That’s pretty much the con report. Had a lot of fun, got too little sleep (not for fun reasons, either. Mostly.) Talked to a lot of old friends. Made some new ones.

Kinda went … like this:

My first YouTube video! Archon 35 Con Report from the Doubletree Lobby

That’s pretty [...]]]> … As well as the Masquerade.

That’s pretty much the con report. Had a lot of fun, got too little sleep (not for fun reasons, either. Mostly.) Talked to a lot of old friends. Made some new ones.

Kinda went … like this:

My first YouTube video! Archon 35 Con Report from the Doubletree Lobby

That’s pretty much all I have to say. (For a report on the first day of the con, click here.)

Except: thanks Steve Norris and the Archon Con Committee, Pro Liaisons Alan and Lynne DeVaughan, Masquerade Masters Sheila and Scott Corwin and Kevin Dulle, the wonderful Archon Volunteers and unparalleled Masquerade Staff, plus all the fans, for a fabulous time.

We had a packed house – standing room only, plus, I later learned, a boatload of people watching the show on big-screen TV in an overflow room (plus riffing on me and the contestants MST3K style, which is surely gilding [...]]]> … to emcee the Archon 32 Masquerade, than my damn tuxedo pants began to fall down.

We had a packed house – standing room only, plus, I later learned, a boatload of people watching the show on big-screen TV in an overflow room (plus riffing on me and the contestants MST3K style, which is surely gilding the lily.) It would’ve been the Mother of Wardrobe Malfunctions, Fandom Edition.

The odd thing was, as I think I already mentioned, I already wore the damn drawers to play Toastmaster the night before.  And they never once threatened to perform an unauthorized descent.

I carried bravely on, and retreated behind my podium as fast as I could without making it obvious to perform some rapid, covert adjustments. I realized that the difference between then and Opening Ceremonies must be that the first time I wore the monkey suit, I’d used the elastic band of the cummerbund to hold up my drawers. So I did that.  And it seemed to work.

The Masquerade was another great one.  We sprang back from an unusually low number of entrants last year (although the NASFiC/Tuckercon Masquerade was personally cool for me because the con and Masquerade staff turned it into a birthday party for me and a thousand or so of my closest friends) to 35 or so. As always standards were high, with many out-and-out great costumes.

The folks behind one of the crowd favorites, which owing to having won big at this years Denver Worldcon could only enter in the Exhibition class (hence ineligible for prizes) must’ve thought I was stalking them.  Charles and Tauni Orndorff plus a third teammate (who I think was Michael Bruno) trotted out their extremely cool 16-foot long dinosaur costumes. The dinos and I had encountered one another before, when they brought them down for the Bubonicon masquerade, for which I’m also perennial MC.

Anyway, had a great time at the con. I may blog more about it later. Also I may not.

In passing:  many congratulations to writers Sara Harvey and Matt Schwartz, who got hitched in California like a week before turning out for Archon. They passed through ABQ en route, but I missed their message. Which didn’t much matter as I was deadline-slammed and unable to surface.

And also thanks for the suave wedding-souvenir bookmark they were kind enough to bring me, as well as the most excellent fleece with dragonflies on it, which the lovely Seraphina made for me. They’re really splendid people, and it was a joy to get to spend time with them.

I should also thank my old and good friends Mike and Karly Weaver for putting me up before and after the con. Great to have you back with us, big guy!

And I hope the legions of marvelous friends I renewed contact with, or made, at the con don’t take it too much amiss that I don’t mention them…

On more contemporary notes … today was a good day. I’m finally out from under my overdue deadlines, having delivered the last of my contribution to the next Wild Cards book Saturday. Which was sweet.

Even sweeter:  so today I intended to string together one-line descriptions of the key scenes in my epic fantasy The Dinosaur Lords to flesh out for a nice, punchy 10-page synopsis.  The book’s nearing completion, and I want to get a proposal out quickly. Which is a change in strategy for me on this huge project – but more of that later.

Anyway, not only did I get that done (as well as actually helping firm things up in my mind for the push to the finish of the first draft!), but went on to rule on a whole different project.

I need to start my next Rogue Angel yarn, currently titled Skinwalker, muy pronto. I planned to hammer out an expanded storyline – as with my DinoLords thing, a sort of sketch for a synopsis – Monday. But instead I got hit while eating breakfast with pretty much all I needed in terms of characters, factions, and story. So I batted that out as well, and should be able to do at least a draft of a full synopsis tomorrow.

I need the synopsis to send to Gold Eagle, my publisher, for their marketing and art departments – they basically signed off on a one-paragraph idea, which at the time was pretty much all they or I knew about the book. Also  need it for my own use, so I know what the hell I’m writing. I want this one  to be particularly taut and lean.  And I’m really excited about how it rolled out today.

So, whoa!  Double win! Bonus.

Because they always rent me a tux for my gig as Masquerade MC (which I also am this year) I decided to wear it tonight for OCs. Which went over well enough. I don’t know if I was even the slickest-dressed [...]]]> Went off well. If I do say so myself, since I was Toastmaster.

Because they always rent me a tux for my gig as Masquerade MC (which I also am this year) I decided to wear it tonight for OCs. Which went over well enough. I don’t know if I was even the slickest-dressed dude on stage; Rich Zellich, who with his wife Michelle are Fan Guests of Honor, wore a tail coat, a top hat, goggles, and a cane with a brass head that unscrews and becomes a little 3 power spyglass. All of which is awesome.

Steampunk, for which I have a considerable affinity, seems to be all the rage this year. Lotsa cool steampunk hall costumes about. Including Rich’s.

Rich and Michelle are former serial Archon chairs. They’ve also been good friends of mine forever.

Artist and Gaming GoH (he’s also two things in one) John Kovalic seems like a pretty good guy. I met him for the first time today. He has a cool, idiosyncratic drawing style, as seen in his Dork Tower comic strip and his illos for the Munchkin game series, as well as Apples to Apples. Both of which ought be enough to elevate him to the Pantheon among some of my friends (you know who you are.)

Our Media GoHs are Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, and J. Elvis Weinstein, whom I hope you recognize as much of Mystery Science Theater 3000, hence gods (well, one goddess) among men.  They couldn’t make OCs, sadly, so I didn’t get to meet them.  Dang.

Author GoH is St. Louis’s own Laurell K. Hamilton, who was lookin’ good in a black leather skirt.

So anyway to open my turn as Toastmaster I said the following:

“You always know a con is in the air when you go to Ponderosa for dinner, as I did last night, and two gentlemen come in got up in full pirate regalia.”

(Laughter.)

“Then I come to find out they weren’t there for Archon at all.  They dress that way every day.”

(Pause.)

(Holding up finger:) “Bankers.”

(Much laughter.)

The first part of that was true. The rest, not so much. When most people do that, it’s called a lie. When I do it, it’s fiction.

So between the time I finished off tonight’s tech rehearsal for the Masquerade, which I had to take a leave of absence from to do OCs, and the commencement of the MST3K show, I briefly hit the Artists’ Reception in the Art Show.  I was standing next to writer and game guy Michales Joy, whom I know only by glancing at his nametag, perusing a panel of Dork Tower strips, when past us outbound walks this gorgeous Asian girl, wearing a long, slinky, black silk thing that was, well, only kinda sorta there.  As one our heads turned to watch her.

“I … hope she’s older than fourteen,” I said.

“I feel bad about looking,” he said.

A good time, as always.  Carp, it’s gotten late and I didn’t sleep well last night.  More later.

Got a couple hours off and need [...]]]> Updated, 8-25-08 – Quick one … I’m home to take a break after doing a reading and signing. Way too tired. Though I headed home just before 11 last night I have to tend to various things after I get home, so didn’t get to sleep for a bit.

Got a couple hours off and need to get some rest, because I need to be all bright and sparky for my turn as masquerade MC tonight.

Been fun so far.  Yesterday I did the first panel of the con, with Laura Mixon, Ian Tregillis Steve Gould, and Author GoH David Weber of Honor Harrington fame, on terraforming versus bioengineering, which turned out surprisingly well, plus a late Wild Cards panel with George RR Martin, Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Daniel Abraham (who’s also Toastmaster), Ian again, and Carrie Vaughn. WC Mafia OG Walter Jon Williams also appeared long enough to say he had been talking for an hour and was going to the ar:  wimp. That was fun and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

I read the first chunk of my contribution to the next Wild Cards book, Suicide Kings, as well as Chapter 51 (!) of The Dinosaur Lords.  The audience was small but seemed entertained. I mentioned half-jokingly to Kathy Kubica-Kelly, who’s basically playing Con Sheepdog, that Ian claimed he intended to attend the reading. She lit out, leaving her husband Steve Kubica to listen, and shortly returned with Ian in tow, not quite by the ear. I hope she didn’t actually coerce the poor guy into coming; he claimed to enjoy it. He’s a good sport.

This afternoon we had our marathon mass signing. I sat with Steve Gould and John Miller.  He was surprised when people presented the recently-released DVD of Jumper for him to sign; I told him I regretted not remembering to bring the one Roslee was kind enough to give me for my birthday. Got a decent response. I think Dave Weber got all the books signed before his hand fell off, which is bonus.

Gah.  Need to nap or something. Gotta be back long enough before the masq’s 7:30 start time that show-runner Tanley and con chair Kristen don’t freak.

More later…