Vacation!

I'm on vacation this week. I only had a couple of things planned and am enjoying just being away from work and the regular schedule I'm forced to keep.

So far, I've done housework and laundry. Did a little shopping since I needed a new pillow.

Went to the zoo. Got to see the new snow leopard cub Misha at the Denver Zoo before she hid with mom in their den. At the Asia exhibit I showed up when the fed the fishing cat her dinner. It was fun watching her bounce through the water, catch her fish and then protect her back while she ate her fish. The tigers were up and marking territory. The other big cats did what they normally do - sleep when its hot.

Yes, I did see other animals. But my favorites are the cats. Besides, it doubles as research for future writing projects. I love it when what I know and my passions blend. Makes for great story telling. 

AnomalyCon Postscript

 I attended AnomalyCon, our local Steampunk convention over the weekend. I was impressed by the friendly staff, the willingness of the the Conchair to sit and talk with folks, and the impressive number of costumed attendees. I haven't see that many at the local literary conventions for several years.

My first panel World Building, was lively with several other authors making their suggestions on how to build a believable world for your characters to walk around in, without the external details overpowering the story.

I also ran two Writing Workshops, or Prompts, as they were called. Small turnouts for both but the participants learned a great deal. The first was Saturday, Goodnight Colorado, where the writers would compose a travelogue. I expanded it to include traveling other worlds, solar systems, wherever they wanted to set it. The second was with J.A. Campbell on Smart animals. A fun little exercise where instead of a human view point, the piece is written from a critter of choice.

I also had a reading but no one showed up so I spend the time talking with whomever walked by.

Most of the convention I spent talking with fellow writers, sharing news of finished projects of upcoming ones. I also brainstormed a new idea which I will be working on with J.A. Campbell. We're both excited about the project, which we're hoping to have done in time for AnomalyCon next year.