Galacticon IV - all in or bust!

[Here I am in a bit of an altercation with a cylon. Fortunately, security was there to intervene. :) ]


Although I have been a scifi fan literally since the time I was old enough to comprehend it, I never attended a conference. When I decided earlier this year that since my trilogy is complete, I need to get out more and try to 'spread awareness', I did some random searches for conventions. Fortunately, I live just over an hour away from Seattle, a mecca for comicon and scifi conventions of all sorts. It was too late to get into most of them for 2015, but I was thrilled to be accepted at the Galacticon IV show, since I'm a HUGE fan of everything Galacticon. There were also stars from Firefly, Serenity, Farscape and the original Land of the Lost, so I was giddy with anticipation.

I planned, worried and prepared for several months. How many books did I need? I finally settled on 30 copies of Bloodline and 25 of Heritage and Descent. I found a cool crystal skull and an LED display base to light it up. (needed something to get people's attention!) I made a sign, a t-shirt and more bookmarks to hand out. In all, it was a bit of an investment of both time and money.

SO....three days before the con (which was July 31st-Aug 2) the organizers for the event dropped the bomb: due to unforeseen trouble with the hotel, they were cancelling most of the reboot Battlestar Galactica cast. You can understand the implosion that followed. There were fans traveling from Europe, spending thousands of dollars to see these actors and actresses. There were VIP tickets pre-sold, along with all the photo-ops, panels, classes, etc.

It was pretty frakked up.

The main organizer resigned within hours of the announcement, and the people left behind (mostly volunteers and fan groups), scrambled to do their best with the mess that was left. I, like all of the other vendors, considered whether or not to go. For me, the decision was easier, because I only had to commute the hour drive a couple times each day, as well as parking (15/day). Most of the vendors, however, were traveling from out of state and had huge expenses involved. The chances of getting enough people through the convention to make a profit was not promising. Honestly, we all were just hoping to break even. Most did not.

In spite of all of the drama, I had a BLAST! (pun intended)

This was in large part due to the two brothers in the booth next to me. Tim and Matt, of Interstait Designs, are hard to describe. Their positive energy and obvious joy at being there was contagious. I liked them immediately.

These guys have an amazing selection of unique, laser cut designs in wood and acrylic (so far). You can find something from just about any well-known scifi series or movie. If they don't have it: they'll make it! (they're going to make a medallion for me that will be a replica of the one Alex wears in my trilogy!!!)


On Friday, the first day, I got my booth set up and then hoped for the best! While attendance was very low, it was still a fun day. I sold a set and paid for my parking. :)

When we came back on Saturday morning, we were greeted by Richard Hatch rocking a kilt!!  (he was the original Apollo in Battlestar and had a recurring role in the new series) After a nice, fifteen minute talk with him, he signed Bloodline for me!

I was still on cloud nine over that encounter, when I had a fan (Sara, without an h!), run up to my table excited to meet me! That was the highlight of the convention! (picture to come). It was beyond cool to get to discuss my trilogy with someone who read and loved it. She immediately got the relevance of the crystal skull and ghost quartz I had out, and was excited about having the necklaces made and available for fans. (fans! :) )

Claudia Chrstain (Babylon 5) was SO nice! She constantly walked among the vendors, talking with us and just being an over-all positive influence. I was incredibly impressed by her presence and genuine kindness.

On the third and final day (Sunday), I went all out and dressed up! Here I posed with the 'doc', after he loaned me his weapons. :)

It was over-all a great experience, and while attendance was understandably low, the staff that was there went all out to pull it off. I made enough to cover my own expenses, so I was happy (personally) with everything. I know there were plenty of other vendors that can't say the same thing, and I feel horrible for any loss they endured. The best part, was that I made some friends and got invited to several other events/conferences. Tim and Matt are my long-lost brothers, and I look forward to networking with them!!!



So did I have a good time? Absolutely! Will I do it again? Already planning the next event!

Since it was my first scifi convention, I felt like an addict at their first AA meeting: I'm NOT alone!!!

Last Chance to Vote

I mentioned several days ago, that Bloodline was in the running for top 50 Indie Books of the Year on a Indie book website. Today is the last day to vote, so I am going to post about it one more time. I don't like to go crazy over this kind of stuff (because lets face it: most people don't like reading about it!)

Here is the Link to cast your vote for Bloodline

You can vote up to THREE times! There isn't any requirement to register, but you can enter your email to be entered into a drawing to win the top ten books..but you don't have to!

[Bloodline is still on sale for 0.99 but today is the last day]

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I hope that everyone had a very safe and fun New Years eve. OR...for those that can't think of anything better than getting to sit at home and just do nothing but relax, I hope you got that, too! My kids ended up having a few friends over and we hosted a little party. It was fun, and I managed to get a couple blisters from rocking out too hard on the drums during Guitar Hero. (HEY, don't judge. I can play most songs on expert!! ;)

Have I mentioned that I'm a bit accident prone? Well, I am. To give an example: my daughter got a compound bow for Christmas and my husband and I went to a local range to shoot it with her and get it set up. The only bows I've ever shot, are the kind you make out of sticks in the backyard (those never went very far. I also tried to set up a tight-rope to walk, but that's another story), so I was excited to try it out. My daughter is a natural...seriously. I can shoot a gun pretty good, and so I thought I'd be rather accurate too...I never really got much of a chance to find out. The second try, I slapped my forearm with the string hard enough to leave a wicked bruise from my wrist to elbow. (Katniss I am not) My advice? If you have an arm like mine, that twists a little when you extend it, either leave your elbow bent a little, or get an arm guard. Check. (and no, I didn't cry. Just hopped around a little bit)

***As I am sitting here, writing, our first snow of the year is finally falling outside. I have no doubt that it is melting as soon as it hits the ground and we won't have any accumulation, but I still like it!***

I decided yesterday, that this next year, I am going to focus more on face-to-face marketing. So the first thing I did was a search for any up-coming comic con or science fiction conventions in Seattle. I've never been into cosplay or a anything, but I really have always been a hard-core science fiction fan. I discovered a convention called Galacticon, and it's in Seattle at the end of July. It started out as a tribute to Battlestar Galactica, but has spread out to include the Star Trek Franchise, Firely and several others. I submitted an application for a vendor table to sell my books and got accepted! The guest lineup is very exciting (like the original Starbuck as well as numerous actors from the new series) I think it will be GOOD!  Link to Galactica website

The Emerald City comic con was already closed to registration :( as it is in March, but I got on a waiting list. I'm also going to continue giving my books out to local libraries but will start soliciting for books signings. I purchased a nice, new pop-up booth with the cool, zippered sides for street fairs. I have two or three this next year that I will do for sure (photography and books). Anyone have suggestions on other things I can do?

I am on chapter six now for my next middle grade mystery book: The Secret of Camp Whispering Pines. I am really liking this story! It's moving along well and I don't think I'll have any problems getting it out by the end of this month. (January)

I'll leave you with a picture I took a couple of years ago...some people don't get it, but it's one I refer to when I am in a creative mood. Sometimes...it's all about the small details. ;)