Vacation Part 1: GenCon 2005

GenCon Indy was, in short, a great deal of fun. We met authors, game designers, artists, fellow aspiring authors, and so on, and everyone was humble and very nice (as we all should be in the writing/gaming industry). I got some discounts on some books, a bunch of free stuff (including minis and t-shirts), and did my best to take in all the sights and color. Having seen that many geeks packed into one place, I can tell you that the stereotypes are both dead-on and completely untrue. And hey, where else can you see an avariel (winged elf) walking down the street? As it turned out, that girl won the costume contest, too.

We stayed with Ed and Lara and their very friendly cats in Bloomington. We got to hang out with Harley (and his friend Alex) for about 24 hours. (As it turns out, that’s the longest block of time anyone ever sees Harley: 24 hours. Maybe it’s in everyone’s best interest that it works that way; the guy is raw energy and optimism; any more of that unfettered exposure may begin to change you! Here’s a photo of him at the Goodman Games booth doing a signing and chatting with David Arneson, co-creator of the D&D game, like they're old friends!)

It was great to see you guys again. Cooler than meeting any famous author (and heck, I've forgotten how many times I've met R.A. Salvatore). Of course, as you are authors already, it’s the best of both worlds. And, as always, the weekend was far, far too short. We need more time. And next year we ought to…oh, I don’t know….GAME a little.

We also had a few visits over at the Order of the Stick booth, where Jess and Ruth deftly handled the numerous unruly OotS fans. I hope you two had fun despite the chaos, even though you probably didn’t get to experience the rest of GenCon half as much as you wanted to.

If anyone wants to see my GenCon slideshow and haven't already, let me know, and I'll send it your way!