BayCon 2012

[klwilliams]

I've been to most of the BayCons in the last 22 years, but have not had a great time the last few times I went. We almost went somewhere else this year, but decided to try BayCon again. I'm so glad we did. The panels were interesting, the con itself run very smoothly, and the guests were a lot of fun. I'd never heard of Brandon Sanderson before, and he turned out to be quite sharp and interesting. I wish I'd been able to go to his interview. The Kollin brothers were...well, the Kollin brothers, which means fun and over the top.

Chaz and I were on panels, plus I had my first reading. (I read way too quickly, without any dramatic pauses, even though I knew better. I was worried about running out of time, even though I knew I would run out of time. Still, no one walked out. I wonder how much my mother had to pay them?) There were quite a few panels across from ours that I wish we could have gone to as well. The BarCon part was also much better this year, since we stayed down in the quiet end near the sushi bar. Lots of friends were there whom I hadn't had a chance to hang out with in a while, plus new friends we got to meet. I'm really looking forward to next year (Lois McMaster Bujold will be GoH).

My one complaint is with the hotel/convention center. I brought my cane, which I hardly ever need, but the extremely long hallways with no place to sit along the way made me very happy I had my cane to lean on. There were lots of other people with mobility issues, too, who probably also wished the hotel layout was a little bit more helpful. The BayCon staff was great, though.

Comments

[loup_noir]

I met Sanderson at the last Worldcon I went to, Boston/Noreascon, several years ago. He had just sold his first novel, and he was awesome. I watched him be treated terribly at a panel on magic, and he was incredibly courteous to women who did not deserve courtesy. He took the time to talk to many, many wannabes, including me, and invited all of us to come to his panel wherein he explained How He Did IT. He and several others do a podcast called "Writing Excuses," of which the first couple of seasons are really good. I haven't listened to many episodes of the last two seasons.

Glad you had a good time. And did you leave comments about mobility issues with the hotel? There are so many ADA lawsuits these days that I'd be surprised if they didn't pay attention and try to do something about some of your points.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I loved Sanderson's Elantris and Mistborn. He's spoken several times at Borderlands on book tours and has always been gracious and fairly funny.