Phoenix suffered record high temperatures during the convention and then dropped down to the normal warm summer days as soon as it was over. It didn’t seem as crowded this year as it was last and the heat may have had something to do with it. There were still a lot of people in attendance and a lot to do. On the positive side, I didn’t see any vacant artist tables this year.
The convention was a different experience for me this time. I went with the perspective of an author hoping to participate in the event next year. In the vendor room, my eyes were drawn to artist’s tables and the possibility of having them design the cover for the Battlementals book. Several of them had art that fit my sense of what the cover should look like. They include Adrew Bosley, Spencer L. Brinkerhoff III, and Travis Hanson.
I also stopped to talk with several authors in order to get a better idea of how I should approach the event as an author/vendor. The best information of the day was from Howard Tayler who writes Schlock Mercenary. Howard participates in the Writing Excuses podcast. I was able to get some valuable insight that should help when I start a podcast of my own later in the year.
After the panel I went and sat with my friends and fellow panelists T. M. Williams and Ray Torres III. The chemistry between the three of us during the panel was wonderful and we talked about doing more events together. Will that mean more horror in my future writing? You never know.
Mostly, I gathered ideas for what to do with a table/booth of my own. If I go the indie-publishing route, I will have The Land of the Battlementals: Quest for the Harmonicon published in time for Comicon next year. And I am super excited about all the panel ideas, booth decorations, and promotional events that I have in mind.
Hope to see you all there next time.