I tried to stay away from Denvention, but they wouldn’t let me
This year’s World Science Fiction World Convention was in Denver, only 1 timezone away from Seattle. So why would I try to stay away? What could be more fun to a science fictionist than hanging out with a group of other science fictionists? Well it costs money for one thing. So I did the responsible thing and emailed someone who was going so they could talk me into going: Eric T. Reynolds. He’s the editor of the “Ruins Terra” anthology which had published a story by me (which makes him pretty damn cool in my book) and he said he had put together a panel for all the great writers that contributed to the anthology.
As if that wasn’t enough, I consulted with a fellow fictionist, Larry Hodges, and he suggested that not only could we room together, we could be Rising Stars together.
Rising Stars Reception
My resistance evaporated.
Mr. Hodges with his impressive array of magazine publications
Lancer scolding Mr. Hodges
The convention was great! I used to live north of Denver and in the nine years that I’ve been away, things have gotten weird over there. As you leave the airport, you see a giant statue of a white horse rearing up, its eyes glowing red. And I mean really red! Apparently, not only have the Denver Broncos got new uniforms, they’ve have gone goth!
Then there is the mystery of the giant blue bear outside of the Colorado Convention Center. Most bears (like the Coca-Cola bears, or even the Chicago ones) are nice and lovable icons rather than the communist meat eaters as they are portrayed on the Colbert Report. But look at this thing! For what other reason would a four story giant blue bear be reared up on its hind legs and peering into the convention center, other than its going to bust in and eat science fiction fans like they were yummy snasages?
