I’ve been really cleaning up in the fan gifts department in the last couple of months. Apart from numerous drinks (always a good idea if you run into me a con), folks have given me assorted pocky, a Christmas wreath styled on the C4U (Umbra Coven) arms, SOC uniform patches, enough challenge coins to fill a rack, a crocheted kitteh, a t-shirt and enough meals to give the lie to my self-appellation as a “starving” writer. I won’t lie. I love presents. But I’m particularly psyched about this one.
A particular fan, who shall remain nameless, has made me SOC pens. You know, the kind they’d use when making notes in the margins of their powerpoint slides before the next budget briefing. Check it out:
It’s kind of hard to show the whole thing …
What I love about this particular gift is that it acknowledges that CONTROL POINT is as much about the bureaucracy behind the scenes as it is about the action taking place on the page. I don’t know if the person who had these made was intending them as a symbol of that, but I take it as such. The tactical operators in the SOC are the ones you see kicking down your door, but the men and women making the ultimate decisions about your life and future if you come up Latent? They’re faceless bureaucrats sitting in air conditioned offices in Washington. And they might use pens just like these to seal your fate.
I also want to remind folks that Lunacon in Rye, NY is just around the corner, and I’ll be there reading, autographing, panelling and just generally schmoozing this coming Friday and Saturday. My schedule is:
• Future Fantasy (Panel), Fri 20:00 — 21:00, Elijah Budd
• Reading: Myke Cole (Reading) (M), Fri 21:00 — 21:30, Bartell
• Autographing: Cole, Lang, Lequidre (Autographing), Sat 16:00 — 17:00, Westchester Assembly
• Military SF and the Veteran’s Experience (Panel) (M), Sat 17:00 — 18:00, Westchester Ballroom A3
For details on the convention at large, click here.
Hope to see you there!