Maurice's wife Sally put these great pics on her blog, along with a fabulous write-up of the weekend.


Chesya & the gurney


Out the front door

Top Ten things overheard at Mo*Con II:

1.) "Everyone is the hero of their own story." --Maurice Broaddus

2.) "There are no heroes in my stories." --Wrath James White

3.) "It doesn't matter where they get their appetite, as long as they come home for dinner." --Becca Hay

4.) "I grew up going to hell." --Brian Keene

5.) "...and Brian, don't you dare put what I just said in your blog!" --Maurice Broaddus, Alethea Kontis, various others

6.) "It's a question of balance. You look for balance in the world, and balance in yourself." --Gary Braunbeck

7.) "Did Gary Braunbeck just get on US for writing dark fiction?" --Maurice Broaddus

8.) "In 2000 years, there will be a religion based on Elvis." --Wrath James White

9.) "Lord, I would like to pray for our brother Jerome Burke..." --Maurice Broaddus

10.) "I need to learn the forgiveness of Christ, 'cause I'm about to put my foot up your ass." --Maurice Broaddus

Bonus points also go to Brian Keene for: "Well, my albatross just stomped your 12/12." and Wrath for: "So my mom and I were at this rave..."

Look for pics, coming soon!!

The ambulance just left.
Again.

I have GOT to get some sleep.

It's probably a really good thing we're all going to church in the morning.

Yes, folks, I am in the lovely state of Indiana (at least, I'm going to assume it's lovely -- last night on the way in it pretty much looked like wall-to-wall rain). Still shaking from six rain-drenched, haggard hours on the road, I fell out of the car and into the welcome arms of the Broaddus household.

Maurice was cooking chicken marsala--one of my all-time favorite dishes--at a pace my stomach did not approve of, and the too-tempting aroma chased Chesya Burke and I out into the garage to where Joe and Gerald and Rob were stomping Brian Keene at Magic.

And I discovered something strange about myself -- watching men play Magic is oddly soothing. Medatative. Zen, even. I suppose it follows the same theory regarding standing in line at the post office. You are in a place where you are under no pressure to contribute -- cannot contribute if you have no idea how to play the game.

I sat there between Keene & Gerald, nursing my water, and reveling in the fact that there was nothing I was supposed to be doing, nothing I was supposed to have done, and nothing expected of me in the near future.

It was liberating. Absolutely liberating.

Hearing all the stories, and the banter regarding one-point orcs, albatrosses, rabid wombats, kudzu and armageddon, were just a bonus.

The first time I saw Patrick Rothfuss, he appeared on my desk, cloaked all in black, with one of the largest post-it notes I've ever seen plastered to him. The novella-length sticky was handwritten from the publisher rep specifically to me, gushing about how this new guy was the greatest thing since sliced bread and would I pleasepleaseplease read The Name of the Wind and let them know what I thought?

It's not the first time a publisher has fawned over an author, but it is rare for a publisher to fawn over an SF/F author. I read the note again and said aloud the same thing I said when I picked up one of the TWO different versions of Patrick's fabulous debut hardcover release:

Whippersnapper.

****

Read the rest of my hilarious interview with Patrick Rothfuss at Subterranean Online.

It's all over the news and in the papers and second only to some wiz kid named Harry. You've heard about The Swan, but have you experienced The Swan?

Not all of us read the Dallas paper (what I wouldn't give for a copy of that picture!), but we all have access to YouTube.

Here are clips from last year's Dragon*Con (and there are about a dozen more if you search for them). We'll be there again this year -- we hope to see you in Atlanta next month!

Sherri and I discussing the Dark-Hunter Companion

My first encounter with Ravyn Kontis

At the end of this segment, I tell the story of Sherri calling on the way to the emergency room because she's late with her story for Elemental

Viva la Swan!

You've done it, admit it.

You've gone on Google and -- after a bit of healthy ego surfing -- you've played your own game of "Where are they Now?" Where is that chick that caused you so much grief twenty years ago? That geek that everyone bet would someday own the world? The incredibly cute guy you had no chance with? Your gang, your peers, your posse? Your very first high school boyfriend?

Mine's on IMDB.

If the internet made the world smaller, places like MySpace made it miniscule. I've been in touch and traded emails with folks I never dreamed I'd talk to again. Ten -- heck, even five -- years ago such a thing would have never been possible. And even now, when it is possible, folks popping out of the woodwork is still a surprise.

So when I got the email from Margo telling us that Paul Pierro was starring in the indie horror flick Secrets of the Clown, I just about fell out of my chair.

Paul and I met at an audition. I don't remember for which play. I was fifteen -- it felt so much older back then. He couldn't believe I hadn't seen Die Hard, and forced me to sit down and watch it with him one afternoon. I'm glad he did. Who doesn't love John McClane? And Hans "Shoot the Glass" Gruber... god, every line in that movie is a classic.

So doesn't it just fit that the summer of Die Hard 4 brings me this blast from the past? And there's Paul, still acting and still good looking. I am so incredibly proud!! (And now I'm going to get on the treadmill and run five miles.)

For those fans of Blood Oath and the indie horror scene (you know it's your guilty pleasure), be sure to check out the Secrets of the Clown official website. For those of you in the LA area, the premiere of Secrets of the Clown will be held on September 27th at the NY International Independent Film and Video Festival.

While you're at it, add Secrets of the Clown as your MySpace friend!

"This clown is of significance...but why?"

The latest issue of Apex Online is live, featuring "Darkness and Light" by David Niall Wilson and "Foiled" -- my short-short story homage to terrible ex-boyfriends everywhere.

Have a cup of Greek coffee and read the story for free HERE.
Enjoy!

On the other side of the Apex Universe, Apex Digest Issue #10 has just hit newsstands everywhere. Cherie Priest, Ian Creasey, Nancy Fulda, Geoffrey Girard, Lavie Tidhar, William F. Nolan...and me! Do you have your copy yet? Get a year's subscription here for only $20!

Issue #10 features my essay "Route 666: Road Trip to World Horror 2007."

Trust me, if you took a 15-hour road trip to Canada with your best friend and your editor, you'd write about it too...

I've got this great screensaver on my desktop at work that cycles through all the pictures in my "My Pictures" file. I got back from a meeting the other day and just sat for a while, smiling at the scroll of memories flashing across the screen like old friends come to visit.

Here's a great one of me and Kevin J. Anderson -- our unique "What Wouldn't KJA Do?" interview can be found in the current issue (#9) of Apex Digest.