Keyan Bowes

Sunday, Oct 30, 2011.

Kater texted me that she was getting in line to get Neil Gaiman's autograph; and soon after that, that she was leaving since she had a long drive ahead of her. We hugged goodbye before she hit the road.

I attended yet another panel, Time Goggles: Modern Perspectives and Period Literature with Emma Bull moderating. By this time, I was rather burned out on note-taking, so I don't have much accurate detail. What I remember most clearly from this discussion was the challenge of representing the mindset of people of bygone eras and societies in ways that were both authentic and sympathetic... and the conclusion was that it was difficult, if not impossible, because values had changed so much.

I ran into Don Clary, who had another balloon sculpture hat. He said Neil Gaiman wanted photographs with it after the banquet. (I saw them later, posted on Tor.com's facebook page.) Don modeled it for me to take some snaps, too.



After that, it was relaxing, hanging out with people, and chatting. Shweta and Nathaniel. Vy and Shannon. I got a photograph of Shweta's familiar, Buddhistmippo dressed as Appa considering himself a warrior. Ken Kao did some amazing flips from a standing position.

Toward evening, I found myself back with Grace Ogawa and Marian, and Sarah Parker, who were at a table with Celina Summers (Musa Publishing) and author Gini Koch. Gradually, a group of nine of us assembled, and we headed off to Pam Pam for dinner. It was awesome. Lots of funny stories, and we spent the whole evening laughing. The funniest was Grace's story of how, sword in hand, she'd confronted a potential intruder. (Yes, she keeps a sword under her bed. Doesn't everyone?) This sparked discussions of an anthology based on that anecdote... of which more another time.

I drifted around the Con Suite for a bit, got some coffee, but was running low on energy. I decided to call it over, and went up to my room to catch up with my LJ.

WFC. Delia Sherman said that she finds it's like a great family reunion. It's so true, at least the reunion part. (I'm too much of a newbie to be "family" yet, I think. One of these years...)

A list of everyone I met would read like a particularly marvelous phone-book: People from Clarion (2007, and 2008), two writing groups, two online communities, and the magical Borderlands bookstore that hosts interesting spec-fic events from time to time. People I know but hadn't met in a while, people friends introduced me to, and people I'd 'met' online but not in person. In particular: I met, for the first time, Janice Hardy, a recently-published member of one of my writing groups.

WFC felt like the agora for the Spec Fic community. It definitely contributes to a sense of being in another world. It's as though Clarion opened a portal, and now I can spend part of my time on the other side of the wardrobe.

(I think I'm babbling. And mixing metaphors.)

Anyway: two lovely pieces of art to round out this post. The first is a Smiley Ball, given me by my friend Kater. She also does other kinds of awesome art, has a weekly webcomic about chickens, and writes spec fic.


The second is a little bronze eagle pendant, made by Laurie Toby Edison, who sells her handcrafted jewelry only at cons. I wasn't planning to buy, but it was too unusual to resist.

[ETA: Mild case of con crud afterward, or I'd have gone to Borderlands for a couple of neat-sounding book signings. Decided not to spread it around, stayed home.]