I got home from Conestoga 13 this afternoon. Within an hour, I was asleep. I must be getting old. It’s not like I was up that late either night I was in Tulsa. But, that’s neither here nor there. As always, Conestoga was a lot of fun and a great chance to catch up with old friends, learn more about newer friends and, of course, meet new people. So, where to begin?

I once again shared a room with Adrian Simmons. He’s a fun guy. Instead of the travel bar, this year he brought a vintage 1940s martini shaker and what he swore was a bottle of vodka. It looked like urine. He turned it green and people drank it. A good time was had. And he didn’t put a pillow over my head while I was asleep.

I saw John Wooley for the first time in at least two years. I didn’t get to talk to him as much as I would have liked, but it was good to see him. I highly recommend his novel Awash in the Blood.

David Lee Anderson was wearing a suit. A suit. I swear it. But no, I don’t have pictures to prove it. Somehow, I never seem to get to sit down and really talk to David. But he is really a cool guy and a great artist, as you’ll see if you click his link.

I didn’t really talk to Frank Wu, or even get to be on a panel with him, but the dude is really, really funny. I must learn more about him.

I did get to spend several hours talking with J. Kathleen Cheney and Craig Wolf (and family). Both are fascinating people and dedicated writers. During the course of the weekend Craig got word he once again sold the story that has killed four previous markets. Be warned.

THE james k. burk is always fun to talk with, and we got to chat quite a bit. He’s actually hard to recognize if he’s not wearing his trademark black clothes and hat.

Rosemary Clement-Moore was one I hadn’t gotten to talk to enough before. Not sure I did this time, either, as she’s a terribly entertaining person. I have to start reading her books now. I don’t think the woman ever stopped smiling.

I spent more time talking to Sherri Dean this time than before. If you know Sherri, you know how much fun she is. If you don’t, well … you should find out. Where she finds time to watch all those crappy movies is a mystery.

Then there was that Carrie Jones person. We finally let the cat out of the bag about the “super secret project” but, if you weren’t there, you missed it and will have to find out later.

Guest of Honor Robin Hobb said I could hide in her luggage and go home to the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her, but I suspect she wasn’t serious. Still, props to her for not telling me to … Well, for being nice.

Then there were the many gracious fans who talked to me (and partner Carrie) during the Speed Date the Author event. No way I remember all your names, but it was nice meeting each of you or, in some cases, meeting you again.

The Twisted Blades put on another great show enacting scenes from writers’ stories. I read from the unpublished Bold Bounty which, I think, was not as good a scene as last year’s, but they did a great job with it.

I bought nothing at Conestoga this year. There was a mace I wanted, and it was reasonably priced, but I just couldn’t justify spending the money on something that would go in the closet with my two swords.

Finally, I have to thank Elspeth Bloodgood. She puts on a great con, works hard, and takes great care of her guests. And, no matter how stressed she is, she is always friendly and ready to help. And she bought drinks for all the speed-dating authors.

I only snapped a few pictures at the con this year. You can see most of them here.

I got a little bit of work done on The Girls Nobody Wanted to Date. Not as much as I would have liked, of course, but any progress is better than none. I finished one of those “mushy middle” chapters and am now ready to head into the final conflict between the girls. I swear I will have a draft of this book finished before school is out for summer.

I am still so freakin’ tired, and we’re under a tornado watch and getting a lot of lightning, so I’ll pinch this off here.