Going from DragonCon directly back to work is kind of jarring, but I managed to get through the day without mistaking colleagues for Wookies or superheroes, so I’ll chalk that up as a minor achievement. And with a touch of distance behind me, I can sum up my DragonCon experience a bit better.
I don’t go to too many cons each year, but I think DragonCon will be on my schedule for the foreseeable future. It’s big, but it’s also organized well. I like the topic tracks, and this year I did a panel on the Horror track (yay, Cthulhu!) as well as several on my “home” track, Alternate History.
The tracks are run by passionate volunteers who do such an awesome job. (Thank you, everyone who volunteered!) Because they’re run by fans who know the topics well, you definitely get the sense there’s a lot of heart that goes into it. It’s really great to see that.
My favorite panels this year were the ones on multicultural alt-history, which had some pretty intense and fruitful discussions, and the steampunk homebrewing/distilling panel, which had lovely drinks brought by really talented brewers. I have to figure out a way to bring my brews next year! The latter was also the first panel ever where I walked away somewhat unsteadily. (Two words: Lavender mead.)
I also let slip some details about the Secret Project during my reading and on some panels. The reception was most definitely encouraging.
Other highlights: Seeing such fantastic folk as Myke Cole, Richard Kadrey, Terra LeMay, Cherie Priest, Fran Wilde and my beard-bro Chuck Wendig, who was becoming a New York Times bestselling author right before our eyes thanks to Star Wars: Aftermath. I also met Bill Bridges, who developed Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Mage: The Ascension for White Wolf back in the day, which made me happy indeed. It’s folks like him who helped shape me into the writer you see before you now.
And of course, there was Tom Mison. I’m totally rooting for this guy now. I want him to win an Emmy and an Oscar and whatever else they got. Hell, I want him to play Thomas Weatherby in a Daedalus Incident movie. Hollywood, make this happen.
Finally, there were the fans, both old and new. Meeting you guys is like writer-fuel; you keep me going. I deeply appreciate the time you’ve spent with my work and the excitement you have for it. I hope I live up to all that goodness down the road.
I’ve got some hunkering down to do over the next several weeks in order to tackle a full slate at work along with the finishing touches on the Secret Project. This year’s NFL GeekPicks will kick off Thursday, but other than that and the occasional news tidbit, I’m probably gonna go light on this blog for a while. But October and November…that’s gonna be fun. There will be News. I can’t wait to share it with you.
#SFWApro
, 
Michael J. Martinez 
Glad I got to see you there, however briefly!
I know! And you had such fine fashion going on too.