The only picture I took at the con.
Man oh man, that was a particularly virulent strain of the nerd flu I picked up at Bubonicon last weekend — I’m still feeling only about half-human even now. It was well worth the disease, however, because Bubonicon 44 was one heck of a good time.
For starters, I liked the Marriott much better than the old location — centrally located, with more decent places to eat nearby. Jason’s Deli was my favorite of the dining options, although it was fun hitting Ojos Locos or whatever the hell it’s called with Sarah and the gang. I’ve never been more certain I was gonna take a shiv in the ribs, and that was just my fear of the waitresses. Ian Tregillis described it best: “I feel like I’m trapped in a television tuned to Cinemax.”
A must-see, I tell you.
The con itself was a blast, of course. Did the Cheese Magnet panel with John Jos. Miller, Bob Vardeman, Victor Milan, and Craig Butler on Friday night, drawing a larger audience than I would’ve expected. I of course plugged The Crow: Wicked Prayer real hard (see my review at Cheese Magnet for the details).
Saturday began with a run to Duke City Donuts (maple bacon!), four gallons of coffee, and checking into our hotel room. That afternoon I was on the Adaptation panel with Michael Cassutt, Melinda Snodgrass, and Daniel Abraham, with Ian moderating. I was nervous going in, but when I was introducing myself, I noticed a big goddamn chipmunk sitting in the audience, its freakishly cartoony eyes staring blankly at me. I swear to you, that effin’ thing never stopped staring at me the entire time, either. Kinda threw off my game, but the panel seemed to go well.
Saturday night is all about the USS Anasazi guys and their awesome selection of liquor. The nerds on hand (myself included, of course) managed to make enough racket that we got kicked off the 16th floor down to the mezzanine, where the party raged on until the wee hours.
Sunday is always a little rough after that, but Sarah dragged me into a panel wherein Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson spoke about magic and world-building. Now, I’ve never read anything by Sanderson (who looks like he’s 19 years old, the creep), but I’m gonna remedy that very soon — his talk was great and really opened up the floodgates as far as the next book I’m gonna write (once Pete, Drinker of Blood is complete).
By that point I could feel the nerd flu kicking in, but I was hoping I was merely sleepy. Unfortunately, it hit hard in the middle of the night, and you know the rest.
Speaking of Pete, Drinker of Blood — things are moving right along with part 8, the final installment. Should have it out in the world before too very long, which means it’s a very good time to get caught up on parts 1-7…