Wapsi Square Forum

This was posted by the wonderful Mel White on the Bookface...(check the literary guest of honor)

The TreeCat who shows up better have six limbs, or else all hell will break loose...

Yeah, he does get invited every so often.

I don't think i've told this story here before - if i have, bear with me.

Pretty sure i've mentioned that i met Baen Books Publisher Toni Weisskopf at a convention in Huntsville, when she was eighteen or so, and i sort-of put here and Dave in touch (or told them to get in touch, anyway) when a couple of other publishers had either not reacted at all to or wanted Big Changes in his first book, which an editor at the publisher who was wanting changes tipped him would be right up Baen's alley - less than a week after i heard this, i ran into Toni (then an editor at Baen) at a little convention in Louisville i hadn't originally intended to attend and asked if she'd be interested...

Anyway, for some time before (and after) she got hired at Baen, Toni had been a member of SFPA (Southern Fandom Press Alliance), an APA (amateur press alliance - sort of a slow-motion USENET group with a sixty-day latency), of which i've been a member since 1975, myself (and still am). Through SFPA, she knew some people - mostly Hank Davis and Gary Tepper - in the NYC area who she arranged to hire to work in the Baen offices. I, of course, also knew them - in fact, i'd known Hank from 1967 or so, from a common interest in Avengers fandom. Dave knew nothing of this.

SO, Dave, having closed the deal on that first book (Insurrection, in collaboration with Steve White) with Baen, sent in a solo novel, Path of the Fury (vastly superior to the later re-write/expansion, In Fury Born), that Jim Baen was Very Interested in, but wanted to talk to Dave about.

So Dave calls the Baen offices (this was before Insurrection had hit the stands, but it was due out soon), and asks to speak to Jim Baen. "May I ask who's calling?" said the voice on the other end.

"David Weber" quothee.

Now, probably, he didn't expect the voice to go, like "Oh - right! David Weber, soon to be best-selling Baen Author!"

But he also didn't expect the voice to say "Oh, yeah - mike's brother. Hang on..." and leave him on hold, staring at the phone going "What?!?" in (i assume) much the same tone David Tennant would have said it, some years later.

When i heard about this, some of began plotting to see if we could get Khen Moore to invite Dave (who had at least the two books out by then) to invite Dave to Kubla Khon in Nashville, me as Fan Guest of Honor (more than one convention had threatened me with that - i was Very Busy in fandom in those days), and our dad (whose SF collection had influenced both of us) as "Special Guest".

And then print up special editions of the con flyers saying top to bottom "Fan Guest of Honor: mike weber" and "Special Guest: "Clarence Weber" and "Guest of Hinor: mikes' Brother", that would only be sent to Dave.

Never happened, though.

Jabberwonky wrote:This was posted by the wonderful Mel White on the Bookface...(check the literary guest of honor)

Is that the same Mel. White who collaborated with Bob Asprin on the "Duncan and Mallory" graphic novels?

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:This was posted by the wonderful Mel White on the Bookface...(check the literary guest of honor)

Is that the same Mel. White who collaborated with Bob Asprin on the "Duncan and Mallory" graphic novels?

Yes sir, it is. I have met her through other artist friends of mine. When I saw her on Bookface, I put her feed on my list and have gotten many interesting posts from it. (Including a recent one about finding a 5th tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh that I should post here in the pub)

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Edit: funny story about Mikes brother

I don't know that you've posted that story, but I now know how I'll react to meeting your brother if I should encounter him at a convention...

Jabberwonky wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Edit: funny story about Mikes brother

I don't know that you've posted that story, but I now know how I'll react to meeting your brother if I should encounter him at a convention...

He's got an amusing sense of humour. I strongly believe if I encounter him again, I'll get a reminder in the signature to not forget my book again...