Jean Marie's Domain

My trip to Calgary last fall for the World Fantasy Con coincided with a photo shoot for a Lifetime Nora Roberts movie.  The question was, which one?  None of the titles listed on her web site took place in Baltimore (which is where a production assistant said the movie was set), much less Calgary. Turns out the movie was High Noon. The book takes place in Savannah, but hey, this is Hollywood--or at least its Canadian equivalent.

It's incredibly cool to see streets I walked, bars I drank in and places I visited on my TV. The scene before the 10:20 p.m. commercial break was set in the storefront shown in the picture (which was dressed as photo studio). But the biggest giggle so far has been the hero's bar. It's called Swifty's in the script, but behind the bar you can see the real name emblazoned on the mirror: James Joyce. Ah, the memories...  Right, cymreiges ?

I hope.  The pictures display on my Flickr Photostream, but I haven't a clue how to get folks to the right picture.  Fingers crossed the following links work.

Capclave 2008

World Fantasy Con 2008

I know, I know.  I should write up con reports and explain how I nearly killed WFC 2008's Writer Guest of Honor, Barbara Hambly. 
Look, I didn't mean to, okay?  All I did was put on a dab of perfume before I went down to the room to moderate the Genre Hopping panel Sunday morning, November 2.  Unfortunately, the combination of my perfume (BPAL's Kyoto) and the dry air of Calgary wreaked havoc on Barbara's sinuses.  But she soldiered on.  Fortunately, the panel also featured Jo Beverly.  Between the two of them, I don't think anyone in the audience noticed there was a problem.  Those ladies are class acts, and I feel so lucky to have shared panel space with them.  I just wish I hadn't made Barbara so uncomfortable.
Lesson to remember for future panels: eschew the perfume, no matter how good it smells to you. 
Chastened cheers,
Jean Marie

 The good kind--conventions where you get to attend panels and hang out with your friends and (if you're on the program) hopefully entertain other people doing the same.  So far, my 2008 schedule looks like this:

April 25-27, RavenCon, Richmond, VA
I expect to go a little wild at this one.  I'm rooming with jer_bear711and cymreiges, both of whom have fabulous new books coming out this year and want to celebrate the arrival of same.  They're actually contemplating letting me loose in a room party.  Heh heh.  And, oh yeah, there will be great programming too.  ;-)

May 17-18, Philadelphia Book Festival, Philadelphia, PA
This one's a little unusual for me.  It's a book fair sponsored by the Free Library of Philadelphia. Samhain Publishing has reserved a booth, and I volunteered to help out with sales, etc.  I've never worked a sales table before, but with everything that's going on at the fair, it's got to be a win/win/win situation.  I get to promote a good product, maybe even sign a book or two (yes, Virginia, turns out my mother-in-law's square apple pie recipe really is in The Write Ingredients--go us!), and after it's over I can visit family and friends in the area.

May 23-26, Balticon, Baltimore, MD
No roomie for this one yet.  (I think I'm on probation after getting a little too enthusiastic about the whole room party idea.)  But lots of wonderful programming and fabulous guests--besides me, that is.  One of the things I especially like about Balticon is you always catch folks with fabulous new books you never would've known about otherwise.  It doesn't hurt that the conventon celebrates new authors, either.  (Go Compton Crook Awards!)

August 28-September 1, DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
Oh yeah.  My favorite summer camp for wayward adults.  cymreigeswill be there.  hundakleptisiswill be there.  Carole Nelson Douglas...  DragonCon qualifies as a highlight of any year.  It's pure madness, but how can you not love a con with a parade, concerts and the Ms. Klingon Universe pageant?

October 31-November 2, World Fantasy Con, Alberta, Canada
I don't think I'll be playing on any panels for this one, but I'm definitely going.  This will be my first time attending a WFC where I haven't been running ragged trying to nail down interviews for Crescent Blues.  I get to be a fan.  And what a line-up!

Capclave, the local DC sf/fantasy convention is always on my to-do list.  But after the last couple of Octobers, I'm not making any plans just yet.  Of course, this means I may have to attend it as a fan too.  Oh, twist my arm!  :-)
Now to get back to what I should've been doing this afternoon--working on a short story involving a hapless interstellar transport gate repair person and a dragon who resembles my mother to an alarming degree.  It's ironic, I spent years trying to keep her from overwhelming me, now I'm trying to channel her for dialogue and it's hard.
I also need to get this info on Wardsmith.com.  I've let the site slide for far too long.  Oh well, now that the dh has put the finishing touches on the new and improved Hail Dubyus, our new webmaster will definitely have more time.  Once he's recovered, that is...  Mwahahahaha!
Cheers,
Jean Marie