I Said It All
Fred Poutre, Me, and Michael Kilman Discuss Mythology
I said it all this weekend at MileHiCon 51. Seriously. So right now I’m really stretched for things to say.
On Friday the topic was Urban Fantasy, what it was, what it is, what it might become. I read from my Asphodel, part of the scene with the creepy cherubs and the cathedral. Fun.
Later, much chatter with friends old and new. Went to bed still vibrating from all the talk.
On Saturday, we started with the KaffeeKlatch, because why not? Before I’d finished my coffee and bagel, I’d discussed art, representation, and the distinct possibility that maybe, just maybe, Milton’s daughters might have played an active role in the composition of Paradise Lost.
After a lovely panel (see photo) discussing “Building New Gods: Mythologies in SF&F” I ended up talking for an hour with a Jesuit brother about how mythologies are developed. I was so very glad I’d recently re-read Will Durant’s Caesar and Christ, since that meant I had my data points fresh.
Then I went off to a fun panel on how hobby activities can feed your creativity. Carrie Vaughn was there costumed as the angel Aziraphale from Good Omens, and I did kumihimo with beads live. Our other panelists were a costumer, and a nurse who kept insisting she didn’t do hobbies, but kept giving examples that proved her wrong!
Somewhere in there, we met the local chapter of the Royal Manticoran Navy (sometimes known as the David Weber fan club), and were made very welcome indeed.
Later still there was the mass book signing. (I’d also done a signing Friday night). That evening we had dinner with one of the author GOH’s, Marie Brennan. After dinner, we sat up with Marie, discussing gaming and other things, as one does at these events.
Sunday we KaffeeKlatched again, during which we had the chance to meet and chat with the other author GOH, Angela Roquet.
After coffee, we let ourselves go watch some panels. The thing about a good panel is that afterwards you want to talk about the new ideas. Happily, we found several interesting folks with whom we could chat, including New Mexico friends David Lee Summers and Elizabeth Leggett. One minor regret is we couldn’t be two places at once, because I would have liked to sample the re-boot of the Fruits Basket anime.
Mid-afternoon I gave a talk on finishing Roger Zelazny’s two unfinished novels: Donnerjack and Lord Demon. The audience wasn’t very large, but it was wonderful
Later still, we went out to dinner with David Boop, editor of Straight Out of Deadwood, in which I have a short story “Doth Make Thee Mad.” If you’re short of ideas for your themed Halloween party, I would like to recommend “Weird West.” You can get ideas for costumes from the stories…
Eh… This really isn’t doing justice to the weekend. Busy. Lively. Chatty. Framed on either side with long drives through mountains and plains. We saw antelopes, hawks, a bald eagle, and a squirrel who reminded us of our kitten, Mei-Ling. Something about how it ran with its tail straight up in the air.
And here I am. Still beat, because I probably talked to more people in three days than I usually do in a month. Feeling happy, because I didn’t meet a single person who was even mildly annoying. Happy, too, because when my head stops spinning, I’ll be back to Wolf’s Soul and, immersed in my writing is one of my favorite places to be.
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More Weirdness Than You Can Imagine!
