BabelCon Installment 6: My Tour of the USS Alabama

Greg and I stopped by the USS Alabama—a World War II Battleship in Mobile, AL—as we drove back to Naples after BabelCon. We got to tour the ship itself and an old submarine. Here are a few things that I’ve decided.

First, I don’t like being inside a submarine. If you ever meet someone in the Navy who has to work on a submarine, shake his or her hand and thank them doubly for their service to our country. Subs are tiny. Way too tiny. I can’t imagine being stuck on that thing for weeks at a time. And it’s not like you can go outside for some fresh air if you get stir crazy, or if you just want to get away from someone annoying.

Second, all the stairs on both the ship and the sub were steep. Ick! I had to take a few deep breaths each time I went down.

Third, the battleship was huge! And it had everything—even a soda fountain. They had their own doctor and dentist, a barber, laundry. The guns on the battleship shot sixteen inch diameter bullets, and they could shoot them for over twenty miles. And the weird thing was that they could do everything—navigation, shooting, everything—without computers!

Fourth, it was stinking hot below deck and inside. I guess they didn’t air condition the ships, and I thought a lot about how this ship must have done in the pacific when we fought Japan. I guess it’s so easy to forget how much our military service men and women have sacrificed for this country. They had to endure non-air-conditioned situations often.

Fifth, the teamwork involved between all divisions of the armed forces was amazing. It takes 140 men to fire the big guns. (You’ll see the big guns in my pictures to follow.) Then, it takes a whole bunch of battleships to guard an aircraft carrier—or it used to. I’m told that air craft carriers now have their own defense systems. Everyone has to work together in order to get just one air craft carrier pilot into the air. That, and my husband kept explaining to me how the battleships were used in Normandy—how they shot the beaches before our boys arrived to give them a fighting chance. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force working together. Wow!

Many of you might be wondering why I decided to spend three hours in the hot sun checking out a battleship. Well, you’ll just have to wait until Book III of The Elysian Chronicles.

Tags: USS Alabama, battleship, submarine, BabelCon

BabelCon Installment 5: Catwoman and Stunt Woman

I really enjoyed meeting Lee Meriwether and her daughter, Leslie Aletter. Lee has had a remarkable career. She has played Catwoman on Batman, as well as Losira on the original Star Trek. She was even Miss America in 1955—and rumored to be engaged to one of my Yankee idols, Joe DiMaggio. Yes, that puts her in Marylyn Monroe territory! I enjoyed watching Lee relate to all of the fans. She never expressed annoyance or exhaustion. She always smiled, and she made sure to include me, even though I was the least famous at the Con. She’s still got the Miss America poise. I watched her and took mental notes, hoping that I could give fans the same respect and kindness that she did. One thing that I noticed right off when I first met Lee wasn’t necessarily her beauty (She’s still got it!), or her marvelous bone structure, but her eyes. They were kind and confident. (I’m an eye person. Those of you who have read A Prophecy Forgotten have probably figured that out.) Lee and I did an exchange. I got an autographed picture of her as Catwoman, and she got an autographed book from me.

Lee’s daughter, Leslie Aletter, was also in attendance. She sat next to me. She’s a Hollywood stuntwoman. She was Sigourney Weaver’s stunt double in Galaxy Quest and in Alien: Resurrection. Amazing woman, and incredibly fit. My first thought when I met her was, “Wow! I need to get in shape!” She is toned and very attractive. We began talking about the weight of Hollywood actresses, and it’s actually becoming a problem for stunt doubles. Think about it. A stunt double needs to be fit and with incredible muscular power, i.e. heavier than a waif. So here is the question. How does a stunt double lose enough weight to pass for the anorexic actress from far away without fainting on set because of lack of food?

What is interesting is that Ms. Aletter was not in “weight loss” mode when I met her. She weighed more than the waifs, and she looked INCREDIBLE! Anyway, I was very impressed by her because she does things I just don’t think I could do. For instance, she was the one holding the flame thrower in Alien: Resurrection, and she had to have a fuel line put through her costume to do the part. I’ve got pyro-phobia—there’s no way I’d do that! And she’s hung from flying helicopters, etc. Yikes! Those of you who heard me speak in Ft. Walton Beach know all about my heights issues. This woman was kind and impressive—just like her mother.

Tags: Lee Meriwether, Leslie Aletter, Sigourney Weaver, Galaxy Quest, Alien: Resurrection

BabelCon Installment 4: Role Playing Clubs

Or, Why I Would Never be a Novelist if They Existed in My Area

I discovered something new this weekend—role playing clubs. At least, that’s what I call them. BabelCon had a group called NERO (New England Roleplaying Organization— http://www.nerolegends.com/) featured.

One of the leaders of the NERO club came into the dealer room when he was hot from sword fighting demonstrations outside, and we talked about roleplaying games. (He was dressed similar to Elrond. His wife made the costume, and I must say that I was impressed.) Basically, if you join the group, you get to create your own character and dress like the character when the group gets together. They have a plot master (I think that’s why they are called.) who is the only one who knows what is going on. The rest of the members all are like real characters in a story—they have no idea about the challenges that might be thrown their way. For instance, you might have to open a chest, but if you don’t have the key to the chest or a lock picker, you might be out of luck, and the plot master isn’t going to help. (My husband said he would break the chest, and I think that is allowed.) The twist on the whole thing is that they often have to fight each other, and the plot masters don’t know who is going to win. I love it. It reminds me of writing.

What makes the roleplaying club so intriguing? A number of things. First, the plot masters can carry on secrets about stuff for years—just like a novelist. (A bunch of you probably think that I just chose the color sky-blue for the gnomes who were begin taken to the Dungeon of Enbed in A Prophecy Forgotten. You don’t know that the color is important, as well as the color burgundy that Gimp wears. It is important, ha ha!) Second, it’s a lot like the reality TV programs that we see, except no cameras, and you don’t have to look like a toothpick to play. Anyone can join, and it’s a really great release! Third, it’s a great way to bond with likeminded friends. I noticed at BabelCon that most people were with a group--very few loners. Fouth, Dude! You get to hit people with foam covered PVC pipes and learn how to use swords. That's AWESOME! I'm so there already.

Anyway, I’ve decided that if one of these groups existed in my area, I probably would ever get any work done. It sounds kind of fun!

This is Karl showing a two boys the fine art of not getting hit buy a sword. (They actually use foam covered PVC pipe for safety reasons.) Bear in mind that it is probably over 95 degrees outside.

Tags: NERO, New England Roleplaying Organization, A Prophecy Forgotten, gnomes, BabelCon

BabelCon Installment 3: Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Darth?

Or, Why I'm Still Afraid of Storm Troopers

One of the ladies who worked the paleontology exhibit on the other side of me at BabelCon said, “You know you’re in a weird spot when you get to the point where you say to yourself, ‘Oh, there goes another Klingon,’ like it is normal.” That’s what BabelCon was like—tons of people dressed up in costumes. I enjoyed it immensely—especially because I like to look at costumes. However, I found out a very funny thing about myself.

Attending BabelCon were Darth Vader, complete with breathing mechanism, a storm trooper, a tye fighter (Star Wars fans, correct my spelling, please!), a guard from detention block AA23 (I think. Or he was one of the guys who rode the 4-legged robot things on Hoth in Empire Strikes Back)—who later turned into Anakin when his uniform got too hot, and a guard from the moon of Endor.

As the storm trooper passed me, I pulled him aside and asked him if the outfit came complete with air conditioning. I was joking. Imagine my surprise when he said that it had two fans inside. As I talked with the storm trooper, I began to notice something. My heart rate picked up. Whoa! That was weird. Then Darth Vader followed, and the heart rate picked up even more. Then I noticed that every time I passed these guys in the halls, I felt all the symptoms of fear, and I just wanted to get through the hallway quickly. Why, I asked myself, did my brain press the panic button the moment I saw these guys?

I think I know. Star Wars came out in 1977—I think. (I’ve got to be careful, because I know a whole bunch of fans are probably reading this.) That means, I was only 1 when it came out. I was basically raised on Star Wars—my dad was a huge fan. I’ve watched Episodes 4-6 so much that I practically have them memorized. I was watching these movies at the tender age of 6, 7—8 is when Return of the Jedi came out—9, 10. I was so young when Empire Strikes Back came out that all I remember is watching Vader kill yet another one of his captains. (The scene where the poor guy falls to the floor and Vader says, “Apology accepted, Captain Nida.” Or whatever his name was. I was practically deaf when I was young, so I’ve found that a bunch of names that I learned to say at a young age were wrong.) Imagine how that scene must have affected me as a little girl. Anyway, I think the instincts bread into me from watching Star Wars as a child just kind of came out. Part of my brain knew it was just Star Wars fans in costume, but the other part of me accessed the younger memories and kept saying, “Evil, evil, evil!”

Stay tuned for BabelCon Installments 4, 5 & 6!

Tags: Star Wars, storm trooper, Return of the Jedi, Empire Strikes Back, BabelCon

BabelCon Installment 2: Klingons And Brilliant Star Trek Writers

A group of guys dressed up as Klingons had rooms right across from me at the hotel. They are members of a group called KAG, which stands for Klingon Assault Group (http://www.kag.org/). Greg and I first saw them on Friday night as we were returning to our hotel room. There they were—five Klingons—marching almost in formation. It turns out that they were going to the airport to welcome Robert O’Reilly, who played Chancellor Gowron on Star Trek, at the airport. I’m told that Mr. O’Reilly had never had a welcome so special, and I’m sure he was grateful for their support.

(Here are two of the group, ready to listen to a speech. The one in the foreground is their commander.)

(Here, the commander is having a conversation with Robert O'Reilly (Chancellor Gowron). It's really hard to see the intricacies of his costume from here. He used real leather, and it looked AWESOME!)

On Saturday, as I was selling books in the dealer room, one of the Klingons stood next to me and said he had a sciatic nerve problem. I let him have my chair every now and then when he needed a rest, and we ended up having a lovely conversation about education (he’s a high school history teacher by day), the Civil War, and—of course—the Klingon culture.

(This is me and Klingon Kevin.)

After talking with a few people about Star Trek, I have come to the conclusion that the writers were/are absolutely brilliant. It’s one of those things where I covet their ability to write. Many people might wonder why Star Trek was such a powerful series/movie/s that fans today take the time to buy or make their own costumes and have their own conventions, and I think I know why. Writers, including me, this is the part where you might want to take notes.

First, the writers of Star Trek made the cultures of their various alien lifeforms intricate and real. (Tolkien did this in Lord of the Rings, and George Lucas did this in Star Wars.) The The writers developed their culture so much that they made Klingons seem real. (They even gave Klingons a language and a form or writing that you can find with Google.) Basically, any Klingon fan can take what they now about Klingons(based solely on what they have seen in the series) and create their own weapons, etc.—and they would probably be right on. Now that’s good writing on the part of the Star Trek writers.

Second, the writers of Star Trek patterned their cultures after actually human experience and history. Klingons were actually based on the Russians (according to Klingon Kevin), which is why they became allies with the humans in Star Trek: Next Generation. Because the writers patterned the Klingons after a culture familiar to us, Klingon behavior often makes our human brains go, “Hey, that’s like this-and-such-example that happened during this-and-such era.” It makes their culture easier to believe. The Klingon culture is also one of honor. Well, I can think of many cultures that are similar, and that makes the Klingon cultures seem more real. Patterning created cultures after real ones helps give familiarity to science fiction and fantasy, and that familiarity is helpful for readers. It's something they can grasp onto when they are reading about so many new technologies or fantasy concepts.

Third, the Star Trek writers adopted the Kligong language and colloquialisms to match their culture. The standard Klingon greeting is Kaplah (sp?), which the uneducated fan might think means “hello.” Imagine my amazement when Robert O’Reilly said “Kaplah” to me (Oh my gosh, Chancellor Gowron Kaplah-ed me!), and then told me that it meant "success." I looked at him and said, “You know that tells me so much about the Klingon culture right there.”

“Success!”

You can tell what drives the Klingons. Hawaiians say “Welcome.” Americans say “Hi.” Israelis say "Shalom" (peace). Klingons wish each other “Success.” I’m telling you, the writers of star trek were BRILLIANT! I need to make sure to apply this concept to my gnome and dragon cultures, which I will be introducing in Out of the Shadows.

P.S. Regarding the spelling of Kaplah--I went to several Klingon Language sites and tried to find out how to spell it, but I couldn't seem to find anything. If any of you out there know how to spell it, please leave me a comment!

Tags: Out of the Shadows, Klingon, Star Trek, Robert O'Reilly, KAG, Klingon Assault Group, Gowron

BabelCon Pics

Here are some pics of me at BabelCon. I'll have more to follow as I blog about it throughout the week.

Here I am, trying to sell my wares. The wire book holder was provided.

Me again. The book next to me was written by Randy Richards. It's called Dreadmire, and it's a D&D gaming book. I don't know much about D&D, but I know you can find out more about Dreadmire and Randy at www.dreadmire.com. Also, be sure to thank Randy if you see him. He's one of the people who put this whole thing together.

This shot wasn't suppsed to happen. I was holding the book, explaining the plot to a potential customer. Then I saw Randy holding a camera, and I immediately posed.

This was one of the scientists at BabelCon. They don't read much fiction.

BabelCon Installment 1: Top Ten Things I Learned At BabelCon

I just got back from BabelCon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I spent most of my time in the dealer room, hocking my book. I had a really great time—especially when I gave a talk on “Making Make-Believe Believable.” It was the first time that I’ve asked an audience how many of them have seen Star Wars and Galaxy Quest—and all of them raised their hands. These are my people! (I’m a closet Star Wars junkie. I don’t read the books, but if it’s about the original three star wars, I can tell you a lot.) A few things stood out in my memory, and I figured I share them with you over the next few weeks. (They would be too much for one blog entry, and I have to spend most of my time on Out of the Shadows, which is due at the end of the month. For now, here are my top ten things that I learned at BabelCon.

10. Kaplah (sp?) is Klingon for “success”—not “hi.” (Robert O’Reilly, i.e. Chancellor Gowron from Star Trek, told me.) (I’ll have a future blog on my new Klingon friends later.) By the way, if any of you who know the Klingon language are reading this, please let me know if I spelled Kaplah right. I have this horrid feeling that I butchered it.
9. Lee Meriwether (Cat Woman & 1955 Miss America) is amazingly gracious and kind—not to mention stunningly gorgeous. (Look at me go on the adverbs! I should mark up the whole sentence with red ink.)
8. Stunt women are sexier than actresses because they look healthy instead of like starved Ethiopians. (Of course, the stunt woman (Leslie Aletter) was Lee Meriwether’s daughter, so she has really good genes.
7. Chain Mail (which is actually called just “mail”—oh dear—was actually stronger than many scientists originally assumed, and it could repel most arrows. (A sword specialist guy told me about it, and he let me hold a few of his swords. That was cool. They weren’t as heavy as I thought they would be.)
6. Real leather looks better on a costume than vinyl.
5. Do not visit the USS Alabama during August. If you must (because it’s on the way home from BabelCon), use sunscreen and bring a lot of water. (A blog about the USS Alabama will follow later.)
4. No one ever dresses up like Yoda or R2D2 at these things.
3. Doing sword fight demonstrations outside in Baton Rouge in a full, Elrond-style costume can make you really hot. (Or so I’ve been told by my new friends in NERO.)
2. Storm trooper costumes actually have fans inside of them to keep the wearers from keeling over in the Louisiana heat.
1. I’m still afraid of Darth Vader and Storm Troopers—even though I know they’re just regular people in costume. (More to come on this, too.)

I’ll be writing more about BabelCon as the weeks go by. Right now, I must work on Out of the Shadows.

(This picture above was taken by my new friends, David and his son Jonathan. I'm holding Marvin from The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Please visit David's website at http://www.marvinsjourney.com/. (You'll see a whole bunch of pictures of Marvin with the other guests as well.))

Tags: Gowron, Robert O'Reilly, klingon, BabelCon, Lee Meriwether, Leslie Aletter, USS Alabama, Yoda, R2D2, Storm Trooper, Darth Vader, Star Wars, Galaxy Quest, Out of the Shadows

Summary of Past Two Weeks

Wow, I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry about that. It's been a busy two weeks with limited wi-fi access. Basically, here's a summary of what I've been doing:

Two weeks ago (July somthing--no calander available)
I was a chaperone at Big Stuff Camp with my church youth group.n (Center Point Community Church in Naples, FL). We had an awesome time, and I really bonded with some of the girls in our youth group. I got to hear Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio (sp?) speak, so it was pretty cool. I also got to meet a phenomenal family who owns Barnies Coffee Company by the Datona Beach Hilton Hotel. They let me crash in their coffee shop every day so I could work on Out of the Shadows. They're also from Boston, and they still liked me even though I'm a Yankees fan! If you're in the Daytona Beach area and want coffee, skip Starbucks and go to Barnies.

Last Week
I was a speaker at the Journey Children's Conference at Grace Tabernacle Church in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. It's right next to Eglin Air Force Base so the place was crawling with military personel. I wanted to grab each of them and thank them for protecting this country, but that would have looked weird to have some chick stopping everyone. I got to meet a great group of kids from St. Robert, Missouri--Hi Rock of Ages!--and I also got to visit the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola for research on my third novel.

Next Weekend
I'll be at BabelCon in Baton Rouge, LA. I'll be doing a panel about writing and publishing, and speaking about writing fantasy. (I'll also be selling books.) If you can't find me, look for the best creole shop in town or a PJ's coffee shop.

Tags: Big Stuff, Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Museum, BabelCon, Andy Stanely, Louie Giglio

BabelCon: I’m Right Next to the Incredible Hulk!

You’ve got to check this out! I’m going to be a panelist at BabelCon, a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fest in Baton Rouge, and they’ve listed me on their website—right next to Lou Ferrigno! Oh yeah! I’ve arrived! I’m on par with the Incredible Hulk! Check out the site! The beautiful lady next to me is Deborah LeBlanc, an author I met at the Emerald Coast Writers Conference. I really admire her zeal and her persistence in promoting her work.

http://www.dancebackwards.com/BabelFantasyGuests.html

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

I’ve Been Selected as a Panelist at BabelCon!!!

Or, How I Decided to Do a Book Tour in the South!

Great news! I’ve been selected as a panelist at BabelCon, and up-and-coming sci-fi/fantasy expo in Baton Rouge. It just happens to occur a week after the Children of Destiny Conference, which means I’ll probably be able to do a little book tour of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and Louisiana. (No, I did not realize how close it was to the Children of Destiny Conference when I booked it.)

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.