In recent years I’ve attended and enjoyed Orycon and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, both held in the autumn in Portland, where I live. This year, though, I’ll attend neither.

I’m sorry I’ll miss those cons. Friends and members of my fabulous writing group, the Masked Hucksters, will be panelists at them, and the short films at the HPL Filmfest are always worth seeing. But I’m consoled by the excellence of my reasons for nonattendance this year. I’ll miss Orycon because Zachary and I will be in Argentina and Uruguay for a couple of weeks, about which I’m very excited. Closer to the present, I’ll miss the HPL Filmfest because I have deadlines on several books I’m very pleased to be writing.

The sacrifice is easier to bear because earlier this year I had a great time at Westercon! And I’ll see everyone next year at Orycon, the HPL Filmfest, and who knows, maybe even Norwescon.