Marcon 2006

[red_temple]

Just one week to go until Marcon 2006:

http://www.marcon.org/

GRRM is the guest of honor, which is why I am going. Other than GRRM, I really have no idea what to expect from this convention. Looks like it has the potential to be very weird, which, honestly, is in my comfort zone, so I'm going to go in blind and hope I have a good time. I'm sure I will. It will be kinda like a weekend in Las Vegas, except without the casinos. And the desert. And the 99 cent jumbo frozen margaritas….

I've heard that GRRM loves conventions - he does readings of chapters in progress, holds general Q&A sessions, and pretty much hangs out with his fan-base for the duration. I had the pleasure to hear him speak at my local bookstore during his AFFC signing tour, and he was very entertaining. Really down-to-earth and funny. He mentioned that he was more in his element at conventions, so I'm excited to see him in action. Obviously, I plan on attending the GRRM sessions, and any parties associated. It's sad, really - I'm almost forty and once again a fanboy. I've even joined the fan club - The Brotherhood Without Banners. I hope to help do them proud and show GRRM a good time while he is in my state.

Is anyone else out there planning on going? If so, we should arrange to meet up. I'll be attending with another Chronicles-net'er - Trey Greyjoy, plus another friend in tow. None of us really know what to expect, but it is a weekend away from reality, and we will have a good time, even if it kills us.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

This should be great fun. The weather should be outstanding as well.
Im sure there will be plenty of Dornish Red to go around also !

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

I've even joined the fan club - The Brotherhood Without Banners. I hope to help do them proud and show GRRM a good time while he is in my state. [/quote]

Sadly, I'm in the White Book too!
I even had the chance to become a "Knight of the Haggis" but was far too inebriated to participate

Seriously though, I think he does this at each Con he goes to so see if you can become Ser Red_Temple & Ser Trey Greyjoy!

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

Alas there were no quests issued at this gathering. He said the next would occur at the next Worldcon.
We did get to hang out with the Master for two evenings though! For awhile it was just myself and Red Temple the first night. Eventually another BWBer stopped by and we all had some great conversation.
In all honesty I was a little starstruck and didnt ask him a lot of questions about the series. It was fun just hanging back and listening to him talk about conventions in the 70s, the Wildcard books, fans...etc.
Hanging with the Master has other perks too, people sent over money for him to spend on whatever he wanted from the bar and he bought us appetizers!
More updates coming soon when I get a chance to sit down and report. Red Temple took notes so expect a good report from him.

 

[red_temple]

Yes - detailed con update to follow. I just started working on my report, but I will post it here as soon as I am done.

 

[red_temple]

Here is my report, as promised. Sorry if it is long-winded.

All I can say is - WOW. The highlight of my trip to MARCON, my year, and my decade in general so far can be summed up in few scant words: Exclusive time with GRRM!!!!

I recently joined GRRM's fan club - the Brotherhood Without Banners, and went to MARCON in hopes of hooking up with the BWB and just *maybe* shake GRRM's hand. I was a n00b in many respects - new to BWB, new to conventions (MARCON was my first con) - so I felt a lot of pressure when I learned that I would be one of maybe 5 or 6 die-hard GRRM fans in attendance. Pressure or no pressure, I had to suck it up because I was also incredibly lucky in my timing and my choice of cons to attend.

I arrived early on Friday, and eventually met up that evening with longtime friend, fellow Chronicles-net member, and fellow BWBer Trey Greyjoy. After getting Trey registered for the con, we headed to the "Big Bar on 2" - the Columbus Hyatt Regency's really big hotel bar. It was very nice and not too full of people. We expected a bigger crowd but were happy that we had a choice from many empty tables. Our main goal for the night was to have a few drinks and meet up with a couple of other BWBers that we had recently met on the net. I made a little sign that said "BWB drink here" and placed it on our table so we can be easily identified. It was 8:00 PM, and the other two BWBers weren't due to show up until 10, so we figured we had a couple of hours to just hang out in the bar, drink gin and tonics, and hurl insults at each other.

During our first drink, I looked over my shoulder and saw GRRM wandering through the bar, not too far from our table. I expected to see him with a bevy of ground kissing followers behind him, but he was by himself. Trey and I just looked at each other, unsure of what we should do. Stupefied, we almost let him pass. However, I quickly came to my senses and started waving my sad little BWB sign, and luckily, GRRM saw us. He came over to our table and said hello and shook our hands. Admittedly, I was a little star struck, and I think Trey was as well, but we were at least quick witted enough to ask him if we could buy him a drink. He said "yes" and sat down to join us.

For the fist 10 minutes of the conversation all I could do is say things like, "hey, I understand if you have other things to do… don't let us hold you up… please don't feel you have to sit here with us…" Fortunately for us, GRRM was just one helluva a guy. A genuinely nice person that was quite comfortable sitting around a bar table and talking to a couple of forty-year-old fanboys. Not only did he stay for a drink, but 2 hours later he had had dinner and was still hanging around.

After initial bouts of nervousness, we were able to talk about all kinds of things. All three of us lamented Robert Jordan's recent health problems, and we gave him a good toast for best wishes. Throughout most of the conversation I tried to stay away from any questions that he may have heard a little too often, but in any case, George answered all with a smile on his face and in a very pleasant manner. It was easy to tell George was a natural at this (or had done it so often he was very practiced). No question seemed to bother him, whether he'd heard it for the first time or the 10,000th time. His answers were enthusiastic, which made us feel quite welcome in his presence. We talked about comic books and our favorite characters - his was the "Thing" from the Fantastic Four (one of my favorites as well). My personal favorite is a rather obscure character - The Badger, and, unfortunately, George had never heard of him. George - if you are reading this - that's okay, most other people haven't, either. He then went on to tell us a lot about his Wild Cards series, which neither Trey or myself had read. Essentially, they are collections of short stories, edited by GRRM, which put a new and interesting twist on the comic book superhero. In a nutshell, all the superheroes' powers in these stories are born from viral infections. Being an old comic book enthusiast, I must admit that the books sound excellent, and I will be reading them very soon. Curse you, GRRM, you are going to get even more of my money…. ;-)

It was around this time that another BWBer finally showed up - Luqarilla. Obviously, she didn't need to see the "BWB" sign that we had created to know who we were. Having George at your table speaks volumes more than any sign… Not surprisingly, George continued to stay and chat with us, so our new arrival was not disappointed. We asked George about the reading that he would be giving the next day. He told us that he would be reading a very revised Jon I chapter, so if we had heard it before it would be quite different. I made a mental note to take good notes during the reading.

There were a couple of times when other fans approached him to offer kind words and/or ask for an autograph, and each time George was friendly and accommodating. He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. The best part was when one fan sent money over to him and offered to buy whatever food he wanted. George asked us to pick some stuff from the menu so we can all partake. The little steak skewers were tasty!!

We also talked about MARCON itself - George had never been before, and neither had any of the rest of us. It was a strange "hybrid" con from what I could tell - a little bit of this, a pinch of that. A lot of Star Trek fans were there, which we expected, since that was the theme of this year's con. Star Wars fans were in strong supply as well. A lot of bizarrely costumed attendees were constantly prowling about and freaking out weekend the hotel staff. A lot of gamers were there, which was definitely apparent if you walked into the bar - there was a perpetual table full of dudes playing the "World of Warcraft" boardgame amidst rounds of various beers. Those guys rocked!!!

The evening progressed and more drinks were consumed, and we talked about many other things - books, movies, television, Terry Goodkind bashing (George only smiled and nodded here), football, local food and drinks (or lack thereof), and many other things. The three of us tried to be good fans and not ask George a ton of questions about current plot and character developments in ASOIAF. I hope we did a good job at that. George was reluctant to talk about ABC's LOST, as he had not seen the last 3 episodes, so that was kind of a bummer. I also tried to explain to George what a "buckeye" was, but didn't do a very good job. A buckeye is either a tasty peanut butter and chocolate treat, or a poisonous tree seed/nut. I think I may have told him that it was a tasty poisonous treat. I really don't remember exactly. Eventually, the night with George came to a close and he had to leave us. But he had spent several hours with us and we *greatly* appreciated his time. Hell, I would have been ecstatic for 10 minutes of his time.

Five minutes after George left for the evening (after spending about 3-4 hours with us), kedlav, the last BWBer we were expecting, finally showed up. He missed out on GRRM. He missed out on several hours of exclusive, personal time with GRRM. We let him sit in George's empty chair to soften the sting. After drinking and consoling kedlav for another hour or so, it was time to move on for the evening. We all made arrangements to meet the next day during the reading of the new Jon I chapter.

The chapter reading on Saturday was excellent. I've been to many readings by many authors, and George ranks among the best I've heard at reading his own work. He read with good cadence and rhythm, and was able to make subtle changes to give each speaking character a distinctive voice. He did Dolorous Edd and Stannis particularly well. I could almost hear teeth grinding through clenched jaws when he spoke as Stannis. I took good notes on the chapter and will be posting a summary in the next day or two if anyone is interested. He read to standing-room only, and had time for Q&A afterwards. Mostly standard questions were asked - like "When is the next book due?" and "Do you regret splitting AFFC?" and "Do you know how it is all going to end?" He did an excellent job answering them, and was happy to go into detail about each. Not a whole lot of new info (other than the new chapter) was presented, though.

Saturday evening was another blessing. After having an excellent dinner at a nearby Italian bistro with fellow BWBers, we went back to the hotel to prep for the parties later that evening. I needed an energy boost after drinking off and on the whole day, so I went back to my room to have a Red Bull, which hit the spot. After returning to the lounge on the second floor, I see none other than our new brother, kedlav, sitting in a lounge chair off in one corner talking to GRRM. I was very pleased to see that he finally got his chance to meet the Master in an informal setting. There was one other person with them, a nice young lady whose name I cannot remember, and they looked to be chillin' and having a great time. I quickly ran back to my room to fetch a bottle of Bailey's that I had brought for GRRM, and returned to the lounge. By the time I got back, the other three BWBers had joined GRRM as well. I approached, GRRM invited me to join, and I accepted. George told us great stories about past conventions, and some of the quests that BWBers have accomplished. We heard about burnt-ends and philly cheese steaks and all sorts of other craziness. He also mentioned several times that we need to attend Worldcon in LA this year. I hope some of us are able, because that sounds like an awesome time.

George again spent a few hours with us, and even accompanied us up to the parties on the floors above. The rooms were crowded and live and hot, full of music and free drinks and general weirdness. My kind of atmosphere. I caught glimpses of George a few more times while I was up there, but eventually the alcohol and the crowds carried me away - and I didn't see him again that weekend. All in all, I left with very fond memories of the con, and I left even more pleased knowing that sometimes you can build your favorite celebrity up in your mind, and they can live up to, and even surpass, your wildest expectations.

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, Red

Now you know what fun I had at last year's WorldCon

I must agree that I've never met an author so willing and happy to talk to his fans. I remember last year someone actually asked him whether he was sick of all the attention and people asking him questions etc and he was emphatic in saying that for years he was merely another struggling writer fighting to get published. To actually have fans and not only that, but hit the best-seller list on the New York Times (as AFfC did when it came out - a rare event for any book in the "sci-fi & fantasy" genre) was such a thrill. He said that he remembers attending cons and having no-one turn up to meet him, so he's always very sympathetic to other authors at cons and will always tell you to attend as many as you can, even if you haven't read the author in question!

The Worldcon in LA will be awesome, sadly I won't be able to go but for those who do I think a few of our West Coast forumites (is that the right term? ) are going this year.