I Survived Epicon 2017. Did You?

My biggest regret from the weekend trip was not getting to hear "Hit the Road Jack" over at the Ray Charles statue.

In the meantime, I documented the atrocities. Have a look!

Every librarian has the habit of visiting other libraries when they travel.

This is the main library for the county system.

The Ray Charles Plaza across from the hotel.

Piano keys motif! There are speakers around the monument, but the water fountain made too much noise...

Getting set up Saturday morning at my convention booth!

I keep working on my arched eyebrow look.

This is my official Geek Cosplay outfit. I'm dressing like I did in college.

Early morning crowd as the events pick up.

Pokemon Cosplayers. I think. I know the one on the right is a Pikachu.

A view of the main panel booth, taken from the above center seats.

One tip for running an Author/Artist booth: Have something to attract the passers-by.
Hence the bowl of candy.
If I learned anything on this trip to Albany GA, it's that the people here LOVE KIT KAT BARS.

Zatanna Cosplayer posing with Captain America Cosplayer.

Anime/Manga Cosplayers... for something I haven't read or watched. Hopefully someone will tell me.

I think this is a gamer Cosplay. The Armor and Weapon most likely shaped foam, to keep it lightweight.

Alice in Wonderland Cosplay!

Wonder Woman! And Dark Knight!

Wonder Woman didn't want to fight Bats, but we talked her into
humiliating him instead.

A big reason I traveled up for Epicon was to visit Albany itself. I was born here,
but haven't been back since the family moved in 1974/75 to Virginia. It took some time
following directions from my parents, but I found the road where we lived when we left.
I vaguely remembered how the road was straight, with large front yards and tall trees.

Sadly, I did not sell any copies of the books I brought to the table, but attendees did take some of my bookmarks and contact info, and also the coupon for 50 percent off on any Createspace purchase of Strangely Funny III (which contains the apt story "Minette Dances With the Golem of Albany."). If anyone wants the coupon code, please email me and I'll forward you the code!

EPICON 2017: I Got Georgia On My Mind

So here I am in Albany, Georgia. Where I was born. Hadn't seen the place since 1974. So of course I can't recall a single thing about the city. Parents can't even remember which street we were on.

Still, this is a big weekend for me, as I am doing my first comic-con as a guest author, selling my works and sitting in on a discussion panel! Link here for info.

Photos of everything coming soon. For now, pictures of the county library and the Ray Charles memorial!

You can't see it behind the trees, so...

Saturday is the big day! Hope to see you here!

Getting Ready for EPICON 2017

Okay, so do I have everything packed???

Clothes, maybe. Toothbrush, think so. Deodorant? (sniffs) Yeah, I'm gonna need three more sticks.

Got copies of my books and anthologies to sell.

Got a Book Stand to display them.

Got a Promotional Banner to show behind the vendor's table.

Got driving directions.

Got a hotel reservation.

Got music burned to iPod AND CDs depending on which format the radio takes (going be driving dad's station wagon, the parents worry about me in an SUV).

Got bookmarks and display materials.

Got pens to autograph any book I sell.

Got Paypal on my smartphone for card purchases.

Got Shoes, Shirts, Dice.

What am I forgetting?

...

I'm always forgetting something.

Anyways.

I hope to see you all at the Albany Civic Center on Saturday August 19th for EpiCon!

To the City of My Birth, I Will Go

Comic cons are getting to be nationwide, even the small cities away from the urban centers like Orlando and Tampa are hosting their own.

Bartow, as you know, has one called SyFy (I need to upload photos of the one we just had).

Albany, Georgia has one going now, called Epicon.

I was born there, ages ago, in the forgotten days of yore.

They're hosting their next one in August.

I should go. I haven't been to the hometown since 1974 when my family moved to Virginia Beach. It's right up the road on US 19, there's been several chances I could have gone.

I've got books I can sell, as an author. I have a story in Strangely Funny III, "Minette Dances With the Golem of Albany," that has specific ties to the city.

Now I've got a great reason to do so.

Update 3/14/17: Okay, I am signed up. Now it's a question of finding out which hotels the guest artists are staying at if they've got one lined up.