Authors at Balticon 40

Balticon 40 had such an amazing lineup of authors this year! I had the pleasure of meeting three.

On Saturday, we went to the signing with Neil Gaiman and Peter S. Beagle.

While in line, we saw this amazing fairy.

It took a while, and we actually stood in three separate lines that got progressively hotter. (I felt as if we were descending and then traveling through layers of hell to achieve our goal.) But really, the excitement of meeting these amazing gentlemen was enough to keep our spirits high.

Because of the move, my copy of The Last Unicorn was packed, and I only had my copy of Stardust handy. So I had only one thing for Neil Gaiman to sign and nothing for Peter S. Beagle to sign. But I thanked Peter and spoke to him for a moment and it was fantastic.

I also couldn't think of a thing for Neil to write in my book. Mind. Blank. I'm not an author. I have notebooks of bad poetry that I wrote as a teenager, but really- he's the brilliant author, not me. My friend and I explained our woe, and the fact that we were, indeed, screaming fangirls and that we were exhibiting great restraint and adult behavior he should be assured. He, in turn, told my friend that she was very cool and appeared as if she did this sort of thing all the time and told me it was quite alright and drew a fantastic moon and shooting star in my book and signed his name. It was more wonderful than words.

We also attended a panel discussion with Gene Wolfe and Neil Gaiman. It was more of an interview, really. One gentleman led things, sitting between the two guests. The greatest part about it was that the whole thing seemed to be great fun for Neil and Gene. Or, at least, the two of them are great friends. The whole weekend my friends and I had been remarking on how we'd wanted to adopt Mr. Wolfe as our grandfather. How he cared for his wife, stood up to meet anyone who approached him, and seemed so gentlemanly.
According to Neil, we'd been taken in by the great evil. We shouldn't be had. I loved hearing about it as only a true friend could describe. It was also great fun to hear Gene's description of coming upon Neil's works. Hearing authors talk about reading is much like hearing chef's talk about eating. Its much more about consuming, tasting, and digestion. Sometimes its about reguritation.

I love it.

While the Balticon website was posting preliminary schedules, I was delighted to see a 'Reading' by Neil Gaiman. This was it. I never though I'd be able to travel some place where he'd do a reading live. Unless, perhaps, I traveled a bit. But even then, I didn't see it happening any time soon. But to have come so close to us? Unbelievable.
And then- the 'Reading' disappeared from the schedule. I was very sad. I still enjoyed the con, but I'd been really looking forward to that bit. We did, however, see that he was giving a talk. So off we went.

To my great joy, although Neil Gaiman talking about applying ceiling spackle would bring me great joy, my favorite author chose to read for his time with us. He read a poem, one of my favorites, called 'The Day the Saucers Came' and two short stories. Just amazing.

Lisa Snellings-Clark at Balticon 40

We were terribly excited to see Neil Gaiman at Balticon. It was the initial reason my husband bought the tickets as a Christmas gift for me. (Or promised to do so when they went on sale, I don't remember now.) But we quickly realized that other fantastic guests would be there as well.

Like dancing rats.

The first thing my girlfriend and I wanted to go to was Lisa Snellings-Clark's talk. We weren't sure what she'd talk about, but we knew it would be worth hearing. I'd been lurking on her blog for some time and had enjoyed reading it thoroughly. We both loved her style and I appreciated how open she seemed. I was intrigued to hear what she might have to say.

And, let's be honest, it would be the first chance we'd have to see Neil. He was introducing her. That was an added bonus.

So starting out, the two of us were excited. The fact that Neil Gaiman had been such a fan of her work for so long only spoke volumes and we couldn't wait to hear what she would tell us. Perhaps she would show us things as well.

And she did. The music started. And the giant, fuzzy, black rat shook its tail. Lisa showed us her "No Furries" sign and all of her best dance moves. She also showed us how important it was to do things fearlessly. She said it was one of her children that suggested the bold move. What fun. It made me feel a little less silly about sitting there, dressed like Malcom Reynolds from Firefly, at a SciFi convention, with the prospect of meeting several people I admire very much.

Lisa talked about a lot of things. She spoke a lot about her childhood. About the place she grew up and the people she grew up around. I keep meaning to ask if she has a transcipt of her speech. It would be an injustice for me to try and repeat some of her words here.
I don't have the abilities she does. But the spirit of what she said has really affected me. Its haunted me and I keep going back to it.
I've started commenting on her blog, too. I keep visiting like its her playroom. Its a place I get to go and talk to people, including her. And they're the 'cool kids' and its very neat. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Being able to glimpse where some of her creations come from and to be able to ask her questions is really a gift.

A few More of Lorraine a' Malena

The very blurry, but very beautiful Malena sings!

Lorraine Shines (I love that hat!) and Adam was amazing!!

A shot of the Screen

And two Squeeing LaMies below.

Balticon 40

My Fantabulous Boss brought in her USB Cable so I could upload pics from Balticon!

(Yeah My Boss!)
So Now I can upload lots of pictures of many weeks back. Unfortunately, I cannot necessarily remember what order all the pictures go in, so I've grouped them in installments.

This first installment (as you may have guessed) is

The Fabulous Lorraine and the Wonderful Malena, since they are both Fabulous and Wonderful.

And I musn't forget the Jaw-Dropping Talents of Adam Stemple. What an added bonus!
I'm no music critic, but I haven't stopped listening to the CD yet. Its diverse in both genre and mood but I find that I always play it from start to finish. (Although I have to admit I definately have my favorites.)

I hope you enjoy the pictures. Some of them are quite blurry, as I didn't want to blind anyone during the performance. (We were in the front row.) I may have another installment as such since there were a few pictures of the ladies (and Adam!) so bear with me.

All I got'some stupid arm sounds like there's rain in it.

(copied over from my livejournal)
So yesterday someone in the office joked that my arm is like a lightning rod, with the plate still inside of it, and that if I stood outside in the thunder storm I could be like a super hero and be all electrified.

There might be some validity to that.

Or I might be a little crazy.

I was in a foul mood yesterday when I got home. Just downright rattlesnake kind of mean. Wanted to spit hellfire and be grumpy and just 'grr' kind of grump.

Then it started thundering and lightning all over the place. And I kept feeling that pinching feeling like when someone grabs too hard on the end of my elbow. Of like someone's driving a chilled icepick down through your bone marrow.

Not that anyone's ever driven a chilled icepick down through my bone marrow, but I imagine that's what it'd feel like.

And I started noticing that every time I got that stabby feeling and it finally passed, lightning would strike. WHAMMO! And then I remembered the last time I really picked a fight with raevenblade was the last really big thunder storm we had.

So I'm thinking maybe there is something to all this talk of weather elbows and knees and such that all the old people complain about. Bastards.

Of course the power just went off in our building and I felt it. Right along the outside of my left arm. Especially at the tip where that flippin' plate stands a little proud.

Its funny, really. I always wanted a super power. Now my bionic arm has crackling energy.

Art is cool, man!

Was chatting with a friend in email yesterday about favorite artists. I have a few well-known that are my favorites- Dave McKean and Lisa Snellings-Clark- but two of my favorites I am lucky enough to know on a first name basis.

So I said to myself 'Self, why haven't you given a shameless plug on your livejournal/blog to these highly talented individuals yet?' And myself couldn't answer that question.

She was, in fact, quiet embarrassed. :(

They are two very different artists that I have gotten to know over the years. One of whom I have known since I was in middle school.

The first is the gentleman who created my icon on livejournal. He's been drawing since I think he could hold a pencil. Probably sooner. More recently he's begun working with photography. He also has a fantastic name- Scott Thigpen. You should buy lots of photographs from him on his new website- www.scojobo.com and check out his funktastic artwork on his classic site as well at www.sthig.com. I've watched Scott go from dancing pillows to warm up (still my favorites) to this mod-retro style that is just too cool for words and makes me want to redecorate my kitchen with bright green and blue plastic and serve martinis. (No really- go look. He's too cool for words.)

The second is Beth Trott. She's done lots of work for various RPGs and has an amazingly haunting style. If your a gamer (especially anything fantasy-based, vampire or werewolf based, or anything based in the orient) you must check out her stuff- www.bethtrott.com. If you don't have a pension for gaming, however, I still think you should take a peek. Her images, like Scott's, are the kind that tell stories, as all good artists do. :)