On Saturday I attended a Battletech convention… a big room full of dozens of people all there united by a love of big, stompy robots. Like me! I love big stompy robots.
I’ve waxed previously about my love of Michael Stakepole’s work in the universe, and I’ve submitted a short story to them to see if it will get published (or, if not, if they can provide feedback to make it more likely I will get published in the future!). But it was nice to be around so many people united in a collective IP. Kinda like a Star Trek convention, but way more niche.
It also gave me time to do a bit of editing on the new novel (I just officially hit 70% completion!), and I sold a few more books over the weekend, which was a very pleasant surprise. This week is going to be taken up by reorganizing the basement room and setting up space for my future creative endeavors, but it was nice to have a bit of a break to just play pretend war dolls for a day.
But the reason I wanted to post this was meeting Randall Bill, one of the core “people” at Catalyst Games (the currently license holders for Battletech), and a prolific author. I’ve read a bunch of his work, and it was just really nice to shake his hand and chat shop for a few minutes. It was a nice reminder that even successful authors are kinda… just people. I need that sometimes, since it seems so insurmountable a hill to ever become a successful author.
Also, he has a great beard. Purple. Very cool.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!