Tales from the Ragged Edge

The last time I did a full convention was a lot easier. I’m just sayin’. But in fairness, those earlier conventions were typically smaller and shorter con than Worldcon, I stayed on site the whole weekend instead of commuting 90 minutes each way, and they were all in the pre-Pandemic era so I was *mumble mumble* years younger.

The good news is, I survived. It was a great convention for me, despite breaking my body on the rocks of my physical limitations and such. The early mornings, the achy joints, the wound my comfortable shoes rubbed on the back of my right heel, the heat, the discomfort of wearing a mask for so long, the list goes on. But this morning I got to sleep in until 8:30 and enjoy a leisurely bow of oatmeal and a mug of green tea while sitting on my quiet back porch with my sad (but proud) little garden and it all felt like the last five days were worth it.

More than worth it, honestly.

The turnout at the convention was pretty huge but the layout of the new Summit convention center didn’t make it feel packed which was lovely. I heard they had something in the vicinity of 5,500 full con passes sold, so, not Gen Con or SDCC numbers, which, honestly, yay. Every time I see pictures of those huge crowds, I get hives. But it meant that the incredible panels I went to were well attended, with several of them being standing room only. And they truly seemed to have something for everyone–including the drama of the occasional misstep and fool making themselve the “unintentional main character of the day.”

Highlights for me were panels on Future Cities, Talking the Talk, Writing as an Act of Resistance, and of course the Creating a Shared Fictional Universe panel I was on (and which was streamed/recorded for those who couldn’t attend). I have so many pages of notes that a fire is lit in my creative belly. I can hardly wait to get to writing!

And then there were pleasant surprises like: the light rail into the city was actually quite lovely. There were inexpensive food options, including the absolute angel running the sausage cart a block from the con on the way to the light rail station (that hot link Seattle Dog saved my life that first day at the end of an exhausting twelve hours). I got to see so many lovely peers who I haven’t seen often since The Plague descended upon the planet. I also got to meet several new (to me) incredible people. I got to hang out with friends who I adore, including my lovely agent Gabrielle who worked her ass off introducing me to some people I very much hope to work with in the future.

Today for me is largely a day of recovery–of getting atop of Real World things that slipped while I was otherwise engaged like dishes and homework and a grocery run later today.

I have a list to keep me on task.

But part of that list includes writerly things. Stories to poke. People to email. Posting to my much-neglected webpage (CHECK!)

My three key takeaways from the past five days are, as follows:

• The will is strong but the meat has limitations. I am already thinking of ways to make my next big con more manageable. And in the meantime, I am beyond excited to dig in and get to work. I am exhausted but energized.
• My fan base might be small, but they are enthusiastic. Yeah, getting scheduled for a noon reading on the last day when people were wiped out and double booked is not ideal. And being at a signing session with the current hot young author a few tables over can be humbling. But I still had support, I still brought in new readers, and the engagement I got was across the board enthusiastic. My journey is not everyone’s journey. Conventions like this serve as a great reminder of that and I lvoe it.
• Perhaps most importantly, I absolutely have the best people in the world around me and in every facet of my life. From friends and fellow authors who were at the con, friends and readers who cheered me on remotely via social media, and family holding down the home fort and acting as emotional support humans (and cats in some instances), I am beyond blessed.

Exhausted. But blessed.

Now to do the writing.

I have such sights to show you all this coming year!