Celebration of Community: Julia Talbot, Sean Michael, and BA Tortuga

Julia Taalbot on Sean Michael

Hey, y’all!

I get to talk about another Dreamspinner author today, so I have to share this story about my friend Sean Michael. Sean and I have known each other for almost twenty years. She introduced me to my wife. The problem is, when we all first started writing, Sean’s kids were small. Between that and her being an introvert, she decided not to do the convention circuit.

So, a few years ago, Sean decided she was tired of missing out. She kept seeing neat pics of RT and Coastal Magic and such, and her kids were old enough to fend for themselves, so she decided to do a con. She decided to start with a non-fan-con to keep things easy and went to a Dreamspinner author meet.

Yay, right? Right. So my wife, BA Tortuga, and I decided to help her out. We took Elizabeth and Naomi at Dreamspinner aside and told them how shy and retiring and introverted Sean was. How she’d never been to a con or done an event and how she didn’t want her picture taken.

Fast forward a few years and now Sean is going Really? Seriously? No one wants to bother me! I want in on all the action too. Stop helping me! Sean has also gotten a full head tattoo in that time, so I think maybe she’s willing to get her picture taken, huh?

Just goes to show that you can always learn new stuff about your old friends and about your favorite authors!

XXOO

Julia

Sean Michael on BA Tortuga 

BA Tortuga and I have known each other for a long time, and on one of her visits up to the Great White North, we decided to meet in Montreal so she could visit somewhere new. We had a wonderful visit, but the best day was when we went and explored Old Montreal. It was a fairly cold day, but we gamely walked around, seeing everything from Notre Dame (first church in the city and it’s beautiful) to the excavation where you could see the groundwork for the original houses built hundreds of years ago. We then took a horse and buggy ride through the area. We sat together under a blanket, trying to stay warm, as our driver told us all about the places we went by. I don’t think the day would have been the same at all if it had been warm—the cold was a part of it. At the end of the day, we found a restaurant in old Montreal called Steak Frites. It was warm and cozy and soon the cold weather was forgotten. And we did indeed have the “steak frites,” which is steak with french fries, and it was absolutely delicious. It was a lovely day full of sightseeing and laughter—there is always laughter and lot of it when we get together—adventure, and good food. It’s not easy when your best friend lives so far away, but it always makes the times we do get together more special.