Let me say this. The people were wonderful. Special shoutout to Bertina Varney author of The Lure of the Vampire who showed me the ropes of manning a vendor/author's table at a Con. And to Pamela Turner author of Deathsword for encouraging to take part of the Con experience. I was only able to make it to one of my scheduled panels on day 2 for one very important reason. THE SWELTERING HEAT INSIDE.
I plan on attending next year but only if they change the venue. With the heat index setting at 113 degrees outside and the ac not functioning correctly inside it made the place feel like a sauna. Forcing me to leave early the second day and not stay at all on the third!
But that being said, I did get some valuable networking done and met some really cool people along the way. Maurice Broadus was the moderator on the panel I sat on. He and Ian Harac were funny, witty, and down to Earth. Maurice is a brilliant writer but he doesn't cuff with attitude, or take himself too seriously. And there was a lot of that on my panel.
I've never been good with BS so when it started filling up the room it was hard to keep my feelings capped inside. I was also a newbie sitting up there so it became a little overwhelming. If weren't for Maurice I don't think I would have gotten a word in edgewise.
Here's what I learned from that panel, even if you are an erotica writer and an accomplished one at that pretentiousness doesn't look good on anybody. Writers, yes we can change the world but sometimes we're just making shit up so please, take the work seriously, not yourself.
Which brings me to Bertina Varney. She was the complete opposite of some of the writers on that panel. She is the master promoter. She exchanges promo for promo and as we melted at our tables we got to talking a lot on Friday. Which I was forced to leave at 7 because of the heat. But I'd been there since noon so I got a lot out of the Fest. I loved her. I plan on attending her A DAY OF MYSTICAL BLOODLUST in October in Lexington if things go right for me. But if you get the chance check her out at http://searchforthelure.webs.com/ which is a non fiction book about everything vampires and she is the Examiner for True Blood. You can read everything about that at http://examiner.com/x-12968-Lexington-Vampire-Examiner.
As for Pamela links to her sites can be found in my sidebar. She did a wonderful job of exposing me to the Con experience and taking care of my things when I had to leave. She is a terrific writer and a fabulous friend. Check her out!
But I love Maurice Broadus for his honesty and candor about how to blog, as well as Ian's. Thank you gentlemen for showing me that it's okay to be different from the mainstream of what you do and still be successful.
2 comments:
I definitely agree about the heat. Also disappointing was the lack of internet access which made it hard for some vendors to accept credit card sales.
I came away with interesting tips for newbies, published writers, editors, publishers...something for everyone.
Hope you can make it to Lexington in October.
Fiona it was sooo cool meeting you. I hope I make it up there in October too. The screwy wi-fi was just one of many problems handed to Stephen. He is truly a nice guy and I hope they hold it in a much cooler venue next year.
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