Marcon is a Winner! Next Up, Hypericon!

This is going to be a short week, as with the Memorial Day holiday here in the US, I only have 3 business days until I head out for Hypericon. Lots to pack in, in a short time!

Marcon was excellent. The hospitality was first class. No trouble getting assistance with anything, which has a calming effect after getting turned around in downtown Columbus just prior to getting to the venue.

I shared space with TammyJo Eckhart, who is always a pleasure to be around and work with, in addition to being a hellacious writer. Her husband Tom was there as well. The guy is extremely intelligent, and also has a knack for making all kinds of amazing designs out of those tiny magnetic balls (the name escapes me).

My panel load wasn't too heavy. I had one film panel on making indie horror films, and the panelists that I joined, like Scott Spears, were outstanding and had a wealth of independent film experience. We covered a ton of ground over a short time, and I hope that I was able to give some real-world, practical insights that might be of use to the people that so kindly opted to come to our panel instead of the big Masquerade!

My literary panel focused on eBooks, print, and audio book formats. Again, a very experienced group of panelists (such as Steven Saus, a really cool guy and author), with some nice mixes of perspectives. I tried to get across how the print format is very important for a number of reasons, not the least of which are all the careers that are enabled for people who enjoy books, such as book sellers, bookstore managers, bookstore staff, librarians, and many, many more. Without the bookstores, it would make life hard for an author to engage readers face to face, and the loss of the auxilliary elements, like the reading clubs that gather at bookstores, the browsing/interaction that takes place in a store setting, and other similar dynamics life would be much harder for a new author to become known. There is a definite place for eBooks, audio books, and print, but each has their own set of pros and cons, and I think the best thing is for all three to continue to have their place.

I got to do a signing as well, though the author area was only a few hundred feet from the table in the dealer room where I spent much of the weekend. I did get to visit with a variety of individuals, such as the amazing Scott Sandridge, who once again did double figures in panels (10). Richard Hatch, the Battle Star Galactica actor, also came by our table, which was a big thrill for TammyJo as she's a big fan of his work.

One of my big highlights was getting to have a couple of visits with Maura Heaphy, who teaches at Ohio State University and is the author of 100 Most Popular Science Fiction Authors She's a wellspring of knowledge about science fiction and fantasy, and I had the honor of hearing about some of her upcoming work. Can't talk about it here, but it is going to be awesome! :) It is great to have people in the academic fields advocating science fiction and fantasy as good literature, and Maura is a wonderful person for this challenge!

The new readers that I met, who decided to give my books a chance, were simply great to talk to. Several had talked to me on Friday, and then came back late on Saturday or on Sunday to pick up books. I had encouraged them to look me up online, and to read the reviews that have been put out, so that they didn't take just my word for things. I'm glad they opted to come aboard my family of readers, who I am committed to working for as hard as possible to deliver some fun and exciting literary adventures (which will hopefully lead to some film ones someday too! LOL)

All in all, a great event, and one that I would love to return to.

This week, we'll be getting ready for a convention that is very personal to me in nature, Hypericon. I will be doing the book launch for The Storm Guardians, and hopefully it will go well! We're doing a Friday night full hour introduction to the Rising Dawn Saga. Matthew Perry, who did the cover art and illustrations, will be joining me for that presentation, and we'll be talking alot about the interaction between author and artist. I've got a couple of panels on Saturday and will be exhibiting in the dealer's room, so it will be a very active weekend.

On Monday, June 7th, I'll be shooting over to Memphis for a Davis-Kidd signing, including a stop on a noon-time news show in conjunction with the event. I'll post some more details on this before the weekend hits.

I'll be checking in again before I head out, but I probably need to get back to the million and two work tasks involved with being a small press author! LOL