Balticon 43, Comin' Atcha in 4-D!

Balticon is always held over Memorial Day weekend, starting Friday night and continuing until Memorial Day--24 hours of food, festivities and fun! I love the RIF (Reading is Fundamental) auction. I always make sure to buy something. Not only is it for a good cause, but a very good friend of mine runs it, and has done so for donkey's years. Folks donate stuff, and it gets auctioned off. Simple. Do you remember the TV series Lost in Space? Last year I bought a life-sized cardboard Robot. Coolishness!

Can't believe Balticon's so soon, though. Made my hotel reservations today, skidding under the wire less than 72 hours before the room block closes. I live only 20 miles or so from Hunt Valley, MD but when you're up half the night partying, it's hard to get up the next morn to make your 8 AM session. It's worth the bucks to stay at the hotel.

So anyway, I think there'll be a Rapid Fire Reading this year (check my Readercon post if you don't know what that is) and if so (and if I'm not too late to sign up) I'm going to read a little something from the sequel to The Alien Within. What's that you say? Of course there's a sequel. Jahannan's Children is the working title. Here's a snippet from Chapter 2:

From the corner of her eye, [Garrett] studied the alien sitting inches away and wondered for the umpteenth time why in the Mother’s name would Parker want to follow her. She understood his attraction—Melera was six-foot two and built like a superhero. But there was something reptilian about her, from her slit-pupiled, disco-ball eyes to the way she moved, with the lethal grace of a python stalking its prey. That she had all the charm of a crocodile didn’t help. Garrett was sure Melera would just as soon slit somebody’s throat as say hello.

See you at Balticon 43!