild Cards panel: I saw Frank Johnson and Joel early before the panel and talked with them a bit near the Green Room, then went in to talk with the Wild Card crew before the panel: George and Parris, Melinda, Ian Tregillis, John Jos. Miller and Gail, Carrie Vaughn, Daniel Abraham. At the panel, we did a bit of schtick for Stephen Leigh/S.L. Farrell and generally had a lot of fun relating anecdotes from the long WC history (Gardner dropped by, so George had to relate the story of "The Wanker"). Still, I'll admit to being disappointed at the size of the crowd. They'd booked us into one of the large halls for the panel, and while the panel was well-attended, the room was only about 3/4 full -- I remember Wild Card panels of yore where the rooms were Standing Room Only and packed to the walls... It'd be nice to have that energy back again in future panels.
Afterward, I'd made arrangements to have a late lunch with Melinda and Ian (Ian Tregillis -- whose character Rustbelt I love and have used extensively, and with whom I'm collaborating closely in the current WC WIP -- is a fantastic writer and a wonderful person. He'll also have a trilogy coming out from Tor: when it arrives, go buy it!). Lunch, as is often the case at cons, morphed from the three of us into, oh, a whole bunch of people, so it wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. Still, Melinda and I (afterward) managed to sneak off and do some catching-up on each other's lives. Melinda's another person whose friendship I treasure -- and you should all go buy her new book, EDGE OF REASON...
Sheila had invited me out to another dinner that night, so I met her, Betsy, Marsha, Pat Rothfuss and his fiancé (whose name, damn it, I've managed to forget -- and she's a really nice person, too), and Michelle and Tom at the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's supposed 'first restaurant' and a quirky place with even quirkier decor. A few million stuffed heads and animals adorn the walls, many of them over a century old and killed by the original owner. Presidents have eaten there -- in fact, we were told, Teddy Roosevelt contributed a few of the stuffed animals in the collection. And the menu features 'exotic' meats. I ended up sampling rattlesnake, bison, elk, and yak. The rattlesnake, an appetizer, was hard to distinguish in the sauce. The bison was incredible: as tender and melt-in-the-mouth delicious as the best filet mignon. The elk was a close second -- while the bison definitely tasted like 'beef', the elk was subtly different, but still very tasty. The yak... well, it was 'beef-like' again, but stringier and chewier; it reminded me of cheap cuts of beef I've eaten. I think I'll pass on yak...
Again, with the conversation and all, I didn't get back to the hotel until close to midnight, but since it was the last night, I headed over to the Sheraton. Eventually, after some wandering through parties, I found Ian and Ty Frank in the Band of Brothers (George's fan group) party -- which looked to be one of the best parties going -- and talked to them for a time. George came in, and he and I ended up doing some reminiscing on worldcons past. Spoke briefly to Phyllis Eisenstein, Neil Rest, and others who came in and out of the conversation circle, and by 1:30, decided to call it a night.
And Sunday, I flew home. The less said about that the better. Suffice it to say that it made me wish that very small children were not permitted to fly.
So overall, it was a good convention, those as with all worldcons, I didn't see everyone I wanted to see (like the Minneapolis contingent), and didn't get to spend as much time with some people as I would have liked. That's par for the worldcon course, unfortunately.
And I'm glad to be home, frankly....
I arrived late Wednesday afternoon, took the shuttle in from the airport, and checked into my room. I was sharing a room with the excellent David Coe (
davidbcoe); he'd already checked in and there was a note that he'd gone to the dealer's room. I unpacked, being careful to use the drawers on the left side (that's an in-joke between David and me.... just move on), and walked down to the Convention Center. There I registered and got my badge, and saw several of the local CFG fans. They told me the location of the CFG suite (not in one of the 'official' hotels) -- and I never managed to get there. Ever.) I touched base with a few other people I saw wandering about, and finally went up to the dealer's room, which had already closed down. I called David's cell -- he was back in the room; we must have missed each other by only minutes. We decided to meet at a sushi restaurant in between the Center and the hotel. Had a great meal and a great 'catching-up' conversation, and when we finally returned to the hotel room and finished the conversation, it was after 11 local time and after 1:00 Am by my internal clock, which was still on Eastern time. We decided to call it a day.Thursday was my first programming: a signing (hey, I actually had a line for a bit!) where I got to catch up a bit with Pati Nagle, who was signing next to me; and a panel on Magic vs. Science, which was okay and well-attended, but rather too dominated by the moderator. I attended David's reading, saw several people, including the DAW contingent of Sheila, Betsy, and Marsha, and Sheila and I changed the date for our meeting from Saturday to Friday, since she'd already read my manuscript and needed to finish reading the manuscript for the person she'd scheduled to meet on Friday (she wanted to change him to Saturday.) That evening, I made sure to hit the SFWA Suite, especially since the party that night was sponsored by DAW. The SFWA Suite was crowded and very hot, since the AC didn't to be working. Still, I hung there for a few hours, talking to Traci Castleberry
tcastleb, Walter Jon WIlliams, John Helfer, Kerrie Hughes, and others, and listening in on the entertaining Ellen Datlow/Pat Cadigan/ Gardner Dozois show. George (grrm) wandered in; we talked for a time, then I wandered off with George to the party floor of the Sheraton, where we eventually hooked up with Melinda Snodgrass. Melinda and I decided the party floor was also too hot and went down to the Australia party for a time, where I ran into Janice (smofbabe) and others. And eventually, somewhere in the early morning, I wandered back to the hotel.Friday I had a late breakfast with Sheila, and after a fair amount of just catching-up, we eventually talked about A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL. Aside from the general nitpicks, Sheila did her usual "Wow, that's a great idea and I wish I'd thought of it" portion of the critique: we're adding two POVs to the manuscript to enhance the impact of the final events. One of them I'd considered adding but hadn't; the other just makes a lot of sense to have from the beginning rather than only at the end (where he currently comes into play). So A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL will probably end up being about, oh, 20,000 words longer than it currently is. Good thing Sheila doesn't mind long books. Of course, this means that I have to get the changes to her by the beginning of October, so there's lots of work ahead in the coming days!
Afterward, I wandered around the convention center for a time, meeting up with Joe, Rusty, and Gay (and Ginger Buchanan) at one point, and having a longish conversation with John Douglas, a former editor of mine. Joel Zakem and I went out to a bar for a beer and chatted a bit. Friday evening was the big DAW dinner, and wow... was it wonderful. Sheila and Betsy had booked a dining room at the Brown Palace Hotel, an historic Denver hotel, and we had a wonderful four-course meal. There were, oh, twenty or so people there, so conversation was rather limited across and down the table. I was sitting next to Michelle (
msagara) and Joshua (jpsorrow), the bulk of my conversation was with them --- Michelle I've known for a long time (and I love talking with her); Joshua I'd never met before in person, and he's delightful and interesting, as you might expect. John Helfer and Kerrie were there also, and Pat Rothfuss, Tanya Huff, 'Kate Elliot' (who I really want to get a chance to sit down with -- our conversations were far too fleeting and she's a truly interesting person)... Sheila, Betsy, and Marsha... and others whose names have slipped the sieve of my mind. *sigh* The menu struck me as one that the minnehahas would have enjoyed; they brought the chef out at the end and introduced him to us -- we applauded.We were there from 7:30 to 11:30, and I was stuffed by the end of it. I got back to the room around midnight, took of the coat and tie, looked at my t-shirt and jeans and thought about the long walk to the Sheraton... and decided to stay where I was. Thus ended Friday.
The big scheduling item for Saturday was a Wild Cards panel: I saw Frank Johnson and Joel early before the panel and talked with them a bit near the Green Room, then went in to talk with the Wild Card crew before the panel: George and Parris, Melinda, Ian Tregillis, John Jos. Miller and Gail, Carrie Vaughn, Daniel Abraham. At the panel, we did a bit of schtick for Stephen Leigh/S.L. Farrell and generally had a lot of fun relating anecdotes from the long WC history (Gardner dropped by, so George had to relate the story of "The Wanker"). Still, I'll admit to being disappointed at the size of the crowd. They'd booked us into one of the large halls for the panel, and while the panel was well-attended, the room was only about 3/4 full -- I remember Wild Card panels of yore where the rooms were Standing Room Only and packed to the walls... It'd be nice to have that energy back again in future panels.
Afterward, I'd made arrangements to have a late lunch with Melinda and Ian (Ian Tregillis -- whose character Rustbelt I love and have used extensively, and with whom I'm collaborating closely in the current WC WIP -- is a fantastic writer and a wonderful person. He'll also have a trilogy coming out from Tor: when it arrives, go buy it!). Lunch, as is often the case at cons, morphed from the three of us into, oh, a whole bunch of people, so it wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. Still, Melinda and I (afterward) managed to sneak off and do some catching-up on each other's lives. Melinda's another person whose friendship I treasure -- and you should all go buy her new book, EDGE OF REASON...
Sheila had invited me out to another dinner that night, so I met her, Betsy, Marsha, Pat Rothfuss and his fiancé (whose name, damn it, I've managed to forget -- and she's a really nice person, too), and Michelle and Tom at the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's supposed 'first restaurant' and a quirky place with even quirkier decor. A few million stuffed heads and animals adorn the walls, many of them over a century old and killed by the original owner. Presidents have eaten there -- in fact, we were told, Teddy Roosevelt contributed a few of the stuffed animals in the collection. And the menu features 'exotic' meats. I ended up sampling rattlesnake, bison, elk, and yak. The rattlesnake, an appetizer, was hard to distinguish in the sauce. The bison was incredible: as tender and melt-in-the-mouth delicious as the best filet mignon. The elk was a close second -- while the bison definitely tasted like 'beef', the elk was subtly different, but still very tasty. The yak... well, it was 'beef-like' again, but stringier and chewier; it reminded me of cheap cuts of beef I've eaten. I think I'll pass on yak...
Again, with the conversation and all, I didn't get back to the hotel until close to midnight, but since it was the last night, I headed over to the Sheraton. Eventually, after some wandering through parties, I found Ian and Ty Frank in the Band of Brothers (George's fan group) party -- which looked to be one of the best parties going -- and talked to them for a time. George came in, and he and I ended up doing some reminiscing on worldcons past. Spoke briefly to Phyllis Eisenstein, Neil Rest, and others who came in and out of the conversation circle, and by 1:30, decided to call it a night.
And Sunday, I flew home. The less said about that the better. Suffice it to say that it made me wish that very small children were not permitted to fly.
So overall, it was a good convention, those as with all worldcons, I didn't see everyone I wanted to see (like the Minneapolis contingent), and didn't get to spend as much time with some people as I would have liked. That's par for the worldcon course, unfortunately.
And I'm glad to be home, frankly....