A Place We Can Be Ourselves

I love Yaoi-Con. 

Unequivocally, and without reservation.

This was my fourth YC– and the first one was literally weeks after I’d been pulled out of my classroom.  In fact, it was one of the things that kept me from just falling apart.  It was my first convention with Dreamspinner Press, and I had to tell my lawyers I had a book signing in San Francisco– they were so impressed– and I felt like maybe I had something to offer the world.

I remember being a combination of nervous and exhausted at my first convention with DSP–and that combination has followed me through the last four years.  I also remember being so impressed–everybody there, even the most jaded dealer, was there because they loved the art, the stories, and the general idea that yes, we were adults, but we could still play make-believe. 

The other dealers had such an awesome mix of art and ingenuity and excitement.  Many of them dressed, and those who didn’t dress displayed their talent and enthusiasm through their art or writings. I was so proud to be in their number.

And the attendees.  

Chicken and Big T get excited about cons and they plan their costume for weeks in advance.  I’m so proud of them–I feel like I’m part of that, since we’ve dressed up for the Ren Faires forever.   I’m so excited to see what people at Yaoi-Con can do as well.  I get goofy happy when I see really well conceptualized costumes, and while I have some pictures (not great ones– for some reason, my camera was all into the blurry inside) I missed some of the best.  The two awesome ladies who dressed as Evil Kirk and Evil Spock AS A COUPLE come to mind.  I couldn’t gush enough.

And into this wacky– and wondrous– mix of costumes and excitement and general consumeristic frenzy, there were actual fans of mine who came to see me.  Roget, Erin, Laura, Jason–I’m talking to you.  There were other folks as well, whose names I didn’t get, who told me they’d come especially to meet me, and that made me really proud.  (The young woman who was depressed that we didn’t have a paperback copy of Truth in the Dark stands out particularly, as does @ctrl_issues whose name I didn’t get.)  

Since I was sent to track down Prince of Cats, Alex Woolfson, and Hamlet Machine (Chicken had some very specific requests for her birthday, since she was going to a Linkin’ Park concert instead of YC) I could totally appreciate people who ventured to a crowded booth and said, “Uhm, I just came to talk to you.  Because…” It takes courage to do that, even if the person is smiling and accepting.  And I know I tend to freeze up in front of people.  I’m sure Alex Woolfson thought I was a complete idiot, even though he was gracious and amazing about it.  So I appreciate everyone who came to talk to me. 

I thought you were all wonderful, and you helped make my weekend.

Also making my weekend were Mary Calmes who could teach an entire seminar on salesmanship and being the kind of reader every writer wants to have, and being the kind of writer everyone should read.  Her simple enthusiasm for books made our booth special.  And yeah– I could be biased, but I know most of the world agrees with me, so I’m going to say that’s the absolute truth.  

Also with the DSP booth were Anne Reagan, our beloved editor at Harmony Ink Books, Julianne Bentley (who enjoyed the corset booth very much!) from the admin department, and Beau Shemery and Augusta Li, two our our most celebrated fantasy authors, and author EM Lynley who was at my first Yaoi-Con and here as well!

In all, it was a fun weekend of books and camaraderie, and although I missed my family (as always) I was also thrilled to be there.

Of course, I bought stuff for the kids– hats with ears and kitsune for the younger set, all sorts of birthday gifts for Chicken, and– my favorite find– Gillian Anderson Agent Scully Pins for T.  (Hey– straight boy candy at Yaoi-Con is a find, trust me on this!)  

And when I got home?  

Well, Zoomboy summed it up best:  When you leave and come back, the dog is like, “YOU’RE HERE YOU’RE HERE YOU’RE HERE!” and the cat’s are like, ‘Why did you leave me!”  

My family is more small dog than cat, I think, because they sure did make me happy to be home.