Shore Leave 33: the last(?) word.
Yeah, yeah.
I know, I haven't written up a full-blown, play-by-play recap of this past weekend's Shore Leave convention. The farther we get from it, the less likely I'll be doing one. There are a few things from the con which deserve their own posting/links/etc., and I'll be posting those in short order. Meanwhile, here's the weekend in a nutshell:
The Good:
Getting to hang out with friends, put faces to names I've met online since last year (the top of that list being occupied by Star Trek Magazine editor Paul Simpson), and making new friends as the weekend progressed. I got to spend more time just sitting and talking to several folks I don't normally get to see during these things, notably Howie Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, David R. George III, and Kirsten Beyer, though I also got to spend at least some time with Keith DeCandido, Mike Friedman, Lorraine Anderson, Dave Galanter, Aaron Rosenberg, Richard White, Bill Leisner and Scott Pearson, to name but a few.
Hanging out with the rest of the "Vanguard Braintrust," namely Kevin Dilmore, Marco Palmieri, and the redoubtable David Mack. Always a gas, dudes.
Selling a few copies of the just-released Gods of Justice. Reaction to the book so far as been very positive, so...go us!
The Bad:
I wish I could've spent even more time with those folks, as well as all those I didn't list. The weekend just flies by too fast.
The Ugly:
Nothing, really. It was a pleasant weekend all around. If I have any other regret, it's that we didn't really pull off our part of the Charity Roast of Bob Greenberger with a grace and flair worthy of the effort Dave Mack and his lovely wife, Kara, put into making the thing shine. As things stand now, this third roast will also be the last, since we've now exhausted the pool of roastees we think would be audience draws. I mean...who the hell's going to come to a roast of me? Besides my wife as roastmaster, that is.
Anyway....
We're already plotting something for next year, and unlike the roasts, this activity is designed to include as many of the convention's writer guests as we can cram into it. Once we have a plan in place, I expect the scheming to begin in earnest.
Yep, I'm already looking forward to next year.