Friends, I can now say I have one convention under my belt. AND I'm happy to see you.
I know that doesn't make sense, but it was really funny in my head.
Anyway, I spent March 30 - April 1 at Artist Alley at Awesome Con in Washington, DC. It was exciting and exhausting, and overall just so much fun. I'd totally do it again, but probably not if it falls on Easter weekend like it did this time around.
I'm also going to go ahead and apologize to anyone I frightened off with my bloody eyeball on Saturday and Sunday. I had some blood vessels pop, and it made me look like a horror show. If I had been smart, I would have tried to cosplay something with red eyes. But I'm not that clever on the fly. Instead, I put on my glasses and squinted a lot. Maybe you thought I was winking at you. I was. But maybe my Voltron hoodie wasn't doing it for you.
I'd Like to Thank the Academy...
It was a little weird being a writer in Artist Alley. There were other authors at the convention, but I was surrounded by a ton of super talented artists, and they were just as supportive as the writing community. Visit them now! (I'm totally forgetting some...)
But it was weird for me because I figured everyone would gravitate to the art and kind of pretend I didn't exist. I figured people who went to conventions were only interested in fan art and actual "stuff." Boy did you all prove me wrong. There were book lovers galore! And they bought my book! 💖😍💖
Among the many people I met was Lucas Aiden-Reid who is probably the biggest supporter of indie-authors anywhere. He can talk books until the convention shuts down. What a super nice guy. He's just an overall supporter of creative arts.
I also had a lovely conversation with J.J. DiBenedetto, also a writer. He did an interview with me recently which will be posted on his site soon! I'll share it when it's up.
One of my favorite moments was talking to a reader named Arielle. She asked me a lot of questions about my book and mythology and fantasy in general. That night, she had read the first 20 pages of Uniting the Heavens then came to see me the next day just to tell me how much she's enjoying the book! It was so sweet and really meant a lot to me.
I also had a handful of conversations with different young, aspiring writers. They asked me questions about my writing process and how you go about publishing a book on your own and how to build worlds and characters. Meeting and talking to these kids was really inspiring for me because I could see myself in them, and I know what it's like to have this dream or goal that you want so bad, and if someone could just point you in the right direction every now and then, you know you're going to make it.
I did not teach them about babbling, run-on sentences.
Anyway, I know I didn't get a chance to mention every single person who came to see me, but from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your support! Next time, I promise to take some selfies with you all!
A super special thanks to Will Robertson, the animator who created the book trailer on my website's home page. I had the trailer looping on a tablet at the table, and so many people stopped to watch it, then turned to me to ask me about my book. Thanks, Will!
Next Conventions
If you missed me at Awesome Con, don't worry! You still have two more opportunities this year to geek out with me at a convention!
- VA Comicon: June 9-10 at George Mason University. I'll be joining Project Bartez again. I'm *planning* to cosplay. Fingers crossed!
- Small Press Expo: September 15-16 in Bethesda, MD. I won a lottery to exhibit at this event, so I'd love if you came out to say hi!
My brother and me cheesing it up at Awesome Con (before my eye bleeding). Come see us at VA Comicon!