Had a mini-class reunion with many old friends and colleagues from the White Wolf days, many of whom I had not seen in going on 17 years. (No, Iām not going to list names, because I always accidentally leave someone out and I feel like a jerk. But there were a lot of them).
Survived largely on chewy oatmeal raisin cookies from my hotelāsĀ āpantryā.
Met and fanboyed all over the charming and endlessly gracious Robin Hobb
Did a whole bunch of well-attended panels on video game writing and finally got to meet & share panel space with the ridiculously smart Christine Thompson. This was the first year for video game writing material at the Writersā Symposium, run by the estimable Marc Tassin, and the initial responses (apart from oneĀ āIDHAQMOACRā guy) seemed very positive.
Had the unexpected pleasaure of running into my old editor from WotC, Susan Morris, and chatting with her extensively.Ā
Reunited 3/4 of the Bastard Sons of Mort Castle. Donāt ask.
Learned how to play Storium as a live-fire exercise on-stage for a good cause. The best roleplaying games are /always/ about drinking and what lurks underneath the loo, apparently.
Stepped outside the con for a couple of hours to finally meet esteemed sportswriter and long-time online buddy Will Carroll, and was shown the delights of the cidery on Fountain Square while we talked music, baseball, books, True Detective and more.
Showed off the card layout for Squatches and Scotches
Talked to many, many Wraith fans and gave away A) a brand new Wraith 1st t-shirt and B) a ton of original Wraith art by Leif Jones.
Had a lovely if too brief chat with Keith Law, who was attending his first GenCon.
Split a reading slot with the legendary Jo Walton and listen to her read a fair bit of her current work-in-progress.
Got to rekindle the old tradition of going out for a steak dinner with Lucien Soulban, one of my oldest and dearest friends in the industry.
Was suckered into moderating multiple panels by Jay Posey. I will not forget this, Posey. You have been warned.
Made the acquaintance of author Richard White entirely by accident, as he was telling stories about his wild youth in Columbia, MO as I walked into the writersā green room.
Had some really, really, really good bourbon.
Drove Will Hindmarch back to his lodgings at 2 AM one night, which meant getting to chat with Will Hindmarch.
Admired Ken Hiteās extensive selection of Hawaiāian shirts.
Did not actually get to play any games apart from Storium.
Argued strenuously on a Tolkien media panel that the best way to get anywhere in Middle-Earth is NOT to find the tallest geographic feature available and walk over it single file.
Picked up a six-pack of Mothman beer on the way home. Like you do.
Stopped to see the mysterious Leo Petroglyphs along the way. Like you also do.
Did a bunch of other stuff I am no doubt forgetting with a bunch of cool people whose names I should really be writing here but, hey, it was Gen Con. And it was good to be back.