By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.
I, like most of my friends, couldn't believe I bought a mountain called Misery Mountain, because it was so appropriate.
I only went to one Star Trek convention and that was in the late '80s. I hadn't gone to a convention before that. It was quite amusing, with the people dressed up and all of that.