Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Miniature carnival, part of a
Christmas model train exhibit in
nearby Philadelphia Convention Center

With the holidays coming up, I got massively busy at the end of last week and didn't get around to doing what I'd like to do today. There were so many interesting things that happened at Philcon, I wanted to mention some things I didn't have a chance to write about earlier.

One experience took place in the Game Room, where I was spending a little down time with The Gryphon as he talked enthusiastically to some friends, new and old. Two guys in lab coats came into the room, accompanied by a very tall woman in a miniskirt.

The lab coat guys were funny, and they disarmed me with humor, going back and forth in a Marx Brothers inspired spate of words. They told me they were conducting an experiment to determine what sort of hugs people liked best.

Ordinarily, I probably would have declined, but The Gryphon was right there, as was the woman in the miniskirt, and they were so entertaining I thought it couldn't hurt.

"Here's Hug A," the shorter, balder one announced and gestured for me to hug him. I've hugged plenty of strangers at Rainbow Gatherings and Dead concerts, so I felt fine about this. Hug A was a normal hug.

"OK, here's Hug B," he said and turned on some sort of a vibrating device that looked like a metal plumb hanging about chest height on his shoulder. Hug A was fun, because the device sent vibrations all through me. I laughed.

"Laughter, a good response," he said. "Now, Hug C." He turned up the vibration on the device. This time I was a little skeptical, but The Gryphon glanced over at me and smiled, as did the woman in the miniskirt. I still felt safe, so I went ahead with it. This time the vibration reached all the way into my toes. It was like one of those relaxation chairs in the mall. I laughed again.

"OK, are you ready for Hug D?" The other lab coated guy, who was a bit taller, turned on a vibrating device, as well, and they stood on either side of me and sandwiched me in a vibrating hug. It reminded me of the "Relaxinator" that my sister and I had tried out during First Night activities in State College several years ago.

"Now, which hug did you prefer?" they asked. I was embarrassed to admit that D was fun. But I declined further offers of hugs, because I was beginning to feel really self-conscious about the whole silly "experiment."

Later that weekend, at SysTris' party, I saw them approach another woman and perform a similar experiment. When I talked to The Gryphon about it, he said he thought they were associated with a certain game company that sends people around to different conventions to interact with the congoers. Since hugging is about as frequent at many conventions as it is at Phish shows, it's probably a great way for them for some positive P.R. Come to think of it, there were signs on the back of their lab coats which I didn't bother to read.

My comment to The Gryphon about the experience: "They vibrate!"

The Gryphon chats with his gamer friends.

Key note speaker David Weber made some interesting comments during his address Saturday. He mused that reading is an interactive process; what people read is different from what he writes, because they all bring their own associations to their readings.

He also made some interesting observations about fandom, saying that unlike some authors, he feels that his relationship with his fans is supportive and beneficial, as fans' questions often lead him to what needs to be explained. He also said he appreciates the insight they give him into his characters.

According to him, there are a number of possible movie projects in the works based on his work. He didn't rule out the possibility of major developments in his popular Honor Harrington series, which he said demands much of his time over other projects due to its popularity.

He teased that his wife has a list of characters he's not allowed to kill. "Honor is not on it."

One of the most entertaining quotes from his speech was when he said, My prose is generally muscular. It moves. But it's not something you would take with you to a refined function."

David Weber

Likewise, key note artist David Mattingly made some interesting revelations, such as the fact that he's used to two different models for the Honor Harrington novels for which he's done covers. He works from real life models, and the original model no longer looks like Honor.

He shared examples of his work in innovative areas, such as animated covers for downloaded versions of books. He's also been doing 3D lenticular images which are best viewed in person on a gallery wall.

An interesting fact about his work is that for more than a decade, he's been working hidden images of a beloved cat, Orson, into all of his works. Most of the time, these images appear in the background or as a barely noticeable shadow somewhere. When he was doing book covers for Scholastic, such as for the Animorphs series, he says they frowned on this practice.

Josepha Sherman, who was on the "Mythology in the 21st Century" panel with me and also appeared on two other panels I attended, is a rock star. She has a great way of working personal stories into the discussion to illustrate and entertain.

For example, during the "Creative Promoting 101" panel, she talked about how generating press attention, even negative attention, can help move a book. In Canada, her book of children's songs and rhymes, Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts was actually banned by some school districts. Because of this, newspapers picked it up and she even got to make an appearance on the CBC!

In the panel on book contracts, they talked about how helpful an agent can be and how important it is to make a good impression on them. Josepha, who has worked in pretty much every aspect of writing, editing and publishing, along with M. Jane Letty, an agent, related stories of the worst manuscripts they'd ever received.

First, Josepha said she's received one that arrived with plastic bugs inside the box. Then MJL said she'd received one with children's drawings on the box. Josepha said she'd received one manuscript on green paper, cut into the shape of a puppy. And another was single spaced, with no margins, doubled sided, on onion skin paper, with no return address.

But MJL won hands down when she said she received a manuscript in a "Today Sponge" box. She wrote back and told the author that, unfortunately, it was not spongeworthy.

You've got to love an agent with a sense of humor!

Fellow panelist Robert Fenelon (left)
listens to The Gryphon make a point.

More from Philcon 2005:

December 12, 2005 - Mythical Apocalypse

December 13, 2005 - Light Side, Dark Side

December 14, 2005 - Great Conversations

Philcon 2004:

December 14, 2004 - Friendly Philcon Morning

Philcon 2003:

December 15, 2005 - Convention from Another Planet

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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