DragonCon 2011 Revisited

21 days to DragonCon 2012...

Illuminati coat

On Tuesday, I found out the iPhone app for this year's DragonCon had been released, and if I wasn't already excited, I was now bouncing through the house.  Well...Sarah's house to be accurate as we were beginning work on my Illuminati costume.  And really to be totally accurate, she did all the work.  Sarah, have I told you lately that I love you?

Last year was the first year I had attended DragonCon.  I had wanted to go for years, but when I finally had the money to attend, I was teaching.  Administration frowned on my taking off a week just after the start of school.  My husband and I went with two of our best friends - seamstress extraordinaire and all around bad ass person, Sarah, and my own personal content hole poker, Jason (see Poking Holes where I sing praises of his rad skills: http://perchingonabarstool.blogspot.com/2011/10/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html).  We had a freakin' blast.  It not only met my expectations, but also blew them out of the water.  As Sarah so eloquently put it, "DragonCon is Mardi Gras if it rolled a D20." 

I will never miss another DragonCon. Ever.  The vibe there is incredible, like nothing I have ever experienced.  The count down to this year's event has made me nostalgic for last year's hijinks.  I didn't have a blog to reflect our journey to Atlanta and back, but this year I do.  So for posterity sake, here are a few highlights from 2011.

The highlight of the con: meeting Laurell K. Hamilton! Aside from being one of my favorite authors, my book never would have been finished if it weren't for her advice.  Years ago, she posted several blogs about the writing process.  One of the blogs talked about getting words on a page.  I remember her saying to set a goal, even as low as two pages a day, and committing.  I did just that (and 99% of the time surpassed that 2 page goal by 4 or more pages).  I can't thank her enough.  I think I tried that night, but I was stuck in fangirl squee!

Sarah and I getting our steampunk on!  

Dice ready!  Let the gaming commence...

Jason after winning a Magic tourney

My husband in the gaming room enjoying a good sit.

Another cool moment: Attending Jennie Breeden's Kilt Blowing event and getting to meet her again!
Every morning, I check my email, check social media, and read the Devil's Panties (http://thedevilspanties.com/  ).  I got to meet her at Comicpalooza a few months before this event.  I had no clue she would even be at the con, and when I rounded the corner and saw a giant Devil's Panties sign, I freaked!  Very exciting!

What will this year's DragonCon bring? I can't wait to find out.  

Check out Sarah's blog chronicling her costuming countdown to DragonCon 2012 here: http://sablearts.com/

Next Decade, Next Project

The past couple of weeks have been quite frantic.  I vowed to write a blog a week, and already I am failing miserably at my task.  Poo.  Here is a brief update on my insanity.

I have finished all my cuts and edits on my Urban Fantasy.  Yay!  Let there be much rejoicing.  My manuscript is now being reviewed by two lovely grammar Nazis since I can no longer see my mistakes. My query is done.  Every week I am reviewing it and making sure there isn't another way to tweak it.  I've written the one, two, and five page synopses.  Again, I am waiting a week to review and tweak.  That way, once my line edits are done, I will be ready to query agents.

In the meantime, I have started on my new WIP - Ginny, a western steampunk w/romantic elements.  Chapter one has been written.  I then did something I didn't do with my first novel.  I sat down and wrote a chapter synopsis for the ENTIRE book.  I figure this may change while I write, but unlike my first book where I only had vague ideas of where I was going and was constantly revisiting my timeline and changing things, I have a very clear picture of everything.  And that is an awesome feeling.

But before I go diving in, I have one more very important job - creating an alternate timeline.  This will actually be quite fun.  I already have a great reference book The Timetables of History which will help me create the "real" historical timeline.  Then I will rewrite that with my own twists and turns, including historical events, scientific discoveries and inventions, etc.  I think this will actually be quite fun.  Once I have the timetables done, I am going to write the historical reference text.  Most of this information will just be for me, but it will help my world building immensely.

Oh, what's with the title? I turned forty yesterday.  In January, I wrote Marking Time (http://perchingonabarstool.blogspot.com/2012/01/marking-time.html) and wrote, "In ten years, I will reflect on my forties and say, 'That is the decade I became a published author and had my first best-seller.'"  It seems I am on my way to making my dreams come true.  Everyone asked if I was freaking out about turning forty.  Honestly, I have never been happier.  I finally know exactly who I am and what I want to do.  I wouldn't trade that for any age.

Lastly, a shout out to my husband who is an absolute sweetheart, not only for putting up with me yelling at him to hush while I write, but also for taking me out for a surprise night on the town for my birthday.  He took me on a "stroll down memory lane" to places that have meant something to us, like the Richmond Arms and Brewery Tap, where we had our first date.

My big night out!  First stop at the Richmond Arms!