When Authors Clash!

When I was a kid, I used to love the comics where everyone would show up. On one scale, you had the Avengers or the Justice League of America, super-teams that often consisted of major characters with their own titles. But even better were the things like the wedding (in Fantastic Four Annual #3) of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, where literally everyone in the then-Marvel universe showed up.

Now sure, it was cool when they fought, when radioactive apes crashed the party, or when it all turned into a brawl. But even as a kid, I best liked the moments where a god-of-thunder and a guy made of orange rocks would just stand around with a drink in their hands, chewing the fat and talking shop.

In a way, I get to relive those moments, big and small, on a regular basis now. Our little town is a secret nexis in the literary universe, where authors, both great and aspiring, often meet and mingle. I still take some secret delight in looking around the room and thinking about all the books and stories people in the room have published. Even at a small gathering, the books usually number in the hundreds, and I suspect we've gotten into the thousands at times.

Here are a few shots from a genre workshop held here this weekend. Not that big as they go, but there were still shelves of books represented, award-winners, and most every genre that you could imagine. Yet there they are, just hanging out like mortal humans, sipping generic soda-pop.

Cool!