Saturday, January 24, 2009

Home from Arisia

I love Arisia, which is my home con. I'm sort of devoted to going to that con every year. It's hard to say which I find the most fun. I love all the magnificent costumes. Dealers' Row is something I look forward to every year in my efforts to add to my collections of the strange and wonderful. Arisia is a big party con, so there's lots of opportunities to mingle and enjoy yourself.

The panels are fun. This year I had the honor of being the moderator for the "Vampires vs. Werewolves Debate". It was hilarious, uproarious fun. I love full room debates. Whenever I can get everyone to participate, I have the most fun. The werewolves did weaken their argument when they admitted to chasing their own tails. Their comment regarding mirrors was easily deflected. All in all, I'd have to call the debate a draw. I imagine the debate between the two factions will undoubtedly continue for centuries. Ah, so much to look forward to.

I also moderated the "I'll Be Back" panel. Not only was it informative, but my research actually helped me write my synopsis for my book. Just by studying the structure of the movies, I was able to finally see the structure. The discussion on time travel was very educational from various viewpoints, and just goes to show how difficult it is to write convincing time travel. Consistency being an issue.

I enjoyed being a panelist on the "Responsible Monogamy." It was very pleasant to exchange ideas on the subject, and for those in the room with questions, I sincerely hope we were of some help.

The panel on "Publicizing Your Book" was extremely educational. I took copious notes and really valued the list of books they recommended. Some things I knew, but some I didn't. I grew in practical knowledge by attending that very valuable panel.

Meeting people is always a highlight. An editor I know gave me excellent advice concerning my synopsis and book manuscript. I met romance writers from Albany, and I'm finding the company of romance writers to be increasingly enlightening. Paranormal romance is finding a home in the sf/f cons and it makes perfect sense. The more I read of paranormal romance, I find it fits perfectly into speculative fiction. The plots are so exciting. Heroines save worlds and still find time to fall in love. ;-)

The challenge for the weekend was returning home. I left Boston around 1 with snow blustering around me. The city streets were slick, but the Mass Pike at 40 mph was better. The snow stopped around Framingham, but after I entered Connecticut, it started again in Danielson for a short while. I was glad to be home, because it really snowed that evening.
I'm alway happy to attend Arisia. It adds so much to my life--meeting great people and being part of a marvelous adventure together.

Other events of importance that happened at the same time was:

The latest issue of Space and Time Magazine came out. I'm an associate editor with Space and Time. http://spaceandtimemagazine.com/

The latest issue of Beyond Centauri came out. My sf story "She Came to Sing" is in this issue. http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/purchasecenter/magazines.htm

It's been a great month so far.