Worked on Firefly for most of yesterday, so didn’t get down to WisCon until later. As I mentioned before, this is primarily a meet-and-greet weekend for me and the chance to catch up with old friends. I’ve got some panels I want to go to, but I won’t be diving into loads of details here. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to go to a con and simply enjoy myself. No speaking on panels. No moderation. No meetings. Nada. Strange feeling!

To all those who complimented me on my “fantastic hat” thank you. Grabbed dinner and drinks with my friend Alex Bledsoe and author Melissa Olson. We talked shop some and I found out Alex is going on his first book tour. A mighty congratulations to him! Mostly though, it was shop and I feel bad about that because I went straight from work to try and unwind. And failed miserably though I had some odd concoction with Jameson in it.

But, that happens. I have the coolest day job in the world, working and writing for a Firefly game published by Margaret Weis Productions, in a continuation of cool jobs like being Marketing Director for Steve Jackson Games. I have nothing to complain about other than the fact that I wish the dust bunnies in my house would magically disappear and there’d be more hours in the day to create.

To some, probably, it seems I’m behind on fiction since I’ve been talking about Violet War and obsessing about the world for some time. But, like I told you earlier, I’m a turtle. I had to start working on this, for myself and my readers, when it made sense for me to do so. Now that I can worry less about income coming in the door, I can devote a portion of my passion (and it is abundant) to The Queen of Crows universe… Among other stories…

Anyhoo, the subject of writing advice came up and I said: There’s only one piece of writing advice I have. Stop reading it and write. This, my friends, is courtesy of the Talk Is Cheap administration. Which is why, circling back to the point above, I’ve stopped talking about what’s in development until it’s done. Day job aside, because there’s a business plan/licensing in place there, though I have a business plan for Violet War that’ll survive even if my situation changes, I’d rather not talk about what you can’t read. 🙂

Getting to hang out was fun and I got to see friends and local writers LaShawn Wanak, Bill Bodden, and Patrick Tomlinson. Bill, Patrick, and Alex read from their stories for the Sidekicks anthology. There was laughter. There were tears. There were sidekicks.

I also lost my badge, but it was found later. In true, Monica fashion. In my pocket…

Then it was back to BarConTM where Matt McElroy and I had drinks with Christopher Shy, too. The waitstaff was absolutely the best I have ever encountered and though I tried like hell to say: “No, you don’t have to wait on me hand and foot, I’m not a diva,” they weren’t listening. Mentioning Chris here, because really, anyone who’s announced a Guest of Honor for San Diego Comic Con deserves a mighty congrats. 🙂

I’m running late today and missed the interstitial meet-and-greet I wanted to attend, but bringing along Rory’s Story Cubes for (hopefully) some impromptu storytelling fun tonight. After this weekend, it’s back to the slave mines of Kessel for me.

Or, in other words, I have wandered far from the path of first, second, and third drafts into revisions and proofreading land. The words are starting to blur together… Well, not really, ’cause I’ll be damned if any product of mine goes out half-ass.

Anyway, off to shower and be social. Shocking, I know! But, I’m going to get all full up on crowds and crowds of people now… So I can chill out before CONvergence and the mighty to-do list I’ll have waiting for me on Tuesday. 🙂

I don’t know what I’d do without one. 😉

Mood: Give me coffee or give me death.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: There was a lot to offset other adult-based beverages.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Moderate number of steps.
In My Ears: Birds chirping. I wish they’d shut the hell up.
Game Last Played: Final Fantasy IX
Book Last Read: The Shadowmarch Series by Tad Williams (Re-Read)
Movie Last Viewed: Mission Impossible
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures…
Latest Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology and for gaming, a fun Scion: Extras (Supplemental Yet Can Be Somewhat Useful On Occasion Scions)

.