Science Fiction and Fantasy

I enjoy science fiction and fantasy, and have been both reading the stuff and attending conventions for many years.

I believe that my first fantasy book was Pilgramage by Zenna Henderson. As I recall, my mother purchased that book for me to encourage me to read "grown-up" books instead of the children's books I preferred, even though I was perfectly capable of reading older books. Ever since, she has been waiting for me to out-grow science fiction. Since her father didn't outgrow science fiction until he developed Alzeheimer's, she may be waiting a long time.

In 1989, when I started college, a friend started dragging me to science fiction conventions. My first Arisia was in 1990, and I have been involved with Arisia ever since, with a few years off for my residency on the other side of the country. For the last few Arisia's, I have been a panelist. Prior to that, I organized the dealers for a few years, and volunteered at a lower level in almost every part of the convention.