Kim Stanley Robinson B&N 2013

The very first WorldCon I attended, I heard about Kim Stanley Robinson. His Mars series was all the buzz then.  At the time, I was clueless about him and didn’t want to pursue his autograph.  After that WorldCon, I read the books and realized I wasted an opportunity.

So this time, at WorldCon 2013, which was back in San Antonio where I first attended WorldCon, I got the chance to get him to sign his Mars books.  I wasn’t about to waste the chance.

I stood in line about 30 minutes.  He signed.  I told him about my first WorldCon and not knowing better.   He smiled.  I told him I was looking forward to seeing in him Dallas in just a few days.  He smiled again.

A few days later he was at the B&N in Dallas.  The crowd was light. I sat through the reading of his new book, Shaman.  He answered a few questions and then signing began.

Again I waited about 30 minutes.  I mentioned I saw him at WorldCon.  He smiled.  He asked if I enjoyed hearing a different passage read this time. I admitted I didn’t get to see him in any panels.  He smiled.

I picked up my book and left. 

When I got home, Kae, the wife asked about the signing.  It was the usually innocuous questions: Who, what, where, when.  She remembered the name.   She asked if I got his signature at WorldCon.  I smiled. I confirmed I did.  She then repeated my rule of not getting the same person twice.  Chagrined, I admitted that didn’t always apply to sci fi authors.  She smiled. 

The silence wasn’t deafening but something had to be said…Hi, I’m AH, and I collect Autographs…  Dutifully, she said: Hi AH…

AH – collecting is my drug of choice

Steven Gould LoneStarCon 3 2013

The last autograph I picked up a LoneStarCon was Steven Gould.   I slept in and took a leisurely breakfast with the wife.  I packed and then left for the convention.

I got there a few minutes before Steven showed up. I was second in line. He signed my book and asked if I enjoyed it. I lied and said I did. In truth, I hadn't read it yet.

I left and called the wife to let her know I was done.  I got back to the room and we packed the car and were on the road to Dallas before noon.

AH

Heather Paul and Catherine Coleman LoneStarCon 3 2013

Not everyone at a WorldCon is author. Or maybe they are not JUST authors. Either way, many of the guests are scientists or even astronauts; which is the case for Heather Paul (scientist) and Catherine Coleman (astronaut).

While this wasn’t on my radar, it was a great surprise. I got in line early. About 10 women lined up in front of me who were very excited to see female NASA guests. The ladies in front of me were either teachers or scientists themselves.

As they stepped to the autograph table, the fans grinned with pride as they chatted with the 2 women.  Both Heather and Catherine seemed just as excited to meet these ladies.

When it was my turn, the first thing I noticed was the pink streak in Heather’s hair. I asked if she caught any crap for that. She smiled and said ‘no’. People actually liked she was willing to show some personality.  Catherine was more reserved although she smiled and answered any questions.

I got my photos and left the table very happy.

Later that day, the wife and I had dinner with some family.  I was surprised by the excitement over these autographs.  I had not realized how important these women were as role models.  It seems that maybe people just aren’t aware of what really is possible. Not because something hasn’t been done, but people aren’t aware of what had been accomplished.

AH

Connie Willis LoneStarCon 3 2013

I have gotten Connie Willis years ago. She really wasn’t on my radar this time.

I was in a long line for another author. At the same time, Connie was also signing.  When I finally got out of my line, I looked at the time. There was still about 15 minutes left in the autograph session.  Connie was still at her table signing and she only had a couple of people left.  A game time decision was made, I quickly bought a couple of books for her to sign.  When I went back to her table, she was gone. I wasn’t quick enough. Ugh

That is the problem with game time decisions, sometimes they backfire. Slightly chagrinned, I let my wife know I spent money on books I didn’t get signed.

After the convention, I started organizing the books I took and bought at the WorldCon. I flipped through the books reviewing the autographs and taking photos. Then I saw that Connie had already autographed the books.  Like many of the authors at the convention, she visited the book vendors and signed her books. 

Even with my failed game time decision, I still ended up with her autograph.

AH

Brenda Cooper LoneStarCon 3 2013

This was the first opportunity of mine to get Brenda Cooper.  I really enjoyed the book she collaborated on with Larry Niven a few years ago.  She was friendly and graciously signed my book.

AH

Lois McMaster Bujold LoneStarCon 3

Lois McMaster Bujold is another renowned author in the sci fi / fantasy community. She gave a great signature and I’m glad I finally ran across her in San Antonio.

AH

Joe Haldeman LoneStarCon 3

Sherman – set the Wayback Machine to 1979…

Sure thing Mr Peabody!

This was before DVDs and VHS.  This was before 12 (I may have lost count) movies and 4 spin offs.  This was before Vegas had an attraction and people started getting married in Klingon.  This was before the actors traveled to dozens of conventions a year to meet fans.  This was before: Oh MY!

This is when Star Trek was shown on static-y UHF channels and commercials were inserted willy-nilly.  This is when episodes was pre-empted for a baseball game or even roller derby.  This is when you might go weeks or months without a pop culture reference to Trek.  This is when if you were jones-ing for a Trek fix; you had to read a book.   

And Kids, it ain’t like today with over 500 novels set in the various Trek universes.   There was no Amazon to click on to get the latest installment.  The used books stores didn’t have shelves of worn paperbacks with broken spines.  Back in the day, there was Blish (and if you don’t know Blish, you can’t call yourself a Trekkie) and a handful of other books.  If a new Trek book was released and you didn’t happen to catch it quickly, it was gone.

One of those handfuls of authors was Joe Haldeman. Yes, he’s the guy that wrote Forever War and Mindbridge and All My Sins Remembered.  He also wrote two Star Trek books.  So while I was looking over my bookshelf and deciding what books to bring to WorldCon, I saw these 2 very old books.  I have read them each several times and have carried them around the country with me for the last 35 years.

 I have gotten Joe Haldemen’s signature before.  I debated about pursuing him this convention.  But when I saw these books on my book shelf, I knew I had to do it.

After standing in line for about 30 minutes, I got to place my gently used copies of World Without End and Planet of Judgment in front of Joe.  He paused and showed them to Gay (his wife).  I think he was impressed and pleasantly surprised.  He signed.  I told him something silly: whenever I heard music from the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, I think of these books. I had played that album in the background ad nausea when I read and reread them. 

Joe sagely nodded, not really knowing what to do with that factoid. Gay laughed and said what a great association to have.  I picked up my books. They are my connection to my childhood and of Trek fandom past. I left.  I have to admit I had a huge silly smile on my face.

AH

David Brin LoneStarCon 3

Although David Brin can be long winded and dominate a conversion, I really do like him. I found his sci fi books fresh and well written.  He does have charisma and can hold you attention while he talks non-stop.  Hell, my wife even likes him and she doesn’t read sci fi.

As I spent my Saturday at WorldCon standing in lines for signatures, I saw David Brin walk thought he autograph line several times. He chatted with fellow authors and some fans. He’s sociable.

The turn out for him was large. While the line didn’t move slowly, it wasn’t a blur either. He talked with everyone, whether it was a few sentences or a few paragraphs. As I said, he’s sociable.

I’ve gotten Brin before. Many years ago, he signed a copy of The Postman for me. This time I brought him a copy of Kiln People.  It’s a good murder mystery involving clones.  I read it while I was recovering from some minor surgery. It was exactly what I needed to keep my mind off work and the fact I was stuck in bed for a while.

When I got to the front, he asked if I wanted my name in it. I said the standard: just the signature. He looked disappointed.  He had something in mind; a clever little phrase from the book that he wanted to add to his signature.  He asked if he could add that. I nodded my consent.  When you read the book, the ’Be Many’ will make more sense.

His line was still long and he was scheduled to end soon.  He stayed late but I’m not sure how late as I was off to another signing.

AH

John Scalzi LoneStarCon 3

In some ways, John Scalzi is the Rock Star of Nerd-dom. He has a huge following on Twitter. He hangs out and twits publicly with Wil Wheaton.  He’s won Hugo awards. He’s youngish.  He’s full of energy. He enjoys meeting his fans. He’s a funny guy. He's a charmer.

I loved his Old Man’s War series.   I crossed path with him in Denver. I saw him in a few panels and decided I wanted to read his books. I follow him on Titter. He’s amusing. He does have some hard core fans that seem to live, eat, breath John Scalzi.   

As you would expect the line was long. It was slow as he was interacting with his fans.  He was laughing and sharing inside jokes and his fans were eating it up. I got to him just at the hour mark. The signing was supposed to end after an hour.

He looked at watch.  He looked at the crowd. He looked at me.  He said: I really didn’t want to go to the awards walk though anyway. Implying this was the excuse he needed to blow that off.  We both chuckled. So I asked if he would get in trouble.  He said he CAN’T leave people in line. That is what he’ll tell the planners.  He had people needing him.

A really nice experience.

AH

Brandon Sanderson LoneStarCon 3

Brandon Sanderson sat down for signing a few minutes early and I was the first in line.  Yes, I hate to say it but I must: I haven’t read any of his books.

Because I was first it was over in a flash.

Because he was early it allowed me to jump into another line sooner than expected.

 

AH 

Norman Spinrad LoneStarCon 3

I was really excited that LoneStarCon 3 won the bid to host WorldCon. I was more excited to see that Norman Spinrad was the Guest of Honor.  Based on those 2 things, I was pretty sure I was attending the convention, even only for a day or two.

I’ve gotten his signature before but I ran across something I thought would be very cool to get signed; an old Star Trek script of Doomsday Machine.  It’s one of my favorite episodes and has some really great lines to quote.  Don’t worry, I won’t quote them now.  The wife would never forgive me for punishing you with quips like: Vulcans never bluff.  (Sorry, I HAD to say just one.  Please don’t tell her I did that.)

I bought the script as child. I had it for decades. It was buried in a box of odds and ends and then forgotten.  As I was cleaning out a closet so some friends could visit, I found the script. I put it aside so I won’t lose it. And as is often the case, I lost it.

Paolo Bacigalupi LoneStarCon 3

Paolo Bacigalupi had a nice long line. He’s another author that has won both the Nebula and Hugo awards. I’m pretty sure he’s been to Dallas for a book signing that I had missed.

While I’m not sure when I’ll get around to reading his prized book, The Windup Girl, I have a friend that raves about it.

AH 

Nancy Kress LoneStarCon 3

My Facebook circle of ‘friends’ has a few authors on it. Mostly they accept as they are building their own networks.  A few accept because I have one writer/editor friend that everybody knows. They figure if I know her I must not be too bad of a guy.

Nancy Kress is one of my Facebook friends. Almost seems mandatory to get her autograph.

I was tempted to introduce myself through my Facebook alias but really, will that get me anywhere?

She signed. I said thanks.

AH 

M L Brennan LoneStarCon 3

I saw this book on the self and thought it was interesting.  When I saw that M L Brennan was going to attend WorldCon, I went and bought the book.

She was in a panel with Alastair Reynolds.  She is young.  She is a young author as this is her first book but has another coming soon.  While she seemed slightly amused she was on a WorldCon panel she contributed to the discussion.

I showed up for her signing. I might have been the first to come to the table.  She had a small stack of books with her.  She greeted me a big smile and offered me a free book. I showed her I already had a copy and I got a bigger smile.

As we chatted, she mentioned this was her first WorldCon, either as a panelist or an attendee. She had gone to some local conventions to see what it was like. She was really enjoying the whole event and trying to absorb everything.

She signed and I left.

 

AH 

Jack McDevitt LoneStarCon 3

Yes, this is another author I can’t remember.  I haven’t read the books either.  I do feel guilty.  Forgive me Father for I have sinned.  I just need to read more and work less. I'm sure Jack McDevitt is a great guy and we even chatted a bit but I just can't remember.

AH

Michael Swanwick LoneStarCon 3

I will admit it. I know nothing about Michael Swanwick. I haven’t read any of his books. I can’t remember anything about the signing. That’s embarrassing as I write this blog so I won’t forget.  And I’ve forgot before I even had a chance to put it down.

On the plus side...it wasn’t a bad encounter. Neither he nor I embarrassed ourselves.

AH

Alastair Reynolds LoneStarCon 3

This was another creative autograph (stalking).  I missed the session on Thursday for Alastair Reynolds so I again attended a panel.  This panel was not nearly as interesting. They can’t all be winners.

Alastair walked out with someone and they chatted for several minutes.  I patiently wait.  If they had walked off together, I would have aborted the attempt. I wasn’t about to follow him all over the convention, even if he had Dr Who ties. When they finally disengaged, I was ready with book and pen. I asked if he had time. He said yes.

He took my book and looked at my name badge. I thanked him for coming to Texas. He apologized for the panel. He didn’t think he contributed very much.  I asked if he could veto panel assignments. He said yes, but didn’t really look over what they put him on.

After he handed the book back to me, I let him wander off on his own.  This way he would think I was really stalking him.

 

AH

Taylor Anderson LoneStarCon 3

Supposedly, Taylor Anderson was doing a signing on Thursday.  That didn’t work out.  So I needed to be a little more aggressive…in a passive sort of way. I stalked him.

I attended a panel he was in and then waited until he was done.  The panel itself was very interesting.  It was titled: a horse is not a jeep. The concept was writing realistically.  If your character was riding a horse, he can’t move as fast as a jeep. The horse needs to be feed, and bedded, etc. The panel was about more than just horses.

As I said, the nice thing about panels is you get to see the author from behind the books. After the panel, I walked into the concourse and waited. I had my book and pen ready. When I saw Taylor, I walked over to him. A few other people we waiting for him too and I could see he was willing to sign.

Taylor is a big guy. Big like me. Tall, filled out, and wear blues jean with a cowboy hat.  He has a Texas draw. As he signed, a petite and very pretty lady approached him to tell him where he needed to go. I asked if she was here to keep him out of trouble.  He smirked and said he didn’t mind being late for the next panel.  He really didn’t have a clue was it was about.

He handed back my book and thanked me for being a reader. Then the two of them walked off to the next panel.

AH

Gini Koch LoneStarCon 3

Previously I wrote about Gini Koch and her dynamic personality.  It was a brief but fun experience at SDCC.  When I wrote that, I knew she would be at LoneStarCon too. 

I was hanging out with my sci fi geek friends and I saw that Gini was signing. She had a nice line of fans waiting for autographs. Many of them were bringing well read books.  I waited until she was done with her fans and then I walked up.  I barely said ‘hi, I saw you at ComicCon’ when she popped up out of her chair and came around to hug me.  She told me I wasn’t all sweaty now.  She did remember the previous encounter.  I leaned over (I kinda towered over her) and hugged her and took care not to knock her pink cowboy hat off.

Ben Bova LoneStarCon 3

The first book I read by Ben Bova was Millennium. Don’t confuse it with the TV show or movie based on another book. This was about a moon colony declaring freedom from Earth.  As a 14 or 15 year old it blew my mind.

While I have not enjoyed every book of his as much as that one I have read a lot of his books.  I was able to get him to sign a couple of books in Denver.  Normally I don’t do repeats on authors but I do have a weakness for my sci fi authors.  This was an opportunity I didn’t want to waste.

I waited in line for Ben.  I tried not to gush when I got in front of him.  He asked if I wanted anything signed in the book.  I said his signature.  Well, duh!  He meant did I want my name or date or some quote.

I said just his signature. He looked at me and said it was no problem to personalize it.  Still trying to get my mind in first gear, I nodded.  I didn’t want my name but I wasn’t really in control of the situation.  He looked at my badge.  I looked down and moved it closer so he could read my name.

He handed back the books and I smiled. I mumbled a giddy thank you and left.

AH