Convention Recap: Multiverse 2023

What can be said about Multiverse that hasn’t already been said by dozens of my favorite people? It really is the best con I go to each year as a professional, by a large amount. Dragon Con is fantastic of course, but everyone is so stretched in so many ways there, that I end up getting a lot more accomplished, and get to spend a lot more time with my con family, than I do any place else.

So yeah, lets’ break it down!

Panels

I did a number of panels, as I love to do! Here is a breakdown:

• One Page RPGs: Myself and Joel Ruiz talked at length about all the things we love about the art and craft of one page rpgs!

• Bedtime Stories: The R Rated Storytime: Book readings are usually kinda boring. But Venessa has come up with an amazing system where attendees act out readings from the authors. The nightime version gets raunchy and hilarious, and I was selected to be one of the authors. So I did a reading of the scene where Marsh gets attacked by squirrels. Seeing grown folks pretend to be squirrels? chefs kiss

• Social Activism through Art: I was certainly the minor contributor here, what with sharing the panel with so many amazing folks effecting real change, but I did get to talk about the Hilltop Howlers, and how we have been working to make space for diverse voices.

• RPG Design Jam: This was the panel I was most excited for, and it paid off! The panel designed a one sheet rpg using audience suggestions, and I haven’t had that much fun on a panel since the infamous ‘Fight the Fairies’ panel at CONCarolinas. I will be making a printable version of the game as soon as I can carve out the time, so keep an eye out!

• Modalities of Horror: This panel was talking about ways to imbibe horror fiction that aren’t books and movies. It was a ton of fun, and was my first experience with an attendee that I felt like I should have swapped places with her. She knew so much more than me, it was amazing haha.

• Ethical Artistry: How to Relate to AI: I love being on a panel with Tyra Burton. She’s been my moderator 3 times now, and she always does such an amazing job. She was running this one, the second AI panel she’s had me on. It also featured a ton of great questions by Rob Grimoire, who is a fantastic up and coming author. Oh, and I sat beside my boy Jim Nettles!

• AI and What It Means for Horror Fiction: This was the one panel I actually made notes on beforehand…and I used none of them haha. A real highlight for me was the fact that my fellow panelist was a policy writer in state government, and one of the attendees was a technical writer! The two halves of my job! So we delved into a bunch of AI related shop talk haha.

Sales

Overall I am very happy with how my sales went! While I don’t have a totally exact number on my expenses (food? Booze? Those don’t count!) I know how much I paid for my table and my hotel stay. By sharing with an amazing friend I was able to cut my room cost down significantly, bringing the expenses I am going to track down to 385 for the weekend.

My sales totalled up to right at 535 bucks! So I ended up making 150, less a case of Guinness or so. Which is better than breaking even which had been my goal! It was also my first Con where I had Southern Saudade at, and it helped me to craft how I am going to pitch it going forward (or at least has me on the right track I think). This was also my first con where I carry my Ultimate Bundle: all seven books I have, with 7 postcards and 7 stickers, all for 100 bucks! I was inspired by Stuart Jaffe, who does something similar with a lot more books, and really didn’t expect it to sell. But what the hell! I sold one!

I also sold a bunch of books to Dino, The Patron Saint of Indie Authors. I was able to give him a few fossilized shark teeth I had found (he’s a master rock hound), which in no way balanced the scales, but most of all it was great just getting to go to dinner with him and hang out a bunch. Love me some Dino!

I also had a great table mate in Darrin Kennedy. It was my first time getting to see him in action like that, and the man is a wizard at selling books! This was also the first con where I had a significant number of folks buy books from me, that had seen me at other cons and hadn’t then. I guess that whole ‘7 points of contact’ thing has a little truth to it after all.

In short: sales were great, and if I hadn’t spent so much time on panels (which to be clear I requested to be lol) I probably would have sold even more.

Assorted Highlights:

• The primary one was getting to spend time with Joe Compton. He really is my brother from another mother. He got to announce that he signed a memo to make a movie, and I couldn’t be prouder of my friend.

• I had a couple walk up and tell me they decided to come to Multiverse because they read about it in my newsletter! Just when you think no one’s reading… (they also bought a copy of both omnibuses).

• A guy told me the Game Design Jam was a top 5 all time panel for him, and it was a factor why he called his friends and told them that they all HAVE to come to Multiverse next year.

• I got to finally spend some time Dan Denese, a fixture around the Dragon Con writers track.

• I finally got to meet the incorrigible Ron Lahr in person, and he’s just as much fun as I’d known he would be.

• I went to the Monster Mash panel for the first time, and it was perhaps the most hilarious panel experience I have ever seen. I am praying I get thrown on there next year haha.

• I went to a DnD Drag show. The LadyWife almost died of jealousy when she found out, and it was justified. 10/10 would do again.

• John Hartness and I had a quick business meeting towards the end, and a few of the things he said made my fat little heart grow three times that day. Basically he said he’s seen my hustle, and that I’m doing the right things. Which, to hear from my mentor…well it meant a lot. There was more, but much of it will remain under wraps for now.

• I never get to spend as much time as I want with S.M. Hillman, but what time I did have was awesome as always.

• I came up with a quasi-joke/serious story pitch at breakfast, and everyone sitting there pretty much came up with similar ideas on the fly. Will there be an anthology? Who knows. But I think I’m gonna try to make it happen, because it is a really neat idea.

Thanks

There are waaaaay to many to thank, or acknowledge their awesomeness, but I would be totally remiss if I didn't thank Allison Charlesworth and Jesse Adams for taking a gamble on this poor boy from bama, and Venessa Giunta for throwing me on such amazing panels!