Providing a writer isn't put off by conventions - and some are - attending them can be a nice break from the necessary isolation of writing.

If they aren't real enough to surprise me, then they aren't real enough to go on the page.

When you're a mid-list writer, it pays to write fast.

I think it is probably more important to attend specialized conventions for a journeyman writer than any other, but it's useful at all stages of a career, if for nothing else, to find out how the industry is working at any given time.

Common folk didn't have last names in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Isn't that an odd philosophy for a vampire?

I ride horseback - arthritic knees permitting - or listen to opera. Sometimes I cook. I used to do needlework, but it's hard on my hands now, so I only do it occasionally, but I like it. And, of course, I read.