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You always know that Saturday is going to be the most exciting day of any con; everyone is off work, the guests are out in full force, the panels run all day and the talent wander about amongst the people, ready to mingle and have some fun. Saturday is also the main day of boozing and costumes, and everyone lets their hair down a little - especially when they know the panels don’t start until ten on Sunday (which gives a little more time to sleep it off. Very important).

Nine am came bright and early today, and colder than Friday. It didn’t seem to deter the fans and costumes, though; my first sight in the hotel lobby was a gaggle of steampunkers, goggled and dapper. The steampunk panels, hosted by The Babbage Patch Kids, were high up on my priority list Saturday morning, and I wedged myself into a packed room of fans of all age ranges ready to talk genre. Of the group, only the main gentleman spoke, and it was clear in his presentation that he was new to the panelist side of a con. Steampunk 101 felt like a lesson on the genre, but the basic info that everyone in the room seemed to already know. There was more actual mentoring going on in the audience, and for such a visual aesthetic, there wasn’t a whole lot of actual presenting going on. It was, unfortunately, a bit of a disappointment.

Lucky for me the Butchers had a two hour Q&A panel.

Yesterday I said that Jim Butcher was a little introverted unless directly poked and told to speak. Apparently, the key element in making Jim talk with the speedy, goofy, smart-assed wit of his alter ego is his wife, Shannon K Butcher, who is not only lovely and talented, but sharp as a tack and a little bit evil in the way that stellar women always are. Shannon acted as the moderator while the both of them (though mostly Jim) fielded all manner of questions on every subject from Bob (from the novels) vs. Bob (from the show), the fate of several characters (he kept the answers mysterious, baiting his already rabid fans), what exactly happened with Murphy in Hawaii (a question we’ll get answered soon, he promises), short story collections (one on the way!), and why P.N. Elrod got the only advance copy of Turncoat at the con (a lovely woman, but I will totally mug her for that manuscript). Jim and Shannon are amazing together, and if there was anything in the world that could have made me love the man more than my addiction to The Dresden Files already has, it’s the devotion, respect, and obvious adoration he shows his wife. They are that rare team-up, two like minds that make each other smarter, funnier, and even more incredibly talented then they already were. My love for Jim Butcher is now replaced by my love for the Butchers, my new hero Shannon, and my desire is to become them when I grow up. It’s a tall order, but everybody needs a goal, right?

The Q&A was a buffet of goodness - delectable treats for fans of either of Jim’s series (and the way he spoke about his sword and horse fantasy series, The Codex Alera, was so passionate and engaging that I bought a copy of the first book as soon as the panel was over), the incomparable wit of Jim Butcher himself, and the laugh-until-you-cry stories of the publishing industry and the many fortunes and misfortunes they endured along the way. I cannot recommend enough how worthy and rewarding it is to listen to them speak, and together, they are phenomenal.

For aspiring writers, the panels were limitless. Unfortunately, I cannot be all places at once, but I did send my minions (hey, I’ve got one or two) to cover some of the stuff I couldn’t. Lee Martindale continued to be a voice of highly opinionated wisdom, Steven Brust (who wears very entertaining Rome themed shirts) cracked us up and John Steakley, whose personality is larger than life, gave his opinions on everything, whether it pertained to anything or not. Carole Nelson Douglas made us all murmur ‘hmm. . . I need to read those’ as she talked on her Midnight Louie series. We were titillated by the “Pornography Vs. Erotica’ panel. And don’t think I didn’t notice all the guest panelists in the room who weren’t on the presenting panel - getting tips from their peers, perhaps? In Steve Brust’s case, he joined in almost as an adjunct panelist whenever he felt like it, and we’re all grateful he did. The man is a walking good time, especially when he‘s doing his impression of Jane from Firefly (“I’ll be in my bunk”). There was more raucous laughter and snarky double entendres in this room than anywhere else, though the subject matter wasn’t entirely to blame; one could almost order drinks from the room, the bar was so close by. And there was more than one beer bottle in the hands of attendees.

Saturday also featured a first for ConDFW, the Your Celestial Starburst 2009 costume contest, which, along with Theresa Patterson and the oh-so-comedic Selina Rosen, I happened to judge. Run by CANT - Costumes Anonymous of North Dallas - and their leader Becky Demonja, it was a good turnout for a first year event, and a lot of fun to boot. The winner, who wore French Renaissance dress, will have her picture in the centerfold of next year’s program. Of the runner ups, I was especially fond of ‘Miss Anita Blake’, who was not only sexy as hell and a dead ringer for the Big Heap Vampire Slayer herself, she showed up with stakes in hand, ready to execute any vamp who broke the law. Hopefully next year’s contest will show greater turnout; their were tons of people wandering about who would have made phenomenal contestants, and the event is a good time for all.

As it always happens with cons, the parties started promptly at the close of the day, and the drinking, merriment, schmoozing and strange conversations about outlandish footwear began. It’s always a good party, one that I imagine carried on well into Sunday morning. It’ll be interesting to see how many people accessorize sunglasses (or goggles, if they’re steampunk boys and girls) with their outfits in the morning.

As for tomorrow, there are a few more panels left to go, one last chance to snag autographs and some bargains in the dealer room before life as we know it goes back into effect. The last day of a con is always a sad one, with the real world looming on the horizon. I’ll be there with my new book in hand, ready to catch one last encounter with my heroes, listen in on one more of Selina’s highly inappropriate and utterly hilarious stories, savor David Webber’s personality just a bit longer, and try to catch a final bit of fun with Steven Brust. The real world can wait, damn it - there’s one more day of the con left.

Find out what you missed on Day One.

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