Where Personal and Professional Life Collide...

Made it to Sasquan safely, and - as per usual - spent most of the afternoon trying to get from point A to point B without meeting a dozen people along the way I had to stop and say hi to.

The fires are a thing on most peoples' mind - how can it not, with the smoke clotting the sky, and turning the sun and moon both reddish? - but it's not slowing the pace of events.

The autographing went quite well - got to hang out with Fran Wilde, while signing a lovely number of books from my varied publishing past (not so many of the PSI books, but a LOT of Retrievers and a metric load of Vineart War, plus a number of anthologies). And I gave out many nifty new bookmarks, and people got to fondle the galley of SILVER ON THE ROAD.

Then it was on to the Horror/Paranormal panel, where things occasionally threatened to derail into sidebar issues, but our moderator brought things back more or less on track.

And then the usual dinner with Lawrence M. Schoen and Valerie Green Schoen, Howard Tayler, Barbara Ferrer, and Gail Carriger at a place so good we turned around and made another reservation for Saturday night.

And then bar-time until we realized that we'd been awake since 5:30 and maybe it was time to fall over...

Today has another mix of social and work and social work, and then the Book View Cafe party! If you're at Sasquan, find me for more info!

When you absolutely, positively have to find me at Sasquan (WorldCon), here's how you do it.

In addtion to putting in my hours as part of the Writing Workshop I will be doing the following Fabulous Items:


Autographing
(Ann Chamberlin, Laura Anne Gilman, Kay Kenyon, Mike Resnick, Shanna Swendson, Fran Wilde)
Thursday 15:00 - 15:45, Exhibit Hall B (CC)

(for those of you who also like mysteries, I will happily sign L.A. Kornetsky's work, as well).


Horror/Paranormal: What's New
Thursday 17:00 - 17:45, Spokane Falls Suite A/B (Doubletree)
Found anything scary...or scary and somehow, well, romantic? A look at current paranormal writing, trends for the future and is the current spate of horror & paranormal on TV helping or hurting the genre?

Joshua Bilmes, Nick Mamatas, Christie Meierz, Laura Anne Gilman

Building a Better Tomorrow
Friday 15:00 - 15:45, 302AB (CC)

Young adult science fiction is thriving, presenting an array of possible futures for humanity. While YA SF seems to be taking off, many of those stories feature dark futures. Why might teens be drawn to these types of settings that feature dystopic settings? Will there be a brighter or better tomorrow for us?
Laura Anne Gilman (M) , Paolo Bacigalupi , Troy Bucher, Dan Wells

(as moderator if you have anything you want brought up, I'm the person to ask.  Leave your Qs in the comments)


Reading - Laura Anne Gilman
Saturday 10:30 - 11:00, 303B (CC)

Twenty minutes of Sneak Peak at what I'm working on now....


KaffeeKlatche - Laura Anne Gilman
Saturday 14:00 - 14:45, 202B-KK3 (CC)
Join a panelist and up to 9 other fans for a small discussion. Coffee and snacks available for sale on the 2nd floor.

(it's entirely possible I will have Goodies for anyone who shows up.  Limited edition goodies, even, maybe...)


Stroll with the Stars
Sunday 09:00 - 09:45, Breezeway/Statue (CC)

A gentle morning stroll with some of your favorite authors, artists and editors. Meeting each morning at 9AM in the Breezeway between the INB Theater and the Convention Center (check your map), and returning in time for 10AM programming.

(yes, you can bring your coffee.  Dog knows I'm gonna...)


I am contemplating having a morning meet-up, for those of us who actually wake up before things get rolling.
There will also be  Book View Cafe party Friday night.  Details to come....

Wednesday-Thursday: doing Research for a yet-unsold-but-beloved project.  If you see me around town, wave cautiously...

Thursday evening:
Offsite Shenanigans and BarCon


Friday, Aug 31st

Autograph Session (with a Host of Others).
10:30:am - 12:00:pm
Location: Autograph Tables : Purple East

SFWA table volunteer
Dealer's Room
12pm-2pm

"Travel as Research" (or: "Always Keep your Receipts for Everything")
They say travel broadens, does it work for writers, too? Can a road trip inspire or are you doomed to get it wrong? Can you see your own world more clearly from a distance.
Valerie Estelle Frankel, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Laura Anne Gilman, Tony Pi, Fran Wilde
3:00:pm- 4:30:pm
Location: Picasso : Bronze West

Saturday September 1st

Stroll With the Stars (9am)
Walk with us. Talk with us. Get your blood flowing for the day!
Stu Segal, Paul Cornell, Laura Anne Gilman, Farah Mendlesohn, Stephen H. Segal, Sheila Williams, Connie Willis
 MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE HYATT (Main Entrance, Atrium Lobby, Green Level, East Tower) AND RETURNING TO THE HOTEL BEFORE 10AM.

SF Signal WorldCon Meetup
Corner Bakery Cafe
2-3:30PM


Sunday September 2nd

"Perseverance" (or: "Keep writing until it huts. Then write some more.")
Writing for the long haul. Learning to cope with the years of rejection and self doubt that usually precede eventual publication and mastery.
Laura Anne Gilman, Richard A. Lovett, David Marusek, Eldon Thompson, Tim Waggoner
Location: Columbus CD : Gold East
9:00:am - 10:30:am

Reading
my plan right now is to read from HEART OF BRIAR [out in 2013] but plans oft change...
Location: Gold Coast : Bronze West
1:30:pm - 2:00:pm

"Dragon Virus" Signing at the American Fantasy Table
Location: Dealer's Room
2:30 pm-3:00pm

Possible Semi-Impromptu Bheerklatsch
(for fans, casual readers and the morbidly curious)
TBA
4pm-5pm


Also, also. I will have on my person the dread "meerkat minion" ribbons. Wear Your Readership with Pride! Feel free to approach me and demand - yes, demand! - to be beribboned.

Au revoir, Montreal. Been lovely, but looking forward to being home -- and getting back to work. Apparently being away from long-haul writing for four days makes me twitchy.

But it was a very good WorldCon, filled with old friends and new friends and good panels and excellent meals. Can't ask for more...*





(*okay, everyone I voted for could have won a Hugo. And I could have seen the people I missed, and spent more time with the people I did see. But that's the usual grumble of every year)

Herewith, my WorldCon schedule
(note that many items are 90 minutes, not 60, and adjust your planning accordingly)

Thu, 12:30pm
Bio-Ethics
Alison Sinclair, Judy T. Lazar, Laura Anne Gilman, Russell Blackford, Tomoko Masuda
Medical experiments, drug companies, cloning, insurance, bookies and you.
(I'm moderating this one, so anyone who wants to send in questions/ideas, please to do so!)

Fri, 11:00
Writing Workshop L
Session ID: 680
Laura Anne Gilman, Margaret Ronald
Two-hour critique session for previously submitted manuscripts


Fri 14:00
Sci-Ku -- SF Haiku
Laura Anne Gilman, Mary Turzillo, Trisha Wooldridge, Michelle Wexelblat
Sci-Kus are haikus based on science fiction, from PopSci.com. Usually they start with a stock photo as inspiration. Try your own hand at 17 syllables of fun.
(Kid's programming. I'm moderating this one, too -- we're going to be expanding the activity well beyond their description, oh yes, based on the success of this panel at Arisia. Come prepared to participate!)


Fri 15:30
Preparing to Write a Series
Fiona Patton, Joe Haldeman, Joshua Palmatier, Laura Anne Gilman, M. D. Benoit, Mindy Klasky, George R. R. Martin
How does a writer plan to write a series? Or is it unplanned until you sign the contract? Writers discuss how they set up and wrote novels that are part of a series.
(this is gonna be entertaining, I can tell you that already. Oh yeah)

Fri 19:00
Writing Across Boundaries: Writers that Shift Boundaries
Bob Neilson, julie c andrijeski, Laura Anne Gilman, Melinda Snodgrass
What do you do differently as you shift from one type of story to another, from genre to genre, from medium to medium? What do different modes of story require in the planning?
(this is another one that I think is going to be really interesting...and very useful to a lot of folk, based on the number of times I get asked 'how do you DO it?')


Sat 11:30
Laura Anne Gilman Signing
(my plan is to raffle off an ARC of FLESH AND FIRE among people who come by...)


Sun 12:30
Author Reading
Session ID: 234
Laura Anne Gilman, Margaret Ronald, Seanan McGuire, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime
(apparently we each get 20 minutes. Don't be late!)


Sun 17:00
kaffeklatschLaura Anne Gilman
A chance to ask those burning questions -- or, y'know, just shoot the breeze.


My Friday is insane, but the rest of the weekend looks quite manageable, yay. I will have a chance to get out of the convention center! (or, y'know, get some work done. Yeah...)

Okay, now that I've gotten the important stuff out of the way in the header...

3,100 new words yesterday, and a short story (magic-urban detective story -- yes, a Danny story!) off to the critique group. This is the first thing they're seeing from me, so when I turn around next time and hit them with the lit-fic nazi elf story, there may be people with whiplash. *grin*

In other news: like many others, I am now in possession of my preliminary WorldCon schedule. Looks pretty good -- there's only one "huh?" panel and I'm moderating that, which is good ((I get to ask the questions, not answer them). I also at the moment have a reading, a signing, and a kaffeklatch. And, yeah, a writing workshop. *sharpens red pencil*

Speaking of red pencils, I also got the 2nd pass proofs for FLESH AND FIRE to go over. Already did a quick check and two major errors that needed to be corrected had been, so yay. One step closer to Real Book! And closing in on the halfway point in book 2, so I'm not quite so freaked as I was a month ago.


[and, for those of you who experienced my temporary OMGOS! moment yesterday -- all is well. In fact, the woman I spoke to was quite amused -- apparently there are people who screw up far worse than i did, and there's a grace period I wasn't even close to missing. *relief* That's one damned thing that's gone right [or at least not imploded miserably] this week. Although I'm not sure if it's reassuring that I'm among the more organized and responsible people in the world, or terrifying... ]

And I really can't find too much to quibble over, although I do wish Scalzi had gotten that one more vote needed to win...

(analysis at http://www.sfawardswatch.com/index.php?page_id=280)



*Best Novel*: /Rainbows End/ by Vernor Vinge [Tor, 2006]
*Best Novella*: "A Billion Eves: by Robert Reed [/Asimov's/
Oct/Nov 2006]
*Best Novelette*: "The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald [/Asimov's/
July 2006]
*Best Short Story*: "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt [/Asimov's/
July 2006]
*Best Related Non-Fiction Book*: /James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double
Life of Alice B Sheldon/ by Julie Phillips [St. Martin's Press, 2006]
*Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form*: /Pan's Labyrinth (2006)/
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro. Directed by Guillermo del Toro
*Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form*: /Doctor Who/ - "Girl in
the Fireplace" (2006) Written by Steven Moffat. Directed by Euros
Lyn [BBC Wales/BBC1]
*Best Editor, Long Form*: Patrick Nielsen Hayden
*Best Editor, Short Form*: Gordon Van Gelder
*Best Professional Artist*: Donato Giancola
*Best Semiprozine*: /Locus/ ed. by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten
Gong-Wong and Liza Groen Trombi
*Best Fanzine*: /Science-Fiction Five-Yearly/ ed. by Lee Hoffman,
Geri Sullivan, and Randy Byers
* *Best Fan Writer*: Dave Langford
* *Best Fan Artist*: Frank Wu

*John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer: Naomi Novik

Congrats to the award recipients, and I hope everyone else had a blast at the Loser's Party!


And, on staring at this list, I discover that yes, I am still bitter that they broke out the 'best editor' into long form and short form after I left the desk. Oh well. needed some bitter greens for today's salad, anyway....

Well, not really, not yet, but this will be my last posting from Anaheim. Yesterday was a day of constant movement -- from the 10am signing at the SFWA table to my 5pm reading, and thanks to those of you who found your way through the maze of the Lido floor -- the response to the ending of the story was suitably satisfying to the author, and I hope you like the finshed product even more. For those of you who missed it... well, you're just going to have to wait a year or so to discover P.B's secret.

The "Editing" panel was great fun -- any time you get to hear Peter Beagle and Tim Powers Tell Stories, it's going to be a good time -- and I think the "care and feeding of the creative process" was helpful to a lot of folk, from the responses we got, after. So I feel like I earned my keep this weekend.

And then there was a lovely dinner with fellow pros, and a lovely post-Hugo party with most excellent plum wine courtesy of next year's Worldcon (first time ever in japan, and sorry I am to be missing it). I ended the evening in the SFWA suite, collapsed tiredly into a wing chair and lamenting the fact that all I really wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for six hours. So that was what I did.

Today I will be working the SFWA table this morning, then the EMF auction, and then I will finally get a chance to do some damage in the dealer's room. My credit card is already whimpering...

And then I get to sit on a plane that will take me home.

Those of you who were not here were missed, those of you who were here and I didn't get a chance to see (looks in koimistress's general direction) I regret it muchly, and I'll see some of you at NASFiC next summer...

After a day that started at 4am East Coast time, we are now ensconsed in a vera very nice room in the Hilton Tower, about to unpack, refresh, and go find fooooood. And booze. And peoples! And all the other things that make WorldCon, WorldCon.

Later!

Thur 8/24 8 PM, TWO BEERS AND A STORY
as of last count, we had kradical, hoosier_red, equesgal, davidlevine, debg and myself. Sound about right? I'm thinking the Hilton Bar, but we may move it to the Marriott once I've had a chance to scope out the spaces. Will update here, and spread the word on-site.

Fri 8/25 11:00 AM KAFFEKLATSCH
Come see the meerkat with her primary sustenance: caffeine. Ask questions. Take pictures. Wish her happy birthday! (yes, it will be my birthday. NO SINGING!)

Fri 8/25 12 Noon, AUTOGRAPHING
Come early, come often. Keep me from feeling lonely!

Fri 8/25 4:00 PM, COMMERCE & ART: CENSORSHIP OR COMMERCIAL REALITY
Precis: Some editors/publishers just don't like what you have to say. Is that censorship? Some don't want to publish anything controversial, to face the potential wrath of the Fundamentalists or the Parent Groups. It's their money; isn't it their choice?


Sat 8/26: 10:00 AM, SFWA TABLE AUTOGRAPHING (Dealer's Room). Me and jaylake, swapping tired quips over coffee. We should charge admission, but it's FREE!

Sat 8/26 11:30 AM, EDITING: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
Precis: Come and hear stories about edits which went above and beyond clarity and reason. Writers discuss different editing styles they've encountered and talk about some of the good and bad experiences they've had with editors(names will be changed to protect the innocent guilty).

Sat 8/26 2:30 PM, CARE AND FEEDING OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Precis: What sort of actions and environments are most conducive to getting and staying productive? How do you tell being blocked from being too tired?

Sat 8/26 5:00 PM, READING
I have no idea what I will be reading. There's still time to vote!


Sun 8/27 10 AM, SFWA TABLE STAFFING
I'll be there to answer questions, offer assistance, sign autographs if you somehow missed me before, and generally liven up your Sunday morning...

Sun 8/27 11:30 AM, THE SWFA EMF CHARITY AUCTION
Raising funds to help out your favorite writers who have medical emergencies - a very real risk for a freelancer who can't afford decent medical insurance. Come one, come all, come with your cash and checkbooks.... I will be offering the chance to be either a Dead Body or a new species of Fatae in the next (as of yet untitled) Retriever novel...

Hope to see folk there!