Traveling, Euro-holiday and Nineworlds

If you haven’t seen me online much, it’s because I’ve been traveling. I had a fantastic six week holiday across Europe, starting at Poland and gradually moving West, to Germany, France, England, Scotland and Isle of Skye (I know it’s not a separate country but hey, neither is Scotland according to some folks). I had a fabulous time, ate waaay too much food, consumed far too much local beer and gin (got to try the local colour!) and bought too many books and movies in the UK. They’re stupidly cheap compared to Australia, with the max price of a paperback being 8.99 pounds (about $15 AUD), whereas books are no less than $20 here, if you’re lucky. And I like supporting bookstores and fan-stores like the awesome Forbidden Planet, which I’ve always heard people gushing about but never been myself, where I got most of my haul.

I’ve also been known to have a gin or two. Or three. Or more, if the company is right. But if you want the good stuff, you’re looking at bleeding your wallet dry sooner rather than later. Thankfully, we stopped by a gin boutique store in Berlin, which had gins from across the world. Combined with duty free shopping, I got to add a few to my collection.

There was also a meeting with my awesome agent, John Jarrold. Can’t talk too much about what we discussed, but things are moving along and I hope I’ll be able to talk in more detail soon.

I also got to stop by Nineworlds, which is significantly smaller than WorldCon…and very, very different. I’ll go into more detail with another blog, but I’ll admit that while I got to catch up with some friends, I was very disappointed with the programming, the panels (including one I was on, which was a disaster), the general audience and mood of the con. It wasn’t a place for the majority of readers or writers or creators, with half the panels being very fan-driven, most of which were about dating simulators, the sexual politics of anime, or how *insert piece of media here* is problematic. None of these things are bad, of course, but when they become pretty much all a con’s got to offer…it makes for a very specific and one-sized audience. But that will be discussed later, but suffice to say I felt very isolated and out of place, and the people I was with shared my feelings.

Anyway. It’s back to normal life, work, study, gym and writing. I do wish I was back driving along the highlands of Scotland, scoping out the pubs and eateries of London and walking down the sun-showered streets of Paris, but I like getting back into my routine, and living for 6 weeks out of a suitcase is more tiring than it sounds. I’m already deep into some new projects and should have more news on that front soon.

Onwards!