There was a lot to cover this Balticon. While I had fewer panels, the ones I had were packed and fascinating.
You’ve Got Some Fantasy in my Urban was my first panel. I was joined by Miguel O. Mitchell, whom I shared a reading with last year, and Kathryn Faye, who would be a familiar face this weekend as we shared so many panels together. Our moderator was David Keener, who would helm other panels in the future. We had a very lively discussion which reinforced how many children of the White Wolf gaming era were now old enough to run panels.
David returned to moderate the Detectives in Urban Fantasy panel (which is available virtually). I was joined by John L French. Patrick Thomas, and this small author named Jim Butcher. You may have heard of him. I had a small moment when I let Mr. Butcher know about the existence of the failed 17th Precinct pilot which featured Tricia Helfer as a forensic necromancer. (If you want to see it, there are copies of various quality floating around). He was a bit upset the show was passed over. I think we all are.
Later on, it was time for A.J. Harris to shine in the Erotic Flash Fiction panel (also available recorded for Balticon members). Kathryn joined me, Maeghan Jo Kimball, and Cecilia Tan (!!!) under the watchful moderation of Yakira Heistand, as we read and discussed flash fiction we wrote. Big thank you to Sheila Jenne for their amazing questions. I’m glad my piece provoked thoughts as well as other things.
And then there was my last panel, Writing Sex for Horror Fiction, with Kathryn (who must have gotten sick of me!), Brigitte Winter, Jessica Moran (who remembered me from last year!) and Margaret Bates. We covered so much in this panel, and I came out of it with a reading list – the opposite of what I intended to do when I came in with suggestions of what to read if you want to see sex in horror done well.
Lastly, I managed to get into the Lazy Sunday Productivity Sprints broadcast at the very last minute with Doc, Morgan, and Sako.
And that was just the panels I spoke at! Despite the rain, terrible driving conditions, leaky roofs and at least one incident involving a friend discovering a break in her foot, I came away with notes, books, ideas, and at least one moment of synchronicity I’ll be happy to tell you about if you catch me at the bar getting tipsy on sidecars.
Thank you again to the whole balticon crew!
Biomechanoid Blues 