Read 'Til You Drop

Last weekend, I attended a local science fiction convention, Capclave.  My approach this year had been, um, lackadaisical - until the day before the convention, it seemed like I had a reading scheduled, and that was it.  It turned out, I had a panel as well (on the interesting-to-me topic of fantasy tropes showing up in other genres), and there were the usual con side-meetings and conversations, along with a flash-scheduled autographing session (previously unannounced, but one hour after I arrived at the con!)  At the last minute, I decided to get a hotel room, instead of driving back and forth and back and forth - and I'm quite glad that I did.

I enjoyed the con much more than I anticipated.  I'll spare you the boring details, but here were the highlights for me:

1.  Upon arriving in the dealer's room, being told by half the people there that Laura Anne Gilman was looking for me.  (LAG and I had already run into each other within 60 seconds of my entering the hotel.)

2.  Wearing my silver witchy shoes (and my floor-length navy dress) to the Saturday night fancy dress party.

3.  Attending Maria Snyder's poison tasting session.  Maria's first book was POISON STUDY, published by Luna (her sequel, MAGIC STUDY, is out now, and she's putting the finishing touches on a third in the series, FIRE STUDY.)  Maria did a *fabulous* job, using chocolate to get us all to focus on sensory perception.  She had a sample of "colonial" chocolate - basically dark chocolate with several spices mixed in.  We tried to identify the spices just by tasting, and then Maria circulated cups filled with the separate spices, to smell and help us hone our tastebuds.  (I won't divulge the spices, in case you get the opportunity to participate in one of these tastings in the future! ) Maria also had samples of milk chocolate and dark chocolate, to help us identify flavors and textures.  The activity was fun and tied in well with POISON STUDY - a perfect con session!

4.  Eating Wisconsin Mac and Cheese at Noodles and Company (which I originally discovered in Madison, Wisconsin, at World Fantasy.)  I'm glad the restaurant is nearly an hour from my home, or I would be eating *way* too much Mac and Cheese!

All in all, a great con! 

Mindy, back in the saddle