Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all the Mom's out there and hugs to those making it through this weekend without yours.

I spent the day at Rathacon which I have to say was a let down except in some key ways. I think part of the problem is they have no venue earlier in April but doing this over mother's day weekend is rather dumb, especially when you consider ALL THREE colleges in the area are over with by now. Your key demographic is gone so you only have locals. The vendors were even smaller than last year too. I did buy another comic book off one young woman who did a transgendered one last year. And I got two pendants from someone who uses bottle caps for them. Mine has a picture of Darth Vader and I got one of Spock's Hand for mom (but I might turn it into a book mark for her).

Only a few of my steampunk group was here today (everyone was there yesterday). That was nice. It was fun talking to them and they were the the best part of the thing because they let me play. THere was a TARDIS there (made by Boba Fett who is one of the theater guys at Ohio Uni.) and they did a whole photoshoot with me.

AND I got to go pet Toothless. I'll be honest he's why I went. I figured it would be slow as hell on Mother's Day. In some ways I feel bad for the guy. He IS the guy who made Toothless as a model for Dreamworks and he is such a nice guy but it seems like a waste of his time to be at such a tiny venue (though he was here last year and knew what he was getting into). He also did a photoshoot for me (probably a relief after dealing with whiney kids and entitled Moms all day, that or he felt sorry for the lone adult geek).

A new comic book store opening this summer in Cincinnati was there and they had the free comic books so I got mine! I picked up a steampunk one and something called Awake and then the Suicide Squad tie in.

Also got to speak to an indie director about his upcoming SF/Horror (Picardo from ST:Voyager is in it) and he took my name as a Jana so that was fun.

Tomorrow I drive to Cincinnati to see Maggie Stiefvater. I'll be spending the night since it is a 2 1/2 hour drive and the book signing is at night. I wouldn't get home til nearly midnight and I-32 is a very lonely road at the best of times. Also I have to be in Columbus early tuesday morning and Cinci is closer to Columbus than here. I found a Red Roof Inn that tripadvisor said was clean and only 60$. The other two cheapo places were rated piss poor on tripadvisor.

And really everywhere else was 130-230$ a night. Is it any wonder people no longer travel like they used to? I would have taken the lonely highway before I paid that much money for the night (or just driven to Columbus and stayed there, probably at the hotel I need to be at for my student's research presentation).

Literally everyone loved the hat mom and I made. That made me smile so much.

( See the hat here )

And here was graduation via drone (I'm in the fourth row!)


And this tops off a very geeky day.

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The Raven Cycle

So today I trucked across Ohio to see Maggie Stiefvater and get her autograph on the last of the Raven Cycle. She is a funny woman both artist and author and at the same time horse woman and race car enthusiast/driver.

It was a grey rainy day (and I didn't get to see Mercury scooting across the sun, ah) but an easy drive. A painless drive. 150 miles and not ONE rest stop (suck it, Ohio). I stopped where I stop going to the renn fest, the Tangier Outlet mall.

I'm at the Red Roof inn in a small room but clean and comfortable but the bathroom is hysterically small. It's only as big as a bathtub and you can barely open and shut the door it's so small. But hey it's cheap and Bob Evans is across the street for breakfast.

I am unfamiliar with Joseph-Beth Booksellers and had no idea there was a bistro in it or else I would have eaten there. I didn't see the Pub at the mews that I had picked out online but it wasn't right there and since it was raining hard, I went to the rusty bucket for an ahi tuna wrap and a moscow mule (If I have to drive on I-71 at rush hour (TWICE) I deserve vodka).

I had a coffee (totally missing they had a Gansy which was chocolate peppermint and they did a crap job of promoting) and sat since I was an hour early at this point (gave myself time to get stuck in traffic and or get lost which I rarely do). I ended up in a conversation with this transgendered African-American soul singer who toured Europe with Willie Nelson and somehow got on the topic of medical issues and she just was diagnosed as having porphyria. I was surprised. I said I know it's a rare disease but you were probably peeing purple. How'd they miss that? She was so shocked that I knew that but of course she was also fighting prejudices and blaming everything on transition hormones which she isn't even on. She shook my hand and I think we'll meet again. I wouldn't mind that in the least.

Maggie Stiefvater was extremely funny and very nice. She knows how to work her audience. The next book is a stand alone in southern Colorado. the funniest story she told had to do with Gansy's camero. It's based on hers. Then she said she had been clueless about fanfic. Hadn't expected all the Gansy/Adam/Ronan slash in HER car or that her friends would delight in reading it to her. "I can't even look at the gear shift in my car!"

Snerk. And the most touching was earlier in this book tour a young man was reading the last few pages standing in the autograph line and wept when he finished and it was his turn and told her he needed a minute before he could come talk to her.

I did meet my friends there and we had plenty of time to talk. I was in the F group (and there was at least out to I). It took me a total of FOUR hours. evil_little_dog owes me a beer. Maggie was happy I didn't just get books for me but for others. She also loved I was wearing her shirt with the Raven Boys on it because it was in blue. "I saw you in the audience and kept trying not to stare. People always have it on grey or white."

I replied, "How could any color for the boys be more appropriate than blue?"

So if you like her books and the tour is near you, go. Wear your comfy shoes.

Also my hotel room either has a short in the lights or a ghost.