Back from Chicago TARDIS

My brain can finally cope with blogging. The con trail is finally at an end. I am definitely getting too old for this “three cons in three weekends” thing.

This was an odd Chicago TARDIS for me. It was a low key, but pleasant convention. Many of our regular friends were unable to attend this year (Bill, Shaun, Robert, michaellee , Gary, etc.), so we were pretty much in a clump with the Mad Norwegians. This was also not a convention where I was very interested in the Guest of Honor, Eric Roberts. Finally, the Sekrit Project was revealed. The end result of all of this is that I am slowly transforming from pure fanboy to fan semi-pro. It’s a bit unsettling.

Thursday night, Lars and christapolis stopped by on their way from Iowa to Chicago. It was awesome. They got to meet Caitlin, see the house, and we got to generally catch up. It was nice to see them after a year of emails and phone calls. Lars brought copies of AHistory (2nd Edition) and About Time 6. Both look great. I was one of the Associate Editors for both, so it was extremely cool to see the transformation from manuscripts to real books. The best part was the back of About Time 6. Lars and Christa created an ad announcing the Sekrit Project, now entitled Fluid Links. It’s a guidebook to the Doctor Who novels and audios. I will go into more details about it in a later blog

The next day we dropped the girl off at grandma’s apartment. My mom has been phenomenal for the last few weekends. We couldn’t have done it without her. Then we entered the convention at the new hotel. The Crowne Plaza was very nearly the hotel for the Aicardi Conference, so I knew it well. It’s a nice hotel, but it is very much about nickel and diming you to death. We ended up sharing a room with Lars and Christa, which was fun. It was like a high school sleepover.

Lynne and I spent most of the convention socializing with old friends and meeting new ones. We were able to see and hang out with taraljc, Bohus, Ed, Jenny, fizzixrat, Steve M., Steve J., Rob, Jason, Arnold, Stephanie, Steve H., Scott, Nick, Karen, Kathryn, Jennifer, and Allan. We also got to meet and befriend the wonderful squee girls of Iowa, nnwest, John, hweather, and dark_aegis, They are full of awesome and we really wish that we were closer to their fan club.

The events of the weekend are a blur of geek and drink. I bought toys and books. We went to Gibson’s with a clump that included all of the UK guests. We drank in the bar and in rooms. Lynne became a voice for fangirl squee after being on about six squee panels. Lars and I talked about the book to about 20 people at 10 a.m. on Saturday. I got some books signed by David. My panels went fine. Eric Roberts is what you would expect.

I want to thank everybody working the con for all of their work. It’s not an easy job.

Next year, Colin Baker returns and I should have a co-written book in the dealers’ room.

Yikes!

We already miss everybody. We’ll see you next year.

Sekrit Project = Fluid Links

My first sekrit project for Mad Norwegian press has finally announced at Chicago TARDIS. Here is the ad that appears at the back of About Time 6 :

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Coming Soon... Mad Norwegian Press debuts Fluid Links- the successor to I,Who, and a multi-volume guidebook series to the Doctor Who novels and audios.

Designed to benefit from the experience Mad Norwegian has gained since I, Who first published in 1999, Fluid Links starts from scratch and vigorously examines the Doctor Who books and audios in lavish, comprehensive detail. It’s a project so ambitious, it requires four authors (Lars Pearson, Robert Smith?, Michael Thomas and Anthony Wilson) and strives to become the definitive guidebook to the material in question.

The initial Fluid Links installments (likely two volumes) will cover the whole of BBC’s Eighth Doctor Adventures- from its inception in The Eight Doctors straight through its conclusion in The Gallifrey Chronicles. Essays in these volumes include “How Much Occurs in the Vampire Science Gap?” , “Is There Any Point to Parallel Universes?” and “Was Miranda the Doctor’s Biological Daughter?”

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It’s a massive project, and I’ve been working on it for over a year. My own main niche is that I’ve accumulated everything for the Lore sections of each novel. This has meant hundreds of hours of research as I poured through interviews, the Usenet, mailing lists, and forums for every scrap of information about the novels.

The book should see publication next year, but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done.

In addition to this, Lars has asked me to participate in a new sekrit project once we are done with this one.

I am so thankful for these opportunities. I am living out my dream, and that’s something that I never expected to happen. It sure as hell beats corporate finance.