Well, I think I have everything back in order here at the bunker after my jaunt to D*Con 08 in Atlanta, GA, and I have to say that it was a great trip!  I didn’t win the Parsec Award, but so be it.  Awards aren’t that important to me, really, so long as the message is getting out to the masses, right?  Apparently this is indeed the case, as I met many, many people at the event who had not only heard of me, but were actual fans of what QT and I do around here.

Some highlights of the excursion:

JC Hutchins had zero idea who I was when I first spoke to him.  Of course, the exact words spoken were “Here, prick” as I dropped his name plate on the table in front of him during the opening panel of the podcast track.  See, JC is an amiable bloke, and rarely has an unkind word to say to people, but I could see the confusion and the tiniest hint of offense in his beady eyes when I dropped that subtle bomb in his lap.  Yes, I enjoyed that.  After the panel was done I walked up to him and announced who I was, and he literally screamed like a girl at a Frankie Valie concert.  That was definately a highlight of the weekend.  Once he knew who I was, we had some great discussions about podcast fiction, how I should get off my ass and do some, and I treated him to a sneek peek/listen to an 8 minute long piece of something I’m actually working on in that regard.  The man knows what buttons to press to make someone feel like they might actually have a shread of talent in thier bones, so his kind words help shove my stubborn ass into the chair so I can start writing my opus.

What can be said about the amazingly talented Mur Lafferty that hasn’t been said before?  She’s a MILF, plain and simple.  Seriously.  I don’t think anyone gives her enough credit in that area.  Sure, everyone waxes on about how bloody brilliant and talented a writer she is, but no one ever comes out and says how hawt she is, so I will.  Mur Lafferty is a hawtie. Period.  Remember that fantasy you always had about the librarian?  Mur blows that skank out of the water in spades.  Now that she’s blushing a nice deep crimson, I will say that she is always one of the sweetest women on this rock, and that my previous vow to “kill for Mur Lafferty” still stands strong.  Just a capital lady and I adore and respect her immensely.  Her baeu is also a great guy, and I think we can all be secure in our envy of the man.  They are both superb humans.

Scott Sigler and I had never met nor spoken more then a couple lines of text in emails and such before this event, usually giving each other crap.  We’re the two angriest bastards in Podcasting, and normally, I don’t like sharing that hard won title with anyone, but for “Soupbone”, I will make the exception.  I’ve been a fan of his work for a while now, especially “The Rookie”, and his “larger then life” personna has always made me chuckle.  He was a hoot to hang out and share a few drinks with, and he throws a mean “Pimp and Ho” party, let me tell you.  Sadly, I didn’t get a lot of time to really talk to the guy, but I’m glad we finally got to have a face to face time after all this time.  And Scott?  Shame you never remembered that room number, you dumbass.

Rick and Ann Springer are also wonderfully talented and genuinely nice people and meeting them was a treat to be sure.  I have always loved thier show, Variant Frequencies, and I’ve already told you all what a severe honor it was to record a story for them.  It was great to chew the fat with two such creative minds about all sorts of topics ranging from Star Wars, Steampunk, and everything else under the sun.

I have known Tee Morris for a few years now, and he’s always a cool cat to hang out with….when he’s not busy whoring himself out for a buck.  I mean, honestly, Tee, and please consider the source, but put the propaganda machine down for a bit and relax, man!  He’s a DJ-author-promotion machine, this one.  It was great to chat and catch up with him, and word is that when BB & and the case of the Pitcher’s Pendant is podcast, he’s got a role tailor made for yours truely, as well as my doing the “story so far” intros for each episode, so I have that to look forward to.

I got to finally meet the Kiwi Goddess, Pip Ballantine at this shindig as well!  We talked a bit about New Zealand, since back in the day, I had spent a goodly amount of time there, training for Hoth.  Great writer, fun gal and apparently she knows of my weakness.  Glitter covered snoobs. Heh.  A really cute and cool lady, that one.

I also got to meet some fans, which is always way more important and touching to me, and I even got to see an ABA shirt in the wild!  This is the second sighting that I know of, the first being reported to me by Karen Traviss at San Diego ComiCon.  Everyone I met and spoke to was awesome, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.  That’s right, I’m going to be there next year for certain, so make your plans now.

Also, if anyone has ANY photos of me form the event, I’d love to see them, so be sure to either link them here in the comments, or email them directly to me using the email addy in the sidebar at the right.

Thanks to everyone who gave me kind words about ADPoV and my Obsidian story.  Those are the little things that make this whole mission bearable.

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