Earlier this year Alt.Fiction moved from Derby to Leicester. In its absence, EDGE-Lit has sprung up to fill the void at The Quad.   Preparation   It doesn’t matter the duration of a convention the same rule always applies – preparation is key. When a convention is only a day long I advise focusing your attention on a good breakfast. Our day started at 9am in Jack Rabbits in Derby, check out my friend Vick’s review of Jack Rabbits. Based on the conversations occurring around me at the table I can confirm the following: 1. The bread for the cafe is delivered by pandas? (I can’t confirm this is 100% factually accurate as this delivery occurred while I was looking the other way) 2. I am reliably informed that the bathroom design for the gents is predominantly based on Logan’s Run 3. Anne Hathaway appeals to many people for the same reason, irrespective of gender. Oh, I can also heartily recommend Jack Rabbit’s bacon sandwich as it got the day off to a perfect start.   The Panels (The ones I was at anyway)   Guest of Honour  – Christopher Fowler:  After a reading from next Bryant and May novel, The Invisible Code, Fowler answered some…

This weekend Leicester played host to the sixth annual Alt Fiction event. Mrs Cheesecake and I were there all day Saturday and had a great time sitting in on panels, chatting to any one who would listen, and chilling out in the bar. I managed to sit in on in three panels throughout the day. The topics covered were Genre TV, Horror, and Comics. Insightful stuff, and it offered a lot for me to think about. I’m certainly going to try expanding my reading horizons based on some of the items discussed. Mrs Cheesecake, meanwhile, attended sessions on the business of writing, and how to write a novel in an hour. Ten Random Things that I learnt at Alt.Fiction 2012 The idea of Downton Abbey with Zombies has potential. Someone please write this and then make it into a TV show. I would happily read and also watch. See you’re guaranteed at least one viewer already. I must try to remember that if I am going to make comments at any panel try not to drop the F-bomb so regularly. Kids don’t copy Uncle Pablo – swearing is not big and not clever. Mark Chadbourn is proud winner of “Most…