Mark Finn's Toastmaster Speech at ArmadilloCon

ArmadilloCon/Jack Cullers

I spent the past three days in Austin, attending the 33^rd annual ArmadilloCon, the premier literary science fiction convention in the Southwest, as it's known.  And I had a great time visiting with (let me see if I can remember everybody) Bill and Judy Crider, Joe Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale, Scott and Sandi Cupp, Willie Siros, Richard and Becky Moore, Mark Finn, Rick Klaw, Dave Hardy, Bradley Denton, Aaron Allston, A.T. Campbell and . . . Aaargh!  I know I'm forgetting somebody.  My sincere apologies.  I'm not as young as I used to be, and these conventions, not to mention the driving to and from them, wear me out more than they used to.

But I had a fine time, no doubt about that.  Mark Finn's toastmaster speech during the opening ceremonies was a highlight, as was the panel he chaired on Apes in Science Fiction and Fantasy.  The panels I took part in were all good, too, as were the ones I attended as a member of the audience.  Overall, this was one of the best SF conventions I've been to.

Away from the convention but also in Austin, I had the chance to meet and visit with Jack Cullers, one of the Pulpfest organizers, who was in town visiting his son.  Jack is known to just about everybody in pulp fandom, and it was great to meet him and talk about pulps for a little while.  One of these years I'm going to make it to Pulpfest.  That's one of the things I really have to do.

So tiring or not, it was a great weekend and left me with my writing batteries recharged and ready to get back to work!

ArmadilloCon; Gabriel Hunt

I got home yesterday evening after spending the past three days in Austin for ArmadilloCon, the excellent annual science-fiction convention sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas. As always, it was wonderful seeing all my old friends and making a few new ones. I’d name names, but then my aging brain would forget someone and I’d feel guilty about that. I was on three panels, all of which went fairly well, although I think I annoyed a fellow panelist on one and definitely annoyed an audience member on another. But I had a great time wandering around the dealer’s room and talking to folks. I didn’t take any pictures (I’m a terrible photographer), but you can find some videos from the con over at Bill Crider’s blog.

In other news, when I got home and checked my email I discovered that Hard Case Crime co-founder and creator of the new Hunt for Adventure series Charles Ardai had broken the news that I’ll be writing one of the Gabriel Hunt books. I’ve done some work on this already and it’s been great fun. When Charles described the series to me and asked if I’d be interested in contributing, I emailed him back immediately and told him, “I was born to write this stuff.” After getting more involved, I’m even more convinced of that. I don’t know when my book will be out, but I’ll post the cover here as soon as I get a copy of it. Considering the other authors already lined up for the series (Christa Faust, David J. Schow, Nicholas Kauffman, and Charles himself), I’m really looking forward to reading the other books.