photo courtesy of Jennifer Hobbs
Yes. LONG TIME NO SEE!
I’ve been quite busy being sick, and working, and writing up a storm! While I haven’t made much way on the “finding a house” front, I’m still looking and hope to find something that will prove to be a lovely home for Lemon Jelly and I. I also spent the last weekend hanging out with fellow writing geeks (and possibly several freaks) at Bangor Toy and Comic Con!
This was my first time doing this particular Con, although I am no stranger to the Comic Con scene. I’ve done three now and have found that the experience only gets better and better. The first thing one should know about working a Comic Con is that there is a lot of visual stimuli, a feast for the eyes, if you will. I spent much of my two days observing the array of colorful costumes (some of which you cannot unsee) and soaking in the energized atmosphere.
Together with fellow writers of the New England Horror Writers, Steve Hobbs and David Price, we set up our table along side Horror Writers of Maine founder, Duane E. Coffill, and writers, Deborah Hughes and Josiah Pitchforth. I brought along books from The Monstrum Chronicles series and some other goodies including bookmarks, Torrent Tea sample tins from Adagio Teas, and business cards of course. Business cards are easily the most handy things to have with you at a show. People collect them for collages, for scrapbooks, and to search for you and your books online. I gave away too many to count this weekend.
This also proved to be my best show for sales as it covered my table expense, dinner that night, breakfast, and gas to get there. I even sold out of the copies of “Vox” that I’d brought with me! I was blown away by how friendly people were, how fun some were to talk to (most especially Chad – thank you for asking so many interesting questions!), and how much I learned from the other authors there.
photo courtesy of Jennifer Hobbs
I have to say that one of the things I think I picked up was from the display at the Horror Writers of Maine table next to us. Where we sometimes had people walk right by us, they were able to pull people in and really capture their attention. Some of this is due to Duane E. Coffill’s natural charm with people, and I have some serious respect for that. Most writers, me included, are very solitary people and have a hard time pushing their own books. It’s easy to forget that people are looking to be sold on your book. They want to be spellbound; they want to lose themselves in a different world. For a convention that promotes science fiction, fantasy, and horror, it is really a perfect scenario for talking up ones book and getting it out there.
I’m excited for PortCon Anime, which I did last year and hopefully will be in on again this year. It’s a three day show (I was only at Bangor for two days), so it’s likely to be an exhausting weekend. It’s also towards the end of June which happens to be the same weekend as a Relay For Life that I’ll be involved with. June seems to be a magical month for everything happening at once.
Taking what I’ve learned from Bangor, I’m looking to immerse people in the lore and world of The Monstrum Chronicles a bit more by having some other items up for sale. I’m hoping that by then, I’ll have copies of “The Collection” ready to sell. “The Collection” is a stand alone novella but includes characters referenced to in “Memento Mori”. I’m looking to wrap up the writing this week and then will begin the fine-tuned process of editing the sucker. As far as other immersive trinkets go, I’d like to try making bloodline talismans for purchase. We’ll see how easy (or difficult) they end up being to make. And last but certainly not least, I’d like to include “Vox” logo t-shirts. This might not be a reality until events in the fall, or an official release party for “The Collection”.
As far as other updates are concerned, I’ve decided that as soon as “The Collection” is finished, I’ll be moving into work on the sequel for “Night Time, Dotted Line”. It’s been almost three years and I think it’s time we returned to the lives of Calleigh and Spencer. I’ve been thinking about the follow up for a long time, plotting their new adventures and I think I’m finally ready to chronicle them.
I’m also going to be working on a new cover and layout design for “Vox” to debut next year. I’d love for it to be done by October, but the reality is that I probably won’t have enough time. Expect to see more updates in the future on that!
Until next time!
~KSilva
The Kat At Night 