World Fantasy Convention

in San Diego next weekend. Very excited to take off the "mother of a 2-year old" hat and put on my "author" hat for a couple of days. I believe the convention is sold out, but if you're already going, I'll be attending Friday and Saturday, with a panel scheduled for Saturday, 10am

The Realities of Sailing:   Fantasy characters often travel via ship over the open waves, whether it be a terrestrial sea or a mystic domain of haunted waters. What do fantasy writers REALLY need to know about nautical vessels in order to bring them to life in fiction? A panel of experienced seamen discusses how boats and ships really work: telling port from starboard, talking about how ships are steered and crewed, how waterways are navigated and diagramming a ship. What details should be excluded in the interest of story flow?

Shelly Rae Clift, Dennis McKiernan, Devin Poore, Heather Tomlinson, Harry Turtledove (M)

hmm... wonder which part of my bio got me on this panel. Maybe the part about selling the house and moving onto a sailboat five years ago?