Liberty Con has come and gone. It was my first Liberty Con and I had the unique experience of being both a panelist/author, a “First Timer”, and also shepherding around my one year old son. I don’t think I saw nearly as much of the event as I would have liked, but I managed to make it everywhere I was supposed to, more or less awake (the latter part being particularly difficult with a teething one year old).

For those who are fans of Baen authors, this is an amazing convention to attend. For those who just like military SF and Space Opera… well, this is still a great convention to attend. You pretty much can’t throw a rock there without hitting a Mil SF author in the side of the head. It is also a very social convention. Every area seemed to have old friends and new acquaintances chatting each other up. It’s a great place to meet new people, network (for authors, artists, and publishers), and generally have a fun time.

I met a few new and interesting people there and I think I learned a good deal too. I had the pleasure of meeting fellow Henchman Press author, Mark Wandrey. I had a great chat with Chris Kennedy about some of his techniques to stay in contact with readers and build a good network. Lastly, I think I made a great friend with Terry Maggert, who also looks to be a fantastic author and is a charming individual.  Links below for their works and websites.  Trust me, you should check them out.

Mark Wandrey just released the newest book in his ongoing Mil SF series: Etude to War.  Mark is an awesome guy and if you’re a fan of military SF, he’s writing a truly epic series.

Chris Kennedy writes a variety of books and his current best-seller, Janissaries, looks to be amazing.

Terry Maggert not only has amazing cover art but he has an awesome take on contemporary/post apocalyptic fantasy as well as epic fantasy.  I’m excited to have a copy of his book, Banshee, to read.

I met a lot of other great people at Liberty Con, though I’m afraid that child-imposed sleep deprivation has robbed me of many of their names.  It was a great time and I’m already planning on returning next year.  From what I understand, they’ve capped membership again and they’ve already sold over three hundred of their seven hundred and fifty total memberships, so if you want to be there next year, you should hurry up and get yours soon.