This past weekend I attended Readercon, and as usual had a great time. Some highlights include:
o) Sitting on a panel with Joe Haldeman. Joe’s The Forever War is a favorite of mine, and it’s also been optioned byBlade Runner director Ridley Scott with a script written by Blade Runner co-writer David Peoples. People who know how much of a fan of Blade Runner I am can understand my geekgasm.
o) On said panel, John Kessel asked the panelists for advice when one loses the desire to write, and I found myself among the ones answering him. (“Go back to the source,” I said. “What brought you to writing in the first place?”) But it felt surreal and silly for me to be giving advice to a talented veteran like Kessel. And no, we are not related.
o) Hanging out and talking with all the cool people at the con. I will undoubtedly not name everyone I saw, but Ysabeau Wilce, Leah Bobet, Kit and Joe Reed, Kristen Janz & Donald Crankshaw, Scott H. Andrews, Michael J. DeLuca, Amy Eastment, E.C. Myers, Sarah Langan, John Langan (no relation), Chris Cevasco, Mike Allen, all the CZP people like Brett Savory and Sandra Katsuri, Helen Marshall, etc., etc. Please note that I did not get to speak with everyone that I had wanted to, and felt quite guilty about it afterwards.
o) NOT A HIGHLIGHT IN ANY WAY, but something I will not forget: Neil Clarke having a heart attack at the con. Neil’s a great guy and we were all severely worried for him, but last I heard he’s on his way home an recovering well. Get well soon Neil.
o) The panel on “Why is Ancient Evil Ancient?” Though it was at noon on Sunday, the room was packed, and despite my lack of sleep and general sluggishness I found this to be one of the funnest panels to be on at the con. Lots of interesting discussion here, and could easily have gone another hour.
o) The Wold Newton Reading Extravaganza. Many thanks to Brian Francis Slattery & Co. for their awesome accompanying music. I thought Veronica Schanoes’ story excerpt was pretty brilliant, and I expect we’ll see it in print sometime soon.
o) Hanging out by the pool. Though we did not get an Altered Fluid in fluid shot this year, since most everyone was wandering the con, I did spend some relaxing moments poolside.
But the best thing that happened to me this weekend is that I sold a story to Lightspeed magazine. “The Sounds of Old Earth” will appear there soon, and it will be my first story in that publication. I’ve admired John Joseph Adam’s magazines and anthologies for a long time now, and it’s nice to finally “crack” that market. No word yet on when it will appear.
I mentioned Mike Allen. What I didn’t mention is that he’s started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the next book in his Clockwork Phoenix anthology series. The first three anthologies showcased ground-breaking new fiction by both veterans and newcomers, and to put it simply, we need more of this excellent stuff. Please help Mike fund the new anthology.
Lastly, a couple years ago my cousin, Gary Silberman, produced and directed a hilarious short film called Too Good To Be True. (I even had a small part!) Now he’s trying to get funding to film a pilot for a comedy TV show he’s producing. I’ve read a few early scripts of some episodes and they were hilarious. Please help Gary and his team get this pilot off the ground.
And though it may be too late by the time you read this, I hope you’ll join us at KGB tonight for Ysabeau Wilce and Leah Bobet. See you there (I hope)!
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