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Chessiecon was satisfying as usual, perhaps even a few ranks above satisfying (with the exception of the hotel coffee shop which, as has become customary for this site, drastically under-schedules staffing for the convention weekend with the resulting effects on service).

My panels were uniformly enjoyable, even (or perhaps especially?) the "diversity or tokenism?" panel which could easily have been one of those uncomfortable Diversity 101 panels except for the energy and talents of my fellow panelists (and supremely skilled moderator, Carl Cipra). Also a stand-out was the "Women of Camelot" panel (despite having to bite my tongue a few times when commenters lost track of the dividing line between history and Misty Celtic Romanticism). Convenient coincidence got me onto an additional item on Sunday when there were two no-shows for the panel on authorial consistency and keeping track of one's own canon.

Of the programming for which I was audience, the standout was "Seanan MacGuire and Ursula Vernon have a chat (possibly about frogs)" which is now my Platonic ideal of GoH panels. Take two voluble and personable women with an affinity for unusual wildlife and let them loose to spin yarns. Frogs were definitely involved.

I had a chance to meet a couple of online acquaintances in person, sold a few books, signed a few of the same, and L and I had several enjoyable conversations over meals (despite said coffee shop staffing issues).

The Gaylactic Spectrum awards for novels published in 2013 and 2014 were announced and while Melissa Scott swept both awards (with a co-author for one of them), Daughter of Mystery did make the "recommended works" short-list for 2014. This is an award where it definitely is an honor just to make the short-list and I'm very proud to see my work there.