Tag Archives: Pop!-Con

August Recap

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So here’s what went down last month. I:

  • Attended GenCon as part of the Writers Symposium, where I moderated 8 panels, met and hung out with lots of great folks, and had a wonderful time. Also, I got to go on a small private tour of the Ray Bradbury Archives and was able to both touch his writing desk and hold his (replacement) Emmy for The Halloween Tree.
  • Started a Patreon. There’s free content, there’s paid content, there’s all sorts of content!
  • Went down to local festival Pop!-Con and had a great time. Sold books, talked to folks, and met a tiny owl named Galadriel who had apparently ridden against her will from Nebraska to North Carolina trapped in the front grill of a semi. That’s one tough bird.
  • Got published in issue 1o of legendary noir magazine Dark Yonder with my first true non-supernatural noir story, “Competitive Advantage”. I’m pretty sure that’s also the only piece of fantasy baseball-themed noir ever written, much less published.
  • Set up a couple of talks in New York State for September, one at RPI and one in Utica.
  • Agreed to speak at IGDC in Chennai, India in November.
  • Did the launch party for The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You at Yonder Cocktail Bar in beautiful Hillsborough, NC, Had a full house of wonderfully supportive friends and readers, and I am thrilled with how it went.
  • Launched The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You to what is apparently a really strong audience response. Last I checked, it was the #1 New Release in Game Design at Amazon, and was top 10 (as high as #2) in one specific category and top 50 in two others.
  • Finally got the ongoing piddling refrigerator saga dealt with.
  • Attended and sold books at legendary local music festival ProgDay, where I got to hang out with, among other people, the guy who’s played keyboards for Renaissance for the last 8 years.

Pretty sure there was other stuff in there, but I think that’s a good start.

Now, deep breath, and then September.

A Big Thank-You To Pop! Con

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I had a great time yesterday at Pop! Con in Sanford, NC. The show is put on annually by the Lee County Public Libraries and it’s a great time, with everything from cosplay to raptor shows to food trucks to little old me with my books sitting there telling the true story of the zombie frogs, Satchel and Nancy.

Bonus points if you can ID the reference.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that as much fun as the big cons are, I highly encourage folks to go out and support their local shows, too. You might not get the rock star guests, but you’ll probably get exposed to folks in your community who are doing cool stuff, and that’s worth a whole lot in and of itself.

 

Upcoming Appearances

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The calendar has gotten quite full for the next few weeks. This past weekend was spent at the SAGA Writers Conference/ConGregate in Winston-Salem, which was a wonderful experience, but that’s just kicking things off.

This Thursday I head to New Hampshire to make my annual pilgrimage to Necon. This year, I’ll be on a panel with S.A. Cosby, Clay McLeod Chapman, Trish Wilson and Shannon Grant, moderated by the effervescent Michael Arruda, on how horror has changed since COVID. I’ll also be running a horror-themed variant on the ever-awesome Write Club – we will see if horror authors have what it takes to come up with the write stuff on the fly!

Two weeks later, I fly to Indianapolis for the magnificent chaos that is GenCon, where I will be participating in the Writers’ Symposium. As an added treat this year, I have a story in the Symposium’s anthology, Interdimensions, published by Atthis Arts!

Then the 13th of August, I join a lineup of local horror authors for Monsters In the Mead Hall, 7 PM at Moon Dog Meadery in Durham. It’s a showcase event for members of the North Carolina chapter of the HWA, and we will be bringing unseasonable chills and thrills to the heat of summer.

That Saturday is Pop!-Con down in Sanford. August 17th. I’ve never been to Sanford, but I’m looking forward to sharing my spooky stories with a new audience!

So it’s going to be a busy few weeks, but I’m looking forward to it. See you here, there and everywhere!