I had a great time at Ad Astra this weekend–  I got to see quite a few familiar faces, and a few more I hadn’t seen in a long time! I was sitting next to Jeff and Chris from Dressed for Success and nearby Ian and Mike from Freelance Blues, so I was thoroughly entertained when not talking to the various attendees. Lots of sci-fi and fantasy authors wandering around, many of whom I recognized.

The best moment of the show, though, was on Sunday, when a gentleman came to my table to buy a book. He let slip that he was a writer for Doctor Who. I looked more closely at his name badge, and sure enough, he was Robert Shearman, who wrote the pivotal “Dalek” episode from Season One (Christopher Eccleson’s series, that is), in which the Daleks make their triumphant (and surprisingly scary, considering they were the villains we used to laugh at because they’d be defeated by something as simple as a staircase) return to the series. Jeff Chris and I gushed about how much we love Doctor Who. Jeff Chris was able to show him a photo of his 7-yr-old son dressed up as Matt Smith (very cute), and my family arrived in time for me to not only show off a photo of my 10-yr-old dressed up as a Dalek, but also to be able to introduce to him the very boy in the picture! My son was deeply impressed. (As further proof, when we got back home we were able to locate a photo of Mr. Shearman– next to a Dalek, of course– in my son’s much-read copy of Doctor Who: The Ultimate Monster Guide.)

Mr. Shearman bought a copy of my graphic novel, told me my art was lovely, and said he planned to take it back to England with him and show it to Steven Moffat! My jaw… was totally on the floor. And I rode a wave of giddiness for the rest of the day. :-)