Today, for the first time ever, I have a guest blogger! Please welcome New Hampshire author J.E. Seymour to the Fandom Friday space.
The Geekiest Place on Earth
by J.E. Seymour
I’m a geek. I’ve always been a geek, even if I didn’t really understand what a geek was, way back in the seventies. I played Dungeons and Dragons (with the guys, because there were no other girls who would play with us.) I was gaga over Doctor Who, a strange British science fiction program (or programme, if you prefer) that was shown on New Hampshire public television every Saturday. I bought a hat like the fourth Doctor, and I wished I knew someone who could knit me a scarf like his. I read books. (!) I was socially awkward. I owned (and still do) the complete soundtrack to Star Wars on vinyl.
It only reinforces my geekiness that I met my husband John while playing GURPS – which is a geekier version of D&D. Fast forward twenty-five years to this past April. Still geeky and awkward, we decided to take a trip to celebrate our anniversary. Our middle daughter, Lizzie, one of our three decidedly geeky kids, was doing a college program at Walt Disney World. I had fond memories of Disney from the last time I was there, in 1976. John had never been at all.
We packed up our Jetta (geeky little car!) with our tent and headed out to Florida on the Auto Train (trains are the ultimate in geeky transport.) Having recently discovered new Who, I packed all my Doctor Who tee shirts, and John packed his bow tie. Yes, my husband wears bow ties. Our second night there we went to a dinner show called the Hoop Dee Doo musical review. I was wearing my favorite Dalek shirt and John was wearing a cool bow tie. In the middle of the show, the performers come down into the audience to chat. One of the younger cast members came to our table, shut off his microphone and said “That’s a hand-tied bow tie, isn’t it?” I responded with “Yes, because we know bow ties are cool.” He grinned and asked “Did you go to MegaCon? No, of course you didn’t, you’re here. But it was so cool! Karen Gillan was there!” He went on and on about how we should have gone to this con, and how great Dr. Who was, I showed him my red Converse high tops and then he hurried back to the stage with a parting “Allons-y!” We were thrilled to have met someone as geeky as us. The next day we were in the Magic Kingdom (both of us wearing Doctor Who tee shirts this time) when another cast member, one of the photographers, asked if we had been to MegaCon and proceeded to regale us with stories of Alex Kingston. And that was pretty much how our Disney vacation went. Cast members complimenting me on my Doctor Who shirts and asking who my favorite Doctor was.
Lizzie summed it up for us when she said, “That’s because everyone who works at Disney is a geek.” And that’s how we discovered the happiest place on earth, for geeks.
J.E. Seymour lives and writes in the seacoast area of New Hampshire, USA. She has two novels out with Barking Rain Press – Lead Poisoning, and Stress Fractures, both featuring Kevin Markinson, retired mob hitman, Marine Veteran and all around family guy. Her third novel, Frostbite, featuring the same character, is due out from Barking Rain in March of 2016. She also has had more than twenty short stories published in print and ezines. In addition to writing, she works in a library and takes care of a farm with four ponies, two horses, a donkey, a goat, several cats, two rescued greyhounds, a cockatoo and two pet snakes. Her favorite Doctor is Tom Baker, with David Tennant coming a close second.
Website: J.E. Seymour
Buy her books direct from the publisher here: Barking Rain Press
Feel free to shout out!