Catch up on Act I here!
Act II: Monster Con
We arrived early to David’s signing, hoping to not only get my copy of In Death Ground signed, but also to whisk H.P. back home to safety and comfort.
This plan, as with many plans before it, did not survive contact with the enemy.
David had not yet arrived, but his signing was being hosted at a table run by The Royal Manticoran Navy—a fan club for his Honor Harrington series—and so, naturally, there were other David Weber fans hanging out, many in full military cosplay from the Honor Harrington universe. We began to chat about David’s books and the club itself, little knowing that many of the people we chatted with would become close friends to this day.
(Fun Fact from H.P.: It turns out that one of those impending friends was the person who suggested that Monster Con invite David in the first place, and he runs the shop that has since become the top supplier for my mild Funko Pop addiction. Which is to say, Jacob also owes this twist in his writing career to Richard at Richard’s Comics and Collectables, so be sure to swing by his shop and buy everything.)
The conversation soon swung over to books and my own aspirations as an indie author.
At which point, a member of the TRMN said, “Oh, you should talk to David’s wife.”
I was not keen on this at all. What business did we have disturbing David Weber’s wife?
That’s when they decided to drag us over to her table.
Surely enough, Sharon Rice-Weber had been hanging out there the whole time, chatting with the TRMN like they were close family.
I expected to say a quick hello and then leave, but one thing you quickly learn about the Webers is they love people, and they love talking with people.
We ended up chatting with Sharon for over an hour, well past the start of the signing, and nearly to its end. We chatted about writing, about the publishing industry, about the fan club, about recent surgeries—both Sharon and H.P. could sympathize on that one—and when it came time for us to finally break away to have my book signed …
Sharon invited us to lunch with David.
So … we set up a lunch.
Again, H.P. and I expected maybe an hour-long meal and chat in which David politely tolerated this weird, awkward fan’s questions.
We ended up talking for four hours.
Which proved not to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, because David and Sharon asked us out to lunch a second time. And a third. And a fourth. And so on.
At some point, we ended up popping over to the Webers’ house for David’s homemade spaghetti.
And now I can say that I have eaten spaghetti cooked by my favorite author, in that author’s house.
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect my wife’s short (but very frightening) bout with cancer to end there.
And, strangely enough, it didn’t.
Continue to Act III here!
