In which I venture into the barren fastness...

I'm heading out to Canberra for a few days to attend Conflux, an SF convention. Lots of writers, fans, panels etc. My first con!

Shall update when I return, but for anyone interested in the spec fic scene in Australia, head on over to benpeek's journal. He's been conducting interviews with various writers and editors over the past week. Good stuff.

Ta ta!


***edited to add: Ben Peek's interviews (forty-three of them!) can now be found in the one place here. Go read them. You know you want to.***

Conflux, Day 1 (Friday)

Let's see if this backdating thing works...

Funny how small decisions can have a knock-on effect. At Magic Casements, I almost went home early - Wendy had gone to catch up with friends, and rather than impose myself on the conversation I headed off without saying goodbye. I got a long way down the road, with bitter regret sitting like a lump in my chest, before I finally decided to turn back. This resulted not only in a lovely afternoon out on the grass, but set the timbre for my Conflux experience.

I spent a little time wandering the con feeling out of my depth - as you do when the people around you all seem to be in deep conversation with childhood friends - but then I hooked up with Alinta and Chris, who Wendy'd introduced me to at Magic Casements. And so, instead of going to two panels (as I'd intended), I spent the evening first at the cocktail party and then down in the hotel bar, getting to know some of the people at the conference.

(You may notice this about SF cons: they tend to feature drinking - or at least the possibility of drinking - prominently)