Back from Eurocon!

Returning from a pleasant 19 degrees C in Barcelona to, oh, about 3 degrees in Cologne, I am finally adjusting. I brought a mild head cold back, lots of memories, and some books (see below). Thanks to everyone who came to my panels and to my co-panelists - who were awesome and fun to listen to.

I particularly enjoyed talking about world-building with Aliette de Bodard, Charles Stross, Andrzej Sapkowski  ('the defense rests'),  Concha Perea and successfully moderated by Haralambi Markov. I thought of all kinds of things I could have (and should have) said after the panel. This happens to me every time. Even after nearly 20 years teaching at the University of Cologne, I sometimes get tongue-tied on panels and my brain freezes up. I'm sure this never happens to anyone else. So I would love to do a blog post or article on this one.  

The mythology panel was also informative since Kjartan Yngvi Bjórnsson and Snæbjörn Brynjarsson (who will hereafter always be known as The Iceland Guys) helpfully informed me that the Vikings will be returning to Cologne next year. So if you live here, make sure you've got your fire extinguishers and smoke alarms up-to-date by then. But if the Vikings show up around Karneval time, there's a very good chance no one will notice anything unusual (except perhaps the burning buildings).

The panel was beautifully moderated by Juliane Honisch whose insights into her work with Alpine folk tales were enlightening and makes me want to rush out and buy all her books.

Regina Kanyu Wang had some interesting and unexpected things to say about Chinese mythology and folk tales, the awareness of the Chinese people of foreign mythologies, and the differences between how people view mythological creatures and deities, East versus West.

It was lovely to meet so many people from so many countries and have so many tapas (with so much wine to wash them down with) in so short a time.

I was forced to change my suitcase packing ritual at the last minute due to the Gigamesh bookstore's dealers room sale on the last day (2 books for 1 euro), but I did restrain myself and only bought eight books. Shame on Gigamesh. I also snagged a copy of fellow Albedo One co-conspirator Dave Murphy's recently published Walking on Ripples, also available from the publisher, Liffey Press.

But I didn't exceed the weight limit and I got them all home. I'm now fighting with Finn MacCool over who gets to read what first. He wants the Tooth Fairy. Hmm. We shall see.

Finn has his paw on One-Eyed Jack but I know he's waiting to steal The Tooth Fairy and take it back to his kitty lair.