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.