That was what they dubbed this year’s Eastercon, on account of the freezing temperatures and residual snow and ice in Bradford. There was nothing the organisers could have done about the weather, or about the fact that the main bar area was right next to the hotel doors which invited in an icy blast every time someone went through them. Which was frequently. But they did manage to make this year’s event in the distributed hotel setup work about as well as it could have. It was all in all a very relaxed event. Good humoured and lacking the frenetic atmosphere of the recent Heathrow ones.
I caught up with a load of old friends and had some great conversations with many new ones. I talked a lot about The Moon King with my publisher – covers, paper, other aspects of book design – and it feels even realer now. And I scribbled in some books at the Solaris Rising 2 launch too, which is always nice.
I commiserated with friends whose names weren’t read out when the awards were announced, and celebrated with Ian Sales, who’s name very much did.
I ate badly (except for a couple of excellent expeditions to find curry). I slept terribly (is there a form you can fill in about your neighbours making loud sexy noises in the bath at 5am two nights out of three?). But I still had an excellent, chilled weekend.
ayeahmur 