Convention Recap: ConCarolinas 2023

I have returned from the wilds of North Carolina, Charlotte to be exact, and I am happy to report that I had an absolutely amazing time attending my first ConCarolinas!

Paneling

There were five panels that I got to be a panelist for, which I think ties for the most panels I have done at a single event. First I did Growing Your Social Media Presence, which was moderated by one of my favorite people on the planet, Joe Compton of Go Indie Now. It was well attended, and we had some great questions from the crowd. This was a fun one for sure.

Next I did Fight the Fairies, which was about the intersection of Fairy and UFO mythologies. I have done a lot of panels at this point, but I think this is one I am going to remember for a long, long time. It was that kind of panel that leaves people talking, which is to be expected when your moderator, the brilliant Jim Nettles turns to you and asks 'And just how do you define reality?' Sean Hillman and Michael G. Williams were my co-panelists on this one, and it was a wild ride. I really hope we get to do this exact same panel next year, as I bet it would turn out totally differently. It was just that sort of panel.

On Saturday I started my day by doing the most fun panel of the weekend: Cats Rule the World. Any panel that calls for me to share a picture of my cats is a winner in my book. This was actually on the writing track, so we mostly focused on felines in literature, both our own and in general. But moderator Chris A. Jackson asked the real questions like 'Cats and 3am. Why?'

That night I got to be on Podcasting/Livestreaming 101. Despite the late hour it was well attended, and I got to be under the guiding hand of the incomparable Jim Nettles once again. I also got to share space with Cisca Small, the head of the Dragon Con High Fantasy track if memory serves. I think the attendees got a lot of value from this one as well.

My last panel of the weekend was Cryptobiology. Hosted by R.M. Hamrick, I got to panel with Marlena Frank for the first time since CONjuration. And Chris A. Jackson brought a ton of knowledge to the panel, as did Sarah J. Sover who I got to really meet for the first time. This was another great panel, which honestly I was probably the least qualified to speak to, but I still had a blast (and I don't think I did too bad regardless).

Sales

Yall know how I love to be transparent. So here we go! I went into this knowing that there was little chance of me breaking even. My room was 390, then pile food and gas on top of that, and I spent around 640 dollars in total. So that would mean I needed to sell about 215 dollars a day, which is doable, sure, but I am pretty much unknown in this area. And that hurts sales, when the bulk of other authors are pretty well established here with fanbases. I ended up doing: 130, 90, 110 for a total of 330. So I covered a little more than half of my expenses. If I had been able to split my hotel room (which was the original plan but my friend didn't make it into the con), I would have only needed to earn back 445. Which I didn't do either, but would have been a little less painful haha.

That said, I have zero regrets. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make my money back, and as long as I got to do panels and network, I knew I would be fine with that. Which as that was 100% the case, I am chomping at the bit to make it back next year. I will say this was my first event where I was able to sell my omnibus, and that definitely saved me. It could have been bad without that. So cheers to Ben Meeks for pushing me to get that out, and if all goes well the second omnibus will be out in time for DragonCon.

Networking

This was a fantastic con for networking, almost as good as Multiverse. I was surprised at just how many stellar creatives live in the NC area. The absolute highlight was getting to be there when Nancy Knight won a lifetime achievement award. I had actually been sitting with her and Berta Platas (two of my favs) when she got ambushed with the award, and to see her speechless was such a memorable moment. But on top of that there were a number of virtual friends that I got to meet in real life, like Paige Christie and her absolutely delightful mother (who groaned at my jokes with the best of them and stole the heart of everyone she met). I also got to hang out with my usual favs, like Sean Hillman, Venessa Giunta, Jim Nettles, Rachel Brune, and of course my brother from another mother Joe Compton. We kept our Multiverse tradition of a sack full of Guinness alive, drinking late, late into the night. I also got Dino'd for the first time, which if you know, you know. Suffice to say Dino is a national treasure, and I would die for that man. I mean really, I got to meet so many great people that it would be impossible to name them all (and you wouldn't care anyway). From folks I paneled with, to people I partied with, to authors I bar-conned it up alongside, it was an amazing time.

But best part of all was getting to meet Superfan Steve for the first time. He's been following me since we met on a forum probably 15 years ago. He's been my biggest fan and cheerleader for many years now, and this weekend was the first time we actually got to meet in 3d. It's one thing to know you have fans out there, but to have fans actually take time out of their day to travel to see you? Damn...that's a surreal experience and one I am supremely thankful for.

In short this was an amazing weekend, and I can't wait to go back! Hopefully next year with the LadyWife in tow!