Gencon Friday: Best Day Ever!!

Me & Shelly Mazzanoble
Originally uploaded by stupidranger

OMG!!! I had the best Gencon day ever!!

It started out with the very fun Queen of Geeks pageant. I flubbed up the trivia pretty bad, but I totally nailed my talent, and the audience really enjoyed it. I finished in the top three, not Queen this year, but maybe next year!

After a celebratory lunch, we headed to the sales floor, where Dante and I wandered around, finally making our way to the Wizards booth. I was talking to one of ladies working at the booth, asking if Shelly Mazzanoble would be signing anywhere (as I had other events during events I knew she was scheduled to attend). The very nice lady pointed out to me that Shelly was standing right next to us!

I introduced myself to Shelly and mentioned that we had emailed a few times in the past and that I was from stupidranger.com, and she knew exactly who I was! It was one of the greatest moments of my life!

Having loaned out my copy of Confessions, I quickly purchased a shiny new copy, and Shelly signed it for me with a very nice note. She then stood there and chatted with Dante and me for about 10 minutes. This will forever be one of the greatest events in my life!!

Shortly after that, Ed Greenwood was signing at the Wizards booth, and I got a chance to meet him as he signed my copy of The Annotated Elminster. Very funny man, and very nice too, he posed with me for a picture. Also, Steven Schend was signing with him for his new book, Blackstaff Tower (which isn’t out in stores yet…. we got free copies!!) and signed a copy for me. As promised, Mr Schend, I will read and post a review of your book, but based on the first couple of pages, I’m very excited about this book!!

I can happily say that even if the rest of the convention is a bust, I will always remember it as one of the best, simply based on today. It was this ranger’s dream come true!!