Boskone + Review

Got back from Boskone--which was great!--yesterday at around 7:30pm . . . and immediately (well, I did spend some moments getting welcomed back appropriately by my partner and unpacking) began grading. Ugh. But I got all that done so I feel free to update the old journal about the con!

Friday was a long drive to Boston but with good friends pbray and jennifer_dunne, so it was bearable. Windy, and we changed lanes unexpectedly several times, but a good drive. Got to the con, signed in, got our pro packages, Jennifer managed to pick up a few panels . . . and then the weekend started. First up, the panel on "The Heroine's Journey," where I was the token male. Panel went well, lots of good discussion. Hit Jennifer's first panel on the Ideal Reader, then we hit the game room, learned how to play Munchkin, hit the art show reception which had great food and music (they broke into the theme from Star Trek . . . and played it well). But basically after that I crashed. I actually hit the wall during the reception and went through the last part zombified.

Saturday was THE day, lots of panels, a signing, a reading, a great dinner. The panel on setting with matociquala plus others was great. Lots of great discussion on setting as its own character, POV affecting setting, and setting forcing plot or character development. The best panel of the weekend that I attended. I was a little late for the signing, since I was chatting in the bar, but no one showed up so that was fine. Went to the reading expecting no one to show (the con felt very . . . thin, even though the number of attendees didn't reflect that; I think we were too spread out in the hotel), but had 3 people there, which was great. Thanks for showing up guys! Also learned to play Quidditch. Hit the dealers room where tryslora was happily pushing my book (THANKS!), signed copies for the dealers. Ended the night with dinner. They'd sold out of my books in the dealers room, so sold a few extra copies I'd brought with me to Larry. Also signed copies at the local B&N, while Jennifer signed her copies at the local Brentano's. Overall the best day of the con . . . not surprisingly.

Sunday was another panel, this one at 10am on The Happy Peasant. No one was really that awake or energetic on this one, and the hot chocolate I'd picked up didn't really kick in much. Went to my Kaffeeklatch, where I was competing with G.R.R. Martin for fans. But it was a good, nice, calm conversation. Then lunch, Patricia's panel, and the drive back.

Overall, lots of great conversation. I got to meet clarkesworld, Tobias Buckell, and lots of fans. There was much hilarity and risque jokes since I was rooming with both Patricia and Jennifer, and I'm sure we started lots of inappropriate rumors. So the con was a success!!

And in the meantime, a great review by Paul Genesse was posted on amazon.com, comparing my main character to one of the characters in G.R.R. Martin's series. Here's what he said:

The Skewed Throne is a great book. I couldn't stop reading it once I opened the beautiful cover. The author grabbed me right away and didn't let go. I love the main character and found myself pulled into the novel from the very beginning. I read the Skewed Throne before work, at work, and then when I got home. I just had to keep reading, and rarely do I find a book that compels me to read another chapter, and another, etc.

Joshua Palmatier has a gripping narrative style that doesn't sugar coat anything. You get to see the filth and the blood of a medieval city, and come to understand the harshness of surviving on the streets. The young girl, Varis, who is the main character, is easily one of my favorite characters of any book I've ever read. If you are familiar with Arya Stark in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series you'll love Varis, who has a similar tenacity and toughness.

I highly recommend The Skewed Throne and fans of gritty fantasy will love this book.