Abi is down in London for a few days, so Alex and I are on our own for a while. Partaaay!
Well, it is if you call going out to science fiction author readings partaaaying. Ken MacLeod and Richard Morgan were in session at Waterstones this evening. Before it started, I asked them if it would be okay if we sat right at the back, where Alex would have some space to sit and play, and they said that would be fine. I had bought him a couple of new books, and I was hoping that would keep him quiet for at least some of the time.
On the whole, Alex was pretty well behaved. There was some noisy plumbing in the back of the room which probably masked some of his cooings and mumblings, but there were occasions where he got very excited at having nifty plastic chairs to climb on. A couple of times he seemed too energetic, and I took him out of the room. Through the fire escape at the back there was a staff private where he could play a bit more loudly. (Fortunately, the staff didn’t seem to mind.)
Although I am completely smitten with Alex (obviously), I do know that not everyone is quite so fond of children. And when you go along to an author event, you probably don’t want the constant burblings of a toddler interrupting the flow. I do feel bad about possibly having disturbed some people’s enjoyment of the evening. Plus, having to pay half a brain’s worth of attention to Alex all the time (combined with the joys of Obscure Auditory Dysfunction), meant that I probably didn’t even catch half of the conversation between Messrs MacLeod and Morgan. So although it was a fun adventure for us, as an author event it was only a mixed success.
I did, however, get to pick up the last volume of Ken MacLeod’s Engines Of Light trilogy, Engine City, and get it signed. Amazon reckons it isn’t released until 7th November, so that’s a bonus–especially as I’m a quarter of the way through Dark Light already, and will probably finish it in another few days.
And finally, I managed to ask Richard Morgan to sign a book…that he’d signed already. Abi bought a copy of Altered Carbon earlier this year, and it must have been pre-signed when she bought it. Mr. Morgan was game enough to sign it again, though, and add a humorous little message as well.