Hey, everybody! Sorry if you're hating these posts, but 'tis the season. Convention season, that is! I recently got back from KillerCon in Austin, TX, and it was a blast. My only scheduled performance was a panel at 11:00 am on Friday, and my plane arrived at 10:00 am. I was right on the edge of worrying about whether I would make it. Fortunately, I came walking into the hotel right around 10:45, so instead of checking in, I headed straight for the panel.
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| Myself, Kelli Owen, Jeff Strand, Rose O'Keefe. (Not pictured: David Barnett.) |
Our discussion was "How Not to be an Asshole in Publishing" and my fellow panelists were David Barnett, Rose O'Keefe, Jeff Strand, and Kelli Owen. The panel went swimmingly. We talked about when to respond to negative reviews (spoiler alert: never), how to deal with rejection, and the like. For the record, I did not spend the entire panel on my phone. This was just me checking the time.
Friday I got to have a long overdue lunch with Lucas Mangum and we went to a taco place near Round Rock. Then that evening I had some authentic Texas barbecue with Wile E. Young, Wesley Southard, and their spouses.
Friday night was the launch party for my good friend Christine Morgan's DAWN OF THE LIVING IMPAIRED AND OTHER MESSED UP STORIES. I actually liked this collection so much I blurbed it, so make sure you check it out if you have even a passing interest in zombies.
I wasn't selling books at a table for this con, so I got to relax and take in a lot of the programming. The only selling I did was at the mass signing on Saturday morning. I also got to see a couple of Texan fans there, including the incomparable Mike and Ana Rankin (more on them in a minute.)
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| Myself and Ana Rankin. |
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| Myself and Mike Rankin. |
Ana for some reason was wearing a Jonathan Janz t-shirt, but I convinced her to get a Kozeniewski t-shirt for next year, so I'm looking forward to that.
Saturday was the centerpiece of the con. I got to have lunch with Jeff Strand, Wes and Wile E. again, and a long overdue meeting with Gabrielle Faust. There was great programming all day, culminating in the second annual Splatterpunk Awards, where David Barnett, who I was on the panel with on Friday, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Congrats to all the winners, and nominees as well.
The Splatterpunks were followed by the Gross-Out Contest, which I've had the great honor to win twice. However, I knew almost immediately that this year was not going to be a threepeat. I had a fairly respectable story, but as soon as Jay Wilburn stepped up and began telling the true life story of his kidney operation (catheter insertion and all) I knew it was over before I was doubled over in laughter, which wasn't very long.
And after the Gross-Out contest came the wedding reception. Well, vow renewal. Our good friends who I mentioned earlier, Mike and Ana, wore Poe and Lovecraft shirts, respectively, and renewed their vows in the style of their favorite horror authors. Brian Keene walked Ana down the aisle, John Wayne Communale played "I Walked With a Zombie" as the wedding march, and the godfather of splatterpunk, Ed Lee, stood as best man. It was lovely overall. I was surprisingly touched.
Finally, Saturday night was the Eraserhead Press/Section 31 Press party, and much fun was had by all. I may even have pitched the greatest followup to the classic CLICKERS muncher horror series ever conceived. Sadly, it was too good to ever see the light of day.
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| Myself, John Skipp, and Wesley Southard. (Photo by Edward Lee.) |
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| Wesley Southard, Edward Lee, and myself. (Photo by John Skipp.) |
Whelp, here's to KillerCon. Hope to see you there next year!
God that looks fun. I think more cons need a panel about how not to be an asshole...in any field.
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