by john | Oct 16, 2012 | Appearances, Comics, Travel
Because when there’s over 100,000 frigging people at a convention, it gets more than one post! And yes, there will be photos. And yes, most of them will be of hot chicks in skimpy outfits.
Let’s start with a quick overview. If you’ve been to many fandom-based conventions, like MidSouth Con, ConCarolinas, even Dragon*Con, you ain’t seen nothing like Comic Con. It’s way more of a trade show than a con. What I mean by that is that people mostly buy their Comic Con tickets for the exhibit hall and the autographs, and the panels are kind of an afterthought. There were exhibits from Xbox, Marvel, DC, Legendary Pictures, Dark Horse, Chevrolet, Craftsman Tools.
Yeah, I said Chevy and Craftsman had booths at Comic Con. Now do you get what I mean by this was a trade show and not a normal con? Craftsman paid someone to write and draw and custom comic book with their superhero in it to promote their Bolt-On series of tools.
Take a minute and go there. The first time I saw “Bolt-On Tool” I went there. Couldn’t help it.
So it was a very different environment for me than most cons. I kinda knew what to expect, having done the Heroes Con for a couple of years. But this was way, WAY bigger. Like 4X bigger. And that meant that it was easy to miss stuff, like a small book booth. Or like Artists’ Alley, which I never set foot in all weekend. Or the panel rooms, which I never saw.
And missed out on a chance to meet Kim Harrison, which was a bummer. But there will be other cons, and hopefully she will attend some of them. But I did see Richard Kadrey and had a nice chat with him on Sunday, so that was nice.
But I sold almost everything I took with me. I had about a dozen books left when the show was over, so that was good. I was mostly pushing the Black Knight Omnibus, because it’s new and shiny. And looks amazing!
I took 50 copies of the omnibus with me, and sold 40 of them. I sold out of Genesis and The Chosen, and had 2 copies of Bump in the Night left at the end of the weekend. So it was a good weekend for sales. I even sold a couple of Read Recklessly t-shirts!
But I won’t be doing NY Comic Con again any time soon.
It’s a really expensive show, because everything in New York is expensive. And it’s not a wonderfully organized show, and there aren’t really very many opportunities for me to really connect with fans, other than pitching them a book. And while that’s fun, it’s not as much fun as sitting on a bunch of panels and talking about the craft.
And I’m trying to cut back (a little bit) on the number of shows I do. I’m already committed to nine cons next year, with a couple of other maybes, and that’s a bunch. It gets expensive, and while some of the cons I can split rooms with folks and ride share for gas, I can’t always count on that. The only way I was able to afford NYCC was because my awesome friend Tamsin let me sleep in her spare room for the weekend and shepherded me around the subway. Otherwise it would have cost half again as much as Dragon*Con!
But I had a good time. I met some awesome folks, a couple of whom have already dropped me a line on Facebook or email, so I hope I can get scheduled into some smaller con in the Northeast soon. Just not a con with 100,000 people. That’s way too big for this old country boy!
But check out some of the costumes! 
by john | Jun 7, 2011 | Appearances, Comics, Writing
I’ll post more from HeroesCon/ConCarolinas later, once I’ve had a little more sleep and time to process. Needless to say it was a great weekend, and I even sold enough books to make back my table fee! The coolest thing that happened all weekend is at the end of this post, so you’ll have to read the whole thing to get there.
We’re not going to discuss the pile of money I spent on comics, we’re going to call it a win and be done with it.
No really, that’s what we’re doing.
Regardless, I’ve got some great stuff coming up, and I hope some of you will be close enough to come out and join me for it!
This Saturday night, downtown (uptown) Charlotte, I’ll be reading poetry and maybe a selection or two from my novels (but mostly poetry) as part of the Festivities with Collaborative Arts. They invite local artists to participate in their Charlotte Shakespeare Festival as opening acts, and then we get a chance to hawk our wares at intermission. I had a great time doing this last year for their production of Othello, and I’m excited to be asked to return. I go on at 7:15 at The Green, and I’ll have copies of all my books with me for sale.
But I’ll only have two copies of Hard Day’s Knight, because that’s all I have left after HeroesCon.
You like how I snuck that in there? Yeah, it doesn’t get any more stealthy than this.
Then next month I’m participating in a killer mega-signing at Barnes & Noble in Columbia, SC with Kalayna Price, Faith Hunter, Rachel Aaron and Misty Massey. We’re working on a cool name for the event, and I’ll get you more info as we lock down the details, but we’ll have books to sign, a badass giveaway, and a couple of panel discussions as well, so that will be super-cool.
And in September I’ve used up a year’s worth of Marriott points to pay for my hotel room at Dragon*Con in downtown Atlanta. I don’t have a table or anything that cool, because I’m still the new kid, but I’ll be there hanging out, drinking and going to panels. I’ve only ever been to one Dragon*Con, and that was in the very early ’90s, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the show has grown in almost 20 years. I also have some hopes of meeting a few of my favorite writers, like Mercedes Lackey, and getting at least a little bit of useful information out of the panels.
I don’t have much booked for the fall, need to get my ass dialed in on the writing front. I had what I think was a cool idea for a YA series the other morning, so I’ll start playing with that once I finish up Knight Moves. It’s about a kid in a world where most everyone has magic, except for her, and what happens when she finds out that she really does have a gift of her own.
So the coolest thing that happened all weekend – I went to ConCarolinas to hang out with a few friends and sit in on a couple of panels. The first panel I went to was called “The Future of the Printed Word.” Obviously something I have a vested interest in. After all the panelists had their say, I raised my hand to comment, and Faith Hunter (NY Times bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock series – totally badass shapeshifter series) told me to introduce myself before I got to my comment. So I did, and mentioned that I had three self-published novels, and she then told the room that Hard Day’s Knight was one of the best self-published novels she’d ever read. I blushed, and was touched, and flattered, and all those things. I didn’t even know I knew how to blush anymore! But it was super-cool to get that kind of vote of confidence from someone who I count as a friend, and someone I respect a hell of a lot as a writer, too. That kind of affirmation doesn’t come along very often, and not very often in a public forum, to boot. So needless to say that was the highlight of my weekend.
by john | Mar 28, 2011 | Comics, Travel, Writing
I had bronchitis and was sick as a dog, but I made it down to the Crown Plaza hotel and hung out for the day with some cool peeps like the guy who got stuck being my neighbor, Bobby Nash. Bobby’s a comic writer among many other things, and he was gracious enough to snap the picture below and email it over. Check out his stuff and give him some love, he’s a great guy!
I sold a couple of books, but of course spent more than I made, thanks largely to finding the Sandman Dream Hunters hardcover, as well as the second and third collected editions of Echo by Terry Moore. If you’re not familiar with Terry Moore, then get on over to his website and snatch up as many copies of Strangers in Paradise as you can! SiP was one of those groundbreaking comics for me, in that it was a story of normal people (mostly) with normal loves, lusts, hates and issues (mostly). Okay, some of the issues were a little exaggerated, but it was a phenomenal comic, and I have the Omnibus edition sitting on my shelf at home. It has to sit on the shelf. I tried to read it on my lap once and my legs fell asleep for three days. The move towards Omnibus editions still leaves a little to be desired. But I digress. Anyway, Terry’s now writing and drawing Echo, and I’m way hooked. I’m not going to give away any of the story, but you should buy it.
But I had a good time, also chatted for a few minutes with the lovely Chrissie Zullo, who has done the covers for the Fables spinoff/limited series/whatever Cinderella. She’s cute as a button and incredibly talented, a real up-and-coming artist from right here in Charlotte! I think I heard she was moving to NYC, but she did mention she’ll be at the Heroes Con in June, along with Terry Moore and yours truly! I bought a small press table for the weekend and will be pushing books on unsuspecting comic book geeks June 3-5. This means that I won’t get to be at ConCarolinas, which would have been fun, but I think my profitability potential is greater at Heroes, so that’s where I’ll be this year at least. I’ve also submitted my applications to Dragon Con and the NY Comic Con, so that might book a lot of my travel for the fall. I dunno how those will shake out, but if Dragon doesn’t take me (they get a lot of movie and TV star types, as well as a ton of authors, so I’m only moderately hopeful on that front) I’ll probably grab a tent at the Decatur book festival, which is the same weekend. Either way I’ll be somewhere around Atlanta for Labor Day, and hopefully in NYC mid-October.
Started work on Knight Moves, Book 3 of the Black Knight Chronicles, last week. Should be ready to go sometime in June. Hope I get it finished before Heroes, but I’m not going to rush it. This book is going to add more characters, a new recurring semi-baddy, and see the boys actually contemplate something deeper than beer and blood bags.
And this is what I look like with bronchitis at a comic book show!
by john | Jan 26, 2011 | Comics, Real Life, Travel, Writing
On the Southern front. I’m in Atlanta for work this week, and I’m still kinda floating around doing not much of anything writing-wise. I’ll be kicking it into gear tonight on my short story, pretty sure I know where it’s going. I think I’m going to let Greg be the lead in this story, because he’s always the sidekick and never the superhero. I might be a little skewed because I just got finished reading the comic series Countdown to Infinite Crisis, which puts Jimmy Olsen in a leading role for a change. But you know, you see a good idea and you steal it, right?
I got chapters 1 & 2 back from my proofreader, but haven’t even opened the file yet. When I finish a project, I just want to avoid even thinking about it for a few days, you know what I mean? I’m planning cons and booking exhibitor tables at book shows, and that’s getting a little spendy, but I really think it will be of benefit in the long run. I think my outlay for the year will be about a grand in table fees, and that’s without Dragon*Con, which looks like it’s going to have to wait until I’m a big enough deal to be an invited guest. I’ll probably attend and drink, but I can’t float the $1,100 for an exhibitor table there.
Here’s my current schedule of cons and appearances for the year (as it stands in January).
February 18-20 – RoundCon – Columbia, SC
March 20 – Charlotte ComiCon – Crowne Plaza Hotel, Charlotte
April 14 – Sensoria Literary Festival – Charlotte, NC
May 14-15 – SC Book Festival – Columbia, SC
June 3-5 – Heroes Con – Charlotte Convention Center
September 3-5 – Decatur Book Festival – Decatur, GA
October 14-16 – NY Comic Con – Javits Center, NY NY
And I might try to do the NC Comicon again this year, and if things go well, the VA Comicon as well. That keeps me pretty busy, especially with all the work conferences I’m committed to. Those look like this so far –
Feb 6-8 – Rigging Training – Madison, WI (Yes, I’ll be at Quaker Steak and Lube in Madison watching the Super Bowl, should be entertaining!)
Feb 10-12 – Georgia Thespian Festival – Columbus, GA
Mar 3-6 – Southeastern Theatre Conference – Atlanta, GA
Mar 9-11 – US Institute of Theatre Technology – Charlotte, NC
April 9-13 – National Association of Broadcasters – Las Vegas, NV
And let’s not forget things like –
Merlefest – April 28-30 – North Wilkesboro, NC
Rent – May 1-12 – Theatre Charlotte, Charlotte NC
24 Hours of Booty – July 29-30
World Series of Poker – June 16-20 – Las Vegas, NV
So I’m not home much this year, apparently, but that’s nothing new. That’s why I have a laptop and not a desktop computer. Put three more books in the mix for the year, and it should be a pretty busy twelve months, ya think?
by john | Nov 19, 2010 | Comics, Travel
Last weekend I went to Raleigh to participate in the NC ComiCon. I had a great time, despite feeling kinda crappy all weekend with the crud that eventually levelled me and kept me out of of work for the first half of this week. But I got to meet some great folks, including Jim Valentino and Richard Case, and my booth neighbor Rob Anderson, creator/writer/publisher of Animal Control: Special Creatures Unit, a futuristic comic featuring funky hybrid animals like gatorsnakes, pandadogs and pocket dragons. Rob was very friendly and in good humor through the weekend and his upbeat patter kept me from turning into a bag of phlegm-filled sulk like I can easily do when I don’t feel well. I just hope I didn’t infect him with the crud as a thank you gift! Also had dinner with Rob and Chris Flick, who writes the hilarious webcomic Capes n’ Babes, which I’ve been a subscriber to for a couple years now, so that was a blast. I sold about enough books to make the whole thing financially worthwhile, so I’ll be on the lookout for other cons to exhibit at in the future.
And of course there was cosplay. The costume contest was Sunday, so anyone who wandered by my table with a decent costumed got corralled into having a photo with one or more of my books. Here are some of my faves.
by john | Jun 4, 2010 | Comics, Real Life, Writing
Had a great time today at the Heroes Convention walking around, talking to different creators about their books, buying way more stuff than I had budgeted (at some point I’ll admit that my “budget” for a con is really what I have in my pocket, as I may refuse to stop before I spend that much), and attended a great panel by some Marvel editors, writers and artists about how to break into the comic business.
I also passed out a bunch of business cards and talked to a bunch of folks about Choices, my novel. If you’re one of them and came here trying to remember what exactly you were supposed to do when you got here, click here to read my novel.
So here’s what I think I’ve decided over the past few days – despite the money issues that we’ve run into over the past couple of weeks (i.e. me putting my foot through the roof and hastening the $4,000 new roof we have to put on the house), I’m going to push a lot harder over the next year to make this writing thing work. I wrote my novel last year and then decided to take a year and try to get some publishing credits before I moved forward with it. Well, I’ve had 13 poems and one short story published since January, and I haven’t submitted anything since the beginning of April, so I’m going to consider that mission accomplished.
So now on to Step 2 – publish Choices. I’m thinking it needs a new title – maybe something like I Made the Devil Do It, or just The Choosing, but it needs a better title. But regardless, I’m actively soliciting an editor from my friends who have done that type of work, and I’m actively soliciting a cover design. I plan to have it published in ebook format hopefully by Labor Day, but certainly by the end of the year. I’ve found a guy who will do the conversion to epub and kindle format for a reasonable price, so I hope that I can get it all ready to go for about $500. I also hope that my editor will work on commission, but I think that won’t be a problem. So I’ll have it out in ebook format this year. I’ll also do some print on demand stuff, so that I can have copies to sign, and people that don’t own a Kindle, Nook or iPad will still be able to buy the book (although you can read ebooks on computers, too). If I set the price at $3, I’ll get a little more than $2 of each ebook sold, and it should be fairly simple to get some folks to take a flyer on a $3 ebook. Especially if I can get some good reviews going. So some of you may be solicited for reviews in the coming months.
I’ve already started my next novel, as well as a pair of short stories that may form the basis of a collection. I also have a script for a comic in the can, which just needs an artist, but that may need to wait until the beginning of ’11 to get much traction, as the rest of this year will be spent focusing on the novel(s) and getting the first one ready for public consumption.
So that’s the plan. For now at least, but as you know these things are subject to change without much notice. I’ve picked up more freelance design gigs to help pay for the roof and replace income from poker writing that has gone away (mostly due to my choice, as it was interfering with the day job). I know it seems counterintuitive that I would add freelance theatrical work to replace freelance writing, especially when my ultimate goal is to be a writer, but the poker writing was more of a scheduling conflict with the day job, and I found that writing for that medium for so long really started to step on my creative writing. I really envy folks like Pauly or Otis, who can still turn out really top-notch material after so many years in the poker biz.
This will also result in more regular posting here, as I focus on keeping the muscles flexed, as it were. So I’m back, for now at least.
