A couple of weeks ago I got to go to my first GeekyCon, and it was fabulous!  I left the con and went directly to a camp in the woods, which is why I haven’t gotten to post about it until now.  A week and a half after leaving Orlando, here are the moments that stuck with me:

1. Being incredibly proud of founders Melissa Anelli and Stephanie Dornhelm as they received a “Geek Day” proclamation from the Orange County Commissioner.

2. Watching my good friend Megan Morrison discuss topics such as likable protagonists and  making old stories new alongside authors like Taherah Mafi, Ransom Riggs, Holly Black, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (all of whom, by the way, totally recognized Megan as a fandom authority).

3. Getting signed copies of books by Stephanie Perkins, Courtney Summers, and Marie Lu.  I was pretty much tongue-tied and starstruck.  (And getting to reread Stephanie Perkins’ Isla and the Happily Ever After at camp.  It was even better than I remembered.)

4. This sign in the bookstore:

5. Co-presenting a session on fanfiction as a launching pad for original writing with my pal Megan, and reliving our shipping days.

6. Getting the map in the back of Megan’s book, Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel signed by mapmaker Kristin Brown.

7. The opening event at the Wizard World of Harry Potter.  A bunch of Harry Potter fans having the whole place to themselves?  It was awesome.  And my son was chosen to be measured for a wand at the Ollivander’s Experience. I’m not sure who was giddier – him, or the superfan adults watching it all go down.