Wonderful!  And terrible.  And fine!  And sucky.  Yeah, one of those weekends.  Perhaps I should preface this whole post by saying I have begun to realize people don’t always want me to say what’s on my mind.  That I haven’t yet learned to fake my way through social situations that make me want to hide in the bathroom (which I did briefly, until some woman wanted to pee, drat her).  Also that I went without backup–not a wise move in an all-new situation.  Because I’m the type who stresses when I have no idea what to expect, and that was the entire three-day experience, start to finish.

 So I met other writers from Orbit and from other houses too.  Some of us got to talk shop, which was amazing.  For those of you who work in offices, this is not an issue.  But for us at-homers, it’s like finding another person when you thought you were alone on a desert island.  Discussing deadlines and pressure, second-book jitters and revisions–it felt like drinking a large chocolate milkshake and somehow knowing the calories were all going to melt away while you dreamed of getting a deep massage.

But often I was alone in a sea of people, all of whom seemed to know each other.  It was like 4-H camp all over again, where everybody already had their friends to hang with, so why would they want a third (sixth, fifteenth) wheel?  Yeah, I know I should’ve just started mingling, introducing myself, selling Jennifer Rardin and Once Bitten, Twice Shy.  I guess violent flashbacks aren’t the only kind that leave you paralyzed.  But I promise next time–if there is one–I’ll do better.  This is a bewildering world, but I will find my spot in it.

Lest you weep for me–and don’t you dare–I got to hear Peter Straub speak as part of a panel, which was way cool.  I got to talk to lots of British gentlemen who were very kind.  And I love their accents.  Seriously, I could just sit and listen to them talk all day.  Some were from Orbit–our thoughtful and quite brilliant Master, Tim.  George, who is really the epitome of charm.  And Darren, whose sense of humor somehow makes you want to buy him a beer.  Which I didn’t.  But I wanted to.  Also spoke to a nice gent from Waterstones.  Don’t you just love that name?  So not American.  Waterstones.  Kinda makes you just go ahhh. 

Also got to hang with Devi (my editor) some and Jennifer (her assistant) more.  And had a wonderful dinner with Tim, Devi and Jennifer during which I felt hugely spoiled (OMG the prices!) so now I’m thinking I’d better write them a really terrific series closer, yeah?  Which I did have time to begin plotting over the weekend, so there’s another positive.  As Monty Python used to sing, “Always look on the bright side of life.”  Of course they said that about death too.  Well, why not?

 All in all it was . . . an adventure.