'Tis Nyte! by Elizabeth Watasin

. . . the setting, participants, and people who visited made it so. There was no big stress, it was a comfy, intimate venue, we brought tea, cookies, and music, we had our own kitchen, bathroom, mini-lounge area and Dalek (yes, full-grown Dalek---inert, thankfully), a breeze coming in through the windows, good conversation, and honestly, it was really nice to see all the genuine smiles.

Very, very different from doing a 50K+ attendee event, a mid-sized show, or even a mid-sized genre show. It was plain nice!

It heartened me to see people at ease and to listen to authors talk earnestly about their books. It was getting back to craft and leaving the commercial environment behind.

I shall insert pics ( now that I finally have a clue as to how :D ).

My table is actually to our right; I was lounging for a bit and happened to take this pic leading down to the entrance. Clockwork Couture, the li'l steampunk boutique-that-could, is a floor below us. This room is their community center and is still being renovated. But you can see how nicely the space is coming along. The space is also used to host workshops, gaming, photo shoots, and so on.

Hee hee! Dru is funny, she looks mischievous here, but I think she was going for sweet, which she is! I really liked her table set-up, and I loved her covers. After taking a look at the French version of the first Clockwork Heart book and hearing Dru describe her Icarus-winged heroine, I had to pick up her trilogy. Seated to our left from Dru Pagliossotti was Jaymee Goh and her Steampunk World anthology plus another multicultural speculative fiction anthology. To our right was Madeleine Holly-Rosing and her Boston Metaphysical Society comic book and novella series, then Patrick Scullin, creator of Super-Siblings and his latest, Pandamonium.

Okay, in linking to Boston Metaphysical Society's site I just saw Emily Hu's latest page (she's the artist). GOOD work.

Here we all are!

From L to R: Me (Elizabeth Watasin), Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Jaymee Goh, Dru Pagliossotti, and Patrick Scullin! (with Dalek photobomb).

If I could do just wee events like this, I'd be happy, but promoting oneself is a strange and necessary business. Anyone who knew me from my past life/career would never imagine I'd put on a hat, dress up, and actually talk to strangers in a public venue. I'm still not that person entirely but I'll do it because I have to. And it's not a matter of putting on a hat to be something for show.

It's about becoming the person you think you're meant to be.

I call this, "Me, the 13th Doctor, with Friend Dalek". :D

All the best, ~~eee