Polaris, part three
Third and final part! Tune in for more madcap adventures and stalkerish obsessions!
Sunday
This was the most stalkeriffic of all my days. Essentially, I spent the morning following Kelley around, and all afternoon tailing Tanya. The 10am panel was Kelley's "The Nature of Fear," talking about what sorts of things scare us, what don't, and why. Again, because of the early time, it was a small and cozy thing, really more of a back and forth. I like those ones, cuz then the panelists thank me for being such a loudmouth. it's awesome. From there, Kelley, Lorne, and Erik discussed the intricacies of designing a magic system in fantasy worlds, and also fire golems. No, not really related at all, but it was still fun. Then I had to hit Kelley up to sign my Kelley collection (I'd gotten Tanya the day before). Waiting for Kelley's signing to start, I caught the end of Tanya's, and helped her figure out where she had to be once she finally got to the end of her autograph line.
Getting my Women of the Otherworld books and The Summoning signed didn't take very long, so I still managed to pop into Tanya and Jim's panel about changes from book to screen. (Hey, it's not really stalking unless you're everywhere.) Really fun chatter about good interpretations, bad interpretations, and some of the puzzling and useless changes people like to make when they turn a book into a movie or a tv show. What with Blood Ties and the Dresden Files, it's not so hard to tell why they'd schedule this particular panel, considering they had both Tanya and Jim on the guest list.
Then, Tanya and I scurried (along with the rest of her entourage) to the opposite side of the hotel, for a panel about what it's like to write for television with co-panelist Kelly J. Compeau (copywriter, floor director, and production assistant extraordinaire). The glee-fest about the best book ever was once again, on the opposite end of the hotel. So scurrying back to where we came from (Tanya's cursing was particularly colourful and entertaining) for a love-in on the books we adore. Yes, Sarah, the Kushiel books were mentioned, and I didn't even have to bring them up. I did support the statement that they had been really good, though. During this panel, Tanya said that because she wasn't currently in the middle of a series, nobody was waiting breathlessly for her next book. Of course, I had to point out that I was. She laughed. "Well, I know you are. You've been stalking me for two conventions now." The room kind of giggled. So of course I had to set the story straight. "For, uh, everyone who just laughed at that? True story." More laughter. I'm not sure these people truly appreciate the depths of my creepy fanaticism.
Next was Kelley Armstrong's reading, a short story from her Women of the Otherworld series followed by a Q&A period. I won a totebag. Yes, you may all express your jealousy now.
Last panel of the convention, a discussion about paranormal romance. Yeah, like I was going to skip that. Kelley along with Shannon K Butcher (alternately known in some circles as "Jim's wife", although she's a published author in her own right) and Stephanie Bedwell-Grime. This was another panel where I think I spoke out as much as the panelists did. What? When it comes to urban fantasy and paranormal romance, good luck getting me to shut up. Next time, I should just sign up to be a panelist or something. Then at least I'd have an excuse for all the yapping.
Got a hug from Tanya as she raced out to go home, and promised to send her the pictures I took of her with her award so she could put them on her blog. Everything was starting to come down, although I did manage to catch a picture of me and my new pal, R2.
Yeah. We're tight.
Shortly after, the husband and I returned to our hotel, had supper, and pretty much crashed. Not knowing Toronto (and not having the money for more cab fare), playing tourist for the evening wasn't really an option, so we settled in, packed our bags, watched a little tv, did some snuggling, and went to bed.
The next morning was up early, checking out, and catching a flight back home. The babies were happy to see us, and judging by the clumps of cat fur, so was the kitty. We brought home presents for the kids (bribery for a quicker forgiveness) and the cat got a good brushing session.
So all is back to normal. Well, mostly. Now I have to find places to put all these extra books I brought home from the convention...
Oh, and important lesson? When going to Toronto for a weekend, don't take a taxi. It's actually cheaper to rent a car. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Sunday
This was the most stalkeriffic of all my days. Essentially, I spent the morning following Kelley around, and all afternoon tailing Tanya. The 10am panel was Kelley's "The Nature of Fear," talking about what sorts of things scare us, what don't, and why. Again, because of the early time, it was a small and cozy thing, really more of a back and forth. I like those ones, cuz then the panelists thank me for being such a loudmouth. it's awesome. From there, Kelley, Lorne, and Erik discussed the intricacies of designing a magic system in fantasy worlds, and also fire golems. No, not really related at all, but it was still fun. Then I had to hit Kelley up to sign my Kelley collection (I'd gotten Tanya the day before). Waiting for Kelley's signing to start, I caught the end of Tanya's, and helped her figure out where she had to be once she finally got to the end of her autograph line.
Getting my Women of the Otherworld books and The Summoning signed didn't take very long, so I still managed to pop into Tanya and Jim's panel about changes from book to screen. (Hey, it's not really stalking unless you're everywhere.) Really fun chatter about good interpretations, bad interpretations, and some of the puzzling and useless changes people like to make when they turn a book into a movie or a tv show. What with Blood Ties and the Dresden Files, it's not so hard to tell why they'd schedule this particular panel, considering they had both Tanya and Jim on the guest list.
Then, Tanya and I scurried (along with the rest of her entourage) to the opposite side of the hotel, for a panel about what it's like to write for television with co-panelist Kelly J. Compeau (copywriter, floor director, and production assistant extraordinaire). The glee-fest about the best book ever was once again, on the opposite end of the hotel. So scurrying back to where we came from (Tanya's cursing was particularly colourful and entertaining) for a love-in on the books we adore. Yes, Sarah, the Kushiel books were mentioned, and I didn't even have to bring them up. I did support the statement that they had been really good, though. During this panel, Tanya said that because she wasn't currently in the middle of a series, nobody was waiting breathlessly for her next book. Of course, I had to point out that I was. She laughed. "Well, I know you are. You've been stalking me for two conventions now." The room kind of giggled. So of course I had to set the story straight. "For, uh, everyone who just laughed at that? True story." More laughter. I'm not sure these people truly appreciate the depths of my creepy fanaticism.
Next was Kelley Armstrong's reading, a short story from her Women of the Otherworld series followed by a Q&A period. I won a totebag. Yes, you may all express your jealousy now.
Last panel of the convention, a discussion about paranormal romance. Yeah, like I was going to skip that. Kelley along with Shannon K Butcher (alternately known in some circles as "Jim's wife", although she's a published author in her own right) and Stephanie Bedwell-Grime. This was another panel where I think I spoke out as much as the panelists did. What? When it comes to urban fantasy and paranormal romance, good luck getting me to shut up. Next time, I should just sign up to be a panelist or something. Then at least I'd have an excuse for all the yapping.
Got a hug from Tanya as she raced out to go home, and promised to send her the pictures I took of her with her award so she could put them on her blog. Everything was starting to come down, although I did manage to catch a picture of me and my new pal, R2.
Yeah. We're tight.
Shortly after, the husband and I returned to our hotel, had supper, and pretty much crashed. Not knowing Toronto (and not having the money for more cab fare), playing tourist for the evening wasn't really an option, so we settled in, packed our bags, watched a little tv, did some snuggling, and went to bed.
The next morning was up early, checking out, and catching a flight back home. The babies were happy to see us, and judging by the clumps of cat fur, so was the kitty. We brought home presents for the kids (bribery for a quicker forgiveness) and the cat got a good brushing session.
So all is back to normal. Well, mostly. Now I have to find places to put all these extra books I brought home from the convention...
Oh, and important lesson? When going to Toronto for a weekend, don't take a taxi. It's actually cheaper to rent a car. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.