RDF/RSS Feed
Atom Feed
It’s been a busy couple of days. Dragon*Con is always exciting, but also (for me, anyway) exhausting. Crowded and loud (it’s the loud that bothers me more than the crowded; I should wear earplugs, probably.) Costumes–amazing and wonderful. I saw someone in a steampunked wheelchair…lots of people in steampunk costumes, most of them brilliantly detailed. Aliens (some simple but cute; others wonderfully imaginative and beautifully made.
As the spaces filled up, including the food court in the mall, it became harder to move from one place to another with any certainty of when you’d arrive. I planned for that, and was at my autograph session in plenty of time, with water and after a trip to the facilities. I met delightful people who wanted their books signed, and wish I were not such a dud with face recognition–I want to recognize them again!
I bought my Dragon*Con T-shirt (wearing it now; it will be my sleep shirt) in the giant, crowded, and hot main Dealer’s Room on the Marriott’s bottom level. I went with Betsy, my editor, and we couldn’t see everything because of the density of the crowd…in some aisles, if you stopped you were going to be walked on. We did see some gorgeous Celtic jewelry (and collected their card.) Tomorrow I need to make it to the smaller Dealer’s Room with the books.
A word of praise here for the Dragon*Con staff and volunteers, who are doing an amazing job of keeping lines moving, elevators unstuffed, escalator lines moving smoothly, etc, etc. The Green Room for guests is amazing–I stopped by today just to find it, and found it…beautifully appointed with friendly volunteers working it. And the guy in charge of keeping the autographing going well–friendly and helpful and so on and so on.
Tomorrow I have that 1 pm “hour of ego” (well…it’s All About Me, so what else could it be?) and then at 5:30 I’ll be reading a bit from the new Paks universe stuff and helping Betsy, if she needs it, with her Del Rey presentation, and then the banquet.
Many more things are going on tonight, but I was wiped out so came back to my hotel early (and discovered a rollaway bed in my room…which was removed when I called down…they’ve had an influx of football fans for a big game and this was someone else’s rollaway.)
And so to bed.
Comment by genko — September 7, 2010 @ 8:08 pm
Sounds exhausting. And yet also fun. Take good care of yourself. I’m reading Oath for the 5th time — still wonderful.
Comment by Donna — September 11, 2010 @ 6:51 pm
Unfortunately, I missed some of your panels because I was waiting in line somewhere else or attempting to cross hotels in the crowds! Thank you so much for your appearance. I especially enjoyed listening to your points of view as the only female member of the ‘Science Fiction and Politics Panel’. You really held your own!
Over the years I have greatly enjoyed reading your strong female protagonist characters as I can find so few of them especially in the genre of Fantasy/Science Fiction although I can find many damsels in distress.
On a personal note, last year my mother suffered a traumatic brain injury and eventually passed away. As her sole care giver during that time it felt like the biggest challenge of my life. After reading multiple books on grief and some time has passed, I eventually reread several of your books and was uplifted by the courage, strength, and determination of your characters ability to overcome immense obstacles while at the same time being completely human by making mistakes and trying to define their social/philosophical place in the universe.
I’m telling you this not to give you a sob story but to let you know the positive impact that your writing has on your fans in which I imagine many authors are unaware.
Thank you!
Comment by elizabeth — September 11, 2010 @ 9:54 pm
Thank you! I know we write to entertain, but we also write hoping that our stories will affect others as other stories hae affected us. There’ve been times when I clung to a book as a life raft to get me through a dark time…to know that my books have helped others is great joy.