Community, Redux

We've just returned from about a week on the West Coast, first as honored guests with Ann at FOGCon and then at SF in SF, before winding up in Los Angeles on the Paramount lot, with Ann's son Jason showing us around the set of NCIS LA (which he helps cast, along with NCIS), followed by some meetings elsewhere that may lead to something.FOGCon had some great programming and a great dealer's room. We enjoyed meeting a lot of interesting people. It's the first year of the con and they perhaps need to better deploy their "honored guests" at the social events, although we did enjoy ourselves greatly and were well-treated. The decision to brew VanderBeer was inspired!But this post by our friend Morgan Dempsey probably sums up our feelings about the trip the most. We know a lot of amazing people in the community, in many creative fields, not just writing.We had wonderful conversations with so many of them, old friends and new, and so many of them are high-energy and positive and forward-looking that it revitalized us and lifted us up. As many readers of this blog know, it's been a tough couple of years in terms of workload, and so it was nice to be reminded that there is a community out there, and that it's various and rich and smart and fun. This isn't an impression you always get just looking at the internet.So, a thank you to everyone we met and talked to. I won't name you all---you know who you are, and that we love you.(More later on books acquired, FOGCon panels, our upcoming European schedule, etc...)