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I arrived at Shore Leave late Friday with only a basic idea of how the weekend would go. The official schedule was still in flux (and would remain so until the final hours of the event). The first order of business, however, was to get checked in.
My group immediately noticed the upgrades to the Hunt Valley Inn since last year. There were new carpets and décor with horse-themed pictures and artwork everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. The bathrooms in the rooms had been upgraded, and fresh wallpaper was up. They are still in the process of making improvements, so next year should be even better—unless horses give you nightmares (no pun intended).
After we all had dinner (more on that later), we stopped into the "Valley Room" to listen to Daniel Davis (Niles in the Nanny TV series, Moriarity in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Captain Davenport in Hunt for Red October). He told stories about how he got several roles, and would add to that later in the weekend.
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| Daniel Davis |
Daniel Davis talking about
Hunt for Red October
After Daniel Davis finished, I went into the "Hunt Room" to listen to the news from Tor Books. They went through all of the books coming in the next year, and how Tor is starting a Tor.com bookstore (as opposed to Tor Books) that will concentrate on novellas. They believe this is the future for them. I tried to make a list of the books, but I couldn't write that fast. A few of them did sound interesting. This talk ties in with a brief article on their web site.
Now that it was getting late in the evening, the one activity that was in full swing was the "Meet the Pros" segment where authors were displaying their latest works, and more than willing to discuss them. And make a sale, of course!
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| Authors and potential readers mingling during "Meet the Pros" |
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| Author Melissa Scott signs a book for a customer while Amy Griswold talks to another. |
That about covered Friday. I'll try to get the news from Saturday and Sunday up when I can!
Looking for a summer beach read? Here's a new romance/suspense novella from Terri Deno (Kindle format):
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Oh! This is wonderful. :D What a great weekend. ....and funny. I have nightmares about wallpaper no matter what's on it. ;) Really? wallpaper? Is this the "new" thing? LOL :D
ReplyDeleteI'm a little jealous of your shore leave weekend again this year. Last year was Richard Dean Anderson. This year it's...horses. :D Can't wait to hear more about it, especially the dinner.
Even though the inn is close to Maryland's horse country, I think they overdid it a bit with the horses. And as far as the dinner (and breakfast), if I spent an entire week there I'd gain 20 pounds...
DeleteI did get some good info during the writer's workshops/discussions. I'l pass on what I can.