Wondering

Writers have a most extraordinary need to know. We're like small children when it comes to knowledge, always asking "Why?" and if that is so, "Why?" and "Why?" again, until an adult in the room says "Because!"

We are the adult in the room by the time we begin our careers and finding the answers to our "Whys?" is our job,

So, at times in my career, I have asked and found the answers to the wonderings below.

Wondering about ... colors/colours:

Why is the sky blue?

What is a rainbow?

Why is the nighttime sky black?

Why are the clouds white?

Why do we say "Red sky at night, sailors delight?" and "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning?"

Why is a coward called 'yellow'?

Why is a novice called 'green'?

Why is some prose called 'purple'?

For that matter, why is purple associated with royalty?

And the one question I haven't found an answer to but suspect I can guess "Why do some people hate 'orange'?

Answers in the Comments, please!

Of Pixels and Pistols and Aching Feet

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

I have walked through Paradise… and my feet hurt.

The Husband and I have just returned from the huge NRA convention in Atlanta, and it was fabulous! But my feet still hurt. There was over 15 acres of exhibits over three floors of the immense Atlanta convention center. We were there three days and still didn’t get to see everything. We even got lost a couple of times in the neatly gridded maze of exhibits.

In case you didn’t know, I like competitive shooting. Don’t do it much anymore, but I do like shooting, which pretty much means I like guns. The Husband prefers long guns while I lean more toward pistols, but we looked at everything and tried everything we could, including the virtual shooting booths. In a pistol booth I hit 12 targets with 13 shots, missing (embarrassingly) only on the next-to-last shot. I don’t like hunting or the idea of hunting but couldn’t resist trying a virtual reality experience where you use a ‘rifle’ to ‘shoot’ marauding bands of feral hogs. Shooting pixels with lasers doesn’t bother me. The only bad thing was the VR helmet would not fit over my glasses, so I had to shoot literally blind – and so missed every single one of those pixilated beasties! For someone with my shooting record it was a humiliating experience. (And we won’t talk about what the tight-fitting VR helmet did to my hair!) I did better at the air-powered range, where you shot pellets at a variety of targets, and made most of my shots, which made me feel better.

I asked a lot of questions about guns and ballistics and took pages of notes, so my fictional villains (and heroes) can be up to date on the tools of their choice. I also loved seeing the historic guns – whether real or exact replicas. I think everyone who writes historicals and has a character who uses a gun should actually hold one in their hands – it’s an eye-opening experience. All of them are unwieldy and unbelievably heavy, including the little two-shot derringers. (I was startled to learn that there is a company not too far from me that still makes beautiful, hand-crafted two shot derringers!)

One thing that sticks in my mind is an incredibly beautiful .45 1911 automatic (which is a big handgun) that was not only a fantastic firearm, but had the entire surface covered with the most exquisite engraving. I have never seen engraving so beautiful, not even on historic museum-quality silver pieces. The owner allowed the manufacturer to display it at NRA – after paying over $50,000 for the pistol. I am so grateful he did, for the gun was not only a prime example of wonderful technology, but of pure beauty.

I could – and probably will – write lots more about the convention, but must say one more thing. The pre-convention estimates put expected attendance at 80,000. I disagree, thinking that by a conservative estimate it must have been closer to 90,000. The crowds were enormous, but it was an incredibly pleasant experience. Attendees were clad in everything from very expensive-looking suits and ties to full camo hunting gear and just about everything else in between, and got around on everything from feet to canes to walkers to scooters to infant strollers.

What struck me most was the behavior of the crowd. It was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had in large venues. Everyone was polite. There was no pushing or shoving, no shouting, no fights, no arguments. The only raised voice I heard was a mother shouting for her child who had wandered off. Yes, the noise level was high, but it was the natural volume of lots and lots of people talking in ordinary voices in an enclosed (albeit huge) space. One time I tripped (over my own feet) and almost fell, but three strangers caught me before I smashed on the floor, set me upright and would not leave until I assured them I was all right. They offered to get me a drink or a chair or take me to the First Aid station or go look for my husband if I wanted. Their clothes were rough and their accents definitely not posh, but they were true gentlemen, and I found that true of everyone I saw there. Even the children (and there were lots of them) were well behaved.

Would be that the entire world were so civil.

Bouchercon and Other Cons

On the weekend this goes live, I’ll be at Bouchercon, one of the largest gatherings of mystery writers and readers in the country. I attend only a limited number of cons of any sort, partly due to a limited budget, but also for another reason I’ll get to. This year Bouchercon is in Raleigh, North Carolina, only an hour’s drive from my home. This is likely the only chance I’ll have to go to this iconic gathering of the mystery-loving community, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

Oddly, though, I’m not really looking forward to it. In fact, I’m kind of dreading it. 

I have a panel assignment, and it should be a really interesting one. I don’t mind doing panels; in fact, I rather enjoy it as long as I have some preparation time in advance. This time, I have plenty, and I already have lots of notes.

I have most of my promo material organized and ready. Made sure I have plenty of copies of my books. I even have most of my wardrobe organized. Compulsive much, me?

I like listening to other authors talking about what they do and how they do it. I enjoy learning all sorts of new things. Bouchercon offers a wealth of programming, enough to ensure there should always be interesting things to do. It’s great to renew friendships with other authors ad make new ones. Sometimes, I come away inspired in really deep ways or having met someone I know will be a firm friend or having learned something important to my career. That can make it all worthwhile.

But…

Like most authors, though, I’m an introvert, a really strong introvert. I’m not particularly shy. In fact I can do a pretty fair imitation of an extrovert when I want to. But it takes a lot out of me. So much so, that I usually have to retire to my hotel room at least once during the day for some alone time. There tends to be a lot of natural clique-ishness that reminds me of high school. And I just find crowds of people exhausting.

It’s the recovery time that really kills it for me. I frequently get home inspired and fired up, but too tired and mentally exhausted to be able to write for several days afterward. I seriously hope this con will be one where I can say afterward that it was well worth the time and money.