NASFic Rocked! Part One

[LauraJUnderwood]

I just got back yesterday from Archon 31/Tuckercon, the 9th NASFic, held in Collinsville, Illinois (on the outskirts of St. Louis, MO).

Needless to say, this was a wonderful con experience for me, in spite of heat and low tires and tight budget.

I left my home town for the 7.4 hour drive on Wednesday and took a leisurely pace, and managed to get there without a hitch. Arrived at the hotel well ahead of my roomies, but that was okay. I called Elizabeth Moon, who was in another hotel instead of this one, and then ran into one of my fans, Wayne, who often helps various booksellers in order to earn entry into cons.

We chatted for a while, and then my roomies arrived, and we got settled into the hotel. Headed out briefly for dinner, then back to the hotel when we learned about the collapse of the bridge.

I had to call my mother to assure her I was No Where Near There...

Various folks dropped into the room, and then there was the final shooing of bodies OUT of the room so we could retire.

Thursday, I got up, went to breakfast, then went over to the convention center just across the street. Got my con stuff, then went into the dealers room and looked over the lay of the land.

Officially, the convention started at noon Thursday, but I had the whole day free, and spent much of it just running around or pushing books. Ran into Peter Beagle and had a nice chat with him. Spotted John O'Neill of Black Gate Magazine and got a bit of scoop on the next issue.

Went to dinner eventually, and once again to bed because--I had a nine in the morning panel.

Friday started the Great Day of Running from Place To Place. Part of the con took place over in the Holiday Inn, and I discovered that I had a couple of "back to back" paneling moments.

First Panel Of The Morning, was "My Trusty Steed" where we discussed animals in books and stories, and whether they could be main characters or just part of the scenery, and how to use them. I had the privilege of sitting next to P. C. Hodgell for that one.

Then off to the Dealer's room for a bit of discussion before heading to the Holiday Inn for my 11:00 reading. I had a small but appreciative audience who listened to me reading from my collection of dark humorous fantasy tales (The Wizard Of Mushrooms available on Lulu.com). Several told me afterward that they were going to go buy the book.

I then had to rush back over to the Gateway for "Laugh It Up, Fuzzball," a discussion of humor in fantasy and SF that turned into "dark humor" in fantasy and SF, and what is humor, and why is it so hard to write well.

Had a break at that point where I was able to get some lunch before I had to rush off to my Autographing. Sat next to Gene Wolfe (who is ALWAYS such a sweet gentleman), then later chatted with Nick Pollota and Eric Flint.

Another break, and a fast supper, a quick change of clothes, and then it was off to the Holiday Inn for "Steel Magic" where we talked of the art and practice of sword making as well as sword of fantasy.

I then had to dash back to the Gateway for my demo of sword fighting for the YA writing program. Selina Rosen and I traded steel and remarks, and we had a really good crowd. John Hemry helped out with commentary and with marshalling (to make sure everyone stayed out of range). We were a hit.

I learned then that all my panels had paid off, and I ended up selling a lot of the copies of books I brought.

And Thus Ends Part One...

Laura J. Underwood

 

[LauraJUnderwood]

NASFic Rocked! Part Two

Saturday, my first panel was at 10:00, and the subject was collaborations. I ended up moderating the GoH Barbara Hambly, along with others, and it was great. We spoke of the ups and downs of collaborations, what we liked and disliked about it, and how we worked things out.

At noon, they had scheduled me on a panel on "Knowing When to Stop Writing" but they also had me doing the SFWA Musketeer official demo. So I found a sub for my panel (many thanks to Mel Tatum), and was free to burn myself out with a second session of fencing against the Dread Pirate Rosen (aka, Selina Rosen), Lee Martindale (aka, Hell On Wheels), and Captain of the Musketeers (aka, Elizabeth Moon). We were assisted by sundry folk who kept the peace, passed the hat to collect for the EMF and did much to help us. The demo was in a limited space, alas, and we had folks standing out in the hall wanting in, watching from the door, but there was just no room.

I then had to break down and dash over to a Kaffeklatch with my fans who had signed up to sit and chat with me. Subjects varied from publishers to cons to food...

It was fun.

I then went back to the room, showered and changed and rested because This Was The Night of the Yard Dog Press Traveling Road Show, and I was destined to comedy greatness. I was playing a frustrated librarian named Ms. Tiddywump, who lives in the world of Bubbas of the Apocalypse. Her desire to to make sure folks understand that Reading Is Important, so she told the story of "Moon Pie Man..." (Think "Johnny Cake" or "The Gingerbread Man bubbafied and bubbafried...).

Now what made this fun was I went in costume. I dashed over after we got started and put myself in a horridly unmatching outfit, make my large posterior larger with a bean bag pillow and put on an awful assemblage of makeup.

And no one recognized me at first. People who had known me for a long time were wondering Who I Was...

My publisher said I was the icing on the whole cake and if YDP gave out oscars, I would certainly deserve one for that performance.

We went to parties afterwards, then back to the room. I packed up stuff and went to bed.

Sunday morning, I had a 10:00 am program on "So I Have to Write a Book Report." Very few people came (not surprising after a wild Saturday night), but the discussion and list of books shared out was good.

Then it was back to the dealer's room to sell more books and finally settle up.

I was pleased with the number of sales. Money to save for the next trip (which is DragonCon).

And many fans who came and told me how much they liked my work, appreciated my performances, and admired my fencing skills.

I made the long drive home, arriving at my own door around midnight.

A good con. I will certainly think of going back to Archon in the future.

Laura J. Underwood

 

[scalem X]

Sounds indeed like a nice convention. THanks for sharing your experiences, Laura.