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Best.Weekend.Ever. Or at least an excellent approximation. :-)
I took off after work Friday, grabbed dinner and drove in the rain to a hotel 2 hours away. A cup of tea, "Sleepy Hollow" and a decent night sleep definitely helped me set off bright and early the next day. Though I wasn't exactly sparkling when I hit Waukesha 4 hours later, it would have been a lot rougher if I had tried to drive straight through. Growing old, still not a werewolf, alas.
The Book Festival takes place on the small and adorable campus of UW Waukesha. There were a number of literacy organizations, the folks who created the Little Free Libraries organization, authors, publishers and a local indie bookstore in one hall, then authors signing in another. I caught parts of a couple of the SFWA track programming, including one panel on crowd funding and another on publishing short fiction. In between panels, I met up with the faculty members who organized our panel and fellow panelist Rachel Gold. We convened with Brice Smith and Louis Weisberg for our panel after that and had a really interesting panel discussion on writing, publishing, being out, trans issues, media and related topics. I was quite bummed when it ended, seeing as I thought we could go on being interesting for quite awhile longer.
Rachel and I went on to sign books (the guys had other commitments) and chat with attendees. Then it was off to dinner with the faculty and donors involved in putting together the new Pride Club and Queer Studies classes (this panel was doubling as a kickoff event for them as well as a first for the Fest). We had more great discussion and a lovely time. Until we left and I got lost on my way back the hotel. I did eventually find it and got to spend some time in the hot tub in my room, which was lovely.
Sunday was breakfast with Rachel, followed by a drive to Madison and lunch with my friends Victor and Lynn. I also got a tour of their lovely new home (I have kitchen envy) before taking the scenic route past the August Derleth Memorial in Sauk City to the Crane Foundation in Baraboo. I met up with my friend Kim and we looked at the magnificent birds and pretty art. And then I blew my budget, or at least part of it, at the gift shop. Then I took off and drove 3+ more hours home, with a stop off at Norske Nook in Osseo for pie (seeing as I was spending our wedding anniversary on the road). Beautiful day, lovely time and much needed.
I took off after work Friday, grabbed dinner and drove in the rain to a hotel 2 hours away. A cup of tea, "Sleepy Hollow" and a decent night sleep definitely helped me set off bright and early the next day. Though I wasn't exactly sparkling when I hit Waukesha 4 hours later, it would have been a lot rougher if I had tried to drive straight through. Growing old, still not a werewolf, alas.
The Book Festival takes place on the small and adorable campus of UW Waukesha. There were a number of literacy organizations, the folks who created the Little Free Libraries organization, authors, publishers and a local indie bookstore in one hall, then authors signing in another. I caught parts of a couple of the SFWA track programming, including one panel on crowd funding and another on publishing short fiction. In between panels, I met up with the faculty members who organized our panel and fellow panelist Rachel Gold. We convened with Brice Smith and Louis Weisberg for our panel after that and had a really interesting panel discussion on writing, publishing, being out, trans issues, media and related topics. I was quite bummed when it ended, seeing as I thought we could go on being interesting for quite awhile longer.
Rachel and I went on to sign books (the guys had other commitments) and chat with attendees. Then it was off to dinner with the faculty and donors involved in putting together the new Pride Club and Queer Studies classes (this panel was doubling as a kickoff event for them as well as a first for the Fest). We had more great discussion and a lovely time. Until we left and I got lost on my way back the hotel. I did eventually find it and got to spend some time in the hot tub in my room, which was lovely.
Sunday was breakfast with Rachel, followed by a drive to Madison and lunch with my friends Victor and Lynn. I also got a tour of their lovely new home (I have kitchen envy) before taking the scenic route past the August Derleth Memorial in Sauk City to the Crane Foundation in Baraboo. I met up with my friend Kim and we looked at the magnificent birds and pretty art. And then I blew my budget, or at least part of it, at the gift shop. Then I took off and drove 3+ more hours home, with a stop off at Norske Nook in Osseo for pie (seeing as I was spending our wedding anniversary on the road). Beautiful day, lovely time and much needed.