I just spent a long weekend down in San Antonio, Texas, for the Paradise Lost 5 writing workshop. I was invited to be a guest lecturer at the event, and I took the opportunity to participate in the retreat track.
San Antonio is a lovely city, and the company was fantastic. I met up with my old friends Claire, Katrina, and Jeff, reconnected with fellow Viable Paradise XII grads Steve and Tim, and made a whole bunch of new friends from other Viable Paradise years and different workshops.
I also got to meet these two goobers for the first time in real life:
Chuck Wendig and Delilah S. Dawson, both Internet friends I’ve talked to for YEARS. You know how you have this picture of people in your head from talking to them online, and then you fear the possibility that they’re completely different in real life? Well, Chuck and Delilah are precisely like I pictured them from our online talks. They are smart, funny, goofy nerds, and hanging out with them was a lot of fun because I am also most of those things.
My lecture went over very well (I talked about self-publishing and various ancillary things), and people did not fall asleep or throw rotten fruit at me, which I will call a success. I find that the more talking I do in front of larger groups, the more I enjoy it.
We had fruitful work sessions, and then we all goofed off and socialized. There were group meals on the riverwalk and at various local eateries, Cards Against Humanities sessions, liquor store safaris, rooftop writing sessions, and the consumption of ALL THE BOOZES. And I got to fly First Class for the first time ever, which was a REVELATION. This is how reasonably comfortable and relaxing flying commercial can be? Well, sign me right the hell up.
Paradise Lost: AAAA+++++, 10/10, would goof around with old and new nerd writer friends again.
In closing, have some pictures from lovely San Antonio what I took mostly with my pocket point & shoot Sony. Some of them turned out all right, I think.
