Necronomicon 2011

This past weekend was a sci-fi/fantasy/horror convention called The Necronomicon. You may remember me posting about it last year or the year before. This was my third time attending, and my third time having a grand ole time. Things have, however, changed somewhat.

Let's see...three years ago I had finished writing Finding Angel and had a handful of short stories under my belt. I sat through the writing panels at the Necro with a bit of wide-eyed wonder. The panel authors each had multiple books published--either traditionally or self-pubbed--and years of experience. Some were more impressive than others, of course, but all in all I felt like a total newbie compared to them.

Last year, I'd made real progress and had more than a few short stories under my belt. I also had done some artwork for Splashdown Books and things seemed to be heading in the direction of me becoming a published author in "just a matter of time." I sat through the panels with interest, but not just because of the topics. I thought maybe it was something I'd want to do down the line. (Oh, and my design made the cover of the program that year! It's the image to the left here.)

This year, I was kicking myself for not pursuing the panel thing sooner. I wasn't sure I was "ready" and didn't look into how to join the writing panels in time. So, I sat through them the whole time itching to be in a chair behind the table, side by side with writers I now had the experience to match. (And honestly, in a few cases, I have more experience at this point...)

Next year, I intend to be on those panels. I intend to have an author table, too. I did at least have the foresight to take postcards with me to leave out on the goodie table this time, and I wore my Finding Angel t-shirt, as did the friend who went with me. That got a few people to ask, "So, what is Finding Angel?" And of course, I got to tell them! (PS--no, that is not me to the right there, it's the model on my Zazzle page :P)

Yep, already looking forward to next year!

Oh, and total coolness: I came home to find THIS REVIEW of Finding Angel waiting for me. Thank you, Tim George, for the awesome review!