MBW, the HA, and I packed into the car on Thursday and headed northeast. Destination: ConFinement VI. We reached Louisiana by mid-morning and hit Mississippi by the afternoon. I didn’t want to subject the family to a thirteen hour run, so holed up for the night at roughly the midway point: Hattiesburg, MS. We had dinner at Southern Prohibition. The beer was quite good, the food tolerable (though the Brussels Sprouts were outstanding) but this was one of those establishments that wants you to order through your phone and pay by ApplePay. Points off for that.
We reached Lebanon, TN the next afternoon in time for the con to begin. ConFinement is Mad Mike Williamson’s baby, now in its sixth year. It is a small gathering, with almost all the panels occurring in the same space, one after another. There is a small vendor’s room, and a hospitality suite. (I contributed a bottle of Tullamore DEW which did not survive the first night.)
I was on one of the first panels, Sword-and-Sorcery 101. After a bit of rough start it picked up and went, I believe, reasonably well. I had a reading the next day. Other than that, I was at loose ends, drifting, dropping in on panels, or just chatting. I also sold quite a number of books. (Thanks to all of you who bought a copy of my scribblings. I wish you happy reading.) Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit was the guest of honor. Sarah Hoyt, the previous year’s GOH was again in attendance, as were many familiar faces from previous years.
MBW and the HA drove in to Nashville for a bit of sight seeing, then returned to the hotel for some pool time. Saturday we had dinner at Tenn Lakes brewing. The beer didn’t live up to SoPro, but the food was excellent, notably the smoked wings.
Today we need to pack up and hit the road. We’ll be going back via a different route. Tonight’s destination: Little Rock, Arkansas. Might as well see a bit of the country, right?
The morning is getting on, so I will cut this short with just the usual hucksterism. My books are available for purchase. Take a look at the offerings on Amazon, treat yourself to a spot of two-fisted fabulism.