Boskone: Days 2 and 3

Back from Boskone. This will be a quick post about the last two days of the con (Saturday and Sunday).

Saturday: Woke up after a restless night. Part of this was the hotel being dry as a bone, and the hot/cold, leg out/leg in variation of a different bed with various sheets. However, during the night I also felt a presence leaning over me as I slept. I didn't initially open my eyes . . . until I felt breathing against my neck. Eyes shot open at that point . . . to find no one standing over me. No one visible anyway. So I sighed and said, "Well, crap, I wonder who died in this hotel room." Or at least a room close by. This also began a series of static shocks every time I touched anything in the room. It didn't happen anywhere else in the hotel, and pbray (who I was rooming with) didn't get any shocks at all, so for some reason this ghost had fixated on me. I've dealt with this issue before, so I just shrugged it off.

But anyway, moving on. Got up and hit my first panel of the day, Men Writing Women. Paul Melko moderated and it was a good panel, active, with lots of insight from the panelists. It was early in the morning, so the audience wasn't packed. Best line by me: "Eventually we'll be writing about aliens as they chop the heads off of characters, while secretly crying inside." After that, trip to dealers room to make certain Larry Smith had some hardcovers to sell. Lunch. Then a kaffeeklatch with Juliet E. McKenna, which was great. I love Juliet and hope to have her here for an Author Introduction when her new book comes out at the end of March. Then a panel on Writing the Other: Gay Characters in SF and F, or something like that. A very good panel with lots of audience participation. The funnest panel of the weekend, lots of laughs. Best line: "We'll need to write evil gay characters eventually." After which someone shouted out that the title of such a book would be "The Dark Side of the Rainbow." And then my day was over. I hit Patricia's Literary Beer, where newguydave and his wife joined us for a rousing and somewhat alcoholic few hours of fun. Dave had come to my earlier panel and we spent tons of time talking shop throughout the day. It was great to meet an LJ friend in person.

After the literary beer, we decided food was necessary, so we hit the No Name Restaurant for some fish and shrimp. We intended to hit some parties and the secret Maltcon . . . but once we got back to the room the alcohol hit hard and we crashed. I made a small foray away, but that didn't last.

Sunday: After a much more restful night, with no ghostly visitations that I remember, and with the shocks fading (I think the ghost got bored and moved on), we packed and checked out. Patricia had a panel and I, being responsible prof, graded some papers, then hit my panel on Writing First Person, which I was moderating. It went well. And then the autographing, where I didn't sign any books for people, but I was visited by a few people from here on LJ. All people who had already read the books, so that's good.

Then the climb into the car and the trip home, where I finished grading all of the rest of the papers. I made it home in time to see Amazing Race. And that was it. Lots of fun. A few stories I have yet to report. A few stories I will never report. And a math joke for geeks. Stay tuned! (Plus, the winners of Barbara Campbell's books!)