I have been slowly melting ever since.
On Saturday I attended Vericon, Harvard's speculative fiction convention. I originally stumbled upon it by way of Scott Lynch's tour schedule. If you have stood within one hundred feet of me in the last year, it is probable that I have commanded you to read Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. So when I saw that he was going to be in Boston (What? BOSTON? No one ever comes to Boston!) I started counting down the days. When I saw that Patrick Rothfuss was to be the guest of honor, my excitement became even more complete. Have you read The Name of the Wind? No? Stop reading and go do that, then come back and finish reading.
My wonderful boyfriend and apprentice in book geekery, went with me and we had an amazing time. The panels on Interactive Media and World Building have given me so much to think about in my own work and also have confirmed the niggling thought that I need to find a group of people to be writing with. Having the privilege to listen to another person discuss their process, roadblocks, and successes in turn is inspiring and important. Someone has set the reset button on my writing life and I now remember that it is a craft- it requires much of you and is nearly always worth the trial. All I want to do is write today and having that fire back in my belly is a gift.
I picked up a copy of Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon, which is a fantasy that takes place in an Islam-Arab inspired medieval setting. I honestly can't wait. I sometimes get bored to tears with obviously Eurocentric fantasy worlds- there's a whole world out there to be inspired by! If anyone has any recommendations in the alternate vein, let me know.
While I did not purchase a copy, as soon as I finish Throne, I am going to get a hold of Max Gladstone's books Three Parts Dead and Two Serpents Rise. His contributions to the panels were engaging and came from the unique perspectives on economics and society that inspired and infuse his work. Fantasy as social commentary? Sign me up! Really though, fiction is a mirror, even when it does not try to be, and I love it when writers actively take advantage of that dimension of their craft. Interested? You should read Chuck Wendig's interview with Gladstone on Terrible Minds and become more interested.
I also picked up over a dozen leads on things to look into from games and books and authors mentioned in passing. My mind is full of things to mull over and expand on. I can sense a months-long fantasy reading spell coming on, can't you?
As a final note, I am jealous of me in the next two pictures:
"You may bone a woodwife, but you do not love her."
-Patrick Rothfuss
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