Yep, I'm going. Got plane tickets and hotel lined up. Even have a daily allowance from Doubleday of... Oh, I forget how much, but surely it'll cover my needs. Michael Chabon once gave me this bit of advice regarding touring/going to events. He said, "Mini-bar". At the time I just smiled and nodded, not even sure what he meant. Never in my upbringing had it occured to me that I'd ever crack the seal on that little fridge and drink from the lovely little overpriced bottles and munch those enormous cashews... But times have changed. I've learned.

But anyway, yes, I'm going to the massive event that is Comic-Con in San Diego, and I am going to be on that panel with some heavyweights. Here's the description...

Friday 11:00-12:00 She/He Who Understands History Gets to Rewrite It - Authors discuss how an appreciation of world history and modern events as well as mythology influences and colors their worlds of fantasy, science fiction, and alternate realities. Panelists Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Legacy series), David Anthony Durham (Acacia: Book One: The War with the Mein ), David Keck (In the Eye of Heaven), Harry Turtledove ( Settling Accounts: In at the Death), Peter David (Darkness of the Light), R.A. Salvatore (The Ancient), and Mel Odom (Quest for the Trilogy) adapt and build on world events for their own purposes. Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy moderates. Room 8

Cool. And funny, actually, that even while I was firmly an "historical" novelist trying to follow the facts as best I could I still felt there was an element of fantasy in it. For that matter, though, I think there's an element of fantasy in all fiction. It's all make believe, yes? I sense in this the seed for what I might have to say...

Oh, and I'll be going to Random House dinner that evening. I won't quite believe it until it happens, but I may be sitting at a table with a writer I greatly admire, one that you'll surely recognize by name... Ah, perhaps I should refrain from naming said author. It may not even happen. But if it does I'll let you know.

By the way, if you happen to be there please come by and see me. I'll be at the Bantam/Dell Booth #1230 on Thursday from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. I'll be signing copies of a free collector's edition sampler of Acacia: The War with the Mein that Doubleday had made up specially for ReaderCon and Comic-Con; it contains the first third of the book and a wee letter from me. I've never seen the thing, but I've been told it's lovely. (La Gringa, don't I merit a copy?)

Labels: Comic-Con, Cons, Other Authors