A couple of things that seem related but probably aren’t

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I’ve been sick all week. I spent one damn day at C2E2 and I’ve had a sore throat for a week as a result; I stayed home from work yesterday (and did not get paid for it, as I’m out of sick days) because when I woke up I found myself completely unable to talk. My voice is still not remotely normal today, and I lost it a couple of times at work today, but not quite as bad as yesterday morning. I did not factor being out a day’s pay into the cost of C2E2, and that loss combined with not being able to swallow for a week has pushed the trip well into “not worth it” territory.

As of this afternoon, I have cancelled my one existing convention commitment for the rest of the year; I was going to go to IndyPopCon in July and have reconsidered those plans. I’ve been doing Kokomo-Con every year for three or four years now; I’m not signed up this year and I think I’m going to skip that as well. While I could probably mumble a bit about coronavirus or something like that and, Jesus, I’m absolutely certain I’ll have that the second it hits Indiana, the simple fact is that these cons have gotten very samey over the last few years and, unfortunately, I’ve started to lose interest in pushing books to strangers. I’m not really working on anything at the moment, I haven’t been in a while, and while that will probably change eventually it’s not gonna change soon. I need to hit reset on a lot of things, and stepping away from cons for at least the rest of 2020 seems like a good idea even without a global pandemic fucking things up during an election year. I just don’t need it.

(I have been sick every two weeks, if not more frequently, since August, to the point where I’m starting to wonder if there’s something in my classroom making me sick, or something going on with my immune system that I need to have looked at. I have never, ever been this consistently sick in seventeen years of teaching. Not close.)

(The blog is not going anywhere. The blog is essential to my mental health. I will keep writing here even if literally no one is reading it.)

My Patreon is probably not long for this world either, as I don’t pay enough attention to it to feel good about charging people, and I basically forgot it existed in February and then charged everyone anyway. If I can’t come up with a use for it in March that I’m actually going to stick to I’m going to pack it up at the end of the month. I don’t mind the extra little piece of change that I get from it every month (and it’s a little piece of change; don’t get me wrong) but I’m not going to take it from people if I’m not giving them something useful in return, and right now that’s not happening.

Anyway. I’m okay, don’t worry about it; I just need to do some reassessing and reprioritizing, and the simple fact is it’s been going on for a while now, I’m just admitting it and making it official. I’m gonna lie low for most of the rest of this year. We’ll see what happens in 2021.

In which I do author stuff

Luther M. Siler

I will be in Louisville next weekend at ConGlomeration, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, also in Louisville. I have my usual table in Artist’s Alley– stand by for further information on that, as I don’t know exactly where I’ll be found yet– but I’m also doing four panels. From their programming page:

FRIDAY:

“Writing Compelling Dialog”
1pm | Perry
Ever wonder how writers manage that witty line or perfect turn of phrase as their characters mouth off to each other on the page? Join us to discuss the ins and outs of writing authentic and compelling dialog.

“Writing Compelling Characters”
2pm | Perry
From Doctor Who to Han Solo, to Spock, these fictional characters speak to us and move us, making their stories epic in a way that can’t be put into words. Come join us to discuss what makes a compelling character and how to write characters that will have your readers rooting for them long after they’ve put the book down.

SATURDAY:

“Success as an Indie Author”
1pm | Perry
Trying to make it as an independent author can be confusing and not a little frightening. Everything depends on you, and it’s up to you to make or break yourself in the field. Join some successful indie authors as they discuss ways to set yourself up for success and build your platform so that you can write stories you love and sell them to people who will love them just as much.

“Writing Fantasy”
8pm | Perry
Fantasy fiction has shaped our culture from ancient myths and fairy tales to current blockbusters and cult-followed classics. Join a panel of fantasy authors to discuss the elements of great fantasy writing and how to make your fantasy story the masterpiece it deserves to be.

I will leave it up to y’all to determine whether I deserve to be on any of these panels; the imposter syndrome is kicking in hard, I’ll admit, but fuck it I’m a teacher and I explain shit to people for a living and if I can’t BS my way through four independent hours of talking about writing … well, I absolutely can bullshit my way through four independent hours of talking about writing, is what I’m saying. I am assuming “Perry” is the name of the hall or the room they’re in, because surely they don’t have the same person moderating every writing panel. Again, more information will follow.

And then, the weekend after next, I’ll be at LaffyCon in Lafayette. This is a Saturday-Sunday only event, with no panels, although I might try and finagle my way into a podcast or something at some point.

After that, IndyPopCon in June, and then … well, I need to find some stuff to fill the summer up with, I think, because nothing else until Kokomo-Con X in October. Maybe I’ll do InConJunction again this year; it was the first one I ever went to so that might be fun. Plus it starts on my birthday.

Anyway, I’ve been designing new banners all day. They’re up on Patreon, even! And I ordered new books, and the point is I’ve spent an awful lot of money on being an author today, and you should go buy a couple of my books because Jesus is this shit expensive. But my new booth setup has potential to look super cool, and I’m excited about that.

My con appearances for the rest of the year (and January!)

Luther M. Siler2 Comments

comiconlogo-Retina.pngJust because it’s been on my mind lately, and also because I’m not really interested in talking about school right now, here’s some information about upcoming conventions I’m going to be attending:

FIRST!  I will be at the 2nd Hall of Heroes Con in Elkhart, Indiana on September 8th and 9th– just a few days from now!  This will be the first con I’ve attended that was close enough to my house that I will be able to just drive to the con each day rather than having to worry about couchsurfing or getting a hotel room, so I’m pretty excited about it.  I’m on the 2nd floor of the Lerner theater in booth H4, directly across from the entrance to the Crystal Ballroom.  Folks who have been there in the past tell me this is a pretty primo spot, so I’m excited.

SECOND!  I will be at Kokomo-Con on October 13 in Kokomo, IN.  I went to this con last year and had an absolute blast, and had bought my booth for this year’s show before I even left last year’s.  It’s only a one-day show but I had a tremendous time last year and I have high expectations for this year’s show.  I just found out today that I’ll be at a three- day ed conference in Noblesville (just south of Kokomo) on the 10th-12th, so the logistics of getting down there just got sorta complicated and I’m gonna be tired and crabby, but still!  High expectations!  No word on the booth yet, but I don’t expect to be hard to find.

MAYBE!  I have been to Indy Pop Con twice, and am already signed up for next summer’s show, but they just announced that they’re expanding to Fort Wayne and will be doing a two-day Pop Con on December 29-30.  I will probably be doing this con, but I’m waiting for a paycheck or two from the new job before I put the money into it and I also need to be sure I want to do a first year con.  I’ve found Pop Con really well-run, though, so it ought to be okay, even though it’s on really short notice and it’s probably going to be a damn disaster but what the hell let’s risk $150.  Fun!

PROBABLY, I HOPE!  I am signed up for ConFusion 2019, which is January 17-20, and I need to figure out if it’s really all four days, but the vendor tables are juried and the deadline isn’t until August 31 so I don’t know if I’m actually officially accepted as a vendor yet.  I mean, I’ve never not been accepted for one of these things, so I have high hopes, but it’s still possible they’ll say no.  A lot of authors who I’m huge fans of are regulars at this con, so I’m crossing every digit I have that I get to go.

Mark your calendars and come see me, dammit!

IndyPopCon 2018, Day Three

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Much of today was spent staring, glassy-eyed and half-asleep, into the middle distance rather than actively attempting to hawk books, and it also happened that frequently cosplayers whose costumes I might have wished to photograph chose to walk by at the precise moment that there was someone actually at my booth.  To wit, I don’t have nearly as many pictures today, but I suspect y’all will survive.

 

IndyPopCon 2018, Day Two

Luther M. Siler

In accordance with prophecy, today was a much better day for sales; I’ve paid for my booth and then some and there’s still an entire day left for the con.  The cosplay contest was today, too, so folks brought their A game.  That picture of Iron Man down there was actually taken by my wife; I didn’t actually see him as he never entered the vendor floor, so my big winners were the Wookiee (who was at least eight feet tall; I should have gotten in the picture for scale) and Kratos, who was absolutely stone-cold perfect and is probably my favorite cosplay of the weekend so far.  Bonus points for the little girl in the BB-8 costume, who you have seen before, two years ago and hundreds of miles away.  Her mom’s reaction when I showed her my phone was all sorts of fun (and not in a “Why the hell do you have a picture of my kid from two years ago on your phone you creep?” sort of way, which was… well good.)

(Also, and for the record, any time I take a picture of a kid at one of these things I tell the parents I’m planning on posting the picture to the site and get specific permission from them for it.  I also usually give them a card so they can come look if they want.)

The other highlight was someone recognizing me from the previous IndyPopCon and coming over to tell me she loved Skylights and wanted to know what to read next.  I’ll have a sequel by the next time I come to this con, dear, I promise.