Gen Con Nerves & Other Musings

I've been pretty quiet online this last little while. Mostly because I've been busy offline, also avoiding 9/11 anniversary overload, also-also trying not to stress myself into a funk over Gen Con.

Because seriously. I'm staring down four solid days of cold-selling quirky, slow-burn, defiantly progressive SF adventures to gaming con attendees who are looking to be dazzled & have plenty of places to lay down their dollars.

It could go well. Sure. I know how to engage people without being a hard-selling pestilence. And I do love talking about my books. I mean, they are excellent, original, emotionally-intense stories about imperfect, ordinary heroes who do extraordinary things. What's not to get excited about?!

I try to remind myself that I mainly go to cons to meet other SFF nerds and rejoice in sharing; to find new shiny books to read, games to play, art to cherish, and to talk about SFF & gaming & TV & movies. Bookselling makes it possible, because I would freak out too much if I didn't have a table to hide behind & a reason to be talking to strangers, but I've loved Gen Con since my first one several decades ago.

But, um. This con also be 4 days of my beloved books being ignored or passed over, and there's no way I can ignore how much that will hurt if it happens. Not when I'm in prep-for-travel Stress Mode. So I've been feeling pretty raw, and that's why I've been defensively avoiding the oversaturated emotions of the online world.

The closer I get to the con, the better I'll do. Once I'm safely there, badged up, set to sell, and checked into my hotel room haven, a lot of the loser-mopey anxiety will evaporate.

I hope I'll have happy things to share about Gen Con.

I'd really love to sell out. If I sell out of my existing stock, I can commission a series-matching cover for Weaving In the Ends AND start questing after a series design for the middle-age onset supers books.

As long as I get to see friends & family buy a geeky thing or two, and sell at least ONE copy of every title every day, I'll consider the whole con a whopping success. (But I'd love to sell out.)

There might be con updates. Might not. Either way, that's all for now.

Until later!