I dressed up. In public. With other weird and wonderful people.


This momentous occasion was called Supanova and OMG IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.

Picture, if you will, a 35 year-old newly converted convention groupie squealing like a school girl who’s just seen a penis for the first time.

Yeah.

That’s me.

And you still can’t get the grin off my face for love nor money.

I’ve been to a convention before and to be honest I wasn’t that taken with it – though that might have had something to do with the organisation of the event itself and the general people it attracted. I wasn’t really sold.

Then a friend of mine said “Come to America to DragonCon!” (another blog on that later) so I thought I’d get some practice in for that as well as geeking out with some other friends at a local con first. And of course my friends knew about my steampunk outfit and insisted that I wear it.  Considering how much I loved wearing it the first time for Anya’s wedding, I was more than happy to wear it a second time – so long as they dressed up too.

Yes, there is always a caveat with me.

It wasn’t without some trepidation that I drove myself into Ascot Vale a couple weeks back – and not without some difficulty, too – do you have any idea how tricky it is driving in a corset? I had to reposition all my mirrors because suddenly I was sitting up very, very straight. But anyway, yes… trepidation, self-consciousness, etc, etc, etc. I was feeling all the Bad Things™.

I need not have bothered feeling shy or out of place once I got there.

The first people to walk by me were Capt’n Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones and a Xena (Warrior Princess) in full regalia.

Renlish.com - Steampunk Friends
Me and Sandy in our steampunkiness. My theme was explorer/collector and she was a tinkerer.

Supanova was like something I had never experienced before. It was a place where people could revel in their fandoms, be their favourite characters and stretch their creative muscle. My efforts (and my mother’s efforts) with my own costume paled in comparison to some of the others who were there.

Alas and alack, I didn’t have my camera with me (sort of forgot in the excitement of everything) and so I don’t have any pictures but but a few that were taken of me by other folk. But these links will give you a good idea of the costumes and creations that were wandering around en masse throughout the day…

Slippery Photography – SupaNova 2014.

OzGeeks Supanova 2014 gallery.

Reg Kg’s Supanova Flickr set.

Anyhoo, aside from all the costume fun and madness, there was much shopping to be done. And boy did I shop. Foolishly I’d only taken about $40 with me to the con because; “Pfft, what am I going to buy?”

Huge mistake.

So after an ATM was located, about $250 made a lovely whooshing noise right out of my bank account. I don’t mind though, I got some beautiful artwork from a bunch of Australian artists – everything from a book of dragons by Emerson Ward to a beautiful Doctor Who print done in Mucha style created by Striped Designs and a fantastic print of Ash from Army of Darkness by Adam Nichols.

The huge draw cards for Supanova (and other conventions like it) are the appearances of the stars of the various geek and cult shows, past and present, that turn up to do panels/talks, autographs and signings. It’s all very cool and exciting. Sadly though, I am a book geek and not really a TV geek (unless you count Firefly or Game of Thrones or Big Bang Theory), so when it comes to meeting authors, I am extremely fangirly.

So imagine my shock – and subsequent joy – when one of Sandy’s friends said that Traci Harding was at Supanova.

Ahem. Guess which fangirl did NOT read her convention guide?

I knew Jim Butcher (of Dresden Files fame) was going to be there and I had been looking forward to meeting him but I had no idea Traci was going to be there too. I very nearly went into conniptions. Traci Harding was probably one of my favourite authors when I was in my last year of high school and all through uni and my early working days. Her books got a little weird for me after a while though I’ve since rediscovered a love for them – just in time for the release of the Ancient Future omnibus to be released.

So, yes… This happened:

Renlish.com - Traci Harding
Me. And Traci Harding. AHHHHHHHHHHH!

She was adorable and so nice. And my mother will not forgive me for not taking her along – never mind the fact that she was in Canberra that weekend!

Anyway, shortly after my run-in with my ultimate fandom, a girl from one of the publishing house stalls called Sandy and I over and asked if our costumes were Steampunk.

I am fairly certain the look on my face said; “I mean, really? You have to ask?”

In any case, we said yes and she was all, “Do you KNOW Michael Pryor?! He’s all Steampunk too! Can we get a photo of you all together?”

I didn’t know who Michael Pryor was but Sandy, who is a big fan of his, certainly did and she filled me in as we waited to meet him. Steampunk author? OH, HELLS YES.

So then this happened:

Renlish.com - Michael Pryor, Sandy and Me
Michael, Sandy and moi!

He was absolutely delightful and I am definitely looking forward to reading his novels.

It feels great to have a substantial TBR pile again. Books are my happy.

And I’m fairly sure that the girl at the Dymocks stand thought I was insane because I went back about four times to buy books to be signed. Hee.

And of course somewhere in between all of that I also met Jim Butcher (who is windswept and interesting) and a little-known NZ-come-Aussie author by the name of Ged Maybury who was just so cute and adorable in a sad puppy-ish kind of way that I had to buy his book without even knowing anything about it.

Renlish.com - Book Loot!
THE LEWTZ! Many books!
Top: Traci Harding – The Ancient Future
Middle Left: Michael Pryor – The Laws of Magic (Book 1)
Middle Right: Ged Maybury – Into the Storm’s Domain (Book 1)
Bottom: Jim Butcher – Changes (Dresden Files Book 12)

So yes. Supanova. Much fun.

Quietly going to see if I can get to the Sydney one in June…


3 responses to “I dressed up. In public. With other weird and wonderful people.”

  1. You look amazing Ren, so pleased to see the big smile. Love, love, love your outfit, hope you make it to Sydney

  2. Looks like you had a great day. Both you and Sandy looked awesome.

    I am exactly the same when it comes to meeting authors. I have met a lot of TV personalities and Musicians over the years when I worked at the health retreat and I was always really laid back: “oh your that guy from that show, yeah that’s cool.” or “oh hi I really like your music.” But when I meet one of my favourite authors: “sjfhodhgtiehgibhwrngak – please sign my book”. Authors are my rock stars :)

    If you do make it to the Sydney one let me know because it looks like I will most likely be there on the Saturday.