(Photos, clockwise from top: My Art Show display at FenCon; Vincent Villafranca’s work-in-progress THE DOGS OF WAR; Rie Sheridan Rose in full Victorian regalia) Took me a few days to post this, but before this week disappears, I wanted to say a few words about this year’s Fencon in Dallas, TX (Addison, TX, to be specific). In short — take a bow, Fencon. You came, you saw and you rocked this past weekend. I had a blast from start to finish. Plenty of highlights, including:

Rhonda Eudaly – First-class. She conducted guest relations as well as any con can, anywhere. She made every guest feel like family. She stopped at nothing to ensure every guest received A-list treatment. How can anyone not be happy when their complimentary goodie bag contains beer and rock-em, sock-em robot rings?

Jimmy Simpson – Rock-solid. This man knows his art and knows how to run a quality art show. When you’re an artist deciding whether or not to invest time and labor in an art show, the show director is often the difference-maker. Jimmy’s one of the best in the business, and I already look forward to when I can again participate in a Jimmy Simpson show.

Andy Trembley & Kevin Roche – Fan GoHs, and extremely cool guys. These guys know costuming like nobody’s business, and they know their premium alcohols. Had a terrific time with them and look forward to any con where they’re around.

Opening Ceremonies – Spider Robinson GoHed via Skype. He didn’t physically attend the con as Author GoH, but was very much a virtual presence throughout.

Vincent Villafranca – As always, more phenomenal work from one of the best sculptors in the field. He unveiled a work-in-progress called ‘The Dogs of War’ that blew me away.

Jessica Wade — Ace/Roc editor extraordinaire. How cool is she? She’s so cool that a mere autographed headshot of her brought money in an auction. She’s so cool that she can make the phrase “for reals” ring in my head for days and I’m amused. For reals. 🙂

The Lansdales — Joe, Kasey, and Karen. Always a pleasure with them. Saturday night, we dined at the Clay Pit along with Jessica and my pal Sanford Allen. It was one of my favorite meals in a while. Best company, conversations, and great Indian food all in one. On Sunday, Kasey belted out a one-hour singing performance at FenCon and if I didn’t have a simultaneous panel commitment, I would’ve seen more. Fortunately, I was able to catch a few minutes at the end and she was awesome.

(Photos clockwise from top: (l to r): Sanford Allen, Andy Trembley (back), Kevin Roche, Stina Leicht; Guest of Honor goodie bag contents (note the Rock-em, Sock-em Robot Rings); Andy Trembley with smooth rocket fuel)

Enjoyed seeing the great Robert J. Sawyer, P.N. Elrod, Chris Merle, Mel Tatum, Caroline Spector, Cat Conrad, Rachel Caine, Shanna Swendson, Karen Meschke, Brad Foster, David Lee Anderson, Rocky Kelley, Stina Leicht, Jeff & Maya Bohnhoff, John Randall, and many, many more whom I wish I could remember in my current deadline-frenzied state.

Special shoutout to Jay – he’s been an Elric fan for over 30 years and gave one of the best compliments ever. Said he walked in the Art Show, saw my 5-foot tall vinyl print of ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS and felt that the image embodied the Elric he’d always seen in his head but never seen until then. Really made me feel good to hear that.

If you’re a pro or fan and you’ve never experienced FenCon, these folks know what they’re doing and their attendees know how to have a great time. It’s a very fun show and this won’t be my last. I was honored to be there. Huge thanks to the whole con staff including the aforementioned Rhonda and Jimmy, Tim Miller, Tim Morgan, Julie Barrett, Bobb Waller, Ed Dravecky, Becky Demonja and everyone who made the show great.