A Few Eastercon 2010 Thoughts – Introduction

On Saturday  I was lucky enough to get taken to Eastercon 2010 by Liz and Mark from My Favourite Books. After a car journey that almost defied physics by reaching lightspeed, or it least it seemed to me in the back we arrived at the conference hotel in

There seems to be two main reasons to go: The panels and the people. I managed to make 4 panels, and considering that each lasts an hour I don’t think that’s too bad for one day.

They were:

• Writers and the Web – Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, etc
• Bridging the Gap – SF/F and Social Media
• E-Books – Reading and Publishing
• The Occult in Modern Urban Fantasy

For some reasons I missed:

• Reading Critically

which I really did want to go to. Next time.

I met loads of fellow bloggers and a great mix of industry people. It wouldn’t have happened any other way as they are my tribe. They are the people that I know outside Eastercon. I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t know Liz and Mark were going to take me and look after me and it was a bonus to meet everyone that I did.

It was a great opportunity to talk to people outside of email and twitter. And twitter is the most amazing network. I’ve found an amazing mix of writers, readers, and industry professionals on there, which has expanded my knowledge of industry no end. The connections are amazing and it looks like the web is endless – six degrees of separation in a few tweets no less.

Why am I talking about webs and connections? You just need to look at #eastercon on twitter to see a mix of people and connections. Everyone had different experiences though I hope that everyone got something from it. Especially emptier wallets from the dealers room. I know I did.

And I had a very unique experience if a little odd.

I’d better explain that. Bloggers are a new breed. We don’t need a gatekeeper to allow us to speak. We just appear and do it. And there is no guide to doing this. There is no right or wrong way.

Isn’t there? Well there is and there isn’t.

And this is why there is an intro. I’ve got two maybe three posts planned  as a result of my day at Eastercon. One is around blogging and reviewing and it might stray into writers and the web as well. And the other relaying some interesting thoughts on The Occult in Modern Urban Fantasy.

They’ll be based on the panels and conversations I had. One was a very intense but worthwhile conversation on reviews as you’ll see.

I hope you find them interesting.

Did anyone go? Want to share your experiences in the comments? Links to posts would be great too.