Sasquan recap

I’m digging in to my recap, but I have no idea how far I’ll get. So here I go.

We left on Weds. Devon Monk and I and our friend Dejsha went to the Amtrak station to catch a bus to Portland. All was good. It was about 98 outside, but the bus trip was only an hour or so and then we’d be on the train to Spokane. But then the AC on the bus wasn’t working. So we sat in a sauna. A bathroom smelling sauna. It was a relief to get off. Actually it felt cool. So that was an amusing to the journey.

We loaded up on the train pretty quick and got underway. The seats had lots of room. We didn’t board til about 4 in the evening, and we were getting in about 12:15 a.m. It was a fun ride. When we arrived, the fabulous Char and Randy MacKay came and picked us up and hauled us to the hotel.

Okay, the hotel. It was new. Like only open a month. Everything was WHITE and futuristic looking. Dejsha named the regal elevator voice Duchess. Which she was. We reach our room, and it’s lovely. The shower is an entire room by itself. It’s full of mirrors (eek!) and the beds are super comfy. There was also a red wingback recliner type chair with a footstool. It was a Dr. Evil chair.

We got to sleep about 1:30 a.m. then jumped out of bed around 8. We got down to breakfast around 9. By this time I’d realized I’d forgotten my fitbit charge cable, and the heroic Tracy Erickson lent me one, bringing it to breakfast, where we discovered we both like the same chai, prepared the same way, but I like mine extra hot. Anyhow, thanks to him, I was able to charge my fitbit. Whoohoo! After breakfast, we went to get registered, and then wandered a little bit before I had my signing.

My signing was lovely. People came! I signed books and lots of other stuff, and even though my books weren’t in the book room at all (I think my name was left off the list that went to the dealers), I still had stuff to sign. I met up with Minerva Zimmerman and we wandered the dealer room. I admired much, but did not buy. That came later.

I also met up with Chrysoula Tsavaelas and Rachel who’s last name is simply vanishing from my brain. At this point, I’m failing to recall the rest for that night. In fact, I’m terrible with many things. Skipping ahead . . .

I know I ate lunch and dinner, and I know I saw many friends. I hung out in the bar for a bit in possibly the most uncomfortable chairs ever, and then sacked out.

Friday was my super long day. I had my reading, the writer’s workshop, and a writers round robin. I had great attendance on the reading. I read from Grasping Rainbows, the story I wrote for the Weird Wild West anthology. It was quite well received, which made me very happy. I love this story. The workshop was fun and though one participant wasn’t there, we managed to cover a lot of ground and I hope we were helpful to the writers. We were David Levine and Madeline Robins. Our moderator, Jim Doherty, was absolutely awesome. The only terrible thing was that smoke from the wild fires moved in about halfway through. A huge gust of wind blew open the glass doors of the room and a choking cloud of smoke moved in.

The smoke was seriously bad that day. I can’t begin to tell you. It filled the convention center halls and ballrooms with a thick haze. I’m lucky in that I don’t have asthma or allergies, but some were really struggling. The round robin was a lot of fun and though I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, it really was a fun and hopefully useful event.

Went to the Book View Cafe party that night. It was the only party I attended. I’m not a big fan of crushes and the parties tend to be so crowded. Oh, had dinner with Joyce Reynolds-Ward, Devon, and Dejsha. The food was awesome. At the party, I got to meet a lot of people in person I hadn’t met before, including Nancy Jane Moore, Chaz Brenchley, and Cynthia Felice. Plus I got to hang out with other friends, like Laura Anne Gilman, and admire the cover of her upcoming book, Silver on the Road.

I came back to the room and crashed. No, that’s not true, we hung out and talked and giggled and then crashed.

Saturday was the noir panel with John Pitts, Katherine Addison (aka Sarah Monette) and Richard Kadry. It went really well. After I spent a couple hours with Leah Cutter learning InDesign. Well, starting to learn it, anyhow. Also got to spend some time with her new husband, Blaze Ward, who is funny and charming.

I didn’t plan to do the Hugos, but ended up watching it on livestream. I was surprised about a couple of things, but thought the show was fun and campy. Sunday, I was on a future sex panel with Brenda Carre, Rob Carlos, S. A. Bolich, and Kaja and Phil Foglio, with Char MacKay moderating. I can’t tell you want we talked about. What happens at Spocon stays in Spocon. But I will offer this: Tantric Telepathic Tribble Dishwasher sex.

Later that night, our train was delayed and we didn’t get out until 4 a.m. And home Weds.

Okay, some highlights. Getting to have lunch with John Pitts and his wife Kathy and daughter Emily. Huge fun. I fangirled all over P.C. Hodgell. She is awesome, and I was a dork. I met Elizabeth Bear, who is lovely and fun. I was happy to get a chance to see so many friends: Carol Berg, Juliana Hinckley, Justin Barba and his father who is awesomely talented, Laurey Patten (so not enough time and I missed your jewelry), Jean Carlos (more time next time), Debbie Lentz, The Miscon Crew, Clay Cooper, meeting Brenda Clough, Kate Elliot, Michelle Sagara, and Aliette Bodard in person. I also grabbed a few minutes with Patty and Mike Briggs. I managed to catch up with some other people, but I’m doing a lot of name dropping. Mostly the key is that I managed to have a fabulous time because I got to see my tribe. And a special shout out to Theresa and Jordan. It was so fabulous to see you.

Another highlight–getting to meet some dedicated fans. You are awesome. You made my weekend.

 

 

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