"...an emperor without a stitch of clothes on"

He thinks that he's bad, when his shit is so sad
But he's taking the bows for what he's never had
(And he never will)
-Bill Champlin, "Stone Cold Hollywood"

That song lyric kept running through my head as I simultaneously looked forward to and dreaded Readercon.

Cross-reference my list of literary idols with Readercon 21's guest list, and you'll see a great many names in common.  The thought of sharing oxygen with those writers just blew my mind.  I did my best to prepare for a war against my shy, introverted nature.

For awhile, it was a war of attrition.

Readercon, Day the Fourth

Here it is, the last entry in our time travel adventure back to my fourth and final day at Readercon. So hard to believe it was a mere two weeks ago. To say it was an inspiration is a massive understatement. I'm glad I already know next year's dates--as soon as I rebuild the cash reserves, I'll be booking my registration as soon as it opens.

So, let's open the TARDIS doors and walk out onto Day the Fourth...

Readercon, Day the Third

Continuing my ridiculously overdue recap of my Readercon memories, we dial the WABAC Machine to Day Three, which I didn't think could possibly be as awesome as Day Two.

I was wrong.

Role Modeling

Role Models by John Waters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An informative memoir, full of practical (in a Waters sort of way) tidbits of advice, some of which resonated very, very well with me as anyone who read this blog entry would know.

View all my reviews >>

Readercon, Day the Second

Sorry for the interruption of blog posts. I had my second geek weekend in a row, this time out in the woods where internet access was even more prohibitive than the Burlington Marriott's $12.95/day WiFi rate. It did give me a little more distance from the squee-worthy events of my second day at Readercon.

This was a long day, so smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Thinking back to Day 2, I remember...

Readercon, Day the First

It's taken me a week to fully process my Readercon experience, partly because I think part of me would rather just sit back for the rest of my vacation and just live inside my memories. But as the saying goes, "After the ecstacy, the laundry." Time to move this stuff out of my head, so I can move on with the rest of my life. So, here's a rough synopsis of my first day:

Chapter XXXVII

Today, Chapter XXXVII of my life begins.

"I'm 37. I'm not old."
-Dennis, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I'm starting this chapter off right with a two-and-a-half week vacation from my dayjob, a trip next week to Readercon, a camping trip with friends the following weekend, and after that, my next NSO gig at the next home derby bout.

For the past couple years, I've tried to obtain writing-related birthday gifts. This year, though, I dusted off my Audible account, and treated myself to Role Models by John Waters.  I quoted it a lot recently, having read snippets from it and heard various podcast interviews and readings.

I'm listening to the first few chapters now, and thinking about my own role models.  I'll blog about them some other time.  But this book is making me give some thought to who's influenced, not just my art, but my life as an artist.  In Waters, I think I've found a new one.  Just look out the quotes I've used recently as well as the links below.  If you've been paying any attention to how I feel about writing and how I pursue it, I'm sure you'll understand why. 

• Waters' "10 Best Pieces of Advice for Functional Freaks"
• From NPR's Fresh Air, "John Waters: A Bad Influence Picks His 'Role Models'"
• On KQED's The Writer's Block, Waters reads the chapters "Cult Leader" and "The Kindness of Strangers."
• Waters on The Colbert Report