This year my annual trip out to FantaSci in Raleigh-Durham, NC was preceded by a trip to my first operational base- Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, GA.
I was invited to partake in the dedication ceremony for Komodo 11, an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crash that occurred 23 March, 2003. It was my first time back in about ten years, and it’s been fifteen years since I was stationed there. The town hasn’t changed all that much. The base now has the newly christened Komodo 11 Boulevard, a simulator building, a nice Air Park, and the primary gate has been moved— but otherwise it’s not too different either. The 71st Rescue Squadron sits just where it did nineteen years ago when young, dumb First Lieutenant Casey Moores showed up wide-eyed, naive, and enthusiastic about doing his part to make the world a better place, particularly as September 11th, 2001 was just one year past at the time. It seems like yesterday, and it seems like several lifetimes ago.
I saw people I hadn’t seen in years and walked my old squadron. My good friend Donnie made it out as well, so it was good to see him. The ceremony was inside as it was raining, but it was very well done. My kudos to my former Academy classmate Colonel Russ Cook, the current wing commander, as well as all who were involved in putting it together.
After the ceremony, we walked the Air Park, got to see a static display of the new HH-60W, and visited the 41st Rescue Squadron—which has an awesome new Heritage Room on the 2nd floor. I spent the rest of the day making new friends and hanging to with old ones. It was a good visit.
Getting from Valdosta to Raleigh was a boondoggle. I’d given myself a 3.5 hour layover in Atlanta, and lost all of it before we’d even left Valdosta. Between this and a race through the airport during a connection on my way to Valdosta a couple days prior, I developed Casey’s First Rule of Commercial Airline Travel: Thine first leg of any journey shall experience delays, thine second shall not. I might play with the wording, but there it is.
The delay cost me attendance at the Four Horsemen planning session, but no worries, I got the back brief. I did show up in time to catch the big Tra Li Irish Bar visit so I got my Guinness, Scotch eggs, and corned beef fix. Good things. Thursday night, as expected, I had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting a few new ones. The list is a bit too long to put here, but it was great to see everyone. The conversations stretched well into the wee hours, but I got to bed at a decent hour.
Friday morning began with a meet up to head over to the Baen Books offices—my first chance to take such a tour. I think it was my first time officially meeting Toni Weisskopf, which was awesome, and it was my first time seeing Jason Cordova since he started working there. The best part, of course, was seeing the stacks and stacks of books.
On return, I was on the Out of the Hat panel, where we answered whatever serious and/or whimsical questions the audience asked. Having some free time, I sat in on the There I was panel where I heard some hilarious stories as usual. I had the honor of being the token male on the Women as Soldiers panel, discussing our favorite female characters, the tropes we hate, the tropes we love, and how to write real women. Next up and one the weekend’s highlights was the Keen Edge of Valor book release— FantaSci’s annual anthology. My story “The Lost Cloud”, a tale of the Deathmage Wars, is featured among many others by Glen Cook, Dave Butler, Mark Wandrey, Jon Osborne, Mel Todd, Rob Howell, Benjamin Tyler Smith, and this year’s contest finalists— one of which is Nathan Balyeat, who made his debut in this anthology. My last panel was swearing in Science Fiction which, as it was led by Marisa Wolf, was as fun and hilarious as expected. It was a fairly exhausting day of panels. After a trip to a nearby bar to hangout with some great folks, I packed it in fairly early that night.
Saturday began with a walk with some friends, which I learned was one of their traditions. Right afterwards, I scored some author table time and sold some books! I’ll be honest, selling a few stacks of books kinda made my day. I participated in the CKP year ahead, where I gave the run down of As My Witnesses, the next 4HU Wrogul novel which is due out in the weeks ahead. The Baen Road Show was awesome as always. I skipped out a little early to meet up with the daughter of a close friend, who just happened to be attending school not too far away. In the afternoon, I was on the POG (Persons Other than Grunts) panel and the E-4 Mafia (which obviously doesn’t exist) panel. Then, it was time to prep for the big event—the Four Horsemen Dining Out. This year, I was drafted into the position of Sergeant At Arms, which required I oversee the making of and security for the grog. I sprinkled a few choice Bull phrases into the script, but it was Marisa Wolf and Kevin Steverson who carried the night with excellent performances as Madame and Mister Vice. A good time was had by all and we were able to get through the affair without any interventions by first responders.
While decompressing from the Great To Do, I had a great chat with Charles Gannon, Chris Kennedy, and Jon Osborne. I heard some news that I will leave to Chris and Chuck to spread, but it’s pretty incredible.
Saturday wrapped up with the quintessential karaoke. I learned Mike Jack Stoumbos is the karaoke king. I sang “Come On Eileen” because I was ordered to and we all sang “Bohemian Rhapsody”, because that’s what you do at a Con.
Sunday, as usual, was a bittersweet day of packing up and saying goodbyes. The great highlight was seeing J. F. Posthumus dressed up as the character on the cover of my novel Witch Hunt. For those that didn’t know, she’s actually the cover model. I didn’t realize it until I was typing this just now, but that makes her my first cosplayer! I have a cosplayer! <end zone dance>
So that about sums it up. I could mention that my flight out of Raleigh was delayed, so I missed my connection in Dallas (which actually left early), had to stay the night, and then went straight from the airport to work the next morning, but that would sound like whining so I’ll leave it out.
The whole weekend was one for the history books. As usual, the adjustment back to reality is painful, so I guess it’s to start dreaming about LibertyCon.
Addendum: The day after I got back, I learned Witch Hunt is a finalist in the Imaginarium Imadjinn Awards for Best Historical Fiction novel! It’s my first nomination for a novel!
