Runester

Well, I did get to drive down and meet Charles Stross, in person. The event was hosted by Pandemonium Books in Cambridge, MA. It turns out, my new job is only a fifteen (15) minute drive away! I couldn’t find any city parking (i.e. 2 hr limit, parking meter) so I parked in a nearby private lot for $8. The event started at 6:00 PM, and I got close – arriving at 6:10 PM. The store had set him up in the basement (usually reserved for board / mini’s / RPG’s) and had set out about twenty-five (25) chairs. There were people already there when I arrived, and Charlie was already speaking and answering questions. Some people came and went, but I’m pretty confident that at least twenty-five (25) people were present.

Author Charles Stross at Pandemonium Books on 10-Feb-2009

The only annoyance, was that the mini’s / rpg gamers sitting behind us were loud. No one really told them to keep it down, and there didn’t seem to be anyone from the store willing to keep their sound level down to a reasonable level. At several points during the 70+ minutes that Charlie spoke, it was impossible to hear what he was saying! I think this bothered Charlie as well, but he didn’t say anything.

His stories were funny and he gave a lot of insight into some of the background or history of his writing and various pieces. I got to ask a couple of questions, including one about the relationship of A Colder War and The Laundry series. It turns out that A Colder War was written in around 1998, before the first Laundry book. There are similarities but there was no way for him to keep the same tone up for a whole novel. He was able to adapt his ideas of Lovecraft / Spy Novel in The Laundry series, which has been well received. The other really good news, is that he has a third book in that series coming out, and a fourth book planned!

After the Q&A, we approached his table and had him sign stuff. I had him sign both of my Laundry books, Jennifer Morgue and The Atrocity Archives. I didn’t really have much to say to him, but I did thank him for responding to my email and recommending his Laundry series to me. Then I left, and drove home. Maybe I should have stuck around and talked to him some more … but I really didn’t know what else to ask or discuss. Maybe I’m just a wuss when it comes to ‘celebraties’.

Anyway, overall, it was a positive experience and I’m really glad I had the chance to listen to and meet him in person. Now, I have to seek out some of the other authors I really enjoy like Neil Gaiman and Kaitlin R. Kiernan.