This event is the first of many for me this year. I’m not sure what to expect. Looking at the festival’s web page, this is bigger in every way than I imagined. Chuck Wendig will be here! And John Scalzi! And so many, many more people!

I’ll be helping with the Waterdragon booth. If you’re at the event and you’re looking for me, I shouldn’t be far from the vendors.

I’m writing this from a hotel not far from the event. Probably a little further than I want to walk, but I hear parking is a nightmare, so maybe we’ll look at all our options before heading out tomorrow. Maybe Uber? I don’t know.

Speaking of this hotel, let me tell you a story.

Before Melissa and I married, we had a big argument that landed a good portion of my possessions onto the street. Afterwards, we decided to make up and run away together for the weekend. We picked Santa Fe, and the hotel was around $110/night. I remember thinking that it was kind of expensive, but nice. A perfect place for us to patch our relationship back together.

The hotel I’m in right now is also $110/night, but this is Los Angeles, and it’s 30 years later, and oh my goodness is this place a little bit sketchy. There are bars on all the windows. When we entered the room, a blacklight shown from the wall, which I assume is to help guests see that there aren’t any blood stains on the floor or blankets.

The parking lot is the size of a newspaper. Folded.

Melissa is understandably a bit intimidated by this place. It’s a step up from some of the hostels I stayed in when adventuring in Seattle a few years ago, but there’s a vibe about the place that maybe they don’t typically rent for the whole night. The attendant behind the glass did look surprised that we wanted to stay here 2 nights.

I’m not that worried. Sure, there was a guy half-naked walking around the upstairs landing, but he didn’t seem angry or hostile. Just stoned.

I still don’t know what tomorrow and Sunday will be like, but I’m sure hanging out with some cool people and talking about books will do me a lot of good. Maybe I’ll even sell a couple of books while I’m here.