ConCarolinas -- POSSIBLE, Not Confirmed

[filkertom]

I've been contacted by ConCarolinas... about next weekend. Dunno yet what's gonna happen, but, if you're out that way, it looks like a decent con in any case. They've already got Spider & Jeanne Robinson, Tony Amendola, and the Boogie Knights. As soon as I know something, I'll pass it on here.

Comments

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you have ever met the Robinsons but I think you will get along famously! Not all writers are the same people in person that you surmised by their writing... Spider and Jeanne most certainly ARE.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm a bit worried about that. See, I think Spider is an amazing storyteller, and a lousy writer. And realizing that the common description of him as "the new Heinlein" fit precisely, and that was in fact what bugged me about his stuff, didn't help any.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Well, leave out the "lousy storyteller" part if you have any tact at all and you'll be okay. They are very nice people. He's the only one I ever allowed to smoke in my car... the things one does when transporting the guests of honor. Jeez.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I do have a little tact. (My friend Sherry used to say, "... like a tactical nuke".) And I'm not kidding about the amazing storyteller part. I get ticked off at his books (no, I won't go into detail, so please don't ask), but reading 'em is like eating popcorn.

[djonn]

Whoa.

I have not met Spider Robinson, but that's eerily close to my take on his books as well. They do very well at telling stories, but he's got a lot of narrative tics that, for me, tend to overshadow his plots and characters (and his first-person narrators tend to sound an awful lot they're all the same guy with different names).

On those occasions when he stretches himself, he can do really, really good stuff. But I haven't seen him do that nearly as often as I'd like.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

I haven't conversed one-on-one with Spider, but I have heard him speak a few times to small groups, and he's as entertaining in person as he is in print. (What can you say about someone who greets his audience with "Thank you for coming, or however you were reacting?")

As for his writing, I think he's a fine writer when he's in control of the story, but about halfway through most of his books, the plot takes the bit in its teeth and goes running off across the fields; it's amusing to watch, but doesn't actually go anywhere useful. The other beef I have with him is that so many of his stories are the "let's go back in time and fix our own past" time travel plot that insults the intelligence of anyone with an IQ higher than 80.

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

I was there last year, they're nice people and it's a fun con. :)

[fractalwolf.livejournal.com]

Yay! I hope so! I'm going to be there, and if you are too I can hopefully finally remember to buy the CDs you've made that I don't have yet.

If you're interested in crash space, we have a futon in the office we can lend for a night or three. The downsides are that the office is crowded, there are no other males (except one of the 3 cats, nominally) in the house, and we're 1.5ish hours from the con.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Appreciate it, but if I'm going, it's as a fully paid guest. It's a long damn haul.

[fractalwolf.livejournal.com]

Okay, just thought I'd offer :}