Metropolis Supercon Roundup

Had an enjoyable weekend at Metropolis Supercon 2012, held in the town of Metropolis IL, which is perched on the border of Kentucky right across from Paducah.

Metropolis, as you might guess, takes pride in all things Superman. Big statue in the town square, a Superman museum, and even a Superman festival. The Con itself has been around for five years, and this was my second trip in.

It is about a four hour drive for me, so my day started quite early, about 4:30 am. I drove into town and went straight to the venue where I had two tables to set up on. I don't have a problem at this point filling two tables with all of the items I bring along with me! LOL




I was across from actor John Wells, director Zach Schuyler, and actor and MMA champion Dale Miller, all good friends of mine (John and Dale were in Swordbearer, as some of you might recall.) They were situated next to John Wesley Shipp, who fans might recognize as the actor who portrayed The Flash.

I did get to meet John Wesley Shipp. He came across and visited my table, where we talked for a little bit. Very nice guy, very approachable and engaging with his fans. I would totally recommend him to any event looking to bring in a very friendly celebrity guest.




The crowd this year was, admittedly, down a bit from last year, but the people were fantastic. Jeff Yonosick, an author that I know, showed up as The Joker, and even posed with a copy of Crown of Vengeance after he had purchased it. Very nice endorsement, wouldn't you say? :)

Saturday night we got a nice bonus in the way of an invite from Brandon, Joshua, and Ben, three guys who are huge movie buffs with a great memorabilia collection. They are a blast to hang out with and I'm glad we got to visit with them again this year. Joshua is an AMAZING cook, and he went all out again with a great dinner.

Last year's Metropolis I mentioned the weird phenomenon surrounding Myra's Magic Hot Dogs. Whenever myself or anyone else ate one, they would make a sale within minutes at their tables. Guess what? They worked again, and it was eerie! Three separate occasions for me, and Michael Gordon and Bobby Nash can also attest to the strange powers that these seemingly normal hot dogs have. Myra Daniels, a co-chair of Fandom Fest and the Fright Night Film Festival, got a real kick out of seeing the magic hot dogs demonstrate their powers again! LOL

Sunday was a bit on the slow side, so things shut down a little earlier, and I was able to get a jump on the road trip back to Lexington. I think the Con would be a great one day event and I hope they consolidate it next year to a longer single day schedule. Overall, though, it was very enjoyable, and I got to catch up with some good friends. I do hope to go back in 2012.

Next up this weekend is the Author's Fair in Madison, IN, where Michael West will be launching Poseidon's Children, and then on to MidSouthCon in Memphis the following weekend!

Fandom Fest Debuts New Literary and Gaming Tracks

Please pass the following information along, anywhere and everywhere you can, on personal blogs, professional blogs, zines, bulletin or message boards, FaceBook, email lists, Twitter links. This is going to be an AMAZING event, and we really want to get this opportunity out to the Literary and Gaming communities.

Thank you very, very much!
-Stephen




For Immediate Release
Thursday, June 23, 2011

Fandom Fest Brings Large New Literary Track to Louisville Amid
Major Expansion of Fright Night Film Fest






Marquee celebrities like Hollywood legends John Carpenter and Henry Winkler will command great attention at the Fandom Fest/Fright Night Film Fest weekend July 22-24, 2011, in Louisville, KY. Alongside the wide array of premium Hollywood and media personalities, an incredible opportunity beckons for writers, gamers, readers, artists, filmmakers, pop culture fans, costuming enthusiasts, and many more.

Fandom Fest represents a bold expansion of the popular Fright Night Film Fest, establishing several new tracks, genres, and a host of activities catering to pop culture, science fiction, steampunk, anime, costuming, and fantasy. The event builds upon Fright Night Film Fest’s strong horror legacy, growing from its inception in 2005 to become the third largest genre film festival in the United States.




Fandom Fest’s brand new Literary Track alone features over a hundred participating authors, covering over 55 expert panels, 20 workshops, and a large number of live readings, author signings, and book launches. From the current state of publishing, to intensive writing workshops, and workshops in topics like self-publishing and e-Book development, the panels and workshops of the Literary Track have something to offer attendees from all levels of experience. As a comprehensive learning, networking, and career development opportunity, Fandom Fest’s 2011 content is unprecedented in its region.

Major press authors such as Julie Kagawa (The Iron Faery Series), Molly Harper (Jane Jameson Series), Eric Wilson (Fireproof, Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy), Shirley Damsgaard (The Ophelia and Abby Mysteries), Michael Williams (one of the first DragonLance novelists), and Maurice Broaddus (Knights of Breton Court) are just a few examples of the well-established, award-winning authors from all across the United States who are attending.



(Julie Kagawa, of the Iron Faery Series)


(Molly Harper, of the Jane Jameson Series)


(Shirley Damsgaard, of the Ophelia and Abby Mysteries)


(Eric Wilson, of Fireproof and the Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy)


(Michael Williams, of multiple DragonLance novels and the new Trajan's Arch)


(Maurice Broaddus, of the Knights of Breton Court)





Editors and publishers of many levels round out the impressive list of track participants., The Literary Track’s sponsor is Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books, who also happen to be sponsoring the prestigious Dragon*Con’s 2011 Writer’s Track. The main genres being featured at Fandom Fest are primarily fantasy, horror, and science fiction, but the Literary Track programming caters to writers of any genre, with panelists from spheres such as mystery, romance, and even erotica.

The new gaming track unveils an array of panels, tournaments, special guests, and much more, debuting yet another new section of the event. Tabletop role-playing games, video games, board games, and even Live Action Role Playing are scheduled throughout the weekend with a strong team of gaming hosts. Attendees include representatives of highly regarded game companies/publishers such as DriveThruRPG, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, SilverMeet Studios, Hex Games, Beautiful Brains, and Blackwyrm Publishing.

A multitude of vendors will fill the concourses of the Fern Valley Hotel and Convention Center at Fandom Fest. Gaming stores, publishers, authors, crafts, production companies, memorabilia dealers, actors, artists, and much, much more will be available for convention attendees to browse and buy one-of-a-kind items from.

Even the live music portion of the event advances with a concert from international rock act Bella Morte, whose frontman, Andy Deane, is also a horror author appearing on the Literary Track. Fast rising heavy metal/hard rock prospect ZeroKing is slated to open for Bella Morte.

From gatherings of cast members from popular franchises like Revenge of the Nerds, Enter the Dragon, Jem, and The Walking Dead (including Tony Moore, artist and co-creator),to icons such as Margot Kidder (Lois Lane in the Christopher Reeve Superman films), Kane Hodder (Jason Vorhees in several Friday the 13th installments), and Larry Drake (Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Dr. Giggles, and Darkman), the list of attending film and media guests contains something for everyone. For the thousands in attendance, there will be more than enough to choose from in regards to programming, events, activities, parties, and celebrities.

Best of all, standard weekend passes are just $45 dollars, which is much less than the cost of genre events which are a small fraction of the size of Fandom Fest/Fright Night Film Fest. In value, content, and affordability, Fandom Fest/Fright Night Film Fest is poised to become one of the top events of its kind in the United States.

For further information on the 2011 event, please visit www.fandomfest.com or www.frightnightfilmfest.com

Direct Links related to Literary and Gaming Tracks:

Literary Track Guests: http://www.fandomfest.com/literary-guests/

Literary Track Programming: http://www.fandomfest.com/literary-track/

Gaming Track Guests: http://www.fandomfest.com/gaming-guests/

Gaming Track Schedule and Programming: http://www.fandomfest.com/gaming/

Alaska, Fright Night, Indy, and on to Swordbearer!

Yes, this is going to be a bit of a long entry, as I have admittedly been slacking on my blogging as of late. I am working to correct that, I promise!

In mid-July, I had the opportunity to go to Alaska for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I went, and it turned out to be quite an amazing experience. We went up the coastline, visiting places like Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, taking a few detours to go into some big fjords.

The scenery was simply stunning as was the wildlife, ranging from sea otters to humpback whales. The massive, mountainous terrains, capped by snow and with cloud layers well underneath their peaks, were fertile grounds for the mind of a fantasy author!

We finally ended up in Seward, which harbors quite a fishing operation, with the 7th largest output in the entire United States. From there it was inland by bus to Anchorage for a day, and then by train to the Denali national park, and finally we ended up in Fairbanks.

Alaska is a fantastic state, and the people there were definitely my kind of folk...very individualistic with a great deal of self-determination.


After getting back, I had to get ready in a hurry for the Fright Night Film Fest in Louisville Kentucky. This event is a fairly big one, getting a few thousand attendees as a horror genre convention. I had an exhibit in the dealers room, and got to visit quite a few of my indie film friends, to the extent that it felt like a reunion of sorts. Also got to catch up with some of my good author friends, like Michael West (pictured with his son, Kyle), Elizadeth Hetherington (Pictured with the cheerleading outfit on) and Michael D'Ambrosio.

Fright Night is expanding next year into the FandomFest, which is going to have multiple tracks, in multipe genres, and I have agreed to come aboard to help in coordinating the Author's Track for the event. I can't wait to bring together a great group of panelists and develop some outstanding content for what promises to be a very amazing weekend July 29-31 of 2011.

The following weekend was Indianapolis, and my return to the downtown Borders that was one of the first bookstores to embrace me with The Exodus Gate. The signing was being held during the GenCon weekend, as downtown Indy is flooded with thousands of fantasy/scifi/horror fans.

I had a great time, and got to visit with some special readers and friends, some of whom were in for GenCon and some who came from the Indy area. One of the most surprising visitors of all was the guy who was my high school newspaper's editor. He is now a star reporter for the Indianapolis Star, and I can't say enough about how cool it was to look up and see him (I recognized him instantly!)



Jon Klement of DragonTalk Radio and Stephen Kendall, who is on the staff of InConJunction, came by (pictured). I found out that Stephen (who is wearing the awesome Atari shirt) is an afficianado of classic computers like the Commodore Vic-20, Commodore 64, Atari 800, and all the computers that got the PC world started. Also visiting was Courtney Lantz, who was in my film The Sirens, and her boyfriend, Tom Williams (pictured below the photo with Jon and Stephen), both of whom should be making an appearance in Swordbearer. Afterwards, a few of us headed over to the Rock Bottom, which had outstanding micro-beers (I behaved, don't worry...just had one)and sandwiches. After that Michael West, his son, and I headed over to the crosswalk from the large mall there leading to where GenCon was taking place. Elizabeth Darvill and Nick Valentino took a break from GenCon to come out and say hi. I got to chat a little longer with Elizabeth, and found out about her new releases, saw new cover art for one of her upcoming books, and more. She and Nick are becoming quite the steampunk team on the con circuit.

Throughout all of it, I have been working very hard on preparations for Swordbearer. Casting, details of locations, props, costumes, and more occupy a lot of time and tedium, but it is all necessary if you want to pull off a quality project.

We have a great team assembled for this one, including the guys from Cineline Productions, Matt Perry and Sven Granlund, and one helluva DP in Aaron Champion, one of the most talented and craziest people I know. We've been tracking everything on our Facebook page for the short film, and I will be doing a few more posts about the project leading up to the big opening weekend of shooting August 21 and 22.

A Good Weekend...

Got a ton of work done this weekend on the new fantasy novel. about 2/3 is completed with all edits and corrections, and I'm making progress daily. I definitely hit a good groove this weekend, and had Stuck Mojo CD's crankin'

This week is going to be very busy, as I'll be heading to Borders Downtown Indianapolis on Friday for a booksigning from noon to 2pm, and then shooting down to the Fright Night Film Fest in Louisville Kentucky. Both Sirens and Shadows Light are screening, as is Murderer, the film that was paired with Sirens on the IMM Festival of Horrors Vol 1 DVD.

Received my schedule today for ConText in Columbus, and it looks right now as if I'll be on 3 panels, and will also be doing a signing with other attending authors.