The Warlock Rewritten

When my family first moved to Illinois back in the '80s, I was delighted to discover that Champaign-Urbana had their own science fiction convention.  Chambanacon became a regular part of our year.  The people were warm and welcoming, the costumes were bright and plentiful, and the spirit was everything an SF/F Con should be.  I think I split my time evenly between the swimming pool and the con suite, just sitting back and chatting with the fans about books (sometimes mine) and movies.

Then, alas, I had to travel to New Mexico for new employment (DON'T quit your day job!) and couldn't make it back home for Thanksgiving—a five-day round trip with only one of them at home.  Friends at the university took me under their wings and made sure I wasn't strarved for turkey or good company.  Hey, how many people can claim they had Thanksgiving with Jack Williamson?

Then the job ran out, which is another way of saying I didn't make tenure—novels didn't impress the Mass Communications faculty (I know, I know, movies and TV have become just as important to SF as books—but the faculty didn't).  So I came back to Champaign on permanent basis (my wife and youngest daughter had stayed in Illinois) and was dejected to find that Chambanacon had moved to Springfield.  We tried to fit convention and family all into one weekend, but there just weren't enough days.  So with a heavy heart, I had to abstain from attending.

Imagine my delight this year, when I found that Chambanacon was back in Champaign!  Of course we signed up, found the hotel, and came in the day after Thanksgiving.  It was wonderful to see old friends again, and to meet new ones, some of whom actually remembered me and had even read some of my books!  They were as warm and friendly as ever, and among the authors attending was Gene Wolfe, whose Soldier in the Mist had delighted me so much that I was ready to sign up for the Persian army as soon as I finished the last page.  Once again, I spent hours in the con suite talking with fans and fellow authors, delighting in their company and storing up enough of the atmosphere of the science fiction and fantasy community to ration out during the rest of the year.

There are advantages to retirement after all.