Random thoughts on WorldCon so far

First off, I’m kind of exhausted, but very happy. WorldCon (more formally known as LoneStarCon 3) has been a lot of fun. I’ve met a lot of great fans, some really excellent authors and geeked out on all kinds of fun SF/F stuff. Here’s some experiences and observations:

• The folks who attend WorldCon love this stuff. They are both intense fans of science fiction and fantasy, as well as bookworms of the highest order. This is very much a literary conference as well as a geek-fest. And as with most things geek, the debates are fun and passionate.
• This whole shindig is driven by fans, not corporate types. My past convention experiences were back when I covered the tech industry as a journalist, and man, those were slick. Things here are definitely more homespun, but you can tell it’s driven by love, not profit.
• It’s been fantastic finally meeting some awesome authors and bloggers in person, given that most interactions to date have been via Twitter and e-mail. I did a podcast interview with Patrick Hester (an excellent interviewer) of SFSignal and Functional Nerds fame, and it was refreshing to sit across a table from him. Same goes for Shawn Shaun Duke and Jen Zink of The Skiffy and Fanty Show, whom I dropped in on during a group ‘cast discussion. I could name drop all the authors here, but it would get gratuitous. Everyone’s been gracious and welcoming.
• My panels were a lot of fun. It was great talking about the business end of things in this morning’s panel, and then getting all literary and geek this afternoon. The other panelists made me look great.
• On a related note, I discovered that fans of science fiction in particular can be very discerning about what they read, and they know when the science is too fuzzy. I’m gonna have to give The Enceladus Crisis a very close reading before I release it to my editors!
• I think my favorite moment was when I introduced myself to the “first time publishing surprises” panel and noted that The Daedalus Incident just came out three weeks ago. I got a spontaneous round of applause. That was really, really lovely. To everyone who was attending that panel, thank you!

There’s more — the Booksworn & Friends party was probably the loudest, most alcohol-fueled fest I’ve attended since college, and was huge fun — but I’ll save it for later. I’m having a blast, and there’s still two more full days left!

#SFWApro