I had a blast today. So much so that summing up is hard. I started the morning by having breakfast with Ron Serdiuk, Pamela and Diana Rowland. Conversation ranged from Diana’s stories about living through Katrina to vampires as lovers and the problems inherent with that.¹

I trotted off from there to the SFWA booth in the dealer’s room. Now I know this doesn’t immediately seem like “fun!” but it actually was. I got to hang out with John Scalzi and then later Jay Lake, two of my favorite people.Plus I met all sorts of new folks who dropped by the booth to pick up one of the anthologies or find out where the SFWA suite was.² I don’t know, I just like chatting with folks and this was an easy way to do it.

Alethea Kontis and Evil Ed made sure that I had lunch, because I had to go straight from there to my signing. Since I don’t have a book out, I took a stack of anthologies that I had extra copies of to give away to the people in line. The strategy seemed to work well. One person came to chat, because she knew me. The people in the line next to me, perked up win they heard “free anthology” and popped over to my line. So, yay! New people reading my fiction.

I had a little downtime with Doselle Young, while I tried to get my stories printed for my reading. FYI the business center in the convention center was really great, but the Kinko’s in my hotel — while the staff was nice — is crazy-overpriced. $2.50 just to open a file. Not even to print it.

The reading was a lot of fun. Scalzi and I alternated stories. I had picked one to open with and then let the audience pick the others based on their first lines and titles. It was interesting to see which ones they gravitated towards. I also got to read the first chapter of the Sagan Diary for them. I love this book and made Scalzi cry, which was gratifying. In all fairness, we both teared up.

Had dinner with David B. Coe, Doselle Young, Alethea Kontis, David Louis Edelman, Misty Massey, Evil Ed and Eric James Stone at a sushi place. Mmm… sushi. I spent the rest of the evening in the bar. Made a sale. Oh, and the funniest part of the evening was when Paolo Bacigalupi saw my folding keyboard. His expression was like a cross between a kid with a new model train and Gollum with precious. I’ve been warned that he may knock me down to take it later.

All in all a good day.

1. They’d be cold. Ick [↩]
2. Sheraton 3654, sixth floor, shorter building. [↩]

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I have my official schedule for World Con now.

Launch Pad: Astronomy for Writers
Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.
Launch Pad is a week-long crash course in modern astronomy for writers founded by Mike Brotherton and held each summer at the University of Wyoming. NASA foots the bill with the goald of increasing the quality and quantity of astronomy reaching the public. Come hear instructors and participants discuss the experience.

Schmoozing 101
Wednesday, 1:00 p.m.
Conventions offer a chance to meet some of the top names in the field. How can you take advantage of that without coming off like a weasel? Learn about the etiquette of talking to editors and how to effectively ‘work a room.’

Survival Tips for the Beginning Writer
Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.
Once the story is written, what happens next? Panelists talk about cover letters, manuscript tracking, rejectomancy and other blunders that they learned about the hard way.

Signing
Thursday, 1:00 pm

Reading
Thursday, 4:00 pm
A sampler-platter of short stories from me and John Scalzi

How to Give an Effective Reading - Workshop
Friday, 10:00 a.m.
You may be a good writer, but reading aloud is a separate skill. Learn to make your words sound as great out loud as they do on the page. Using both demonstration and audience participation, we will explore voicing, narration and pacing.

Strolling with the Stars
Sunday, 9:00 a.m.
To encourage a healthier, more active environment at Denvention 3 we are scheduling a 9AM walk every morning. We’ll leave from under the Big Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center, and we’ll stroll for a leisurely mile through downtown Denver. Each day’s walk will be led by a Famous AuthorTM, Artist, Editor or Scientist who will not only lead the walk but will interact with the participants. Join luminaries like Frank Wu, David Brin, Jay Lake, Ellen Datlow, John Picacio, Lou Anders, Paul Cornell, Scott Edelman, Mary Robinette Kowal and Stephen H. Segal for a gentle, friendly stroll to get the day started on an upbeat note.