Convention Recap: Dragon Con 2021

Dragon Con 2021 is in the review mirror sadly. It is always my favorite weekend of the year, and I always leave there wishing it could be longer, and that I could pack more hours into the day. This year was special, in that last year was cancelled due to covid, so it had been two years since I got to wander the halls and go to panels. (Don't worry, I'm vaccinated, and had a negative covid test Friday as a precaution).

So I won't go into all the nitty gritty of what I got into at con, but I thought I would hit the relevant highlights that folks who keep up with Tales by Bob would find interesting. So here is a list, in no particular order:

1. I attended a panel about the state of the horror industry. My hero John Hartness was on it, and I was able to give him a copy of my book as a sort of thanks for being my mentor at the last Dragon Con. Rachel Brune was on that panel as well, she was new to me, but I was later able to buy a copy of a book of hers and get it signed.

2. I went to the Fantasy Gather event. There I bought some stuff from Falstaff Books, as well as chat a bit with John Hartness to get some advice about what I am doing. Did I mention he's my hero?

3. I went to a DREAD live play panel. It was a lot of fun, and it makes me want to write up some DREAD scenarios now. I mean, I have for some time, but this REALLY made me want to do so.

4. I went to the Pitching 101 panel. While I am pretty well set on the idea of self publishing, I would certainly be open to a good indie press if they wanted to publish me. Someone like Falstaff Books, or maybe Mocha Memoirs.

5. I went to the 'Putting it all together' panel, which was about what all steps you take to indi publish. I went hoping to get some good tips on marketing, and I did get a few ideas. The big take away though was meeting author Ben Meeks, who is also writing rural urban fantasy set in the deep south. I got his info, and we've been conversing back and forth. I can't stress enough how important networking can be to a new author, and this was a great connection to make. Also his books Petrified and Betrayal are great!

All in all I wish I had been able to do a bit more networking, but that was on me and my shy self. It certainly invigorated me to get the ball really rolling on events, and I can't wait for next Dragon Con! I have plans!!!