Capclave

The kids and I were at Capclave this weekend. It was super fabulous. Loads of smart and interesting people, a great con suite (potassium central with both oranges and bananas), sweet programming, terrific authors and, as a special bonus treat, a Jamaican wedding down the hall. One of my favorite moments was running into a very handsome Jamaican man in the elevator who had a bottle of Ting. My eyes not being what they were, I wasn't sure that is what it was, although the bottles are kind of distinctive so I asked him if it was Ting and he looked surprised and asked me in a very thick, wonderful accent, "What you know about Ting?" I was torn between saying "I know everyting about Ting" or "I know the price of fish!" but I settled for laughing and saying my one of my very dear friends' grandfather is from Jamaica and then he asked me if I drank Red Stripe beer but I just giggled like a schoolgirl. Any day you can giggle like a schoolgirl is a good day.

I got to talk to Ellen Datlow and tell her how thankful I am to her for all the new writers she has introduced me to through the Year's Best Horror and Fantasy series and she was very kind, especially considering I am still having a very hard time with the PTC and was semi-incoherent. We talked a little about a book that is coming out in 2007 that is in the series started with Fairy Reel, I think it was Coyote Road, I'll have to check.

I chimed in with some thoughts about prejudices on both sides coming from romance and sci fi readers and explained why I thought that fantasy romance was easier to try than sci fi romance for a hard core romance reader and Catherine Asaro said I had a good comment and that made me happy.

I was very taken with the sharp with and braininess of Yoji Kondo, who writes under the name of Eric Kotani, and when I told him so and introduced my sons to him he told me I was far too young to have children and then insisted that I couldn't have been any older than twelve when I had Chris. Swoon!

It was just really super, fun, happy dancing times. I'm so glad I went.