Staying at home

I have many friends in the s-f world who are having a good time at Fencon in Dallas this weekend. I attended five conventions this year, in Austin, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Chattanooga and Williamsburg, Va. and although conventions can be a lot of fun, I'm happy to be home this weekend.

I keep a busy schedule in my life, and often I need time on weekends to do personal things; when I travel to a convention I lose that time at home. Sometimes it causes personal projects to be put off for weeks.

I didn't attend Fencon last year; I went to so many conventions earlier in the year I didn't want to attend any after Labor Day. I didn't get an invite to be a guest this year.

I also didn't get an invite to be a guest at ConDFW, which was held Feb. 12-14, so this year marks the first time I didn't attend either Dallas convention.

One of my run-of-the mill lesser lasagnas.

My retro-futurist alternate history "Another Girl, Another Planet" should be out by the end of the year/start of 2017, so I will probably go to a bunch of conventions next year. So far I already have invites back to Ravencon in Virginia and LibertyCon in Chattanooga. I pretty much will accept any invites I get. If you have a recommendation for a convention, please let me know.

Those of you who attended Conquest in Kansas City may recall I brought home-made lasagna for the reception held in the con suite for the debut of the "Decision Points" anthology. That was on a Friday night; I've been told that for the rest of the convention people kept coming into the con suite asking "Is there any more lasagna?"

I will bring lasagna to any con I go to next year - unless I fly - so there is an incentive to invite me right there. If you have never tasted my lasagna, it's universally conceded to be the best in the world.
As we say in Texas, "It ain't bragging if you can do it."