Reno: the Good, the Bad, and the Unhappy.: seanan

Reno: the Good, the Bad, and the Unhappy.

I am home from Reno! Finally. I think I may be half-dead, and I definitely need a lot more of a nap than I'm going to be getting in the near future. Here, then, is my extremely truncated and specialized convention report.

The Good.

* Joe's Diner! Kate, Victor, and I arrived early, and were able to wander around, running errands. This led us to discovering an awesome little diner, just far enough from the convention center to be inaccessible if you didn't have a car (and thus entirely uncrowded throughout the weekend). Cheap, delicious food, real malts, and a waitress who came to know us all by name as we returned again and again for delicious meals. Yay!

* Also during our running around, I found a hardcover copy of Hellspark, one of my favorite hard-to-find books. (Actually, Victor found it. But he is a loving Victor, and he gave it unto me.) I will love it always.

* I wound up in two hotel rooms, one shared with Kate (and connected via adjoining door to Victor), one shared with Wes, Mary, and Amy. Both rooms were awesome in different ways, and I couldn't have asked for better roommates.

* "Just A Minute," where I not only became the new champion, I got to do it while hanging out with awesome people (including two of my favorite people, Paul and Caroline). Betcha John regrets telling me that lists were legal...

* Lauren Beukes's sloth! I nearly stole that thing. I still want to.

* Delivering an impassioned verbal smackdown during the zombie panel.

* Interviewing Tricky Pixie, Bill Wellingham, and this year's COMPLETELY AWESOME Campbell nominees. All on different panels, but still. I could not have shared a stage with more delightful people.

* Kaja hugs.

* Having a signing line longer than George R.R. Martin. It was bizarre and confusing, and totally fantastic.

* Brunch with Daniel and Kelly.

* Breakfast with Sheila.

* Surprise DDR with Kate and Vixy and Lauren and Amy.

* Dinner with Mike and Marnie and the posse, during which I received my official Barfleet tags. They're orange and green! I am truly loved.

...honestly, there were a lot of amazing people at WorldCon this year, but if I try to list them all, someone will be left off, because I am exhausted, and then we will all be sad. So please believe that I love all my friends, and I am so excited to have seen them, and I would not have survived this convention without them. Seriously. I would be dead.

The Bad.

* The one day when I didn't have, basically, a team of people handling me, I was unable to get any food for eleven hours, was repeatedly grabbed by people I don't know, and was even followed into the bathroom stall. Not the bathroom. THE ACTUAL STALL. Needless to say, I was not left alone again, resulting in my friends feeling put-upon, my feeling like I had to hide in my hotel room to have any privacy, and everyone being tense. Being grabbed is bad. It scares me.

* Smoking is allowed indoors in Reno. We were in Reno. I am not as sensitive to smoke as some of my friends, but I still feel pretty lousy, even after being home for almost two full days.

* The convention center was almost a mile away from my hotel, resulting in lots of walking back and forth in the extreme heat. Also, if I managed to forget something at the room, it stayed gone until I went home in the afternoon. This decentralized layout prevented a single Barcon from coalescing, and I am hence still faintly sad.

* The decentralized layout also meant that I saw some people I really care about rarely, if at all. Kate put it best when she noted that if you weren't part of the amoeba, we barely saw you.

* Finding things was almost impossible. I didn't even figure out where open filk was until Friday night, when I was doing "Whose Line?" across from it (an 11pm to 1am panel, so no, I didn't join the circle afterward). I made it to the dealer's hall twice, both times for under twenty minutes.

The Unhappy.

So. The Hugos. That happened.

You're not supposed to talk about being sad that you lost; it's considered poor form. Unfortunately, in this internet age, it's impossible to avoid addressing it at least a little if you have any sort of decent web presence. Not only is it obvious that you're avoiding an elephant, people keep hijacking other posts and other threads to tell you how sorry they are. That's worse for my sanity than having a few people sigh meaningfully at me, so I'm going to talk about this once, and have done.

Yes, I lost.

Yes, I am very sad about that. I wanted to win. Everybody wants to win. Wanting to win is human nature, and if you don't want to win, you decline the nomination. End of story.

Yes, I am aware that I lost by a very narrow margin. This doesn't make it easier. If anything, it makes it harder; what could I have done to make my book just twenty votes better? Rationally, I know this isn't a quantifiable thing, but, well. Me and numbers. It's a thing.

Yes, I hope that I get another shot next year.

No, I will not be responding to comments directly relating to the Hugos. I hope you understand why not. Congratulations to all the winners, and huge, huge thanks to everyone who voted. I came in second. I beat Bujold in the voting. That's a damn big deal. Maybe next time, we can win.

That was WorldCon, and now it's not. See you next year, in Chicago.

ladymondegreen

August 23 2011, 16:19:21 UTC 5 years ago

New comment

I am glad you managed to have a very good if not smoke free time.

*hugs you a bunch and makes you a nice warm, soft nap place*

seanan_mcguire

August 23 2011, 16:39:04 UTC 5 years ago

Mmmmm.

Nap.

lilrongal

August 23 2011, 16:21:50 UTC 5 years ago

Worldcon is HERE next year??

And you will be here?

Oh my sweet Lord in Heaven. I am so there. xoxo

August 23 2011, 16:39:34 UTC 5 years ago

Yes! I will pack doll clothes and Melanie (my traveling Ello), and we will HAVE A PARTY.

Memberships are at their cheapest right now, and members have nominating rights.

qnofhrt

5 years ago

spectralbovine

August 23 2011, 16:28:53 UTC 5 years ago

Lauren Beukes's sloth! I nearly stole that thing. I still want to.
If I would have known, I would have stolen it for you!

Having a signing line longer than George R.R. Martin. It was bizarre and confusing, and totally fantastic.
AWESOME.

was even followed into the bathroom stall. Not the bathroom. THE ACTUAL STALL.
...The living fuck??

Yes, I am aware that I lost by a very narrow margin.
Oof. Yeah, that's both heartening and frustrating. Not being you, I am personally glad that you WERE close, but, yeah, dammit.

August 23 2011, 16:39:46 UTC 5 years ago

Dude, I love that sloth like whoa.

gorgeousgary

bercilakslady

August 23 2011, 16:30:32 UTC 5 years ago

I'm glad that the good was good. It was well worth staying up stupidly late to watch the Hugos live. I love living in the future.

Chicago, hrm? I may have to see if that can happen.

August 23 2011, 16:31:11 UTC 5 years ago

Also, the person who followed you into the stall needs to die. Just saying.

filkertom

vulpine137

August 23 2011, 16:30:45 UTC 5 years ago

I'm sorry for the scary fan experience. Hmm, guests should be allowed machetes to allow for quiet bathroom experiences ?

August 23 2011, 16:43:48 UTC 5 years ago

Actually, I stopped at "guests should be allowed machetes." Let's roll with that.

hms42

August 23 2011, 16:34:49 UTC 5 years ago

I was really hoping to see your response to winning a Hugo for Feed. (Unfortunately, that didn't happen.) :(

You will get a Hugo! Hopefully in Chicago.

August 23 2011, 16:43:56 UTC 5 years ago

Here's hoping.

August 23 2011, 16:35:39 UTC 5 years ago

[many, many hugs] I hope we get a chance to talk this weekend.

August 23 2011, 16:44:05 UTC 5 years ago

Me, too.

michaeldthomas

August 23 2011, 16:36:09 UTC 5 years ago

We wish we could have seen you more. Caitlin loves her new ponies. :-)

Thank you.

August 23 2011, 16:44:24 UTC 5 years ago

Yay, Pony love!

Ponies are happiest when loved. True fact.

ckd

August 23 2011, 16:54:28 UTC 5 years ago Edited: August 23 2011, 16:54:50 UTC

Next year in Chicago, indeed! Maybe next year I'll actually be able to stay for a day or two on either side of the con and not have to run off on Sunday morning. (When I saw you at breakfast, I was literally about to head upstairs to get my stuff and check out...blah.) The shorter travel time will be nice, too.

I agree with you on the smoking; I got pretty good at finding exterior doors so I could bypass parts of the casino at the Peppermill while still getting to my room easily. (And WTF. The stall? That's someone so far beyond the boundaries of civilized behavior that they can't be seen without using the Hubble Space Telescope.)

August 24 2011, 17:19:20 UTC 5 years ago

Yeah, it was...impressive. I just sort of froze up and stared.

Deleted comment

August 24 2011, 17:19:34 UTC 5 years ago

That was basically my thought, too.

crewgrrl

August 23 2011, 17:07:36 UTC 5 years ago

It is likely we will see you there next year, as long as the stars align for us. This year, we were slightly busy with a wedding!

August 24 2011, 17:19:54 UTC 5 years ago

Which, by the way...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

tiferet

August 23 2011, 17:11:17 UTC 5 years ago

1) Into the STALL? I'd have made a liver hat for sure, and admire you for managing not to have.

2) There are worse people to lose to than Connie Willis but I'm still sad you didn't win.

August 24 2011, 17:20:05 UTC 5 years ago

I just sort of froze.

jenjen4280

August 23 2011, 17:12:15 UTC 5 years ago

A good malt is hard to find. Hang in there, decompress and hey, new Toby & gang in a couple weeks. Yay!!!!

August 24 2011, 17:20:12 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

avahgdu

August 23 2011, 17:13:14 UTC 5 years ago

See, give me a mace. Then wheel my chair around. You have a mace wielding battering ram, AND bathroom guard.

I would like to hear about the verbal smackdown.

Sorry the Hugo is not yours this time. But you have ME, and that other person doesn't. 8-P

archangelbeth

August 23 2011, 19:04:41 UTC 5 years ago

I am a lover of snark, and would also like to hear about the smackdown, if it would not be an imposition. (If it would be, then I go, "Ah, well" and shrug.)

Congrats on finding Hellspark! I remember digging that one up long ago.

August 24 2011, 17:20:35 UTC 5 years ago

Aw, yay. :)

chaoticgoodnik

August 23 2011, 17:22:59 UTC 5 years ago

Having a signing line longer than George R.R. Martin. It was bizarre and confusing, and totally fantastic.

Deserved, if you ask me.

And the other thing? It gave me a sad too. (You deserved to beat Bujold, though. And I say that as someone who has followed and enjoyed her work for a long time.)

August 24 2011, 17:20:46 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you.

madfilkentist

August 23 2011, 17:26:20 UTC 5 years ago

Even if you don't choose to respond to this, congratulations on your strong second place. I tried to stay up to see on the webcast if you'd win, but it just ran too late (I'm on the east coast) so I checked the news first thing next morning.

August 24 2011, 17:20:53 UTC 5 years ago

guruwench

August 23 2011, 17:27:11 UTC 5 years ago

My sweetie and I are planning to be in Chicago next year, and I'm so glad to hear you'll be there! We loved Just A Minute, laughed a lot and thought it was great fun.

The person who followed you into the stall needs to get a clue and some manners and apologize profusely, then leave you the heck alone.

August 24 2011, 17:21:07 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

And yeah. That was horrifying.

markbernstein

August 23 2011, 17:32:38 UTC 5 years ago

I'm sad to have missed all the people (like you!) I would have liked to spend time with, and the music, but not sad at all to have missed the smoke. And I'm happily looking forward to Conclave and OVFF. :) I'll be giving Chicago a pass (we've committed our 2012 vacation time in other ways), but I'm thinking real hard about San Antonio and London.

And this may not help at all, but I'm a numbers person, too, to the point that I've read and analyzed the actual vote numbers, so I'm going to say it. With a margin that small, it wasn't entirely about quality. I'd bet cash money that a measurable percentage of the voters for Best Novel had read the Willis and/or the Bujold, and nothing else.

August 24 2011, 17:21:42 UTC 5 years ago

London and New Zealand are the ones I'm getting super excited about.

kitrona

August 23 2011, 17:40:12 UTC 5 years ago

Holy crap, you'll be in CHICAGO next year?!?! That's AWESOME! I will have to try to finagle a way to be there...

Also, following you into a stall is seriously uncool. I have an axe. And several swords I can borrow.

August 24 2011, 17:21:58 UTC 5 years ago

Yes!

That is the sweetest thing you could have said.

vettecat

August 23 2011, 17:43:56 UTC 5 years ago

Majorly creeped out by the stalker-y fans. Sorry that becoming well-known may necessitate Buffer Bouncers.

August 24 2011, 17:22:09 UTC 5 years ago

Me, too. :(

ladyqkat

August 23 2011, 18:05:35 UTC 5 years ago

Now I am even more sad I no longer live in Reno. I might have been able to kidnap you and feed you at some of the out-of-the-way-great-food places I know. I also would have hit the rude twit with my cane.

However - I met the new romance of my latest 'adopted' kid yesterday, found out she was a Reader (!!!) and loaned her some of my books. When next I see her, I am going to loan her my Toby books (until I can gift her with her own copies) so she can become a Seanan fan.

I am glad that most of your experiences were good and will be rooting for a win next year.

August 24 2011, 17:22:24 UTC 5 years ago

cleothyla

August 23 2011, 18:13:50 UTC 5 years ago

I may not be the socially adept person in the world but I'm not that clueless. That person just needs to be smacked.

I wish I could have watched all of the HUGO's (missed the beginning) but I did catch the ending and was so rooting for you. You'll get it! By the way, loved your dress when I glimpsed it. You are soo beautiful in orange!

August 24 2011, 17:22:35 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you!

julzerator

August 23 2011, 19:05:22 UTC 5 years ago

WorldCon was my introduction to the awesome that is you. (not for the lack of trying by my friends... I need to listen to

solcita and

kajafoglio among others more often, I swear)

I was floored by your performance on "Just a Minute" and am thankful I was slow in leaving the Masquerade (I am a horrible person who leaves during the halftime "entertainment" and just checks later to see who won). I immediately went and bought your books.

Fie on the fans who follow you into the bathroom stall! Boundaries people!

Also, if you want a monster like the sloth, I know people who make stuff (me) that think you need one (also me). :)

September 2 2011, 17:44:18 UTC 5 years ago

Hee yay! I'm so glad!

...you do? I wish to discuss this with you. At length. For I really, truly covet that sloth.

jenrose1

August 23 2011, 19:16:58 UTC 5 years ago

In the stall...wha? Who DOES that? I mean, my kids do it up to about age 5, and then it STOPS. I just...what?

I was sad about not going to Reno right up until you and Brooke mentioned the smoke. I live a sheltered, sheltered existence, where civilized states do not allow such barbarism. 22 weeks pregnant is not compatible with a smoky convention.

Will you be at Orycon this year?

Oh, and my teenager has your music in rotation. Kid's got good taste.

September 2 2011, 17:44:37 UTC 5 years ago

I don't know. I was stunned.

Sadly, probably not. I need a nap more than I need another convention. :(

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Reno: the Good, the Bad, and the Unhappy.

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