Post Show Recap: Mid-Ohio

This trip flew by so fast I barely had time to realize it before it was over. The city of Columbus was just as I remembered it from last year, unbelievably clean and full of people so polite it's kind of unnerving. Here are some of the highlights:

• I saw Tony Isabella again and gave him a kiss right on top of his big ol' head.

• I finally met the international man of mystery, Dirk Manning. We have a ton of mutual friends, but had never actually hung out until this trip. Turns out, he's AWESOME. He gets the LG seal of approval. Anyone who was on the fence until this moment may now proceed to become friends with him. You're welcome.

• I went to Max & Erma's with Dirk & Sarah and we did nothing but make bawdy jokes and double entendres for the entire meal. Then ordered a giant plate of cookies. It was pretty much the perfect night out.

• I was able to spend some time with Enrica Jang and Matt Fletcher, both of whom are wonderful. Enrica (the head honcho of Red Stylo Media and editor of Shakespeare Shaken) is going to try to make it out to my signing next week, which is extremely exciting! Also, there is a Poe Anthology: Part II coming down the pike (Poe Twistier is the title, I believe) sometime in the not so distant future, so I need to start brainstorming for that.

• I finally got to taste some ice cream from Jeni's. This place is legendary among Ohio locals, who tend to speak of it in reverent/orgasmic tones. Since I've been spoiled by some pretty amazing ice cream experiences in my life, I wasn't expecting it to blow my brain apart the way everyone seemed to insist it would, but I will say that 2 of the 3 flavors I ordered were on par with the most delicious ice cream I've ever had... I know that doesn't sound like much of an endorsement, but it really is. The riesling poached pear sorbet was especially good, as was the brambleberry crisp. Whiskey and pecans was meh.

Me & Darth Maui

• Paul Storrie came out to dinner with us and he was as witty and entertaining as ever. I was also delighted to learn that he can do some decent impressions. I really enjoy silly voices, so discovering this talent of his bumped up Paul's coolness factor at least 6%… AT LEAST.

• This'll sound a bit silly, but I had Popeye's Chicken for the first time and their chicken tenders are one of my favorite foods now. The chicken itself is delicious of course, but the star of the show is their Sweet Heat sauce. It's like honey and Sriracha sauce had a baby. A sweet delicious baby.

The drive back home was unexpectedly scenic. Everything was covered in a really thick fog, which made even mundane things look mysterious and a bit foreboding at night. Even when we stopped at a Sunoco to fuel up, being unable to see anything beyond the pumps made it all feel like a dream - a sensation that was significantly enhanced by the appearance of the girl who we paid for the gas. She had bone white hair, which looked real, and pointed elf ears, which probably weren't. The boundaries between our world and the Never Never must've been especially thin in that area.

The next morning, I had the pleasure of waking up in rural Pennsylvania, with the sun just coming over the horizon. The scenery was all rolling pastoral hills and autumnal trees still silver with frost, and all covered in a low hanging fog that coalesced into clearly defined clouds that sat in valleys as if they weighed too much to float in the sky today. It was an absolutely delightful way to end a trip.

I'm back in Jersey, but there's no time to slow down yet.

This weekend is the Collingswood Book Festival, then my book signing at Stormwatch Comics on the 10th, and then NYCC starts the day after that. When I finally come to a full stop I'll probably collapse, but until then, momentum should carry me through to the end of the month.