Hypericon, Memphis, and more!

This has been one tough week!

I'm a little late in posting about Hypericon and Memphis, but only because I had to compact a week's worth of work and then some into 3 days before I set out again for Huntington, Louisville, and Cincinnati signings this weekend.

The book launch weekend went very well! As always, Hypericon was wonderful. I am really impressed with this Con, as they faced a few daunting realities this year. One was that Con Carolinas in Charlotte was running the same weekend (which is a large, excellent Con...one that I enjoyed immensely in 2009 and hope to get back to next year.) Also, rumors had been flying around the internet that Hypericon was not taking place due to flood damage to the hotel site in Nashville. There were a few regular faces that I did not see this year, but the Con went on strongly and featured some incredible guests.

The author guest of honor was none other than horror legend Ramsey Campbell. He is an energetic and very friendly fellow, who has a great legacy of literary works. I found myself on a panel with him on day one (the mystery writers panel, where Con Chairman Fred Grimm grabs a few authors minutes before this panel takes place, and then asks them a variety of questions...some serious, and some not so serious). I was on another panel with Ramsey on day two, one focusing on bad writing advice that authors have received. I walked into the panel room before it began to find fantasy legend Glen Cook on one end of the table and Ramsey Campbell on the other. I had to sit between the two of these incredible guys, which was a little surreal. Two other outstanding panelists, Brian J. Hatcher and Jason Sizemore (the big man at Apex Publications) joined us shortly thereafter.

One attendee at the Con told me that the other evening panel I was on was the best panel they had ever seen. It was a panel dealing with writer's block and time management, and featured the inimitable Elizabeth Donald, the vivacious Sara M. Harvey, a New York Times best-selling author in Eric Wilson, and yours truly. Eric actually managed to captivate both Sara and Elizabeth (who usually put on a show when teamed together) with his marital erotic metaphors in relation to working through potential writer's block. It was fun to witness Elizabeth and Sara as they reacted to Eric's comparisons!

I did do a launch panel on the first evening of the panel, where I was joined by Matthew Perry, who did the cover art and illustrations for my novels. We had a nice audience, and got to talk about the scope of the series, Matthew's involvement with the art side of things, and it even featured a reading.

I spent a lot of time in the dealer's room, where I was exhibiting. Besides talking to readers and new readers alike, I spent a lot of time talking to Elizabeth and Angelia Sparrow, whose Literary Underworld table was to my right, as well as Kimberly Richardson and Allan Gilbreath of Kerlak Publications. Found out some really cool things about Allan, involving his knowledge of medieval weaponry. I had also found out the previous day that a new steampunk short story of mine made it into the upcoming Kerlak anthology Dreams of Steam. Some very cool writers are on this one, including Nick Valentino and H. David Blalock!

I got to visit a great deal with H. David Blalock, the eminent author of Ascendent, who was hanging out at Hypericon and graciously hosted me for my Memphis Davis-Kidd signing on the monday after the convention. David's abode is a perfect residence for a writer...rural, wood-shrouded, and tranquil!

David helped me navigate Memphis, which was very helpful as I had a live tv interview on the Memphis ABC affiliate, Eyewitness News. It was a several minute segment, and the host of the show, Terrance Bates, was simply fantastic. He made me welcome the moment I entered the studio, and is a lively, engaging interviewer. I hope to post the interview shortly, as I was able to get a video file of it.

The signing at Davis-Kidd went well. Many thanks to Christina Meeks, who is the hard-working PR and Events coordinator at Davis-Kidd. A nice group showed up, and we had a great discussion about my writing approaches and the books, followed by a reading that was delivered by Kirk Stevens, a friend of mine and talented Memphian writer. Kirk is a great reader, and I loved hearing him read the first segment of The Storm Guardians.

Following the signing, Kirk, David, and myself got to hang out with Dan and Jackie Gamber, and their daughter. Dan and Jackie have been very wonderful to me, and it was great to kick back and have dinner with them. I will always be a supporter of Gamber Nation! (as I sometimes refer to them! haha)

I then made the drive back starting early Tuesday morning, got back to Lexington, and pretty much dived back into things as all kinds of tasks were waiting for me. Always a million and one things to do when you are a small press author, as if you don't do it, nobody else is going to do it for you!

It is definitely a short week, as I am readying to head to Empire Books and News in Huntington on Friday, Borders on South 4th Street in Louisville on Saturday, and Borders on Eastgate Boulevard in Cincinnati on Sunday. Hopefully things will go somewhat smoothly, and a few folks will drop by. Always an iffy thing when you are an author like myself. I can definitely say that it is wonderful when you look up and see a familiar face at one of these events, or a reader of your work. I'll be sure to report on all three here when I get back.

DarkWoods Con and MidSouth Con...a Report!

Been on the road quite a bit the past couple of weeks, and still not quite done yet. Coming up this weekend is Millennicon, but I figured that I would give a report on DarkWoods Con and MidSouthCon before heading up there.

Dark Woods Con took place the first weekend in March. This was the first year for the convention, which is located in Pikeville Kentucky. I think that the organizers chose a great location and time to hold the convention, as it fits a great gap in the Kentucky schedule, and does not rub up against some of the larger events in the state such as the Fright Night Film Fest and ScareFest. Smart planning, and it met with good results.

My hat is off to the staff of DarkWoods Con. Cherokee and Chris Hall, Billy and Denise Blackwell, and everyone involved did a great job, as the event went very smoothly. The dealer's room had a lot of exhibitors and the attendance was strong. Plus Billy has been growing a great new beard, for his role in ZP International's Santa vs. Zombies movie. I got a pic of Billy B with the new beard, and have posted it here to share with all of you Billy B fans!

I did two panels over the weekend. One was a screenwriting/author's panel. My friend Jeffrey Reddick, who is a VERY talented screenwriter (his credits include Final Destination, the LionsGate film Tamara, the Day of the Dead remake, and others) was in from LA. Jeffrey is from Kentucky, and I really respect the fact that Jeffrey has come to the state to support the independent film community on several occasions, dating back to when I was involved in organizing music/film conference events. It was a blast to be with him on the panel, which also featured horror authors Elizadeth Hetherington and the incomparable Nic Brown (author of Blood Curse: Werewolf for Hire, and the head honcho of the B-Movie Man site).

The community really seemed to embrace the convention, which leads to interesting photo opportunities such as the one posted here, where Michael Berryman of the original Hills Have Eyes movies is talking with myself, and two of the local police officers. The officer standing to my right expressed that he hoped that this event happens again, and even suggested some other area events that the organizers might be able to align with or promote with.

I also got to catch up with some of the folks that I see regularly out on the Con circuit. Artist Sam Flegal was there, with his friend Matthew, running a table in the dealer's room. We didn't realize we were staying at the same hotel until the last day, which was a bummer as it would have been good to hang out a bit more. Sam's a very hard-working artist who is really pushing hard with a thorough appearance schedule, and I advise anyone that encounters him to check out his prints and artwork.

DarkWoods Con has the potential to become a very big event, and I'm hoping that the staff moves forward full throttle in 2011.

MidSouthCon in Memphis is a wonderful, well-established convention, and for me it was a homecoming. As you can see from my website's appearance schedule, it was the first event I did for The Exodus Gate last year. For me it was a homecoming, and I had no less than six panels to do over the weekend and shared space with D.A. Adams in the dealers room (he's the author of the highly recommended Brotherhood of Dwarves series).

This year, it felt so good to walk in and know so many people from Memphis and the convention circuit. I was glad that D.A. Adams was willing to put up with me, as he is a great guy to team up with at a convention. His girlfriend, Rene, is a blast as well, and the two of them help to keep me sane during the course of an event!

Lo and behold, Nick Valentino had a table right next to ours. This is amazing, as Nick and I go back to when I was doing some independent music activity, and he was in a very solid metal band called Fall With Me. Nick is now a fast-rising author, whose Steampunk novel Thomas Riley was flying off the table all weekend. David Gates, a graphic artist who was helping Nick out, was also there (and he hails back to the Fall With Me days as well!), and I have to say he has one of the best "self help" business cards around...the back of it has a sketch of Dave's face and the words 'I Can Do It'. I told Dave that whenever I feel shaky, I will pull that card out and read the slogan again and again! LOL

I got interviewed by Kimberly Richardson, the Goth Librarian herself, for a video interview series being hosted by Kerlak Publishing. Kimberly has a really good vibe and instinct for video interviews, and I feel that the interview turned out really well. It was great to spend more time with Kimberly in person...and we also got to share a panel together.

Other highlights included getting zinged by Dan Gamber, the Creative Executive Director (I hope I got that title right) of Meadowhawk Press. Meadowhawk Press is one of only 4 small press publishers to win the Philip K. Dick award, and also features Jackie Gamber, the author of Redheart, who is piling up awards faster than that guy Apollo could skate at the recent Winter Olympics.

It didn't matter whether I was on a panel or in the audience...Dan found a way to zing me good, and turn every head in the audience in my direction. I noticed that he had a certain look when he was about to do this, so I was able to brace for it before the weekend was out. I feel honored, as out of 1500 attendees, he selected me for this distinction. Maybe I should find a way to list this honor in my promotional blurbs! Seriously, though, keep an eye on Meadowhawk...they have some really great things in the works, as Dan is an out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to the publishing world.

Spending time with friends like Kirk Stevens, H. David Blalock (and his nephew William), Angelia Sparrow, Elizabeth Donald and Haley Elizabeth Garwood was wonderful as well. I can say that there is a very wonderful camraderie amongst many small press authors who are regularly out on the Con circuit, and it really does make a difference when you arrive at an event like this.

Between the 6 panels and the dealer's room, I had a very full weekend, but it was a very good one. Major salute to Dan, Jackie, Kirk, and Kat Hibpshman for an outstanding literary track.

I'm already looking forward to MidSouthCon 2011 and DarkWoods Con 2011...two very pleasant weekends, one featuring the debut of a very promising new Con, and the other another triumph of a Con with an excellent legacy already in place.

Now on to Millennicon in Cincinnati!

Headin' Back to Memphis, and Dark Woods Con Report!

Had to take a break from working all day on a spec-script, for a potentially very large project. Figured I would hop on here and weigh in a little on the past weekend, and the weekend coming up, at MidSouthCon.

First of all, the verdict is in...DarkWoods Con is a winner. I think that Cherokee Hall, the Blackwells, and everyone involved did a fantastic job with organizing the show. The attendence was solid, there was a nice variety of exhibitors, and excellent guests.

Jeffrey Reddick, as usual, was fantastic to visit with, and we finally got to be on a panel together. Myself, writer Elizadeth Hetherington, the incomparable Nic Brown, and Jeffrey headed up a screenwriter/author panel that didn't seem to have any pauses. We had a great conversation with the audience, and the range of experience on the panel was where it needed to be to respond well to the inquiries. Jeffrey also indicated that he has a lot of irons in the fire now, and I can't wait to see how everything turns out with him in the near future. He's a great fellow and is one that anyone would want to root for.

I spent a lot of time in the dealer's room, talking to other guests, exhibitors, con attendees, and even a few that will hopefully become new readers of my work! My table was next to Schaeffer Tolliver and Justin Powell, who were manning a table for the Cineline guys. Worked out very nicely, and we had a front seat position for all the sideshow stuff from the Pickled Brothers. They are fantastic, if you haven't seen them, though it does make me queasy to watch swords being drawn out of mouths by audience participants and light bulbs being eaten.

Sam Flegal and his friend Matthew were on hand, and it turned out that we were both staying at the same hotel (though we didn't figure this out until the end of the con). Sam is a very talented artist, and is part of that extended Nashville and Tennessee family of authors and artists that have been very kind to me as I've gotten underway with the books in the past year. I was glad to see that business was brisk at his table.

And then there's Jacob Ennis, the mastermind behind Stash and the upcoming Red River. Jacob is a first rate moviemaker, and a good guy to boot, and I hope that he and I find a project to work together on one day. We discussed a couple of possibilities, so we'll see, but definitely keep your eye on him.

I had a few moments to talk with Michael Berryman, the guy who was in the original The Hills Have Eyes movie. Very nice, cordial guy, I must say!

Jerry Williams and Pat Bowling were there as well, bringing their craziness, as well as many others, such as the Infernal Dreams fellows, TJ Moreschi of Feathered Italian Films, Lee Vorvoort of the movie Gun Town, George Bonilla and the ZP International crew, and Vance and Elizadeth Hetherington (I got Elizadeth's book and am reading it, she's a very talented horror writer).

I also met Joe Garcia of the Fast Custom Shirts guys, and it looks like I have FINALLY found an artist-friendly source for t-shirts. (we're already preparing a few designs, so keep an eye on the blog)

Lots of new friends, a very good overall experience, and even a couple of Stacey Gillespie sightings (Kentucky's legendary indie film actor). Plus I got to see Billy Blackwell in his fancy new beard that he grew for his role in a new George Bonilla film...very nice!

Mark down DarkWoods Con on your calendar in 2011. Well worth it. Great Con and I think that they have something going that can really excel.


This weekend I'm back in Tennessee, in Memphis, for MidSouthCon. I'm on no less than 6 panels over the weekend, and I will be stationed at D.A. Adams table in the exhibition hall, so I'll be pretty easy to find. There are so many wonderful people in Memphis... H. David Blalock (The Jarl Himself), Herika Raymer, Kirk Stevens, Dan and Jackie Gamber, Kim Smith, Debra Parmley, Kimberly Richardson, and several others are based in Memphis who I have come to know and like a whole lot. The Con is very well run, and features some big names like Sherrylin Kenyon and Kevin J. Anderson. It will be great to catch up with a bunch of author and artist friends while I'm there. I hope to get to stop in and get some Memphis BBQ at a place recommended by author Angelia Sparrow...we'll see what happens! :)

All In! Crown of Vengeance, ConText, and more...

Just turned in a short preview section of the 2nd book in the new Fires In Eden series, which will be placed at the end of Crown of Vengeance, so all the pieces are ready for the book. We plan on making an announcement very shortly regarding the limited edition version, which will probably be around 100 copies and include some special elements and extras.

ConText was a really great experience. I ended up doing 4 panels that weekend, three of which focused on translations from books to other media and vice versa. Doug Johnson, Michael D' Ambrosio, Sandy Lender, Scott Sandridge, Dr. Maura Heaphy, and Gregory Hall were some of my co-panelists, and we had some fantastic discussions.

I actually made it to two parties over the weekend, hanging out with Michael West and Nicole Cushing on Friday (held by Indiana Horror Writers and Apex Publications) and the Meadowhawk Press gang on Saturday night (co-hosted with Shroud Publishing). Suffice it to say that Michael and Jason's party was shut down by security on friday night...they know how to party! Saturday's went the distance, though I bowed out early, but not before I got to see Dan Gamber of Meadowhawk demonstrating yet another of his many talents as he danced the night away!

I am really digging Sandy Lender's book Choices Meant For Gods, and I picked up a few Michael West stories as well that were highly enjoyable. I also picked up the "Best Magazine Ever Released by Apex Publications"...which Maurice and I agreed is the appropriate designation for it as it has a Maurice Broaddus short story in it!

Speaking of...I had a great panel to round out Sunday with Sandy Lender and Scott Sandridge, who is one of the more colorful characters I've met out there! He's got a whole new conception of orcs in his new podcast novel, The Silverblade Prophecy. I believe Scott set a record for panel participation at ConText. He did a stretch of 6 straight panels on Saturday, and I believe he was on around 10 panels in all that weekend. He is the iron man for sure!

Jason Sizemore was an editing guest of honor over the weekend, and the hour focusing on him, hosted by author Geoffrey Girard, was awesome! Didn't know Jason was a Transylvania University guy and got to learn alot about Apex history. Jason's really doing some great things and I hope every reader out there tries out some Apex stuff...it's very, very good!

Finally got to talk for a bit with Michael D'Ambrosio, who was at the Fright Night Film Festival that I was at, though we didn't get to talk there. Michael is really pursuing some film avenues, so we got to talk a little shop in that respect as well.

ConText had some outstanding programming, and was really enjoyable as a smaller convention that is literary focused. I definitely want to return to this one again next year. Columbus is not too far away, after all! (and I did get to visit the Borders on Kenny Rd. in Columbus, where I will be returning on Thursday, November 5th for a signing for both The Exodus Gate AND Crown of Vengeance)

The Hypericon Adventure!

I really love Hypericon. Actually, I am beginning to think of Nashville as my second home. I have attended Hypericon since the early days of this Con, missing only the year that my father passed away, and this convention has always been a very pleasant experience.

It is still a smaller convention, though it has grown alot since its first year. It showed more growth this year, and as always was a pleasant environment in which to meet and talk with people.

There were alot of outstanding writers, starting with the guest of honor, Brian Keene, who has written some magnificent horror novels such as The Rising, City of the Dead, and Dark Hollow. I was pleased to discover that Brian apparently has excellent taste in music, attested to by his Iron Maiden shirt.

Scott Nicholson, who wrote one of the coolest and most visceral non-typical vampire books out there, They Hunger, was actually on one of the film track panels with me (a screenwriting panel). Scott has alot going on, including the world of graphic novels.



I was very happy to see Dan and Jackie Gamber of Meadowhawk Press (and look out for a special blog article on Jackie's book Redheart...coming very soon to this blog and the Seventh Star Press blog too!). Jackie unveiled a new sharpie tattoo, showing off her new rock n' roll image...it looked a little faded on the last day of the convention, but Jackie explained that was because she was demonstrating her toughness by using a brillo pad to remove the tattoo! Don't mess with Meadowhawk Press! lol

Actually, Meadowhawk Press became one of 4 small press publishers ever to have a release win the Philip K. Dick award! (for Terminal Mind by David Walton) THAT ROCKS!

Jason Sizemore of Apex Publications was also on hand. I have not gotten to know well Jason yet, even though we both live in Lexington! Apex is an excellent publisher, with many writers that I have alot of respect for ( Sarah Harvey, Fran Friel, etc. ), and I hope to get a chance to meet with Jason on the homefront a little more often.

One of the coolest things I encountered this past weekend were P'ckit Dragons, from the Smerdiverse developed by Jon Klement. He is not hard to find, walking around with a big purple hat with ears and a shirt with a little purple dragon peeking out from the shirt pocket. Jon took some time to tell me some of the background of the multi-dimensional P'ckit dragons, and after learning more, I believe everyone should have their own P'ckit dragon! Jon is from St. Louis, so I hope to catch back up with him in person at Archon later this fall.

I finally got a chance to meet D.A. Adams, author of the Brotherhood of Dwarves series. I had been looking forward to meeting him at MidSouthCon, but he had some last minute schedule conflicts and was not at a reading that we were supposed to do together there. I picked up a copy of his first book and will be reading it for sure. D.A. and I appear to have quite alot in common as well, which was really cool to discover.

Seeing Sarah Harvey, Elizabeth Donald, and Angelia Sparrow is always a great thing, and Hypericon was no exception! Elizabeth was generous/kind enough to consign some of my books there so that I had availability in the dealer's room. Believe me, this is a really helpful thing at a convention, and I appreciated it tremendously.

I did get to visit for a little while with Steven Shrewsbury, though I did not get to talk to him as long as I wanted to. Steven's book Hawg was a great read, if not disturbing! Not for the faint of heart! LOL His new one Tormentor is just now coming available.

I got to spend a good bit of time with my pals/partners in crime/fellow independent media sufferers Stephen and Suzie Lackey (who do all kinds of stuff, like Con Trek, Cinegeek.com), and Mike Young. As always, we came up with absurd ideas, as well as a few that might yet have merit! lol Stephen had his hands full running the film track, but we did get out for some very excellent pizza on Sunday.

Speaking of ideas that might have merit, something may be brewing regarding the film side of things! My cohorts in Cineline Productions, Matt Perry and Sven Granlund, and I had a great meeting with the eminent H. David Blalock, author of Ascendant (Sam's Dot Publishing). Suffice it to say that it appears that I will be directing a new project, short film in nature, fantasy in nature (YEEESSSS!) later this summer. Get ready, I'm fired up!

The good Jarl of House Blalock and his daughter Hericka and I did get to spend a good amount of time together, which was fantastic, as they are rapidly becoming a couple of my favorites out there. I am going to be posting something soon on Ascendant as well...so stay tuned!

Was very happy to meet a couple of Kentucky authors, David Jack Bell, author of The Condemned, and Julie Kagawa, whose first YA release The Iron King comes out at the beginning of 2010.

Big thanks to Matthew, Jon, Deb, and all those that came to support my signing slot in the dealer's room and who picked up a copy of The Exodus Gate. It means alot when you see someone step forward to take a chance on a new author. I can assure you that it is not forgotten! ;)


Many, many thanks and salutes go out to conference chairpersons Fred and Stephania Grimm, who are among those willing to take on the punishing job of running a large event. I think they have really been steadily building a very nice event, and I hope that they continue, despite the many headaches and challenges involved. (and kudos to all the volunteers like Deborah, and all the others involved with various aspects like running registration, cooking for the con suite, and more).


Oh yeah, while in Nashville, I also got to visit Davis-Kidd in Nashville. Awesome store, 2 levels, grand scale, while still being indie friendly. I got to meet Ashley Strosnider and Joe Nettles in person, which was super cool as I just knew them through phone calls and emails before.




Overall, Hypericon 5 was yet another great experience. I am already looking forward to Hypericon 6!!

MidSouthCon 27 -First-Class Experience

What can I say? Other than that the MidSouthCon 27 staff, organizers, and event itself are simply first rate.

I just got back in from Memphis, and the trip reinforced why I like Tennesee so much. Everyone was extremely hospitable, from the staff members that checked me in to the Ops room to the individuals such as Dan Gamber that were involved in the panels and programming itself.

At a convention like this, there is so much to choose from. As a guest, I had two panels that I was scheduled on (Film and Editing, and another on Paranormal, Supernatural, and the New Gothika). I also was given a reading and an hour slot in the professional's row for signing The Exodus Gate.

Beyond my scheduled items, I tried to attend as many panels and workshops as I could, and there were indeed some fantastic ones.

Jeff VanderMeer and Matt Staggs had a workshop called Explore Your Book Life which centered around a new book they have coming out called Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for 21st Century Writers. With backgrounds in publishing, writing, and publicity, Jeff and Matt were the perfect duo as they delved into the things involved in developing a sustainable writing career. They covered a wide range of elements, from time management, to new media tools, and much more. This workshop had something for everyone from beginning writers, to newly published ones (like myself) and well-established writers.

Another fantastic panel was Folk Dance in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Dee Birnbaum, who is a world-traveling dance expert with a tremendous expertise in Middle Eastern cultures and dancing, was joined by Kirk Stevens (this guy is a renaissance guy if I ever met one. Conducted a very intruiging creativity panel that I had to miss due to schedule conflicts) and Sara M. Harvey (who is also a very talented writer and costume designer). They discussed the use of dance in science fiction and fantasy, and approaches for fictional settings. As someone who is not, to put it mildly, very skilled at dancing, I found this panel very informative and accessible.

My panels were really enjoyable. On the film panel I was joined by the great Luke Ski, a very outgoing and entertaining music and parody performer. Guest of Honor John Hudgens, creator of many Star Wars parody films, was on hand, following his screening of his new DVD documentary release American Scary (check out www.americanscary.com ). Paul Robinson, a producer and editor of numerous tv productions and a former Rolling Stone contributor, and Tim Brown, of Inked Monkey Productions (who are doing the online adult puppet show Them F#@%ing Puppets)rounded it out.

For the Paranormal/Supernatural/Gothika panel, I was joined by Angelia Sparrow, who writes GLBT romance/speculative fiction (you won't often see werewolves and vampires like hers in the mainstream too often!), Rickey Mallory, a very established Romance and speculative fiction writer, and Ruth A. Souther, author of Immortal Journey: The Death of Innocence. It made very a very interesting and diverse discussing of supernatural elements and trends in current fiction, filtering a little over into the movie/television side of things.

It was wonderful to see some faces I'd known before, such as Tyree Campbell of Sams Dot Publishing, Bill Snodgrass of Double-Edged Publishing, and writers such as Elizabeth Donald and the aforementioned Sara M. Harvey. Also got to visit for a few minutes with the legendary Glen Cook (of the Black Company series), one of fantasy's best writers ever. (and I also had the opportunity to attend some panels that had C.J. Cherryh on them. Wow!)

Among the bright new faces that I met were Dan and Jackie Gamber of Meadowhawk Press (I can't wait to dive into Jackie's new book Redheart), Windsong Levitch (Fascinating individual with a very courageous personal story), Kirk Stevens (who I harassed often throughout the weekend), publicist Matt Staggs, and many other wonderful individuals. I sat next to Haley Elizabeth Garwood during my signing hour and had a great visit with her, and got to meet author H. David Blalock as well.

The event itself was run very smoothly, with excellent organization, generous hospitality, and a very good layout for the size of it. The Con Suite was always stocked with Red Bull, Bawls soft drinks, and loads of food, the program was easy to follow, the staff were always polite, and the programming featured excellent topics and outstanding guests. Evidently, this was the first year that they had MidSouthCon at this facility, and I found it to be a very good and efficient location.

Yes, this is a rather long blog posting, but I wanted to give props to the MidSouthCon and the wonderful folks I got to meet and hang out with last weekend!

I now have lots of good new books to read (yes, I went over my intended budget!)