Current location:	our library
Current mood:	crazy
Current music:	Devil Inside - INXS (I'm a lost cause.)
Entry tags:	drawings: cartoons, writing: events

Potlatch, Day Everything Else
I came away from Potlatch 17 with so many things, intangible and tangible!

Tangible first. Our goodie bags were unbelievably fun. I have Trial of Flowers, which I will beseech jaylake to draw in while we're at Rainforest next weekend. The dead_perverts Society, of which I am a member, acquired a secret item from davidlevine, who then donated the proceeds to Clarion West. SECRET. I bought Holmes on the Range in the dealers' room. The title beguiled me, but I was wary of another attempt by an idiot modern author to write the great Holmes himself. This is the back cover copy, and I bolded the actual word that convinced me to buy it:

"1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When brothers Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as hands at a secretive ranch, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a few free moments to enjoy their favorite pastime: reading stories about Sherlock Holmes."

When another hand turns up dead, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to employ his Holmes-inspired "deducifyin'" skills, and sets out to solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.

I'm on page 50 and I'm already mentally composing my fan letter to Steve Hockensmith.

Anyway: intangible starts to get wild. I arrived at the GayBLT discussion a little late, so I didn't know who the panelists were. Once I realized I was listening to MacAllister Stone, I did my only actual fantarding at the convention. You know--instead of smoothly being all, "Hey, I enjoy your website," I made a complete ass of myself by speaking in a lost Sanskrit dialect and then urinating on the floor like an excited cocker spaniel. I'm not humiliated, however, because she did a good job of pretending I'm not an idiot. I happily joined in. I got to hear catrambo read, which is the first time I've ever read an author's work and enjoyed their book before I went to see them read, instead of becoming an unwilling and accidental convert. (Unless you count Dan Savage, but that packed auditorium lacked the romance and intimacy of a cozy fiction reading.) And that reminds me! I had a bizarre dream about a three-way with two of the other convention members on Saturday night, and I will never--no, stop smirking and planning and listen to me because I'm serious, I will never tell anyone who it was. But feel free to guess in the comments below, because it will crack me up.

And when I checked my e-mail at home, I have a lot of compliments and offers to keep in touch from a variety of intelligent, interesting people who share my interests! Usually if I'm attending a convention, it's to make money, not to socialize (with the exception of YaoiCon, which is both). This was a relaxed, eclectic atmosphere, and I'll definitely make an effort to attend yearly.

P. S. I finally gave Cat her picture, so you're allowed to see it.