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Both of us are also very bad at maintaining contact with people, and since we live approximately 250 miles away from each other, we can end up going months (or in some cases years) between one of us reaching out. We had dinner together last winter, and when he reached out about a month ago asking if I wanted to get together any time soon, I immediately said yes.
So, yesterday morning, I got in my truck an drove the two hours to the Wisconsin Dells where we met in the middle to have lunch and just hang out for a bit.
Nothing really profound happened here. It was just two middle aged people eating food, taking a walk, sitting by a river, and talking about our lives. Just normal, simple stuff. But it’s normal, simple stuff that it’s easy to forget to do. It’s stuff that we’ve forgotten to do.
I don’t have anything all that deep to say with this other than “make sure you take time to talk to the people you care about.” That and maybe that you should remember to take a second and enjoy things while they’re here.
I had a really good time at the event, and it gave me the opportunity to hang out with some cool people (like E.H. Lupton). Honestly it’s just fun to talk with readers and other writers about stuff, and I picked up some new books that I’ll be reading for a while.
“Bookish” events are so strange to me. I say this not as a criticism, but as kind of a statement of fact. While they’re certainly structured and run like the fan conventions I’ve spent most of my life dedicated to, they’re not really born out of nerd and geek spaces. On the surface you’d think they have a lot in common with the Genre Lit Cons that have persisted for the last century, but it’s not really the same community or vibe. It feels like the people who attend a “bookish” event are, frankly, just way more normal than the folks I talk to on a daily basis.
Of course a lot of the other authors I spoke to were weirdos like me, so it’s not like I didn’t feel at home.
I know attendance numbers were down significantly from last year, and that they’re having some financial issues. But to the organizer’s credit, she didn’t cancel, made sure the con went forward this year, and hopefully things can be recovered. I have lots of thoughts on things that could be done better (and how money could be used more efficiently), but I think it’s really easy to take that all the wrong way. Running an event like this is hard, and I think that an event like Booked Eau Claire is really good for our local community.
So I’m rooting for it.
Eau Claire Comic Con went really well as always, and I had a great time. I was surprised that a couple of the people I usually see there didn’t stop by this year, but overall it was really fun. I want to thank the folks who came out and talked to me (especially the ones who sought me out from my social media). I one hundred percent plan on going back, and will keep going as long as they’re willing to keep letting me in.
Now next on the schedule is Booked Eau Claire Friday September 18th and Saturday September 19th down at the Lismore. I’ve never done a “bookish” event before, so it should be interesting to see how it goes. It does seem to be, like, the exact opposite vibes of an event like ECCC, but I think it’s still a good audience to reach.
One of the biggest challenges for me is making sure I’m promoting in spaces outside of my comfort zone. I think it will go well though, and worst case scenario I can hang out with cool people if it doesn’t.
These will be my last cons for a couple of months. I expect to be doing one more con this year in December, but as their registration hasn’t opened yet I can’t exactly announce it. My schedule for next year is still being worked out, as I can’t do Evercon 2027 (since it rescheduled itself against a personal conflict for me). I’ll figure it out though.
And then, like, I’ll let you know once I know.
Well the year turns on, and that means, of course, that I have conventions coming up. I mean sure, I have a birthday too, but that’s somehow less important.
Or at least, like, from your point of view.
Anyhow, on Saturday September 12th I’m going to be at Eau Claire Comic Con from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. It’s being held at the Eau Claire Expo Center on the south side of town, and you can find more information on it’s official Facebook page.
It’s a fun little con, and admission is only $5 to attend. If you’re in the area, it’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday. I’ve been doing it for a few years, and I’ve really been looking forward to doing it again.
Then, the weekend after that, I’ll be at Booked Eau Claire on Friday September 18th and Saturday September 19th. The hours are a little odd for this show (the hall I’m in will only be open to most attendees from 10:00AM to 2:00PM both days), so make sure you look at the schedule carefully.
It’s a “bookish” event, and I haven’t done one of these before as I usually stick to geekier conventions. I volunteered there last year for a day though, and I think it’ll be a good fit. At the very least it will be a chance to reach a slightly different audience than I’ve been getting.
That’s at the Lismore in downtown Eau Claire (the same venue we host No Brand Con in), and tickets are a bit more expensive (starting at $50).
If you choose to come to either one, stop by, say hi, and hang out. Or, if you want to feel guilty about not having done anything for my birthday earlier in the month, you can buy some books out of awkward social obligation or something. 😆
I will, of course, have copies of all of my books (including The Perfect Host which just came out), but mostly I just enjoy the excuse to chat with people about stuff.
So come on by and say hi. That unfortunately rhymed.
I think I hit the mark with this one.
I posted the full description when the pre-orders went live, but the gist is basically “how hard it is to outrun the demons from your past when they’re literal demons.” Anyone who’s read the ending to Buried Memories, the fourth book, knows where this is going already though.
You can find the paperback on Amazon, Bookshop.org, Direct Order it from me, or get it through whatever retail chain you want with the ISBN 9798295897726. If you’d rather get it as an eBook, you can of course find it on Kindle, Kobo, or as a DRM-free ePub in my Patreon shop.
While I think with the first four books you could jump in and enjoy them, this book really does benefit from having read the earlier books in the series. So, uh, you should do that? Read my books. That’s what I’m saying. I’m saying you should read my books.
Shocking, I know.
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