So I'm back from an amazing trip to Canberra.  Wow, what a weekend!

Having already read everyone else's convention bloggings, I'm at a loss as to where to begin.  Everyone's con experience differs, and at my first ever con in 2006 I was told "not to expect too much".  At that time I was just getting into SF and knew hardly anyone.  I did have a good time, but a socially awkward one, so I will forever have sympathy for Con virgins.

This time around, I was lucky enough to be involved in the launch of an amazing anthology, side-by-side with authors that I have admired for quite some time.  This is on the tail of some pretty awesome events in my writing life, and things were much better this Con, and as others have already said it was very chilled out and sociable.  It was bloody brilliant to hang out with some of Australia's amazing writers, editors, publishers, and general making-it-all-happen people, and enthuse about the fiction that we all love.

The highlights of Conflux for me were:

a) Being reunited with Clarion South folks
I flew in on a red-eye from Adelaide, and met my awesome buddy petermball</lj>  at the airport, who had also red-eyed it in from Brisbane.  We caught up with supercool Jess Irwin the next day ( deepfishy</lj> ) and saw Rob and Cat who I admire greatly, as well as Margo the great.  I love these guys to the point of distraction, and in between 4 days of joyful squeeness I siphoned each of them dry of writing advice, while delivering groanworthy puns with relentless panache. 

b) meeting new friends & old acquaintances
Finally got to meet Angela Slatter who is another Dreaming Again-er, and who is also involved in a secret project (okay, it's no secret, it's the Daily Cabal), met Ron who is such a total DUDE, legendary Kathleen as below, and bumped into countless others I'm too tired to mention (and I'm already starting to sound like a name-dropping wanker).  Please don't be offended at the lack of your name, there's just too many of you!  Such an inclusive and fun community :-) 

c) meeting people in real life who were previously just electrons in my inbox
there are people like the admirable girliejones</lj>  who I've only ever spoken with online and never met.  I'm pleased to say she's awesomely cool in Real Life, as are others :-)  Kathleen Jennings is such a bloody legend, and I'm convinced that big things will come of this very talented lady.  She can draw up a storm, and I was witness to a brilliant story she told at the Speakeasy mic session that Richard Harland wished he could buy on the spot.  You go girl!

d) The Dreaming Again stuff
Wow, this was incredible.  These guys really put on the star treatment.  Jack Dann is an absolute gentleman and a raconteur of the first degree.  Stephanie Smith and several of the Voyager crew (hi guys!) were on hand to launch this fine book.  The booze flowed, as did the signatures (yes, I know I've got a crappy squiggle signature.  I'm working on it!).  I got some great feedback from enthusiastic readers, and in a moment I will always remember Jack led the audience in a rendition of "Undead Camels Ate Their Flesh, Doo-Dah, Doo-dah!"  They literally couldn't have done anymore for us than they did.  Legends one and all, and in recent news it appears that the first print edition of DA has been sold out.

e) Being on panels
This is a great cure for public-speaking nerves, and I really feel super-confident now.  I want to comport myself as a professional author, and it's important that I be able to do this sort of thing when needed.  Everyone was lovely and provided intelligent discussion, and this is an experience I'd be more than happy to do again. 

f) Winning the Conflux short story contest
My piece "The Two Kinds of Sleep" won the above contest, with the theme of Dreaming.  I'll post this piece online sometime, it's a nifty little story.  I had to nick off for my plane so I missed whatever ceremony they had, but I got a cool certificate and a huge bag of yummy books.

g) Banquet
Peter and I tagged along to the banquet, as last-minute normal-clothes-wearing ring-ins.  We were on the table with Mark Shirrefs, who wrote the Jasper Morello movie, as well as the kids shows Girl from Tomorrow and Spellbinder, which I freaking LOVED as a kid.  He is hilarious, and got our table playing some mongrel-hybrid trivia game, which we made up as we were going.  It was kind of like tennis?  Food was great, and people's costumes were top-notch.

h) Coming home with a shit-load of books.
I seriously came home with almost 30 books in my suitcase.  As promised, here is the book-angel:



More on the books later.  It's time for bed!

Current Mood: rejuvenated