Tuscon 34 in Tucson Arizona

Originally posted HERE

Well, I just got back from TusCon 34 in Tucson Arizona. This was a surprisingly fun convention, despite it being so small. I was on 3 panels:

Chicks and Money and Power and Chicks: What drives you to write?
Matthew Peterson, David Lee Summers & Catherine Wells

Killing Me Softly: Murdering your favorite characters for money and fame.
Matthew Peterson, John Ringo, Frances Robertson & Emma Bull

You made the world now you've got to write in it, important considerations when making a fictional world.
Matthew Peterson, Dennis L. McKiernan & Catherine Wells

The only bad thing about the convention was the short short notice of what panels I'd be on. They posted some info the day before the convention but then they switched it around when I arrived at the convention. I'm pretty good with impromptu discussions, so it wasn't a big deal, but it would have been nice for me to post it on my website so people would know when to go to my panels.

One thing that was amusing to me was the video game room. One of my friends from Borders, Amy Black, was in charge of the game room. There was a game called Guitar Hero. I haven't played video games in many years. At first I didn't want to play, but I decided to give it a try. Instead of a controller, you use an actual guitar with 5 buttons for strings and a knob to strum. It's very realistic. I only played it twice, but on my second try I actually beat the kid who had been playing it all morning. What's funny is that later in the day I wanted to play again. I felt like an alcoholic getting a drink after a long drought.

I used to be VERY good at video games. I was the kid at the arcade that everyone would crowd around to watch play. When I'd go into an arcade, I'd bring just one quarter with me and play for an hour (they don't make games like that anymore). I used to play the arcade version of Super Mario Brothers (much harder than the Nintendo console version) and beat it without dying once or skipping any levels. Oh, those were the days.


Frances Robertson, Emma Bull, Matthew Peterson & John Ringo


Dennis McKiernan, Matthew Peterson & Catherine Wells