I Am Not To Be Trusted With a Bubble Shooter

I got home from ICFA yesterday, and promptly fell over. The afterparty was amazing, there was unfiltered sake, and I learned a thing — I am not to be trusted with a bubble shooter.

I have NO idea who handed this to me — it was dark on the pool deck, for all that everyone was wearing glowy flower crowns. But I reverted to the relative age of five, and there was much giggling and many, MANY bubbles.

It was a good conference. And not just because of the bubbles. I got some amazing news on Wednesady, had an excellent reading on Thursday, moderated a panel on Friday that featured some amazing stories. Friday night was the Lord Ruthven Assembly meeting, where I got to share my amazing news. Then Saturday night was the banquet, where I got to give out the 2025 Lord Ruthven Awards. They were:

Fiction: Hungerstone, by Kat Dunn (Zando)

Media: Sinners. Written and Directed by Ryan Coogler (Warner Brothers, Proximity Media)

Non-Fiction: Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World, by John Blair (Princeton University Press)

Periodicals: Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 7: Mina Harker. Tucker Christine(editor), Tyler Kitchenman, Mark Oxbrow, Vince Stadon, Henry Herz, Bill Cozza, R.S. Tiemstra, Dennis K. Crosby, Macoy Greco, Doris V. Sutherland, Lindy Ryan, Gwendolyn Kiste, Cynthia Ward, James S. Dorr (DBS Press)

I’ll be contacting the winners later this week so I can arrange for delivery of awards (and checking in with past winners to see if they ever got THEIR awards. There was some question about if previous awards went out…)

Then came the afterparty and bubbles. Oh, and for the record? Bubble happened BEFORE sake did. I was that giddy and giggly all on my own, thank you very much.

I always say I’m going to get work done in my downtime at ICFA, completely forgetting that I rarely have downtime at ICFA. There’s so much to do and so many people to talk with. I did have the best of intentions, though, taking my laptop out to poolside to try and write, only to almost fall asleep in the sun. I decided a nap was the better course of action.

Now I’m home, back to work, and trying to catch up.

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The Imperial Navy has been destroyed. Now Tarjiaan must save his kingdom. With his beloved Nika by his side and their consort Daanir at his back, he must gather his allies and defeat the traitor hiding beneath the waves. To save his people, Tarjiaan must master his newfound magic, defeat the traitors, and conquer his deepest fears.

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Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
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