We’ve been back from Scotland for about a week now and after a few days of adjusting, I’ve been working hard on preparing for the upcoming Narratess Indie Sale that will start on the 24th. But I need time to reflect on our trip as well because a lot happened.

Meeting Friends

My main reason to go to Worldcon this year was because a lot of my friends were going (and it was close by). The con itself, with a total expected visitorship of over six thousand people, was intimidating, we only planned to go two days. Two days of socializing. After having lived as a recluse for nearly five years due to health issues, being surrounded by that many people is tough. I still get anxious in large crowds or crowded rooms easily so the idea of that many people in one place was an overwhelming thought.

But I’d do it for my friends. I wanted to meet them and support them. J E Hannaford had her book launch, Trudie Skies was on a few panels. AK Faulkner had a stand so we often went by for a little chat. L.L. MacRae personalized the epic Broken Binding edition of The Iron Crown. I met Tim Hardie, signed Rob J. Hayes’ hat, hugged Adrian M. Gibson, and gave fountain pen ink samples to Patrick Samphire and Krystle Matar. I managed to find Andrea Stewart, Aliette de Bodard, and T.L. Huchu in the crowds and was brave enough to ask for an autograph. I queued to get an autograph by Mary Robinette Kowal and pitched her my idea for the desert fantasy heist I’m writing since I was using her lecture to finetune the beats. She loved it. The people from Angry Robot Books were also super kind (Thank you to Caroline who crawled underneath the table twice to grab an ARC of Key Lime Sky by Al Hess). We listened to William C. Tracy talk about editing and his publishing company (Space Wizard Science Fantasy). He’s been part of the Narratess sale for a long time and it was so nice to meet him.

And you don’t need to be at the con to meet people, right? Grabbing lunch or dinner away from the event space provides a nice break from the crowds. We met up with another long time twitter friend Heleen Kist, a Dutch thriller writer who now lives in Glasgow. We had dinner with a blogger friend from France. We had planned an afternoon tea with a bunch of people but we all got lost in the programming and chaos. Some left Glasgow early because they just couldn’t cope anymore (I don’t blame them). We went back to the hotel quite early to decompress on most days. Pacing ourselves earlier meant we had the energy to go back on Monday, do some last shopping and see/talk to more people. We finally found Palmer Pickering at the Freebies Library and had a nice chat. All the indie books found new homes. It’s been such a great initiative, I really hope there will be another one at future cons.

Inspiration

Travelling has always been a big source of my inspiration. This trip was no different. Before Worldcon started, we did a day trip to Lochlomond and Stirling Castle. We experienced classic Scottish weather (drizzle, horizontal rain, sunshine, sunshine with rain) and nature. The Netherlands is a flat country, and the city we live in is pretty bland. So being surrounded by century old trees and mountains does something to me. I get ideas for new stories, add bits and pieces to the world building of Lunis Aquaria, come up with something completely new.

This refilling of the inspiration well continued when Worldcon started. Being surrounded by creative and passionate people feeds the soul. The dealers hall with the art exhibit was a great example. You can see people’s passions and dreams, how they made them real, and when you talk to them, they give you a piece of that dream as well. Even if I hadn’t published any books yet, this would’ve been a sign for me to pursue the dream. That dreams do become real.

One of the panels on fairytales gave me the missing piece I needed for another WIP. I have no idea when I’m going to be able to draft it but I know I’ve got everything I need to make it a good one. I might write a short outline in between drafting the desert fantasy series. Then I can work on it when I have to wait for edits or need a change of scenery.

Learning

Worldcon is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) conference for the science-fiction and fantasy publishing industry. Some of the biggest names will attend and share their knowledge. Most of it will be done during panels, but the bar area is also the place for interesting and inspiring conversations. With 958 items on the program, it was impossible to do everything. Especially when you’re not going to be there every day. You have to make choices.

We only attended a few panels, knowing that a lot of them have a replay available. Even after eliminating those, there were still more panels per time slot than we could visit, so we focused on soaking up as much useful knowledge as we could. Panels on editing, cover design, themes and tropes that I use in my writing. All the things that will help me move forward. I’ve grown so much over the last couple of years, and I want to keep that up. I want to grow as a writer and publisher because I’m far too ambitious to stay as I am right now.

Future Worldcons

Will I go to a future worldcon? Absolutely! But not any time soon. The next two will be in the US which is too far for us and with US politics as they are, I don’t know if I want to go there. Shiro is also getting older and I don’t want to leave her alone too long. (But really, I just want to rub my face into her fur whenever I can.)

There are smaller cons in the UK and on the mainland of Europe that we might visit. Maybe even as a vendor one day. Or share a table with another indie to split costs and energy. There are options and we have ideas. There’s so much going on behind the scenes that are in an idea or planning phase that I don’t even know what or how much I can say. But I’m really excited for the future. Lots of amazing thing are going to happen.

My epic bookhaul

I bought all of these books in Glasgow but not all at Worldcon. Books cost a lot less in the UK compared to the Netherlands so I took this opportunity to buy many books that I had my eye on already. Most of them would’ve cost about double if I bought them here. Others aren’t even available for purchase here so there would be adding shipping if I wanted this specific copy. After this epic bookhaul I can go back to only buying a handful of physical copies a year.

The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae (Broken Binding special limited edition, signed, personalised)
The Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Illumicrate special edition, signed)
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (signed)
The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Waterstones exclusive, signed)
To Cage a God by Elizabeth May
The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. Maclean
Braving the Storm by Niranjan (signed)
The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna (signed)
The Hunter’s Gambit by Ciel Pierot
The Branded by Jo Riccioni
Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson (signed, personalised)
Awry with Dandelions by J.S. Fields
Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard
The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
The Principle of Moment by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson (signed, personalised)
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu (signed, personalised)
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu (signed, personalised)
A Fire Born in Exile by Aliette de Bodard (signed, personalised)
Killer Bodies by Heleen Kist (signed, personalised)
Unfamiliared by J E Hannaford (signed, personalised)
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess (arc)
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal (signed, personalised)
Tales from Across the Domains by Trudie Skies (signed)
The End of Time by Trudie Skies (signed, personalised)
The Treasury of Folklore: Waterlands, Wooded Worlds, and Starry Skies by Dee Dee Chainey & Willow Winsham