I’m heading out to Washington, D.C. early Tuesday morning. For some reason, I’m feeling different about this conference than usual. (I’ve attended the last 5 years) I really can’t pinpoint what it is. Am I nervous? Excited? I have one important meeting while I’m there, but otherwise, I really don’t have any reason to go. On one hand, I’m very happy about that. I have meetings set up with various friends and acquaintances I don’t get to see enough of. I have plenty of time to chat and hang out and be sociable. Networking is the real jewel of the conference, and this year I don’t have to run from one place to the other. Plans can change. I can be spontaneous. I can sit and talk with someone for as much time as they’ve got. There’s a lot of freedom in that. So why can’t I tell if I’m excited or nervous? I’m not really sure. What’s there to be nervous about? Nothing. I guess I’m excited then. Funny how they feel the same sometimes.

I’m packed. That’s really a miracle. Every time I go on a trip I have a bunch of things I know I need to buy or pack, and I always forget something. I usually stay up way too late the night before the trip, doing last minute packing and shopping. The car will usually need gas in the morning to get to the airport, and I feel tired and harried until I get to the hotel. (That’s the tough part about being on the West Coast. Leaving before dawn doesn’t mean I’ll get to my destination before the sun has gone down.) This time, I’m totally ready. Maybe the excited/nervous feeling is because I freaked myself out by being organized?

I’ll come back with lots of new books. Because I only take carry-on luggage, I ship my promotional items ahead of me to the hotel in Priority Mail flat rate boxes. I stick a roll of packing in the boxes and tuck pre-paid mailing labels in my suitcase. That way, I can reuse the boxes to send books home and I don’t have to pay UPS prices or wait in line. I always find new authors through the books I pick up at Nationals. I discovered MSW’s own Debra Webb that way. An ARC of her TRACELESS was in my registration bag. I loved it. I’m wondering who I’ll discover this year.

A few days after I get back, I’ll be off to Comic-Con. My family is really looking forward to that. If any of you are going, I’ll be on a panel Thursday afternoon.

July 23, 2009 * 1:30-2:30 Avatars, Icons, and Antiheroes— The new hero is the anti-hero: twisted fairy tale icons, magicians turned hitmen, and avatars of both Good and Evil are cold-blooded killers and worse in the pages of these writers’ imaginations. Moderator Diana Gill (executive editor of Eos Books) leads a discussion on this phenomenon with Kevin J. Anderson (Enemies & Allies), Brom (The Child Thief), Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim), Vicki Pettersson (City of Souls), S. J. Day (Eve of Chaos), and Holly Black (Ironside). Room 7AB (There’s an hour-long autographing session directly after the panel in the Autographing Area.)

I’m definitely nervous about Comic-Con. Excited, too, but the nerves are a definite.

For those of you who are staying home this week, do you have any plans? Any writing goals you’re planning to meet? If you’re going to conference, do you have a particular goal to accomplish while you’re there?

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