The last six weeks have been the busiest stretch of my writing life, and I wanted to share some of it with you.

WorldCon, Anaheim. My first WorldCon. I met Harry Turtledove, the man they call the master of alternate history and one of the reasons I write what I write. I joined the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, and I spent time with the team at Podium Entertainment, who are producing the audiobooks for both series.

Dragon Con, Atlanta. The Unnecessary War was a finalist for the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel. I did not win. S.M. Stirling did, and he earned it. He was also gracious and genuinely helpful, which is not something you can count on from the person who just beat you. I did a reading, sat on panels, met the folks at Baen, and came home with more energy for this than I left with. Thank you to everyone who voted. Getting on that ballot at all is something I am still working on believing.

P-Con, Dallas. Close to home, and a full weekend: seven panels and a reading, on everything from the future of technology to space warfare to how history shapes fiction. I finally met William Leaf, a reader who has been writing to me for months and catching details most people would never notice. He gave me a 3D-printed P-38 with Aerial Annie on the nose. It now sits on my desk next to the maps.

I learned more in these three weekends than I could have in a year at my desk. And the best part of all of it was meeting readers.

Every great story begins with family.

Brian