World Horror Con 2011

  I just spent three glorious days in Austin, Texas at the WHC 2011 mingling with big name writers, old friends and new ones. Our suite at the Doubletree was awesome. It was as big as a small apartment with four windows and a balcony and the beds were great. The Doubletree is an old hotel with amazing architectural features, a far cry from most cookie-cutter hotels. It made relaxing easy. The Doubletree was easily the nicest hotel I’ve stayed in at a convention. Now, on to the convention.

  Wrath White outdid himself this time. The set up was fantastic and went as smooth as clockwork. I had three pitch sessions and pitched three different books. All editors asked for copies. Nice! My reading of a few passages from Hell Rig at the Damnation Book party went well and I sold a few copies from it. It was lots of fun. I especially loved Lincoln Crisler’s reading with his animated voices of characters. Kim and company did a wonderful job.

  Note to networking – I met Clair LaVay, writer of House of De Bauch vampire comics at a pitch session. We talked a bit about my book Hell Rig and she commented it would make a great movie. About ten o’clock Saturday night – I was already undressed – she called my room and told me she had met a man on the elevator looking for an action-filled horror novel for a movie and told him about mine. I met her at the Cutting Block Press party and talked to an unnamed gentleman about my book, gave him a copy and he said he would read it and contact me. He and some friends make 3-4 movies for the Cannes Film Festival every year and wanted some horror. Here’s hoping! Thank’s to Clair LaVay. Hope her comic flourishes.

  My wife and I ate at Pappadeaux’s. Great Cajun food. The red beans and rice and seafood gumbo were to die for and I should know. I’m a chef who learned his trade in New Orleans. I wish there was one in Tucson. The food in the Doubletree was very good but the menu was limited. Chili’s and Pappasito’s Mexican restaurant were next door though.

  The mass signing was a little weird. There were about a hundred writers and maybe fifty buyers but it was a good experience. My real luck was at my book launch party in my hometown of Corinth, MS. I sold about forty books in two hours. It was good to see my family. We just made it back before the floods got too bad in Arkansas. We left in the middle of the night and made a 125 mile detour that wound up taking 5 hours but that was better than the 11 mile backup on I-40 the next day.

  I’ve been to several WHCs and HWA Cons and Killer Cons and Copper Cons but this was the best ever. I hope it was productive and fruitful.