Five Questions with John and Sarah
Want to get to know what goes on in the heads of our esteemed fan guests? Here are a selection of questions and answers by John and Sarah. Read on to find out some of their favourite fannish things and thoughts about Swancon.
John Parker
1). What are you currently reading/watching/playing?
The Vorkosigan Cycle (all of them) / Sherlock and Lost Girl / Terraria and GURPS Cyberpunk
2). When did you start going to SwanCon? Do you have a favourite SwanCon memory or anecdote to share?
Swancon 16 (1991 I think) with Barbara Hambly. Memorable swancon moment for me was two people turning up as “Death” for the Swancon 18 masqurade, and there ensured a fight to, well, the death. It all ended when one Death tripped on his own robe and fell off the picnic table the fight was on.
3). Which areas of fandom are you most drawn to? Are their any other events or clubs in which you regularly take part?
These days i find myself drawn to the Hackerspace / makerspace crowd. 3D printers, CNC tools, Arduinos and the like. I belong to the Perth Artifactory (www.artifactory.org.au) and attend weekly, where possible. After that I probably run with the retrocomputing brigade, mostly in the form of an overwhelming interest in emulation of older computers. I’ve built my own “Arcade Machine” as part of this.
4). Who are you most looking forward to meeting at SwanCon 2013? Who would your ultimate dream guest be at a SwanCon?
Ooh a hard one! Charlie Stross is always an interesting person to talk to, and I’ve read a lot more of his works these days. (First time I met him I’d read a grand total of one short story. It was a GOOD short story but still). I’m a bit afraid to talk to John Birmingham in case I end up in the next “Dopeland”. I’m hoping to chat with Gail Simone at some point to get some of her insights into the comic book world from her vantage, and finally Lucy Sussex will be great to meet. As for ultimate dream guest, I’d be torn between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. At one point I was involved with a con tat was looking at getting Mr Morrsion over, but alas that plan fell through. Warren Ellis would also be interesting!
5). Desert island time – you can take one book, one comic, one movie, one tv show and one game with you. What do you pick?
Book – Dune
Comic – V for Vendetta
Movie – Dragon Hunters (Chasseurs de dragons)
TV Show – A tossup between “Blake’s 7” and “The Prisoner”
Game – Neverwinter Nights: Diamond or GURPS 4th Ed.
Sarah Parker
1). What are you currently reading/watching/playing?
Sherlock. Oh my, Sherlock. I’m starting to see what the fuss is about! I am really enjoying the sharp intelligence and acting. I’m also doing a re-watch of NewWho, and still love Donna as my favourite companion. I’m playing Terraria at the moment, which is nice to switch from my usual addiction to Castleville.
2). When did you start going to SwanCon? Do you have a favourite SwanCon memory or anecdote to share?
Only a few hundred anecdotes! Gosh. My very first Swancon was Neil Gaiman’s con, which was… um… 1996. I was there for one day, during which time I roleplayed Scully in an X-files game in the corridor, attended the masquerade and went to a few panels. The next con was a lot more exciting – skinning dipping with the committee, drunken games and general revelry! This means this year will be my 17th Swancon! Eep! Oh, other fun memories that I can mention in a PG forum – I did the party packs once or twice, when we had party packs! I would get wildly enthused and throw all sorts of fun things in them. One year I bought buckets, plastic gloves, a deck of cards, a box of goon, 2 litres of Coke or Fanta, and instructions for making “Student’s Best Punch” which was red good with Coke, or white goon with Fanta… I think the plastic cards drew the most comments!
3). Which areas of fandom are you most drawn to? Are their any other events or clubs in which you regularly take part?
I love the passion of fandom, and these days a lot of the things that attract me are the people in that fandom. I like to read fanfic, and slash, where the characters are developed further. I have been an inactive part of Legend of The Seeker Fandom for a while now – ie, I like to watch what’s going on but I don’t do much. I love to write, and have written fanfic too. I also like to go to Geekhaven and geek out a little, but that’s a really diverse subset of stuff that can happen on any night. I have a very full home life, and a lot of it involves watching TV that we all love. Currently we are watching Sherlock on Mondays, Doctor Who on Wednesdays, and Lost Girl in between. That’s a fair amount of fannish squee already, and that’s without even leaving the house!
4). Who are you most looking forward to meeting at SwanCon 2013? Who would your ultimate dream guest be at a SwanCon?
That’s a seriously hard question! I am curious to meet John Birmingham, and see how much of his writing column crosses over into real life. I’d be pretty scared though – wouldn’t want to stand too close to that wit! My ultimate dream guest would be Tamora Pierce. I read all of her Alanna books when I was in highschool, and love her work. I have heard she no longer travels though, so I guess if I can have any one, regardless of past or current, I’d have to go with Anne Mccaffrey, yet another author who shaped a lot of my thoughts and writing style.
5). Desert island time – you can take one book, one comic, one movie, one tv show and one game with you. What do you pick?
Book – Dune by Frank Herbert. I get more out of Dune with every re-reading. Or else Feed by Mira Grant. Just because it was so good!
Comic – Neil Gaiman’s Sandman
Movie – Pitch Black is my movie. I don’t get anything new out of a re-watch, but I certainly do enjoy that movie!
TV Show – Doctor Who.
Game – A deck of cards. I love to play 500, so if you want specifics, I’d say “500.” But really, a deck of cards would be awesome.
Published: 11:13 on Feb 08, 2013 (GMT)
Last Updated: 16:15 on Feb 08, 2013 (GMT)