The Chattanooga Meetup and Chattacon

Where do I begin? Ah, yes—the Chattacon science fiction and fantasy convention. We (neutral observer and I) arrived on the Thursday before the convention, which ran Friday through Sunday. We like to do this so we can charge our batteries and be fresh for the excitement to come the following days. I'm going to talk about the convention first, then get to the Meetup.

Randy & Sarah Weivoda showed up the next day. We had lunch at the Conga Latin Food restaurant, which featured South American as well as Mexican fare. Next came a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium. Now, I had already visited the Aquarium a couple of times, having gone on separate school field trips with my two youngest daughters. One of the unique features at the Aquarium are tanks where you can touch the fish (no more than two fingers!) . I passed, as the thought of touching a shark or sting ray didn't sound all that appealing. Here we are at the butterfly exhibit (in an aquarium?):

Randy & Sarah.

neutral observer.

Afterward, we returned to the hotel for registration (Randy & Sarah also had to check in). We all attended the opening ceremony, after which I attended the following panels:

o We Ruin Everything – Why popular science fiction tropes don't really work that way.

o Writing for Anthologies – Tips and advice on writing short stories and getting them published.

There was an 11 PM session titled "Sex Toys of the Future." It sounded intriguing, but it was well past our bedtime. On the other hand, I married my sex toy, so it didn't really matter (clasping my hands in prayer that neutral observer doesn't read this). I'll let Randy fill you in on the sessions he attended.

There was a break in the schedule for dinner, so we walked to Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe. As you can guess, we had Mediterranean and Greek meals to choose from. The first day, while brief, was informative as well as a culinary experience!

Saturday was the big day for sessions. The 10 AM start meant breakfast at the hotel. I attended the following sessions:

o Writing Stories That Work — This session covered all the things needed (and not needed) to make good stories that sell. I picked up enough tips and reminders that I decide to rewrite the four novels I had ready for publication, based on what I learned. I played hookey for a couple of hours rewriting the first story.

o Writing in a Trademarked World — This session discussed writing stories using established literary characters. Did you ever wonder how a writer can use Sherlock Holmes or Tarzan in a story and not get sued by their estates? You learned that here.

Again, Randy can describe the sessions he attended

I went back to rewriting my novel until it was time for dinner. And man, was dinner fantastic! We ate at the Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse. We'd never been to this type of restaurant before, where waiters come to your table with chunks of meat on skewers, slicing off slabs for your plate. It was a novel experience! And neutral observer really liked her fancy Pina Colada:

The extra glasses contain more of the drink that couldn't fit in the pineapple. It was like getting three cocktails for the price of one!

Sunday began later, at 11 AM. This was a good thing, as the first session I attended was hosted by three authors who had partied the night before. The title was "Killing the Wicked Witch of the West," which asked the question, "Heroes - who are they, and why do we write them?"

I also sat through "I Am Not a Robot," which discussed AI and robotics in reality, as well as in sci-fi.

Again, I'll punt to Randy for the sessions he attended. We all attended the closing ceremony, which was surprisingly short. Now it was time to get ready for the actual Meetup.

We drove across the river to Bela Lisboa, a Portuguese restaurant. We had reservations for eight, but one couple had to cancel, leaving only six of us: myself & neutral observer, Randy & Sarah Weivoda, and the Goddess of Discord & her husband (Chip? I can't remember his name. I plead age!). The restaurant was mostly empty because the place had water issues (that was all we were told). Only folks with reservations got in. I shared an appetizer of seared scallops with NO, and had surf and turf—filet mignon and shrimp—for my meal. However, there was a twist. The meat was served "on the stone," which meant you cooked the food yourself on a heated slab at the table. Although I slightly undercooked my steak, it was delicious. I'll let the other attendees describe their meals, if they can remember what they had.

Much of the conversation centered around exchanging information about ourselves, as well as thoughts on events in the world, and Ricochet. Because I had a brain fart and forgot to take a picture at the table, I hired a graphic artist to render a drawing of what we looked like:

I never said the artist was any good. Anyway, the convention was fabulous, and even thought the Meetup was short, it was very, very sweet. As a reminder, a Meetup doesn't have to be a four-day, multi-event program with 20+ people. A nice meal with Ricochetti who live nearby counts!