FOREWORD
CHRISTOPHER WOODS
If you haven’t heard of a literary convention, as a fan, you are missing out on something that can change the way you look at reading books. I spent many years unaware that they even existed. Sure, I had heard of conventions of Star Trek fans, but it never occurred to me to actually go to one. In 2016 I attended the first convention I had ever been to. My wife and I sat and watched people stream by in costumes and saw authors sitting at tables, signing books. I had recently published my first novel and wanted to see what these conventions were like. We enjoyed it so much that we immediately began setting up a schedule where we could attend some of these conventions to sell my novels. We attended several and had a wonderful time. Then, in 2017, we attended a small convention in Chattanooga called LibertyCon.
Most conventions work with you to make sure you have your table and the things you need to sell your books, but LibertyCon treated us like family from the moment we picked up our badges. We spent a great weekend in Chattanooga and decided we really needed to do that again. We returned in 2018 and, having attended quite a few different conventions by then, found that Liberty had once again blown us away. Our trip back home was filled with questions about how to show these people our appreciation. There were thoughts of free books or maybe some sort of gift we could give them. We researched a few items and just couldn’t find that perfect thing that would show them how we felt.
Later, I was speaking to our friend Jonny Minion about giving something special to the LibertyCon staff and he suggested drawing names for a Tuckerization. A Tuckerization, for those who do not know, is to have your name immortalized in print. The name would be featured in a story where you can die a glorious death. Or you may become a hero and live happily ever after. My mouth dropped open and I asked Jonny, “What if we used them all?”
From there, I started asking about the likelihood that I could get enough authors to do an anthology where we would Tuckerize the complete staff of LibertyCon. We also decided to give all of the proceeds to Liberty to add to their charitable donations. Then I asked the head of LibertyCon if this would be something she would approve of. Approval was given and we were suitably excited about the prospect.
Then tragedy struck our Liberty family when the creator of the convention passed. Richard T. “Uncle Timmy” Bolgeo created LibertyCon decades ago and his family still runs it today. The project was suddenly a little more than a thank-you to the staff and so it also became an homage to the man who had started it all.
A little later, David Weber, who is an author that has attended Liberty for many years, got wind of the anthology I wanted to build. His interest began a much larger venture than I previously intended and I began speaking to Toni Weisskopf of Baen Books. Baen has been a part of Liberty since the early years and Toni wanted them to be a part of the anthology as well. I was really excited about her wanting to join in the endeavor and quickly agreed. When she presented the list of authors she thought would be interested, I spent several days in a daze. These were the authors I had read for years. The same authors whose books taught me anything I know about the writing craft.
What we have for you is a group of bestselling authors telling original stories, some from very well-known series. Each of these stories includes the names of a number of the LibertyCon staff members. All of the proceeds from this anthology will be split and half will go to LibertyCon to use for their charitable donations. The other will go to a scholarship set up by Baen Books in the name of Tim Bolgeo, administered by the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop. Come join us for a fun trip across galaxies, far and wide. There are Treecat Legends, Fairy Tales, Corporate Agents, Zombies, and an Inter-dimensional Insurance Agent to name a few. Join us as we pay homage to the guy who brought us the coolest group of people I have ever had the honor of joining. Whatever the drink, let’s raise a glass to Uncle Timmy, his daughter, Brandy, who continues the legacy, and the wonderful staff of LibertyCon.
Thank you,
Christopher Woods