JordanCon 10 Recap Post

It’s that time of year again, the one where I force my sleep-deprived, whisky-soaked brain through the equivalent of mental olympics and parse together a post to recap the best little literary convention that ever was.

JordanCon. Home.

“Welcome home,” said the video from the Opening Ceremonies, with succinct perfection. In less than seven minutes that video commemorated the ten years the convention has run, and the author whose series brought us all together: Robert Jordan, AKA Jim Rigney Jr, and his brain child the Wheel of Time. Let me tell you, I’m rather pleased I was waiting my Opening Ceremonies cue and didn’t watch until the video was posted on the JordanCon YouTube channel because holy crappit, pass the tissues. Whew!

For the unfamiliar: JordanCon is a sleepless bender literary convention that is held in Atlanta every April. I’ve attended all but the first two years, and it gets bigger and better every turning of the Wheel.

This year’s Author Guest of Honour was none other than my bestie, Jason Denzel, who was also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dragonmount, a nerdy little website he created back in the day.

The Artist Guest of Honour was the impeccably talented Stephanie Law, and I am oh so delighted to have an original of her work gracing my collection.

Clockwise from top left: Moiraine wins Best In Show; author guest Brandon Sanderson with Artist Guest of Honour Stephanie Law; dedicated Art Show volunteers working tirelessly; Author Guest of Honour Jason Denzel and myself.

Naturally, it’s difficult to pick my favourite moments from that whirlwind weekend, and half are going to sound like inside jokes (apologies!):

Opening Ceremonies I: Everything I could see from the back of the room was both hilarious and heartwarming. One of my favourite moments was when Con Chair, Jennifer Liang, and Co-Chair, Jimmy Liang, were honoured for creating JordanCon, including being presented with epic replica objects of power, the Choden Kal, thanks to the machinations of Asha’man Phillip Edwards. (Thank you again for organizing that, Phillip!)

Opening Ceremonies II: I played Min to Paul Bielaczyc’s Rand, wearing my drunky pants. Our job was to announce details about the hotdog Art Show and Dealer Hall. I blabbed it to pretty much everyone, but I chugged about half a 26er* of whisky to steady my nerves before the Opening Ceremonies, even though I didn’t have a speaking bit. This is not an exaggeration. Anxiety is a bitch, and yes, I am an introvert. FYI: if I smell like maple at JordanCon, it’s the whisky, not the Canadian genes, haha!

Clockwise from top left: Playing Min Farshaw to Paul Bielaczyc's Rand al'Thor; stealing Jason Denzel's friends at Speed Friending; doing shots during the costume contest with Seth Lockhart; Jeff Bernard and Melissa Word representing the JordanCon Charity Auction.

Speed Friending: Always a favourite of mine, Speed Friending is plugged as a place for first timers to meet people quickly (duh). It’s loud, but I love it, and try to attend every year to help bridge that gap between JordanCon veterans and new attendees--and usually in costume, because it’s a visual ice breaker. This year I brought Clementine, my baby Trolloc, and pretty much made everyone I interacted with hold her for a photo from that point onward, possibly to their dismay. Perfection. Creepy, creepy perfection.

JordanCon attendees with Clementine the Trolloc baby. Pictured here: April Butler and Vanessa Dial; Cooper Blackwood; Seth Ralston; Phillip Schultz; Ebony Adomanis; and JordanCon Co-Chair Jimmy Liang.

Friday dinner: usually I partake of the Tor.com Rereader dinner (I missed you guys!), but due to new food restrictions for the ease of everyone involved I opted to head to dinner with my similarly-food-restricted friend Kelcey Casson. After the whisky before Opening Ceremonies, and the three drinks I chugged at Speed Friending I was feeling pretty good (Serenla makes a mean Old Fashioned, guys, and I barely slowed down to taste it--still worth it! And our resident Jello-shooter gourmand Perry Minchew tossed me two Jello shots--literally, they landed on my cleavage and Clementine’s head, haha!). Of course, cue Kelcey saying we’re being joined by our Artist Guest of Honour, Stephanie Law, and allllll that alcohol finally hitting me. She was incredibly gracious and didn’t seem to mind my giddy company. I tried not to be obnoxious. (Not very hard, but I tried. haha)

Costume Contest: OMG, you guys, the costumes. We really went all out this year, folks. Kudos to all who entered the contest, and you all amaze me with your creativity every year! Ava Cash and her Asmodean, complete with instrumental performance! Rosemary Williams had hidden weapons and a quick-release skirt to her dress! Sophie Coleman of Ta’veren Tees had FUNCTIONING WINGS on her Draghkar! WINGS! WINGS THAT MOVE! Gah. I can’t possibly describe them all, in part because I was in a jittery haze myself, but that’s what pics are for!

Clockwise from top left: Joe O'Hara (of TWoTcast) as Mat with a pair of badgers; Ava Cash as Asmodean; Rachel Little and Brandyn Butler; Richard Blaylock, Elizabeth Rawitsch, and Linda Taglieri cosplaying as Team Jordan's Alan and Amy Romanczuk and Maria Livington Simons.

Clockwise from top left: Rosemary Williams and hidden weaponry; Serafina Virciglio and Christina Catherine as Seanchan High Blood; Molly Weiss as Rey and BB8; Sophie Coleman as a Draghkar.

Best In Show: Since this was JordanCon’s 10th anniversary, I really wanted to go big, and I knew the structure of the contest had changed. Instead of all contestants competing against each other, we were tiered into groups based on previous awards. If you have never won a costuming award you are a Novice; if you had won once you are a Journeyman; if you had two or more awards under your belt you are considered a Master (cue my insufferable adorable bragging to Mr Lannis that he’s married to a Master Costumer, and his chuckled reply that I could brag when that pays bills. haha). The tiers allow more awards to be granted, and it’s less intimidating for Novices to compete against those of us who have been doing so for years--basically more fun for everyone all around. Kudos to JordanCon Director, Susan Martin, who runs the contest, because they worked terribly hard to structure it in a way to maximize all participants’ enjoyment. As a costumer with a competitive streak, I knew I needed something flashy if I wanted to snag the inaugural Best In Show award. I’m planning on piecing together a post about the build process for those who have expressed interest. The Reader’s Digest version: it’s a live depiction of Ariel Burgess’ Moiraine, which denotes Moiraine’s character arc through the series including accoutrements symbolizing important moments along the way. I’ve always wanted to do a Moiraine costume, and Ariel’s artwork was exactly what I needed for it to stand out. Thank you, Ariel, for graciously granting me permission, it was all worth it!

Left: Ariel Burgess' Moiraine; Right: the costume version of art.

Tiaras: Wearing my tiara proudly--a newer JordanCon tradition that is sure to continue, because WE SHOULD ALL BE WEARING TIARAS ALL THE TIME.

WoT-Geekery: Making my two Warders kiss my cheeks before departing my presence--they’re neither of them blademasters, and they’re hella disobedient, but I think this means I’ve managed to get them started on the track of listening. Maybe. Haha! In truth, they’ve definitely pulled my ass out of the fire a time or two** and have earned their bestie titles proudly (and Mr Lannis is thankful, because it means he’s no longer inundated with exhaustive verbal diarrhea when he gets home, haha).

Introvert Dinner: An impromptu date, my friend (and JordanCon 10 Toastmaster!) Aubree Pham and I decided to grab dinner together at the hotel restaurant on Saturday night after the costume contest. It was a lovely break for the two of us introverts, a moment to breathe and decompress--and eat vegetables!--and amid the rush and bustle of JCon, it takes moments like these to ensure you get a chance to see some of your busiest friends. Introvert dinners for all!

The Nine Horse Hitch: Once again I assisted Chip Moore running the Nine Horse Hitch room party. We really are one of the best kept secrets of JordanCon, even if I do say so myself, and tell everyone I know, ha! The Dancing Tinker shooters were a hit, as were the Girl Scout Cookie and bourbon pairings. Nothing makes Chip and I happier than having the Nine Horse chock full of rowdy revelry, and I think we succeeded again this year.

Shenanigans at the Nine Horse Hitch! Top left: with Chip Moore; bottom right: with April Moore, the other half of my Hive Mind.

JordanCon's Art Show: I know I’m biased, but it gets better and better! So much of that is due to our dedicated group of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes all. goddamn. year. folks! And our artists, who have helped us cultivate that inclusive, fun-loving vibe and helped us brainstorm and present some of the best Art Track programming that could ever exist. There are too many participating artists to name them all, but I am coveting all of my art treasures from this year.

Dealer Hall moments: Meeting new dealers, and artists who have submitted to the Art Show and also bought a table to be even more involved in JordanCon than they were previously, and hearing positive feedback from them about all our work. One of my favourite moments, though, was watching my two Magic: The Gathering playing friends nerd out with Charles Urbach, the artist who illustrated several cards, and Charles equally nerding out in return. Approachability is a big part of what makes JordanCon grand, and it makes my heart happy to see people enjoying new connections.

Elevator Selfie Parties: Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like, and one of my favourite things to do at JordanCon, even though I'm fairly certain it scares the crap out of people. Bonus: the elevator at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia was ridiculously fast, so I'd walk in, the doors would close, I'd demand a group elevator selfie, and then waltz out when the doors opened. I'm scary friendly like that, and the results are almost always hysterical--even when it's a solo party.

Crowd in! Elevator Selfie Parties are the best!

Awkward formal pics: Friday we had Star Wars theme decor in the Nine Horse Hitch, and of course it was still on the walls come Saturday (because ain't nobody got time for redecorating at Jcon). For a portion of Saturday I was working the Nine Horse's door and camped nearby, thus the droid-backdrop awkward formal pics became a thing. I love all you weirdos for playing along!

Awkward formal pics.

Dance Party: The convention theme revolved around the Seanchan Return, so a Homecoming theme was apt. So this year, Saturday night’s (in)famous dance party involved tiaras and ball gowns, tuxedos, tuxedo shirts and mostly-naked horse headed persons dancing (wait, that wasn’t at your Homecoming formal? Crap. We must have gotten our lines crossed somewhere…)



There’s more, there’s always, always more.

The thing about a recap post is that no one attendee can summarize the convention. We can only summarize our own experiences, so apologies if I’ve missed something you feel is integral, or if you were there and we never managed to say hello--I do try to say hi to everyone, but at a record-breaking 852 attendees in 2018, it makes it a little tricky.

Recently, in the JordanCon Facebook group, the challenge was posed to imagine your life without JordanCon. After eight years of shenanigans with my tribe, I’m not being a sap (shut up, Ross), when I say that concept momentarily rocked me, panic flashing lightning-like through my core. My best and closest friends are in the ranks of JordanCon attendees. This group, this family, has affected me with such magnitude that I cannot put the value into words. I am who I am because of this group of nerds. I have leaned on them, and been leaned on in turn. I have connected, and cried, and laughed, and loved, and celebrated with these people.

In many ways my heart is whole because of them.

Without JordanCon, I would be lost.

This convention has an infectious sense of community, one I do my best to perpetuate. I laugh about connecting to the first timers, that I have a list for my newbie hunt, but the truth is I want everyone to be welcomed by the same positivity and sense of family as I was years ago.

Because JordanCon is home. For all of us.

Welcome home.








*That's Canadian for a 750ml bottle of booze.

**No joke, my Warders are hella useful. Case in point, this post: Ross Newberry saved my butt after I inadvertently discovered a Blogger formatting bug. Thank you, Ross! Now give me a kiss! [taps cheek] ;)

JordanCon8 Recap Post

My apologies. I’ve been staring at a blank page for far too long. Post Con Depression has its foothold, and it’s the reason I’ve been so quiet (sorry! heh).

2016 marked the sixth consecutive year I’ve traveled from Toronto to Atlanta for JordanCon, the little literary convention with the big heart.

This year’s JCon was hosted by my friend, Linda Taglieri, a renowned Wheel of Time scholar from The Thirteenth Depository, and it had the added honour of being the site of this year’s DeepSouthCon (those guys, they’ve been around the block a time or two, and let me tell you: they know how to have fun!). The Author Guest of Honour was Catharine Asaro, the Artist Guest of Honour was John Picacio, and the shenanigans and revelry were bigger, better, and more shenanigan-y than ever.

No, seriously. We’re going to have to come up with some crazy shit to top this year’s tom foolery--that’s the real reason why JCon is only once a year: it takes us a whole year to come up with an idea that tops the previous year.

(Wait, er, I mean… I’m not up to anything. Except maybe liver failure.)

The highlights from JordanCon8 were many, thus I present a sampling, featured in no particular order and likely even less sense:

• Thursday evening Directors’ Dinner: before the crazy of con truly begins the Directors and guests enjoy a meal together, and as a newly appointed assistant director, this was the first year I attended. However, there had to be at least one tradition to kick off the weekend, and apparently it was the one where I say something mortifyingly inappropriate in front of respectable author Brandon Sanderson. I blame the wine. And Paul Bielaczyc. (Damn you both for making me memorable! *sigh*) 
  
  
• Performing in the Opening Ceremonies as Sith Elaida: yes, my hack acting skills were on display in full getup as a Wheel of Time/Star Wars mashup character Sith Elaida (Elaida Jedai? Either way--she’s too obtuse to realize she’s channeling the Dark Side, haha!). So much fun, and myself, along with April Moore as Jedi Cadsuane, and Brit Lewis as Jedi Moiraine, and Linda Taglieri as toastmaster absolutely rocked those Opening Ceremonies! (I wish I had pics, or even better, video!)
  
  
• The JordanCon Art Show, in all its glory! It’s no secret that I’m biased: having worked quietly as April Moore’s second for years now, I now carry the title of Assistant Director for the Art Show. 2016 marked the fifth annual JordanCon Art Show, and it was our most successful yet. Our talented artists and dedicated team of volunteers outdid themselves again. Our exhibits were dazzling, our sales were up by about 30%, and no one lost their mind (or voice!).
  
  
• The Friday evening meal tradition of the Tor.com Rereaders’ Dinner: in the past we’ve all negotiated our way to a restuarant, but this year Ross Newberry went to the trouble of having our annual meal catered at the hotel instead of on the road. (It was excellent, and methinks we need to continue it in the future.) And we had Rereaders join us who had never hit up JordanCon before! (ALICE!) Big hugs all around!
  
  
• Sharing JordanCon yet again with my cousin Mandy: as much as it saddened me to sit out of the costume contest this year (a girl only has so much disposable time), I had the privilege to watch her place 2nd in the costume contest (Canadians represent!). And I helped with her Myrddraal makeup: this means I’ve placed 5 years in a row now, right? Right?
  
  

  

  Clockwise top left: silliness in the elevator; with Jason Denzel; the Myrddraal places second; the Hive Mind lives (April Moore and Lannis).

• The Writer’s Workshop, and receiving praise from Catharine Asaro on my writing. “An economy of words,” eh? I’m tickled! 
  
  
• Hanging out with my BFF, Jason Denzel, in person instead of online for a change, and watching his eyes roll every single time I declared pretentiously that Pomella, the protagonist of his novel, Mystic, was based on me (of COURSE she wasn’t). He later set me up in front of Harriet McDougal (Robert Jordan’s widow) and Brandon Sanderson (big wig author). Knowing I would preen on cue and state the dreaded line, “Pomella was based on me,” Jason turned my teasing around with a snort and the burn, “Only the bratty parts!” Oh, Jason! Payback’s a bitch, sir! Just wait! Haha! oxo
  
  
• Seeing old friends, naturally, but also seeing newbies enjoy their first JCon (Kalen! Ebony! Drew! Alice! And many more!) Honestly, I love expanding our Con family, and watching you enjoy JordanCon for the first time gives me all kinds of warm fuzzies! (Come back next year: the second time around is even better, trust!)
  
  

  

  Costumes from the contest and more!

  
  
  
• Speed Friending: after years of singing its praises and wanting to attend yet having conflicts, I finally made it to the Speed Friending panel! It was far louder than I’d anticipated but oh so much fun! I highly recommend it, and plan on hitting it up again next year!
  
  
• Downing maple flavoured Crown Royal Rye shots with Jason Denzel and Richard Fife at the bar, and--over the weekend--teaching not one but two bartenders how to make lovely layered B52 shooters. Ah, yes, boys, stick with me, and I’ll show you all the fun drinks! Ha!
   
• Catching tWoTcast live, playing “Who Said tWhat?” and laughing so hard I cried as they read smutty passages from books by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and (previous JordanCon Author Guest of Honour) Patrick Rothfuss; while at the same time I was helping Chip Moore (JordanCon’s official bartender) serve the audience with his portable bar (dude means business!).
  
  
• Getting Maria Simons (of Team Jordan) and Jennifer Liang (the JordanCon Con Chair) to throw panties at our friend Ross during the costume contest--his was a Wheel of Time mashup costume: a gleeman/Elvis named Al’vis, hence someone needed to make sure panties were thrown his way. (12-year-old me is simultaneously thrilled that I have this sort of rapport with these ladies, and absolutely mortified that I insist on sullying our reputation, haha)
  
  
•  Hanging out with our fantastic artists at the Art Show, including the talented likes of Edsel Arnold, Charles Urbach, and Amy Romanczuk. And then purchasing a Melissa Gay original--oh yes, Crystal Run is mine! Muahahaha! 
  
  

  

  Crystal Run by Melissa Gay; 8 x 10, acrylic on canvas.

• Being accused of being the head of the Black Ajah--a flattering accusation (oh, that I might be so devious as to devise what is clearly a very very good trick!)--and yet completely baffled by what is going on and wondering why am I not cool enough to get a Black Ajah ribbon?! (Seriously, peeps--if you know the lowdown on this one, drop me a line, I'm intent on unraveling this puzzle. info[at]lannis.ca).
  
  
• And the cream of the shenanigan crop: the Leigh Butler masks. Leigh is a past Toastmaster and the head of the Tor.com Wheel of Time Reread (and all around amazing chick), and was unable to attend this year’s JordanCon. Well, that wouldn’t do… so you know we Rereaders had to fill the hole in our hearts the best we knew how--by making not one, but, uh, maybe a dozen Leigh-on-a-stick masks so we could enjoy her as if she were with us. And of course such a stunt isn’t complete unless we unleashed it far and wide throughout the con, getting pics with everyone we could think of--and then I obnoxiously went onto Facebook as the pics were cropping up and pretended Leigh was avoiding me all weekend (because alcohol makes everything more believable). We love you, Leigh! Oxo 
  
  
  

  

  Fun with Leigh-on-a-Stick!

• The Team Jordan signing: where thanks to volunteering I was able to jump the (rather long) line, and had Harriet sign my copy of The Wheel of Time Companion, “To Lannis, a scholar and a Trolloc,” and then had Alan Romanczuk tease me--because the tradition of embarrassing shit happening in front of Harriet clearly must continue. Then he asked me how I was going to top JordanCon 2016's shenanigans next year and I made it clear his wifey would be helping me--haha! Poor, Alan!
  
  
• And so many more fun times: the costumes! The dance party! Karaoke! The gaming hall! Two proposals! Silliness in the elevator! Chatting with new people in the ConSuite! MORE!
  
  Every year I say that JordanCon is like a family reunion, but that’s because it bears repeating: this con is my tribe, and I’m oh so honoured to be a part of it and watch it grow--and grow it has! This year was record-breaking for attendance at 701 people attending the convention, and it really is the little convention with the big heart.
  
  #IsItAprilYet?
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson - Book Review

[Note: This review was originally published on PostWhatever.com on April 6th, 2011. The second installment of The Stormlight Archive, Words of Radiance, should be released in early 2014.]

Rating: 4/5 -  A satisfying read that’s worth every word.

Title: The Way of Kings (Book One of the Stormlight Archive)

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Format: hardcover

Published: 2010

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Publisher: Tor Books

Landed in my hands: as a gift

Summary (from cover):

I long for the days before the Last Desolation.

The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.

The world became ours, and we lost it. Nothing, it appears, is more challenging to the souls of men than victory itself.

Or was that victory an illusion all along? Did our enemies realize that the harder they fought, the stronger we resisted? Perhaps they saw that the heat and the hammer only make for a better grade of sword. But ignore the steel long enough, and it will eventually rust away.

There are four whom we watch. The first is the surgeon, forced to put aside healing to become a soldier in the most brutal war of our time. The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills. The third is the liar, a young woman who wears a scholar’s mantle over the heart of a thief. The last is the highprince, a warlord whose eyes have opened to the past as his thirst for battle wanes.

The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days can become ours again. These four people are key.

One of them may redeem us.

And one of them will destroy us.

Review:

Old world magic reawakening, fierce battles, political scheming, and nobility grasping at the last strands of what it is to be noble. If epic fantasy is your thing, you’ll be happy to crack the brick that is The Way of Kings. It’s the first of The Stormlight Archive, a series that is expected to span ten novels and the next decade — at least! — in publishing time. (Seriously. I’m not kidding. I’ve been reading Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series since 1992. I never joke about publishing waits.)

So. Yes. The Way of Kings. It's meaty. As well it should be: it’s 1001 pages before the end notes — that includes gorgeous illustrations — and I’m more than a little curious as to how Tor is going to manage to repackage this behemoth into a mass market paperback.

In the first installment of this ambitious series, Sanderson has believably created a world where the violent weather has shaped its geography, its inhabitants (including its creatures), its cultures and the way they create war with each other.

As a regular listener of Sanderson’s joint project podcast, Writing Excuses, I’m well aware that he is known as an outline writer — a planner. This habit reassures me, especially regarding the scope of this series. This meticulous planning doesn’t only project to his plot and character arcs, but his worldbuilding as well. A few years ago, I became a little beleaguered of the fantasy genre as a whole, and I think it was because of the lack of thorough worldbuilding I had encountered in new reads at the time.

Okay, yes, I’ll admit it: when I begin reading fantasy, my brain opens a little file of 'what’s different?' in the novel’s setting. What are the defining aspects of the cultures? What sets the world apart from our own (aside from the presence of magic)?

And sometimes? Sometimes I’m a fantasy snob. Yep. It's true. If the worldbuilding is done poorly, if it feels slapdash and 'just to be different’ instead of traits embedded within the culture through evolving traditions, it’s a big mark against the author, in my mind.

So, when I read in The Way of Kings that the high society of the Alethi culture (Damn it! My anti-spoiler alarm is kicking in. Annoying thing!) do something in particular for propriety's sake, I crossed my fingers that the reasoning would be traced through the history of the people; that there would be a reason more than simply creating a token cultural difference.

Well, Sanderson did one better, in my mind — he used this cultural oddity in the narrative! No spoilers, but the peculiarity came up in the plot, and worked, oh, so well. I was silently cheering him on. I’m also hoping the reasoning behind this cultural oddity will be revealed in a later work (with nine books forthcoming in the series, I figure he’s got a lot of opportunity to do so. Ha!).

Sanderson has talent for skillfully rendering intense, battle-ridden scenes. With the unique geography, there is fascinating strategy and setup to the tactics, like nothing I’ve encountered before. Enough so that it flipped something I don’t usually pay too much attention to (battles and war — gasp!), into an interesting element of the narrative. The straightforward day-to-day technicalities of running a war camp in this unique geography lend reality to the strife and internal struggle of Kaladin, one of the central characters.

And can I just say it’s extremely satisfying to read parallel story lines and discover they artfully dovetail together? It's one of my favourite things, as a reader — the inevitable yet unexpected, and how two analogous plot arcs collide. There's that Sanderson planning for you.

Now, there were some nagging questions (see above, re: basis for cultural oddity in Alethi society), and while some of the questions plaguing me during my read were eventually answered, mostly it was while creating more questions to tantalize and whet the appetite for the next book. As meaty as The Way of Kings may be, it’s truly setting the groundwork for an epic series, introducing a world cracked and ready to be remade, for good or bad. There is enough meat here that the ambitious projection of another nine books in the series doesn’t feel quite 'ambitious' so much as 'completely necessary' by the end of this tome.

Sanderson has created a world in the middle of astronomical change, and has a handful of pivotal characters on standby ready to shape that change.

If you’re a fantasy fan wanting a story that you can sink your teeth into, The Way of Kings has all you’re looking for: unique worldbuilding, interesting magic systems, classic battle clashes, and believable, noble characters, and humour, too. Enjoy!

ETA: It also has some amazing artwork by Michael Whelan. Breathtaking.