Post Dragon Con Writers Meet and Greet

Woot! Dragon Con 2017 is down for the books. And what an event it was! There were approximately 85,000, yes all those zeroes are correct, memberships sold for the four day event. All of these people lead to chaos AND huge opportunities to meet someone you would never otherwise come across.

I met Steve and Ashley who run the podcast “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.” I can’t wait to be a guest on their podcast and I know quite a few other authors who would be willing to participate. We both benefit from our interactions, even though we ran into each other while waiting for a table at a restaurant. Totally random circumstance. That’s the kind of magic you learn to expect from Dragon Con. Talk to EVERYONE. You never know who you’re going to meet.

As we were setting up for the Writers Meet and Greet, my husband and I spread ourselves and our stuff over a couple tables. (Remember the 85K attendees? It’s not always so easy to find a place to meet.) While I scarfed down some stress-relievers, also known as french fries, I spoke with the gentleman next to me. He turned out to be James A. Moore, a popular author who was heading to a panel at 7pm. I jumped on Amazon and bought his book: Seven Forges. He noticed I had a couple copies of Tarbin’s True Heir and bought the first one. What? How cool is that? I love authors and I can’t wait to dig into his.

Now it’s about five til seven and I’m getting nervous. No one has come to the Meet and Greet. But I advertised. But there were no obligations. But it’s awesome to meet other authors (see above).

I saw Jonathan Maberry pass by looking for a table for himself and his lovely wife, Sarah Jo. I totally kidnapped him and sat him down at our table. If kidnapping entails saying, “Mr. Maberry would you like to join us for the Writers Meet and Greet? We have plenty of room. I’m trying to recreate here at Dragon Con the Writers Coffeehouse that you started elsewhere .” I was so proud of myself for being brave. And he and his wife are charming and giving and inclusive. (I showed Jonathan the blurb from Jody Lynn Nye on my book and he said, “That’s badass.” I’m still glowing.)

Soon after, students from the Jody Lynn Nye Dragon Con Writers Workshop form this year and past attendees showed up. A couple of the writers even brought their author friends. We had about a dozen people show up all together. It was incredible!!! I had so much fun, I forgot to take ANY pictures. Apparently, I need to pay a bit more attention to the social media aspect of writing.

For next year, we’re going to make signs so it’s easier to find us. I will advertise on all the sites again and get the word out through all the means available to me.

Thank you to everyone who came! I hope to see some stories from you for the Eclectically Magical anthology sponsored by Inklings Publishing. Remember, submissions opens on January 1, 2018.