I have just finished yet another notable novel by the estimable Tim Powers. My thanks to Toni Weisskopf and Baen Books for the gratis copy. Before her annual Baen Road Show at this years ConFinement convention she played Santa Claus, handing out free books to Veterans. Once I saw Tim Power’s name on the cover… Continue reading The Grist of Tim Powers
Category: Conventions
Convention After Action Report
I’m sitting in the Nashville airport waiting for my flight out. With a few more minutes to spend, thanks to a delayed departure, I figure I’ll take the extra time to write today’s post. This weekend Michael Z. Williamson hosted his seventh ConFinement convention. I believe this was my fourth attendance. I saw many of… Continue reading Convention After Action Report
Convention Weekend
This coming weekend, the end of February, I will be attending a convention in Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. ConFinement VII runs from February 27 through March 1st. As usual, I’ll be lowering the collective IQ on a couple of panels. You can hear me mumble inanely about such topics as: Guilty Pleasures: Books You… Continue reading Convention Weekend
The Valentine’s Day Post
Confession: I don’t read “romantasy.” Though I did read some Anne Rice novels in the late 80s and early 90s, if that counts. But given that yesterday was Valentine’s Day (digression into my simple V-Day: I took MBW and the HA out for barbeque and gave them both boxes of chocolates) I thought I might… Continue reading The Valentine’s Day Post
Farewell Orycon
I still have one panel left today. But I’m already bidding adieu to Orycon, the convention I’ve been attending off and on since the late 80s. It has been a good run. I’ve had a lot of fun. Now that I no longer live in the Pacific Northwest, attending has been rather inconvenient, yet worth… Continue reading Farewell Orycon
S.P.Q.R. IV The Temple of the Muses
I believe the John Maddox Roberts splurge has ended for a while with S.P.Q.R. IV: The Temple of the Muses. This is not because I’ve grown tired of his writing or the exploits of Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger. I’ve simply finished all of Roberts’ books ready to hand. This seems like a good spot… Continue reading S.P.Q.R. IV The Temple of the Muses
NTRPG 2025
Home at last. After the trip to Florida I had a half-day at home before heading north to Dallas for the North Texas RPG Con. I have put a few miles on the car over the last week or so. The con was, as usual, both fun and exhausting. I played in a few games,… Continue reading NTRPG 2025
An Unconventional Convention
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… Continue reading An Unconventional Convention
The Merlin Trilogy Reread Part I: The Crystal Cave
I picked up this collected edition of Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy only in part because of the oddly endearing, but perhaps misleading Hildebrandt Bros. cover. The other reason was, I suppose, a form of nostalgia. Allow me to explain. When I was in sixth grade, both my mother and my step father were working. No… Continue reading The Merlin Trilogy Reread Part I: The Crystal Cave