It’s late. Gotta write. But it’s late. But I gotta write. But it’s getting later. OK, so I’ll write what I can. This weekend I am a ‘guest of honor’ at a #scifi expo, Galaxy’s Edge Fan Expo. I’m writing this on Saturday night, after the sunset (or the horizon roll). The event isn’t over until Sunday afternoon, but as part of my writing discipline I have an artificial deadline of posting before Saturday midnight. One problem: there’s much more than one thing to write about.

This has been an intense and fascinating event. I may be a guest of honor, but the other guests of honor attend the true guest of honor, the Galaxy’s Edge novels and the community of fans. It is a series that includes several authors, several years, and so many books I didn’t count them. I have been lucky enough to be invited because my first scifi novel could also become a series of books with a series of authors. This event is one way to find collaborators; and joining my series may be less intimidating than trying to contribute to such an established series. So far, at least two of the attendees have talked to me about participating in mine. Cool.

Cool is an interesting term. This is an outdoor expo held in a tent in a field in farmland. No stuffy rooms. Plenty of fresh air. And sea breezes that can chill despite the rest of the continent being under heat advisories. A very natural setting.

It is also an unconventional setting, which seems appropriate for scifi, particularly novels set in places that aren’t courtroom dramas or medical procedurals, or lots of the standard settings. My novel, Firewatcher, is set on a planet being colonized by refugee humans. They don’t have buildings, yet. It makes it easier to describe my book because I can point at a field and mention that this is what they’re starting with, basically nothing. In some ways my characters are also dealing with less than nothing because there isn’t even any organic life. Oops. They have to turn dirt into soil, to turn seeds into plants, to turn veggies and fruits into food, that can then be eaten and eventually delivered by a human digestive tract, making compost and soil, and starting the cycle cycling. Imagine the dismay of the typical renegade colonist who expected to distill something into liquor. Poop has to happen first.

That’s the sort of thing that makes science fiction fun to talk and write about. It is easy to take much of life for granted. But, in writing scifi things like dirt have to be thought about by the writer, and then written about in a way to engages the reader. It can be too much for a solo author to manage. But at the Expo I’ve just spent hours discussing dimensional travel, the development of AI, debating whether developing artificial consciousness is possible or ethical, math and science theories, more such topics – and how or whether to develop those in the story or held as background for only the author to reference.

Besides, meeting in a tent in a field meant long-smoked BBQ flavoring the air.

It is easy to think that a convention or conference or expo is all about selling books and nothing much else, but writing is a business. There are also valuable and unplanned conversations about publishing (traditional versus modern self-publishing), real-world implications about AI’s effect on the industry, marketing (traditional versus social media versus luck), … Never a dull moment. My head wants to write this then take a break because it was tired before I started typing.

I’ll take that break, and then back there tomorrow morning. The site is set up for camping, but this 64-year-old body voted for having a restless night at home instead of a restless night in a nylon bubble. Unfortunately, that’s an hour commute, so tomorrow morning will start very early.

And it is worth it. The pandemic doesn’t get the credit for every interruption. The local writers’ group folded years ago, and the enthusiasm seen today is a sign that it might finally be time to bring it back. Writers? Sure. But also authors, publishers, marketers, and most importantly, fans. Business conferences and conventions have to generate their own enthusiasm, especially for drier topics. Fans define enthusiasm. They bring it by bringing themselves. Sign me up!

Like I mentioned, this event is centered on an existing series. It is definitely an action series and covering tough topics. My book is about humans escaping Earth, but mine includes the hokey-pokey. To say my books are lighter is a #MassiveUnderstatement. I didn’t expect to sell a book, and definitely didn’t expect to be invited to sell my travel, nature, tea books. I’ve sold more books today than I have at any event in years. That’s a nice way to feel welcome.

It’s that time for writers and readers to re-engage. I was surprised and pleased to see enthusiasm for real books, as well as for e-books, audio books, and a willingness to interact on social media – and person-to-person.

The organizers held this event last year, and this year’s success is encouraging them to hold it next year, too – possibly larger and broader. That planning for the future is welcome and energizing.

Sorry if there’s no deep insights to quickly type, but I know they’re percolating through my synapses. (as a pause began as my tired brain detoured back through a replay of the conversations.) I’ll close here with one thought I’m still having fun with. One person described me as droll. As I typed some notes I accidentally typed drool. Droll versus drool has given my brain images to play with. It is totally frivolous, but that detour is also an example of how such events are unpredictable – and sometimes can become straighlines for jokes, and right now, laughter might be the most valuable gift to get. (And thanks for buying my books.)