Well, I'm definitely not getting any younger. I got a lift to Derby with my friend Ian Dodd (thanks, Ian!) on Friday 6th September for Edge-Lit the following day, and the weekend wiped me out. In a good way, but whew.
Then again, I was pretty busy from the minute we got to Derby. We headed to Derby QUAD almost right away where we caught up with some others who'd got there early - Kevin and Hayley Redfern, Terry Grimwood, Andrew Hook, Sophie Essex and Gary Couzens among others - before decamping to Nando's with Terry. By then I was flagging, and still had prep to do for the con the next day (I was moderating two of the panels and needed to draw up some questions for everyone) so I sloped back to the Premier Inn.
Did not sleep well, which wasn't the Premier Inn's fault. Maybe it was the absence of Mrs Church. Reading a copy of The Ravening (it's been two years, so it was sort of like reading someone else's work) finally put me under. Not sure what to make of that.
Woke up at 6am. Wrote 1000 words on what will hopefully be the new novel. Had breakfast. Said hi to David and Samantha Lee Howe, who were also staying there. Went up, showered, got changed, signed some books for Ian (least I could do!) finished prepping some questions for the panel, and then it was time to go (luckily the hotel was just round the corner from Derby QUAD.)
There was enough time for a diet cola and a chat with a couple of people before the first panel - Dark Deeds - Where Crime and Creepy Collide with Stuart Neville, Lesley Kelly, Adam Simcox and Dana Grigorcea, all of whom were lovely and full of great ideas. Half the questions weren't even needed.
Stuart Neville was part of the next panel too - Mind Over Matter: Psychology and Genre Fiction - which also starred Conrad Williams and Alison Moore. After that, a very welcome hour spent chilling in the bar with Conrad, Sarah Pinborough, Sean Hogan and others before my final panel of the day - From The Grave To The Page: Exploring the Undead in Genre Fiction. Thankfully someone else (i.e. Conrad) was moderating that one. We were joined on that by Sarah and Charlie Higson. (I somehow managed not to shout: "Black! Black! Where are we sleeping tonight, Mummy? Father's grave?" Don't worry if you don't get that, it just means you're young...)
Another blessed hour in the bar followed, before it was time to do a reading and Q&A, alongside comedian, actress and author Isy Suttie, who as well as being excellent at everything she does is also hugely professional and incredibly nice. We were doing our thing at the same time Sarah Pinborough was being interviewed, so it was a pleasant surprise that anyone came - in fact, the room was pretty much filled. There were some advance copies of The Ravening available at the bookshop, and I had a few with me, just in case - quite a few of both were shifted, I'm glad to say!
And then, finally, the famous raffle - presented, as is now traditional, by Sarah P, who spends her time taking the piss out of the various prizes in hilarious ways. A couple of copies of The Ravening had been donated, but I got there late and missed the fun on that one. Sarah said she was thinking of retiring as raffle host, which would be a terrible loss. Who on earth could replace that...? (Yes, I volunteered. In my defence, I was insane at the time.)
Back to the bar, catching up with as many people as humanly possible (still nowhere near enough - sorry to all the folks I didn't have time to talk to) before the drive back up north to the Wirral. Mrs Church and I ordered a Chinese and then collapsed into bed.
No wonder I was knackered! I've just about got enough energy back to type this now. :)
Edge-Lit is possibly my favourite convention, and wouldn't be possible without the amazing hard work of the magnificent Holly Blades. I really hope it'll be back next year - it wasn't as massively attended as last year, probably because it was later than usual and sandwiched between WorldCon last month and Fantasycon next month, and the future of Derby QUAD is currently in doubt (fingers crossed for it as it's a terrific place.)
A great weekend.
(Photograph by Sarah Graven Weir)
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