Back from WHC

Good times. High points included:

-- At the mass autograph session on Friday night, met a lot of fans I only knew online. They seemed to be having a great time.

-- At the same session, sat next to the young folks of Eraserhead Press. They were all bizarro looking (since that's the name of their genre and all) but they were just the most polite, articulate young people you'd want to meet. It was fun.

-- One of the bizarro team was the elusive Gina Ranalli, another of the fine ladies of The Other Dark Place. Also finally met some others of that same persuasion - Deb, Christine and Liz. Nice gals.

-- Also met J. Paul Allen, that hippie long hair I've admired as one of the few sane people still on Shocklines. A very nice, humble man with interesting perspectives on life.

-- Gary Braunbeck's accpetance speech for the Long Fiction category of the Stoker Awards. Seldom can one find someone so brilliant, articulate, and passionate. He is an inspiration to us all and the image of classiness.

-- More class when I served on a panel with the famous Mort Castle. I've spoken to him before and he always makes a point of really listening to the other person and including them in the conversation. I thought we had a nice discussion of characterization in horror lit.

-- Less class in evidence of the couple people who needed to snub me. Nothing unexpected, but just kind of funny and junior-highish.