la_marquise

Well, it's less than 24 hours till Picocon and I am somewhere between anxious and apprehensive, en route to stage fright about it, though I'm looking forward very much to all the bits which don't involve me being a writer in public. I have notes on things to talk about, and a story to read, and a cold.
I'm hoping not to share the latter with others. It's a nuisance, but it happens, and I have decongestants and zinc and so forth. And, y'know, it won't be the first time I've had to stand up and present something with a cold. Though it's easier when the thing I'm presenting is the succession to Rhodri Mawr, or the career of Earl AElfgar of Mercia or anything normal and familiar.
And there will be a number of people I like very much attending and that will be good, too.
I'd take Ish -- he makes an excellent icebreaker and he likes travelling -- but he can't be trusted not to spray something he shouldn't (chairs, tables, carpets, other guests) and Imperial College very probably have rules about cats on the premises. Mooncat wouldn't enjoy it. And take it from me, Horus is *not* going. He is very poor company when he's nervous. Also very smelly company. And noisy. (Although now I come to think of it, he would drown me out quite nicely.)
The marquis is going, of course. He's much better at the 'author in public' thing than I am.
Is it too late to claim I'm really just another of desperance's identities? Yes, I thought so.

Skirt of the day: lilac rayon, under my black Gudrun Sjoden Christmas dress.

I've signed myself and the marquis up for World Fantasy. Hope to see many of you there. I discussed it with him last night and he was in favour -- he enjoyed himself in Columbus and is hoping for similar fun (and beer) in San Diego.

Not very much writing done today, because of the wrist, but I'm pottering away at the Grass King rewrites and quite enjoying it. Aude as a child is huge fun to write and mostly writes herself. Here's another ( snippet )

Off to Novacon shortly. See some of you there?
Skirt of the day: blue wedgewood.

Wednesday lunchtime I waved goodbye to B -- wah -- and set off for Ohio. There had been very high winds for several days (indeed, a tornado passed 20 miles south of B and J's house) and O'Hare was being understandably cautious with planes taking off and landing, so things were running a little late. (I don't hold this against AA, however, as they can't be expected to control the weather.) The flight down to Cincinnati was on a tiny plane operated by Chataqua (sp?) airlines, which bounced and shook its way south, much like our local rail stock. The marquis met me at the airport to take me back to his hotel in Milford to freshen up and thence to have dinner with A, a Cambridge friend who migrated to Ohio some years ago. I got to meet his wife and new son for the first time and to play with yet more delightful cats plus two very friendly dogs. I didn't get much sense of Cincinnati other than freeways and vast numbers of Very Tall Signs. And intersections (of varying heights). And I've now been to Kentucky, as the airport is there, due to geography.
The marquis had decided there wasn't time to put me on the car insurance at the airport, so on Thursday morning he had to drive us to Columbus.
Ohio appears to be very flat, with a lot of barns and occasional outbreaks of the ten commandments. The freeway, however, was providing amusement and hunting for a large number of really beautiful large hawks (one of which came to land on the central reservation briefly -- huge yellow eyes and gorgeous plumage) and they were lovely to watch as they circled. I meant to ask someone in Columbus about them, and forgot. Anyone on the f'list know what they may have been? The freeway was quiet compared to most British roads, and we had no trouble with either it or the last stage of getting from it to the hotel, where a very nice man parked the car for us.
The Hyatt Regency Columbus gets four gold stars and a cherry on top as a con venue. We got there at about 11.45 am and they let us check in right away: the room was comfortable, clean and had plentiful storage (and I got to unpack for the first time all trip, which was wonderful). Heading down to the con level, the first people we saw were the splendid Jetse de Vries and the equally splendid Jon Courtney Grimwood. Drinking beer. The marquis at once enquired about this -- last year's WFC hotel had a) lacked beer and b) been eye-wateringly expensive -- to be told that the prices were sane and there were good microbrews on tap. So we acquired some and they were, indeed, very good. Beer proving a lure, we settled in, with some bar food, to discuss such useful things as the health of M. Thatcher, the appearance of the ten commandments alongside freeways, and books. After a while, Nice Editor and Nice Editor 2 wandered by and said hi, and sounded like they didn't hate Grass King, which was reassuring. And they invited us to eat with them that night. Various other people also stopped by -- it was a very well-placed table -- including, I think, jpsorrow, pbray and their cohorts (who are very nice). And I waved at matociquala and stillsostrange. We also took a wander round the dealers' room and bought too many books, notably the new Violette Malan, on which I pounced with happy shrieks. (I'm currently reading it and it's wonderful.)
Dinner was interesting. On the plus side, msagara and her husband were there, and they are always wonderful company. And I got to meet Saladin Ahmed, of whom I am rather in awe, and chat to Nice Editor 2 and taste some more pleasant Oregon wine. On the minus side... there are glaciers with faster service. We arrived at 7.30 pm, but they failed to take our order for 45 minutes. I had to be back for a panel at 9 pm, which we told them. They promised to feed me swiftly. My food arrived at 8.50 -- I'd ordered a burger for speed -- so I gobbled part of it and took the rest with me to eat as I ran. I didn't get to eat my fries, but the marquis tells me Michelle did and that she said they were excellent. And I missed her rant on self-promotion, about which I'm sad, as I love Michelle and her rants.
The panel was Asian Horror: I was on time but the last to arrive, so they made me moderate. I turned out to be the only Hong Kong film geek on it, but I learnt a lot about Japanese film, and I think it went reasonably well. It was hard to tell, as I was very tired, but mr_earbrass and his friend Molly were in the audience and I got to chat to them afterwards, which was cool.
The marquis still wasn't back from the restaurant. I wandered once round the bar and went to bed (he got back at about 10.45. The food had been very nice, apparently). And that was Thursday.

Well, it's less than 24 hours till the marquis and I set off on our travels. My to-do list has shrunk very satisfactorily and largely consists of last minute things, like tidying cat litter. I'm packed and am at the stage of trying to work out what I've forgotten. From Saturday night to Wednesday afternoon, I shall be in Chicago visiting friends and away from the internet. On Wednesday, I fly down to Cincinnati to join the marquis, who is working in Milford, nearby, Monday through Wednesday. And on Thursday, we head to Columbus for World Fantasy Con, where I have one programme item -- Asian Horror, 9 pm Thursday, and where I hope to see people and do fun stuff. I should be back on-line during WFC, but with no email.
Still can't remember what I've forgotten. I've packed four skirts(blue wedgewood, new fuchsia, long grey and black and the longer of my two grey short skirts), so that bit is covered.
The cold is improving, hurray! I still can't breathe properly, but it's better than yesterday.
Skirt of the day: black flouncey.

We're off to Derby alter today for Alt.Fiction. And, as ever, I don't know what to wear (not helped by the weather, which is unsettled and unsettling). The Professional Writer Dress is a good default, but might be a bit cool -- having never been to Alt.Fiction, I have no idea what to expect in terms of layout, temperature, floors (that makes a huge difference to shoes, let me tell you), availability of seating etc etc. Being professional self in public: does not like.
Who else is going? It would be good to know I'll know people!

And in other news, Mooncat once again has a boyfriend. This first happened when she was 2-3 and Ish was just out of kittenhood and into catlet mode, but not yet fully grown. Her first boyfriend was a lovely tabby and white boy of great softness and cuddliness who tried very hard to move it for some months, apparently convinced that Moon would eventually start calling. (She was spayed at 7 months, but she can flirt with the best).
And now she has a new gentleman caller, a small light tabby with big jowls and a rather short (but complete) tail. She loves him dearly, of course -- much rolling and ear licking, to the disgust of both boy cats. He's shyer than Boyfriend and doesn't come in all the time, but last night he followed me up and down the road and demanded much fuss, which let me have a good look at him. (I've been trying to do so for a week or so.) He seems well-fed and healthy -- good coat, not skinny, clear eyes and ears. He's had several spats -- lots of scratches on his upper forelegs, which I have reason to suspect were inflicted by Ish, who has also had indication of fights recently -- but nothing serious (he let me feel all over the leg and check for abscesses without complaint). So I don't think he's a stray -- he understands cat flaps, we discovered (he came into the utility room) and he's very happy to be stroked and even picked up. He's either visiting from the other side of the airfield -- would be in range for an entire tom, which he is, or he belongs in the street (I suspect I know which house, in that case). I'll keep an eye on him, in case he *is* mildly lost, but as we don't see him by day, I strongly suspect a home somewhere nearby which he sleeps in all day.

There's still time to make plans and come along to the Write Fantastic Anniversary Event on Saturday May 8th, at the Jacqueline du Pre Building, St Hilda's College, Oxford. The programme and other details can still be found here: http://www.thewritefantastic.com/anniversary.html

Meanwhile, I have just been for a walk with a cat. Those of you who have visited may be acquainted with Iskander's habit of sometimes meeting visitors and escorting them to the house. A few of you may also have seen him following people on the nature reserve. He likes walks. It allows him to maintain surveillance over his humans and his territory all in one go.
This walk, however, did not involve Ish. I went out to call Horus, and Mooncat decided what she really needed was a nice preprandial stroll. Walks with Moon are not like Ish walks. She sticks to the path, which is good, and she likes to be in the lead, which makes keeping an eye on her easier (the end of the nature reserve is well outside her territory and to the best of our knowledge she only gets that far when she decides to follow us). But the main feature is the tree break. Trees exist to be run up, apparently. And when you find just the right kind of tree... Let's just say it was quite a slow walk, as a lot of tree were exactly the right kind.
We found Horus, who was most startled to see Moon there and proceeded to say so very loudly. Madam, of course, was Up A Tree.

Skirt of the day: jeans.

I've declared today one of my two days off for this week, as my shoulders are a bit sore today.

The problem, she said, with con aftermath (apart from sleeping for two days), is that I get to missing people. I mean, in the general run of things I am used to being by myself most of the time (and having the marquis around in the evenings and at weekends). But cons remind me how much I love seeing my wider set of friends, and when I get back, I miss them, I want to talk writing and magic and landscape and cats and dogs with mevennen and T; clothes and books and art with flickgc; music and swans and writing and Stuff with maeve_the_red and towerofchaos, jewellery and fabric with eleyan; gaming and beer and all kinds of fun with, well, everyone. I want to giggle with seph_hazard and talk books with fjm and chilperic. I want to catch up with stevegreen, who I hardly saw, and and and...
And that's before I get to those of you who didn't make it to Heathrow, like birdsedge, and on the other side of the Atlantic or the Channel.
So: can we move some towns, please? I need shorter distances. The house next door to us -- a rental -- is empty right now, and three bedroomed with a reasonable garden and much safe outdoor space for cats -- perfect for desperance. The Witchcraft Shop would be a great asset to the area. The NHS is there for all and we have climbing facilities. We are turtle friendlyWe have walks and water and woods and lots and lots of sky (hills, I grant you, are in short supply). We have beaches in easy reach. We have one of the best libraries in the world.
I want more conversations...

I think I'm more or less ready, apart from cat-related and house-related things. Courtesy of World Horror, my hair is pre-dyed and my legs pre-waxed, which cut down the vain primping element.

I've collected cat litter for the Rankin' Miss P, flea drops for my three, lip salve, hair stuff and mango for me, and a Mystery Gift.

The house is clean and orderly, and woolymonkey, who is nobly feeding the evils over the weekend, has come round to collect keys and be initiated into the arcane rituals.

I've packed -- one skirt too many, just in case; emergency dress; non-emergency posh frocks; tops, cardigans, underwear etc; make-up, other cosmetic stuff; things to be given to other people; stuff to hang around my neck, round my wrists and too many earrings. (Also nightwear, wash-bag, shoes and so on.) That's one bag.

In addition I have: four boxes and one big canvas bag of bsfa books; one canvas bag containing the Doc Weir Award, about which I am still embarrassed and another bag with map, CAMRA guide, water and more dried mango. Oh, and my embroidery, so that I may sit at the witchcraft stall and look douce and law-abiding and industrious, in the rare gaps between selling things.

I have not packed Horus, despite his best attempts. (I have catnip for desperance's cats, and he was very keen to try and get to it.)

My learning experience of the day is that newly shaved armpits and salt scrub really do not mix well.

Skirt of the day is jeans, in fact, but green and gold skirt, new black and gold skirt, huge circular black skirt, white crinkle skirt, unreasonably short tweed skirt, and turquoise-and-cerise San Jose skirt are all going to the con. I'm still trying to decide whether it's de rigueur for me to do the Arthur talk in the short skirt. (I always gave my first lecture of the year in a short skirt and thigh boots, because, well, because. No, I am not taking thigh-boots to Heathrow. Not with those floors.)

Horus is helping me type, Moon is sulking because she has been thrown out of cupboards more or less continually for the last hour, and Ish is snoozing on a chest of drawers. I'm not taking the lap-top, so I'm off-line till Tuesday.

We're back, after a very pleasant time in Brighton. The con itself was quite low-key, though there were some thought-provoking programme items and more free alcohol than the mind can comfortably encompass (there seemed to be a book launch with wine every hour on the hour). The launch of The Bitten Word went particularly well, with lots of sales and interested questions. This was my only programme commitment, so we spent much of the rest of the time hanging out with lj user="fjm"> and chilperic, along with the Ians (Watson and Whates), Helen and Sissy winolj, and palecast. And looking at Brighton...
Brighton, as we all know, is a Snare. The marquis paid his first visit to The Lanes Armoury on Friday, along with several of the above and Steven Erikson and family (who are lovely). And came away with a late 18th century heavy cavalry officer's sword. We went back on Saturday and he acquired a mid-17th century officer's sword to go with it. He denies that sword shopping was his sole reason for going to Brighton in the first place. I was good and resisted swords, but the Cambridge Skirt Mountain has grown by two (one black and gold, one purple). And another blue necklace. (Like skirts, it is impossible to have too many blue necklaces.)
I had the privilege of a long chat with Tanith Lee on Sunday. It's always amazing to get to meet her and hear her talk about her work.
Oh, and we stayed in the Metropole, because we could. They were charming.