The day before yesterday I read at FeenCon. I go there every year if I can. FeenCon in Bad Godesberg was the first bigger event that gave me a reading slot when my first book had just come out and nobody knew me yet. Once again, it was very nice and I thank the organizers and helpers. What I was especially happy about was that some people actually came to my reading, although the Orga had scheduled big-names Bernhard Hennen and Wolfgang Hohlbein for the same date and hour. My first reaction to this rather unfortunate concentration of readings had been a loud “Aaaarrrrghhhhhh! And no, that was not meant to be piratical. To compete against Hennen and Hohlbein is not easy for a midlist author. On Cons you find the fandom and the core readership together. They know each other. People greet you of whom you – embarrassingly enough…

FeenCon is on this weekend. Also this weekend: WetzCon. FeenCon is the annual roleplaying convention in Bad Godesberg, with a renaissance fair in the park, where I always had readings in recent years. It’s a great con. Wetzcon is the official con of the SFCD /, the German Science Fiction Club. I will not manage to visit either of the Cons this year. On the one hand I feel very, very sorry about this because I always enjoyed going to FeenCon every year. And the WetzCon would certainly be great, too. I like Science Fiction just as much as I like fantasy and actually perceive the entire speculative fiction genre rather as one unity with ever-increasing interstitial subgenres. But I know that at least some of the older gentlemen of the SFCD tend not to agree with me there. Why do I know that? Well, some of the lads are…

Of course one should write reports right after an event and not months later. But with my two jobs and quite a few additional obligations this does not always work. I could, of course, quote John Wayne’s “Never apologize, it’s a sign of weakness.” But in fact, I never particularly liked John Wayne, and in any case I find the axiom wrong. Not being able to apologize for when you messed up to me always seems much more to be a sign of weakness. Admitting a fault calls for more strength than not admitting it. So, I should have written about the RPC in Cologne and the WGT in Leipzig long ago. Sorry to be late. On both events I was present and read from “Schwingen aus Stein” and from “Wahre Märchen 2: Elf klassische Märchen in neuem Gewand”. Both events were a lot of fun. So here’s a brief…

I write. I sing. Write songs. And sometimes – very rarely – I paint. But that is just for relaxation really. I two weeks’ time I shall read at Dreieich Con. And together with a good friend I shall have a stand at the con. Now, she is the real artist. Jela. I am merely a colour punk. So if you come to Dreieich con and still need some nice little Christmas presents, come to Jela. Oh, and I shall have my CDs on sale and books (signed) – and for the first time – paintings. Dreieich Con, 22. – 23 November, Samstag 17:00 – 18:00 Uhr, Stadtbücherei Dreieich, Bürgerhaus Dreieich-Sprendlingen, Fichtestr. 50, 63303 Dreieich.

LonCon is over and both memories and souvenirs are good – met lots of friends – met interesting new people – listened to enlightening discussions – listened to wonderful concerts – was part of – hopefully – enlightening discussions wonderful concerts – two new books – one new hat and on the down side_ – con crud. I reviewed the event in “Zauberspiegel. The article is in German.