LibertyCon AAR

Third Time's the Charm

OK. It was… you see… if you imagine… then there was this thing and…

Holy cow, it was amazing.

This was my third LibertyCon, and it showed. I got hellos from people I was sure wouldn’t remember me. I got hugs from people I was sure wouldn’t remember me! When Brandi talks about LC attendees being a family, she isn’t kidding.

The highlight of the con was definitely getting to meet up with my fellow Mercs.

Left to right: Douglas Goodall, Moi, J. Kenton Pierce, Anna & Tod Casasent, Mike Burke, Richard Cartwright.

On top of that, Shari & I had a young couple along with us. Kate & Joe were able to attend at the last minute, and jumped at the chance. Kate is a fledgling writer, and Joe is an ex-Navy nuke, so they fit right in. Kate was practically vibrating with excitement the entire weekend, which absolutely tracked with my first LC experience.

The great thing is that the four of us had paths that intersected this weekend, but which were not the same. Kate and I ended up in a lot of indie publishing panels. Joe hit a lot of the military-themed panels and chatted with the military guys. Shari did her usual selection of science-track panels, but added a few on editing this year as well.

Some brain dump highlights, in no particular order:

Hanging out with

Raconteur Press

authors. Hanging out with Cannon Publishing authors! Introducing folks to the J.F. Holmes and Lawdog. Gaming with Chris DeBoe. Chatting at various points with Dave Butler, H.Y. Gregor, Jabcob Holo, M.L. McIntosh, Rick Partlow, David Bock, and Jessica Who Organizes Southerncon. Doing a reading from “Harrold of the Gods.” Giving a copy of One October Night to

John Ringo SF Author

, the Holos, and Les Johnson. Actually selling books to strangers at my autograph signing and Author’s Alley time! Mentioning Minstrels in the Galaxy to people and having them exclaim, “Oh! You’re the guy who did the Tull anthology!” Doing a panel with David Badurina (they actually sat us next to each other… the fools! Bwa-ha-ha! Ahem.) Breakfast with the 1632 folks, talking with Bethanne Kim and Bjorn about D&D. Getting to sit at dinner and chat at length with

Tony Andarian

.

Having freakin’ Tim Akers glance at me and go “Oh, hi Sam.” I mean, sure, he probably read my name tag. Let me have that moment, eh?

Yeah, it was pretty good.

Work-wise, it was incredibly successful for all of us.

For me, I did not pick up anything additional. Seriously. I told Shari that her Only Job was to keep me from overcommitting, and she succeeded. I solidified up the idea of writing a short or two, self-publishing my novellette Recall Notice, and doubled down on finishing Blue as Sky for Cannon. I also firmed up (already existing!) plans to write some humor with… someone (Bwa-ha-ha!) in the coming year or so, and found an exciting, potential home for a novel that already exists.

So, you know. Technically no new work. Shari gets a cookie.

She also (possibly) got a new editing gig. She’s working on the details, and it might be a dud, but I think it’ll happen. It’s nothing permanent, but it would be another credit to her name, which can’t hurt. She’d end up the year with no less than three editing credits on various anthologies, which ain’t bad, honestly. She also found out from the various editing panels that we’re actually doing things well, which was a rather nice thing to hear. Oh, and she wants me to point out that Karen M. absolutely inspired her to up her cosplay game for next year, too. :)

Kate emerged from LC dazed, still vibrating, and with a request from someone to send them the first few chapters of her novel-in-progress. Not bad at all. Meanwhile Joe, who was there for emotional and spiritual support, seems to have returned home with a thoughtful look in his eye. Will that turn into something later? We’ll see this time next year.

Net year? Oh, heck yeah. All four of us have calendar alerts and alarms set to remind us when LibertyCon 37 tickets go on sale (noon EDT on Saturday, July 20, if you were wondering).

I’m sure there will be more interesting info over the next few weeks. LC is a place where interesting things happen. My next con appearance is NASFiC, where they are planning to work me like a rented mule. More on that as the time approaches. Until then, have fun, keep your powder dry, and I’ll see you next week.