Imagine being in a crowded hallway. You dodge medieval knights, nobility, and peasants. All of a sudden you find yourself facing a couple of stormtroopers weapons at the ready as a Wookiee quickly darts down another hall. Slipping past the stormtroopers, you find yourself encircled by nubile dancers clothed in ornate flowing robes eyes peering at you from their veil covered faces. And as you are suddenly shanghaied by a pirate, you realize that this is not a dream. You are in fact at MidSouthCon, a regional Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Comics, Costuming, Anime, and Gaming convention held annually.
I had the privilege of attending for the first time this year. The writers’ conference was my reason for attending, and my friend Lisa Collins is the instigator person who convinced me to attend. Imagine my joy knowing that I would be surrounded by writers like Michael Stackpole, Cat Rambo, and Glenn Cook!
One of the first things I attended was a panel on Con Etiquette. As a newbie and someone that loves to know what to expect, this was the ideal first panel. What I learned was pretty much everything I had thought or planned was wrong. This was not the place to go and try showing my work, but was a place to learn from others and make some friends in the writing community. The only thing I needed was a friendly attitude, listening ears, and business cards. Fortunately, I did think to print a few at the last minute. (See I got something right. ) I also learned that stalking the authors is bad. Okay, well, you might think this one is obvious; but, apparently, not everyone finds it as obvious. I was horrified to hear what some people have done and felt bad for the authors who had to figure their way out of awkward situations.
Well, progress the weekend and it seems that every corner, panel, and meal seemed to lead us into the path of Cat Rambo. Try as we might to avoid the magnetic pull of Cat, we continued to find her whether she was speaking, on the panel, or just listening. Finally, the confrontation happened. Lisa walked onto the elevator to take her to our room and onto the same elevator walks Cat. Lisa turned and asked directly, “Are you stalking me?” The irony and hilarity of the comment sent Cat into a fit of laughter. It is our claim to fame this weekend that we were stalked by Cat Rambo. How many of you can say that? 
