Last Readercon post: The Klatsch
Ages ago, at a dim and distant Readercon, Kathei Logue (music booking agent, SF fan, Readercon volunteer) came up with the idea of the Kaffeeklatsch as a program item: sign up to hang out with an author. One author, 12 slots for fans, one hour. Coffee usually provided.
I haven’t seen or heard from Kathei in a long time, but her idea lives on, and other conventions have picked it up, too. So, thanks, Kathei.
I always have fun at the kaffeeklatsches, whether I have just a couple of attendees, or a whole tableful.  I think it’s because readers, when I meet them, turn out to be so cool, so interesting.
I’ve talked to poets, writers, artists, book designers, a guy who made swords and armor. Musicians, any number of programmers and other people in Information Technology. Librarians! (I love librarians.  Do you know that librarians are the real-life Steerswomen of our age? True fact. ) Economists. Lawyers. Scientists! (This year we had a protein crystallographer, and a real-life NCIS agent/forensic scientist who wrote a book about her time as a CSI in Kansas.)
And I seemed to have been in a particularly chatty mood this time, as well.  As ego-boosts go, it’s hard to beat a table full of really smart people paying close attention to every word you say!
At one point, we were talking about my reading, and someone asked for some idea of the locations mentioned, and I pulled a map out of my bag. Ah, they all went, and gathered in. What a lovely sound.
Of course, they were not expecting me to unfold the map and keep on unfolding it until it basically covered half the table.  Heh.
And it had color-coded shadings, and cryptic notations like “Wheat Guys,” “Woods Guys,” “Tin Guys.” Yep, here’s Lake Aizi, where Amy’s from, and here, here, there and there, that’s where Artos is going to be traveling…
Smartphones came out, and pics were taken. Alas, I didn’t take one myself…
You know, that’s very silly of me… I really wish, in retrospect, that I had taken a photo of every Kaffeeklatsch I’ve taken part in.  I’m going to do that, going forward (but I will always ask people if they mind being included, because I know that some people just don’t want to be in photos that might get shared online. Their choice).
Anyway, thanks to all who attended.   (Yes, even that one dude who I later learned had not read anything I had ever written. I think he possibly sneaked in just to get some coffee. Still, nice guy.)
