Just before LTUE began, Howard was invited to be Guest of Honor at Ad Astra in Toronto Canada for 2008. Having Howard invited to a convention is not all that unusual these days. This invitation was different because Ad Astra is also buying a plane ticket for me to attend. I’m not sure how much that additional invitation is due to the fact that we know the current convention scheduler, (Hi Chani!) but I do know that the invitation delights us both. I get to go to Canada! To a cool convention! I’m going to be on panels! I’m very excited about this and I can’t wait for March 2008. My mom has already agreed to come to my house and watch kids so that I can go.
Then we attended LTUE and realized that one of the other GoHs was Julie Czerneda who is a Toronto local and regular Ad Astra attendee. We made sure to introduce ourselves and discovered what a delightful person Julie is. Howard shared a couple of panels with Julie, but I didn’t really get to meet her until Saturday afternoon. She and I ended up sitting together during the “gopher dinner” where all the gophers who’ve been running around for three days get a chance to sit down with the guests of honor. The gophers across from us were young and involved in their own giggly conversation, so Julie and I were able to talk. I was able to talk to her about the many anthologies she’s been involved in and how that process works, how she came to be published by Daw, and how many books she has in print.
Then Julie asked a little about me. I mentioned that I write Sci Fi and Fantasy short fiction. Julie’s eyes lit up and she immediately invited me to submit a story for her next anthology. She always holds one slot for a writer who has never been published before. I was both surprised and honored by the invitation. I suspect that she hands out lots of these invitations so that she has a large enough pool of submitted stories to choose from. The invitation-to-submit is by no means a guarantee that she’ll choose my story. But I am very certain that she does not hand out invitations randomly to everyone. She doesn’t want to read bad stories any more that any other editor. This means that something I did or said was sufficiently impressive that I merited an invitation. I’m so glad. Just getting the invitation makes me really happy.
I’ll be emailing her tomorrow to get my name put on the invitation list. Then the submission requirements will be sent out in 3-4 weeks and I’ll have until June to write the story. I will be writing a story for this. It may not get chosen, but I have to at least try. Submitting for publication will be a new and frightening experience for me. I’m both soaring and afraid to get my hopes up. I would love to go to Ad Astra next year with one of my stories printed in a Julie Czerneda anthology.
Wow!!! You’re coming to my home town – i’m so excited! i will definitely figure out a way to come and at least see you both if not be able to tell you in person how much i enjoy reading both Schlock and your journals 🙂
You’ll love Toronto, i guarantee it!
Wow!!! You’re coming to my home town – i’m so excited! i will definitely figure out a way to come and at least see you both if not be able to tell you in person how much i enjoy reading both Schlock and your journals 🙂
You’ll love Toronto, i guarantee it!
Make sure your passport is up-to-date…
And I’m glad things are going so very well for you lot…
I’m not much on the praying anymore these days, but I certainly keep you all in my thoughts, especially when the wee ones are ill… They certainly are luckyt though to have such hiugh-quality care at home, with a lovely bed-side manner to boot…
I never recall ANY nurses cuddling ME when I was in the hospital… More’s the pity, really…
Make sure your passport is up-to-date…
And I’m glad things are going so very well for you lot…
I’m not much on the praying anymore these days, but I certainly keep you all in my thoughts, especially when the wee ones are ill… They certainly are luckyt though to have such hiugh-quality care at home, with a lovely bed-side manner to boot…
I never recall ANY nurses cuddling ME when I was in the hospital… More’s the pity, really…
Nifty! I remember Ad Astra fondly. (I also think it’s highly nifty that Chani is running the programming. She’s been working on Ad Astra behind the scenes for five or six years now, at least.) Ad Astra particularly struck me as being a SF con that focused on literature, rather than the pop-culture bent that most cons have. (It has its share of television/movie SF, but it’s not really the focus.) Anyway, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
Nifty! I remember Ad Astra fondly. (I also think it’s highly nifty that Chani is running the programming. She’s been working on Ad Astra behind the scenes for five or six years now, at least.) Ad Astra particularly struck me as being a SF con that focused on literature, rather than the pop-culture bent that most cons have. (It has its share of television/movie SF, but it’s not really the focus.) Anyway, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
Are you still planning on going to WorldCon in 2008?
Are you still planning on going to WorldCon in 2008?
I have the only copy of Julie Czerneda’s book Regeneration with the two alternative endings (I won the charity auction at ArmadilloCon last summer). I know a few Canadians who really like going to Ad Astra, so you should have a good time.
I have the only copy of Julie Czerneda’s book Regeneration with the two alternative endings (I won the charity auction at ArmadilloCon last summer). I know a few Canadians who really like going to Ad Astra, so you should have a good time.
Hi!
I wish I could say I had so much pull that I insisted on tickets for you, but we really do have it as our standard offer for Guests. We’ve had some fantastic panels with spouses of our GoHs and have gotten to meet some really interesting people.
I’m so happy that you got to meet Julie and I’m thrilled to hear of her invite. I had a hunch that having two super nice women who both enjoy common interests would work out well. Two of anthologies that Julie edited are launching at Ad Astra this year. She really does a lot to promote and encourage new writers.
I’m so psyched to see you and Howard again! We’re going to announce him as a Guest for next year at this year’s convention.
Hi!
I wish I could say I had so much pull that I insisted on tickets for you, but we really do have it as our standard offer for Guests. We’ve had some fantastic panels with spouses of our GoHs and have gotten to meet some really interesting people.
I’m so happy that you got to meet Julie and I’m thrilled to hear of her invite. I had a hunch that having two super nice women who both enjoy common interests would work out well. Two of anthologies that Julie edited are launching at Ad Astra this year. She really does a lot to promote and encourage new writers.
I’m so psyched to see you and Howard again! We’re going to announce him as a Guest for next year at this year’s convention.
Excellent!
Now, if we could just get a decent Con here in Vancouver, we could get you to the part of Canada that doesn’t suck. Ok, ok, Toronto doesn’t suck – just their hockey team. ;-p
Seriously though, glad to see you making the trip north, and even happier to see you with a good opportunity to get published. Go go Sandra T!
Excellent!
Now, if we could just get a decent Con here in Vancouver, we could get you to the part of Canada that doesn’t suck. Ok, ok, Toronto doesn’t suck – just their hockey team. ;-p
Seriously though, glad to see you making the trip north, and even happier to see you with a good opportunity to get published. Go go Sandra T!
Good for you to be invited! Go for it! Writing is not always easy, but I would be surprised if Howard didn’t support you in this.
Good for you to be invited! Go for it! Writing is not always easy, but I would be surprised if Howard didn’t support you in this.
When Howard heard about the invitation, he pinned me with his eyes and said “You WILL be submitting something for this.” So, yeah lots of support.
When Howard heard about the invitation, he pinned me with his eyes and said “You WILL be submitting something for this.” So, yeah lots of support.
Oh yes. I will not miss the chance to see Lois Bujold in person. My goal is to have a book with my writing in it that I can give to her. However that needs to be it for the year. I can’t in good conscience leave my children for a weekend more than twice per year.
Oh yes. I will not miss the chance to see Lois Bujold in person. My goal is to have a book with my writing in it that I can give to her. However that needs to be it for the year. I can’t in good conscience leave my children for a weekend more than twice per year.
I hope I didn’t spill the beans before I should have. I was just so excited. I’m also excited to find out who the other guests for next year will be. Are they lined up yet? When will the announcement be made on the site so I can go see it?
I hope I didn’t spill the beans before I should have. I was just so excited. I’m also excited to find out who the other guests for next year will be. Are they lined up yet? When will the announcement be made on the site so I can go see it?
I’ve got my passport in order and I’m excited that I’ll actually get to put a second stamp in it. (The first was from South Africa.)
I’ve got my passport in order and I’m excited that I’ll actually get to put a second stamp in it. (The first was from South Africa.)
Oh no, it’s not a secret. Everyone is just getting the last details ready for 2008 so we don’t want the announcement to get buried under 2007 information.
We have our Fan GoH lined up, but we’re still in negotiations with other Guests for 2008. One of the authors we’ve been talking to is buried in writing deadlines so won’t be able to confirm until a month from now. They’re a really great Guest though so we want to wait.
Usually our line up ends up being something like: 2 author Guests, 1 or 2 art/comics guests, 1 editor guest and 1 fan guest. Then we usually have about 50-60 pro and semi-pro panelists (authors, editors, artists, scientists, etc.)
I’ll let you and Howard know when the announcement goes up, but the plan is to announce plans for 2008 at the convention and have flyers and bookmarks ready to hand out. Then we’d put an announcement up online.
Oh no, it’s not a secret. Everyone is just getting the last details ready for 2008 so we don’t want the announcement to get buried under 2007 information.
We have our Fan GoH lined up, but we’re still in negotiations with other Guests for 2008. One of the authors we’ve been talking to is buried in writing deadlines so won’t be able to confirm until a month from now. They’re a really great Guest though so we want to wait.
Usually our line up ends up being something like: 2 author Guests, 1 or 2 art/comics guests, 1 editor guest and 1 fan guest. Then we usually have about 50-60 pro and semi-pro panelists (authors, editors, artists, scientists, etc.)
I’ll let you and Howard know when the announcement goes up, but the plan is to announce plans for 2008 at the convention and have flyers and bookmarks ready to hand out. Then we’d put an announcement up online.
> Only, when I mentioned that Bestfriend was sick, Gleek was ready to
> write a cheerful note and mail it so that Bestfriend wouldn’t be sad.
That sounds soooo much like your kids, thinking of other people 🙂
Did she indeed sleep well without nightmares?