I attended Liberty Con in Chattanooga Tennessee again at the end of June. I seem to go there a lot. I like the people, the programming, and the general air of good cheer.
I was on a panel called A Writer Walks into a Dojo, which was about how writers incorporate their martial arts into their fiction. I studied Okinawan Uechi Ryu karate in college, and then again in later years when my boys did. I also practice kobudo, another Okinawan system, but with sticks: staff, sai, jifa (hairpins), tonfa, and oar. More recently, I took up Chinese sword about four years ago.
As you may have guessed, I looked forward a long time to writing that sword vs oar scene in THE WHEELS RUN TRULY. I even got my husband to block it out with me for greater accuracy. (He’s better at all this than I am.) So, it was fun being on a panel with other people who put this stuff into their fiction.
I tried to eavesdrop on a couple of guys on the mezzanine discussing a theory about how King Arthur had to have lived near some mines. I couldn’t quite make out the significance of the mines, so remain mystified.
I did a talk on property rights in space. The first part covers my interpretation of the Outer Space Treaties, and why they don’t prohibit private ownership of land on other worlds. Then I get into the more science-fiction side of things, and look at how useful it would be to apply principles of adverse possession in determining ownership. That got boisterous.
I love the art room. Back when I was a teen going to Star Trek cons I would gaze longingly at the paintings of other worlds. They created such a sense of both magic and real possibility. Every now and then I come across another one that evokes the same feeling. So I always check out the art room.
Don’t forget: TALES OF THE UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE is out, with some great stories. I’ve started reading them all recently, and a couple really stand out. I must recommend Brian Trent’s “The Eyes of Damocles.” It’s excellent, and explores duty and what it means to be a hero. Truly outstanding. Martin Shoemaker’s “It’s Classified” works beautifully, too. And the anthology includes my humble “Luna Lacuna.” If you read them, I’d love to know what you think.
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