Real World Adventures

Hugos thoughts and some Split Worlds news

Even though I wrote a post about Nine Worlds and Worldcon last week, I wanted to write a little something about my experience at the Hugos.

Tea and Jeopardy was nominated in the Best Fancast category and I still couldn’t quite believe it right up until I collected my pack at registration and found the tiny silver rocket pin inside.

Seriously, I never, ever thought I would get one of those! I spent the next four days worrying I was going to lose it in the Excel centre.

I was so busy at Worldcon that I barely had a chance to get really nervous until the day of the awards. There was a rehearsal in the afternoon in which we were shown where to get up on the stage if we won, where to stand for the photo and how to hold the Hugo without breaking it and/or looking like we were doing something… inappropriate.

I must admit that when we were shown where to stand after being given the award I started to lose it. I looked out at the auditorium and saw hundreds and hundreds of seats. I imagined people sitting in them, looking at me. I imagined the flash of cameras. I started to shake. A lot.

We were shown where to go backstage and then how to dismantle the Hugo for travel. By that point I was barely holding myself together. Once the briefing was over I changed out of the shoes I was practising in and then totally lost it.

Reader, I ugly cried.

It was simply too much. The prospect of being up on that stage was too terrifying to bear. I shifted from wanting to win so badly, to hoping we didn’t so I wouldn’t have to go up there! And can I just say that Mary Robinette Kowal is an amazing person to have around if you’re imploding? She knew exactly what to say and is just a gorgeous human being.

The outfit I made for the Hugos. This was taken by Annie at 2am - we looked tidier at the start.
The outfit I made for the Hugos. This was taken by Annie at 2am – we looked tidier at the start.

A couple of hours of sewing my outfit, reassurance from my husband (and co-nominee!) and mental preparation in my room got me over the tearful stage and by the time the pre-ceremony reception was in full swing I actually got to the point when I could enjoy it. Perhaps the glass of wine was a factor. Either way I had a magical moment outside of the reception with my dear friend Adam Christopher when we both stepped back and went “Whoa! This is cool!” before plunging back into it.

Then we were escorted to our seats and I had the strangest experience of seeing a huge version of my current author pic being shown on the screen in the auditorium. And people cheered when it was shown! Blimey!

Luckily our category was quite early on in the running order and I was so delighted when SF Signal won, for two reasons: 1: They really deserved it after so many years of hard work and 2: I didn’t have to go up on that stage and have pictures taken of me! YAY!

I really enjoyed the rest of the evening, mostly because none of the bigots managed to game the system enough to win. No, more than that; because the vote was a clear message that we are moving towards an inclusive future for our community.

As I said that night and the morning after; I felt proud of my community. I felt part of it. And I felt I could not love it more.

But we need to stay vigilant. History shows us – again and again – that without continued efforts, things slide backwards again. Let’s build on this; there’s still a long way to go.

The ‘some Split Worlds news’ part

I had a reading slot on the morning of the Hugos and my goodness, some of that anxiety leaked into it! I made an announcement there that I want to share here too:

I will be Kickstarting the 4th Split Worlds novel!

I plan to launch a campaign to fund the production of the fourth Split Worlds novel in mid-September. I can’t keep this book cooped up in my head any longer! I will obviously reveal more closer to the time, I just wanted to let the people who were hoping that there is going to be one and that I am going to do all I can to make sure it makes it out into the world in the best shape possible. And for me, that means raising funds to pay for a professional team including Sarah J. Coleman who designed the beautiful covers for the first three books.

Scary stuff! Exciting times!

Oh! Speaking of exciting; I am delighted to be able to announce that I will be one of the Guests of Honour at Octocon 2015 (The national Irish science fiction convention) which will be held in Dublin. YAY!