Hi all!
I know that some members of the boards are total sci-fi/fantasy lovers and readers and may be interested to know that my daughter and I are just back from the Ad Astra convention in Toronto, Canada this past weekend.
The Ad Astra Convention caters to readers and writers of speculative fiction. It is not a typical fan convention. It's more intimate. It gives you a chance to truly connect to others both known and unknown. (Robert Sawyer, winner of every award known to the speculative fiction world sat with my friend and I for part of the night for Klingon Karaoke which was just regular Karaoke with a cool name!)
My daughter, Kathleen, is an extremely talented writer of both genres and I thought this would be a good venue for her to do some networking. It turned out to be everything that I hoped for and more.
We met some really incredible authors: Robert Sawyer, Julie Czerneda, Patricia Briggs, Timothy Carter and the Guest of Honor, David Weber. In fact we had brunch with the authors yesterday and I sat right beside David with our knees touching. (It was very crowded!)
We went to all sorts of panels - Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing, Coulson Lives - very popular with fans of 'Marvel's Agents of Shield' and so much more. We also went to book readings and question and answer sessions.
We met, we schmoozed and Kathleen met with an indie publisher who is quite interested in reading her work. The author, Tim Carter also was interested in reading her work. A really well known blogger is also interested once it's published in reviewing her work.
I am on cloud nine, loaded down with new books to read, photos and autographs to frame, and new memories to savour. It was our first Ad Astra convention but definitely will not be our last.
For those who are interested, Patricia Briggs is extremely funny and charming. Robert Sawyer is a true gentleman. Tim Carter is brilliant and has a very weird mind. (He thinks I gave him a great compliment with that observation) and David Weber is charming, personable, funny and incredible to listen to. His wife, Sharon, is pretty incredible in her own right and absolutely agreed to give me advice about being a good support person for my daughter's aspirations.
I am totally exhausted and very happy that I had the forethought to also book today off work so I can recover!
Irene
