Hello, world!
I am off to LeakyCon, so, whilst I have a couple of posts planned for my (brief) absence, an absence I still will have in an online presence. The oddness of having a WordPress timer on posts, eh? In the meanwhile, I leave you with a snapshot post about my upcoming travels for those who don’t know.
What is LeakyCon?
If you recognise the pre-fix ‘Leaky’ and are thinking Leaky Cauldron, you are spot on! LeakyCon is, for all intents and purposes, the Harry Potter convention. And this year, it has come to London, hurrah! Whilst I had some palaver over getting a ticket (I secured one, but they were over-subscribed, so I lost my ticket and had to intrepidly reapply again last month), the friend with whom I’m going got hers easily.
I posted last year that this friend is a Potterhead through and through – her eighteenth party was Harry Potter-themed, and, there, I dressed up as Luna. I intend to, even subtly, dress up as her again at some point. For my birthday, one of my friends got me a ‘I suspect Nargles are behind it’ t-shirt. I’m looking forward to wearing that!
What does one do at LeakyCon?
Actually, that was one of my first questions. As a Slytherin, I have a natural tendency to look for situations from which I benefit [the most]! Yes, I get to spend three awesome days with one of my closest friends alone in London, but do those benefits outweigh the costs of losing three-to-four days of editing and writing?
Actually, the Leaky team released the events schedule mid-July and I found myself punching the air that I had secured a ticket, even a basic one.
Unfortunately, ‘basic’ means that I won’t be able to look at any of the literature track events (including two published Oxford student speakers), but, luckily, book events are not exclusive to the lit. track. I’ll be going to various talks about characterisation and world-building and, coming at the most beneficial time, the ‘Being a Better Beta’ critiquing workshop.
My first writer’s workshop and it’s Harry Potter-based! Hehe!
I’ll also be doing the fan-type things (!), such as meeting actors from the movie and other people who have worked on Harry Potter projects – and, something I’m looking forward to immensely: the ball, where I get to wear my swishy yellow dress. 😀 I’ll take my new camera and return with as many pictures as I can, so you can experience this world of out-of-book magic, too!
The next LeakyCon?
As far as I know, the next LeakyCon will be back in America, though one’d have to check the site for further information.
See you all on my return!
Alexandrina Brant 
Rather jealous* Have fun!
I hope you are having fun!