Seattle, Day 2, Part 1

Jump to Comments

So, last night’s events were interesting, but both Aedin and I were pretty tired. We had done so much during the day already.

Mercedes Lackey was not able to attend the SciFi/Fantasy Authors’ Panel. But there was another woman, Laini Taylor, who was wonderful. I got an autographed copy of her first (upcoming) book. It is called Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer and it will be published in June.

I loved a lot of what she said in her speech, which I told her when I got her autograph. She told me that her speech would be posted on her website, http://www.lainitaylor.com. Here are some of the highlights of her speech that I tried to write down:

“When people escape into fantasy, they don’t escape into a green meadow to weave daisy chains for unicorns. They escape into worlds where they fight battles and save the world. … They escape into worlds where they are not powerless. … I have the great job of bringing hope to a devastated world. … I get to save the world, and so do my readers.”

And from R.A. Salvatore:

“If, in reading fantasy and science fiction, you get used to worlds that are just, worlds where justice prevails, then I think you get intolerant of injustice in your own world. … Science fiction and fantasy can empower you to fight injustice in your own world.”

The Young Adult Video Gaming Night, I’m afraid I was really tired for, so I didn’t appreciate it as much as I would have earlier in the day. There were lots of games (card games, board games and video games) that they were giving away. Here’s what I picked up:
• Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Starter Set
• Magic: The Gathering Core Set, with Booster Packs
• XBOX Forza Motorsport Demo

There were various video game stations set up for us to try, but I felt so ignorant about everything, that, to be honest, I was afraid to try. The hand-held controls were so complicated. The only one that I did pick up to try was a Legos Star Wars game that started vibrating as soon as I picked it up! I have to admit that it freaked me out. The guy showing me what to do told me that the control vibrates when you die. So I caused a Jedi Knight to die just by picking the thing up!?!

The librarian next to me was standing on this Twister-like mat and stomping on different parts of the mat. She looked pretty strange. There was no way that I was going to try that one out!

And then there was a librarian who was wielding one control in each hand like tennis rackets. The rest of us were giving her a wide berth!

I’m afraid that the whole video game thing was sensory overload for me. (Tess, I realize that you are probably very disappointed in me …)

Today, we had to check out of our hotel room and change to a new room. This change caused us to get a late start on the day. There are only a few things on the agenda today:
• Back to the Conference Exhibit Hall
• Meet author Terry Trueman, author of Stuck in Neutral, and get his new book, No Right Turn
• See if there are still tickets for the Freedom to Read Guest Lecture by frequently challenged and banned author Chris Crutcher

Best Wishes,
Ms McDaniel

2 Comments

Filed under Library Conference, Uncategorized