It’s going to be a busy fall for me, as I leave my writing cave to experience the outside world at a number of events. So, if you want a rare sighting of me in public, here’s where to find me in the coming months:

September 22-24: FenCon in Irving, Texas
I’m a panelist guest at this convention. There might be wacky video hijinks if I get my act together. I have no idea what I’ll read in my reading slot, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

October 6: Missouri Library Association
I’ll be speaking at the YA librarians breakfast. I suspect this is a member-only event that requires reservations, but if you’re a Missouri librarian, this is your chance!

October 20-22: Necronomicon in Tampa, Florida
I’m one of the Guests of Honor at this convention. There might be public singing.

November 2-5: World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas
I’ll be attending. I don’t know if I’ll be on any panels or otherwise participating, but there’s usually a big autograph session that anyone attending can participate in.

Because three of these events involve flying (I found a good airfare so that flying to San Antonio worked out as cheaper than driving, between parking at the hotel, gas, and the fact that the trip is so long that it would have probably involved an additional hotel night to make it there in time for the convention to start), I decided to splurge and apply for TSA PreCheck so it would somewhat decrease the stress. After looking into it, I went ahead and applied for Global Entry instead. That’s only $15 more expensive, includes PreCheck, and also gives expedited customs. I don’t have any particular plans to travel abroad, but I like having the option. Maybe this will spur me to travel abroad to make it worthwhile.

Anyway, I was worried that I’d procrastinated a little too long and wouldn’t have everything done by the time I need to travel, since it can take weeks to get an appointment for the interview portion, but I applied anyway last week. Friday night I got the notice that I had preliminary approval and needed to set an appointment. I went online to schedule the appointment, and there was one available slot on Tuesday, with everything else being full for weeks. So I snagged it. And now if I pass the interview portion, I should have my trusted traveler status in time for all those flights this fall.

But I do need to plan some other travel. During WorldCon, I realized that the parts I envied from seeing people’s reports weren’t about the convention itself, but the side trips people made while going to and from Helsinki. I’m tentatively considering making a trip to Iceland and Norway next year, maybe in August. That would be a way of extending my fall. WorldCon 2019 is in Dublin, and I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland, so I may do that one and do some touring before/after. And there’s a book I want to write that will require a research trip to England.