Dragon*Con Authors

I went to Dragon*Con last weekend. It was my first time at a sci-fi convention. I went expecting to see some of my favorite stars.

And I did! I saw Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock. He's such an interesting man outside of acting! He does photography, and I am excited about looking up his work. His photography projects sounds simply fascinating! William Shatner crashed the end of the panel, in typical Shatner style. It was fun. I am not as excited about the Shat as I might have otherwise been as he owns a horse farm in Kentucky and has been in at least one of the horse shows that I have been in the audience for in the past.

I also saw Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard! He is such a funny man. He was sincere, and so polite. He thanked everyone for their questions. He would have stayed the rest of the afternoon to just answer questions and have conversations with fans if he had been able, I think! I would so love to meet him on a personal basis and spend time with him.

What I didn't expect was how many authors would be there! I accidentally accosted Susan Sizemore because she had a Knit Wit ribbon on her badge! Sherrilyn Kenyon was there, although I didn't see her. I had a chance to meet Diana Gabaldon who was wonderful and gracious and had a grandmother with my name! I saw Charlaine Harris, but did not make it into the line in time to get her autograph. I also saw new writers of paranormal romances, mostly. Rita Herron's name springs to mind, although there was someone else as well. I also discovered a new book about killer unicorns!

The most awesome experience was meeting my favorite author, Peter S. Beagle. If you haven't read The Last Unicorn, please go pick up a copy now! The movie made from the novel is the one thing that I think I can point to in my life and say that it was the most influential thing in regards to molding my readerly interests. I love fantasy novels, and I think that The Last Unicorn is the one book I have read more often than any other.

I had no idea that Mr. Beagle would be at Dragon*Con. I was so excited once I found out by chance that he would be signing shortly thereafter. I purchased another of my favorite books that he's written and waited for my turn to speak to him. I told him that he was such an influence on me. He noticed that I was from Kentucky and asked if I knew two notable Kentucky writers that he had attended Stanford with. I knew of both of them and had taken a class from one. The other has recently passed away. I got to be the one to break the news about his old friend's passing to him. As a friend pointed out to me, I will be memorable. I was very, very sorry to have to tell him the news, though.

I am so glad that I had a chance to attend Dragon*Con this year, and I look forward to future years! I went expecting one thing, and experienced something totally different, unexpected, and wonderful!