I go to as many sf/ conventions as I can afford, which is actually not half as many as I’d like. I do without stuff to get there.

Last year I attended my second Worldcon, this one in Denver. I had a ball. Frankly, I always do, no matter how small or how large the con is. I go with that expectation, and I have never been disappointed. The little things that could have been done better are hugely outweighed by the things that are done right.

Today I received a lovely letter from Denvention with thanks for my contribution to making the con a success by my voluntary services – and a refund! Ohmigod.

Denvention, thank you. And in the interests of making sure the money is put to a good sf/f community cause, I am looking around for the next convention I can attend and volunteer for.

And all you readers, writers and sf/f folk out there – remember you don’t want to miss out on Aussiecon in Melbourne next year.

Aah, Hrugaar tells me I have got the International times for the Virtual Conflux sff convention wrong. Let me check. I always am lousy at this!

Yep, here are the correct times for my appearance:

Malaysia/Perth: 10 a.m. Saturday
Canberra/Sydney: 12 noon Saturday
Los Angeles: 7 p.m. Friday
New York: 10 p.m. Friday
London: 3 a.m. Saturday
Paris: 4 a.m. Saturday

Thanks Hrugaar. My apologies to everyone. Bet I don’t get many from UK or Europe…but do look at some of the other writers instead who will be online at hours more compatible.

CONFLUX is the science fiction/fantasy convention held in Canberra. This year, prior to the convention they are repeating what they did last year: having a Virtual Convention. Next weekend.

So even if you can’t go to the real thing, you can come and chat online to some authors including myself, guests at the real con, editors and others in the business.

Here’s how:
Log on to this address* – find the section devoted to the author/celeb you want at the time scheduled for them – and chat!
Each has an hour allotted to them. You can throw them tough questions, tell them how much you loathed loved their books, ask what they are doing next, tell them how to write….whatever.

Here’s when:
Next Saturday and Sunday, Oz time. I start the programme at 12 noon Eastern Australian time on Saturday. (That’s 10 a.m. Saturday Western Australian/Malaysian time; 10 p.m. Friday night in New York; 7 p.m. Friday night in Los Angeles; 7 a.m. 3 a.m. Saturday in London – if I have my international dateline worked out properly. (Sorry about the original incorrect time for London.)

Here’s the programme and the participants:
Saturday August 2

12 noon – Glenda Larke

1pm – Chris Barnes
2pm – Gillian Polack
3pm – Bruce Gillespie
4pm – Phill Berrie
5pm – Stephen Hunt
6pm – Peter Strong
7pm – Karen Miller
8pm – Fiona McLennan
9pm – Maxine McArthur
10pm – Sharyn Lilley
11pm – Karen Herkes
12 midnight – Ellen Datlow

Sunday August 3rd

1am to 6am – break
7am – Sherwood Smith
8am – Nicole R Murphy
9am – Jonathan Strahan
10am – Kaaron Warren
11am – Sean Williams
12pm – Kevin J Anderson
1pm – Cat Sparks
2pm – Jackie French
3pm – Jack Dann
4pm – Simon Haynes
5pm – Marianne de Pierres

*http://conflux.org.au/forum/

Over on the Denvention3 webpage for the Denver Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention to be held this August), they have started to put up the bios of participants.

Oooo – I love this. All those great names: Lois McMaster Bujold is the Guest of Honour. Then there’s Carol Berg, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Phyllis Eisenstein, Robert Silverberg, Jay Lake, Kay Kenyon, Nancy Kress, Robert Silverberg, Steve Miller, Sharon Lee…and so many more.

And me. Yes, me. See here. I feel like a mouse in the shadow of so many talented writers.

And seeing as I am feeling all nostalgic after yesterday’s post, here’s another dollop of nostalgia. A photo take of our family back in 1989 in Alice Springs. Selina, aged 17, had just learned that she had been accepted at Oxford University. Nashii, the one on the right (then known as Tasha!), was 14.

There’s just hanging about talking
(Marianne de Pierres, Sean Williams, Darren Nash, Tim Holman, Joel Shepherd and Rob Hood)

and chicken imitations…

And generally lots of stimulating panels and talk. Lots of talk. Late into the night. There was even the experience of being at a room party threatened with police action if we didn’t break it up… Heavens, I haven’t been at one of those for years!! I felt quite young again.

I am having a ball.

In fact, my idea of writer’s heaven is to be surrounded by a heap of people who want to talk ideas, writing, books, sff, reading, getting published…

Lovely to get together with old friends, make new ones, change acquaintances into friends (hi, Emma…) Do I have to go home?

I must take some photos.

Had a room party last night which was a blast. Haven’t laughed to much in a long time. Bless you, guys…

• Eight hour overnight flights are the pits. And they will keep on waking you up for food and other unnecessary stuff.
• Rydges, Exhibition St: what a great location for a con – right in the heart of Melbourne, just five minutes on foot from whatever you could possibly want.
• Downtown Melbourne: What’s with all these women in black (mixed with white or shades of grey)? This is like Manhattan: black is de rigeur for locals. Wear colour, and you are instantly branded as a tourist.

Back a century and more ago, my great-gandmother told my great-grandfather to take their savings and buy some land in Collins St, which was opened for sale. Not sure of the year, but certainly somewhere between 1850 and 1900. He rode off to the big city, and returned without the deeds.
“Why?” she asked, exasperated. She was a canny Irish immigrant who could neither read nor write.
“Too expensive,” he replied, even though he had enough to cover the purchase.
And thus, dammit, went our family’s chance to be millionaires…

Wonder what he would say to the price of property in Collins St now?