World Fantasy Convention; Day Three

Day Three and I am very tired. I’m not getting much sleep and I don’t know if it’s because I’m in a strange place, or the fact I hear every, single, thing. Ugh.

If you saw my post on Facebook, you know I made reference to a ‘ghost elevator’. I’m not kidding. If you know anyone else that attended WFC 2012, ask them. They’ll know what you’re talking about. The Sheridon has two elevators that go up to the tenth floor. The tenth floor is the place to be; it’s where the parties were and more importantly, the hospitality room where there is free food. After I posted my blog entry I decided I would check out the parties on this floor. I waited with several other people and got on with them.

Then came the ‘fun’ part. For a good six minutes, the elevator went up and down. Sometimes it would stop on a floor but the number displayed was wrong. So if you wanted the fourth floor, it would take you to the fifth, but it would say forth. Yeah, annoying. There were a couple times when the door closed, then opened and we were still on the same floor. My favourite was going all the way up to the tenth floor, stopping, and then going back down to the lobby. I got out and walked up ten flights of stairs. Oh, and the other elevator? It has a glass wall that faces the outside, and so no, I wasn’t a fan of that one either.

I ran into Brenda Carr and had a quick breakfast with a few of her WFC friends.

I did manage to get to the ghost panel this morning. Very good. From the sounds of it, ghost stories will never go out of style. This was the only one I attended. There was another Urban Fantasy one, but I’d gone to one already and the second felt like a repeat of the first.

Coolest thing about the whole day? I watched the Untold Press table while Jen Wylie and Sean Haden went to one of the panels. Well, Sean was on the panel and that’s cool. No one bought anything, but this lady walked by and took a picture of me sitting there. She ran off before I had a chance to tell her the vendors were at a panel and that I was just helping out.

As much as I loved being here, I’m really looking forward to going home.

World Fantasy Convention; Day Two

The hotel room alarm clock didn’t go off at 7am. I laid in bed for a while before curiosity got the better part of me and I checked the time. I didn’t sleep in that much, but it was still annoying that it didn’t work. Looks like these past weeks of rising at 6 am actually paid off. My internal clock is set to 6am.

Today’s panels were a myriad of fantasy that ran the spectrum. There were eighteen panels that ran from 9 am to 5pm (two every hour) and that didn’t include the thirty-six author readings or the mass book signing. I went to two panels on Gothic horror, one on Urban Fantasy and one on Steampunk.

The two on Gothic horror helped me to better understand the genre and how to write it. Unlike the other two, there is a perimeter in which the novel has to reside; certain characteristics that the story must have, in order to call it Gothic. I jotted down as much as I could but I’m not a fast writer. Hopefully I got enough to help me out on my Hallowell series.

The Defining Urban Fantasy panel was just the opposite, IMO, but that’s not a bad thing. It just means that as this genre became popular, more elements tended to creep in, giving it a new flavour. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the one thing that was strictly agreed upon—the story MUST be in an urban setting. Period. As Urban Fantasy merges with other genres, it will become increasing hard for the agent/publisher/bookstore to ‘label’ these novels. Which makes me wonder, who does this labelling really help? Decades ago there were two categories; Science Fiction and Fantasy. They also discussed how Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy were being fused(?) in that when you hear the word Urban Fantasy, you immediately think Paranormal romance. Oh, and I’m not saying who, but one of the panellist did say that Paranormal Romance is waning.

The Steampunk panel was the last one for me today. I have a feeling it will evolve the same way Urban Fantasy has, in that you won’t be able to accurately define it because it encompasses so many elements. Again, nothing wrong with that, but it will make the agent/publisher/bookstore confused as to where to place it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dinner.

World Fantasy Convention; Day One

What a day. It’s just after nine pm and I’m pooped!

Slept at my mom’s place and she drove me into the train station. Via Rail has new guidelines for carry-on luggage; 40lbs. My one suitcase was 39.2.  I was a little worried on the way up because I was taking a cab from the train station to the hotel ($70 btw) and when I got in the cab and told him where I was going, he turned to me and said “That’s in Markham?”  (0_o)

What the hell are you asking me for? You’re the cab driver!!!!!

Anyway, yes it is.

Had a great first day. Met Jen Wylie and Sean Hayden right off the bat. People look so much different in real life. Recognized Sean right away; the hair. I owe him a birthday drink. I’m going to help them out at their stand. They own Untold Press and are selling a pile of books. They’re stand looks really good too.

With everything going on, and yes, I got confused I did get to one seminar today; Whither the Dark Arts. It was about psychic detectives and magic verses science and whether you can combine the two or not. It was pretty cool. I came up with some good plot points for a story I’ve been messing around with—We Can See, which I might turn into a mystery crime solving duo…thing. My Muse is hinting at a series.

Ugh.

Went out to dinner with Brenda Carr and some of her WFC friends. I had Indian food for the first time. I’m such a spice wuss. Even the mild was too hot for me, but it was really good. Then my jaw started acting up and it was too painful to eat. That, and it’s just gross to hear it pop and snap while you’re eating. I’m so self-conscious about that. I figure because I can hear it so loud, everyone else can.

Wanted to go to one of the last seminars, but I forgot which room it was in and my feet were hurting so I called it a night.

So I came back to my room and typed this up.

Tomorrow looks really good. There are five seminars I want to get too. Now if I can just figure out how the alarm clock works…

A Personal Observation – It’s Almost Convention Time!

October is finally here and I have officially gone into ‘OMG-THE-WORLD-FANTASY-CONVENTION-IS-THE-END-OF-THIS-MONTH-AND-I’M-NOT-READY’ mode.

The World Fantasy Convention will be the first convention I’ve ever been to, and I’m so excited I can’t contain it! The best thing, apart from seeing some of my online writer friends, is the theme. Gothic and Urban fantasy. How perfect is that! I’ve been working on query letters and synopsis for my Side WIP and Side-Side WIP. I’m not really expecting anything to come from it, but I want to be prepared just in case. You never know, right?

I’m selling some of my books too. Not a lot, I’m only taking twenty with me. I wanted to get a new cell phone so I could take pictures, but alas, funds are minimal. No new camera for Darke. I’m taking my digital camera, but it’s not the same.

As this is my first convention, I’m pretty green about how things are done. Are there things I should look out for? Little secrets that could make the experience better? I was going to dress up (kind of) but I read a post from another writer and she suggested to keep the fancy shoes for parties. I didn’t even know there were parties!

I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.

Countdown To The World Fantasy Convention in Toronto.

Yes, as of this week I am starting to prepare. I know it’s still six months away, but that will pass quickly and the next thing I know it’s two weeks away and I’m nowhere near as ready as I’d like to be. What do I need to prepare for? Well, off the top of my head;

Business cards: Yes, I want to have a pile of business cards to hand out. I’m not sure what goes on at these conferences, but at the metaphysical conference I attended last year, I had several people ask me for them.

Babysitter: Still not sure if Sithboy is going with us. It’ll be in the first couple months of his first year of highshool and I have no idea what his study habits will be like. We have two options here, my mother or husband’s mother. He seems more comfortable around Husbands mother, but my mother lives closer to his school.

Animals: We’ll be gone for our days so I’ll need to make sure the CatPack are taken care of. We have those food and water dispensers, so I’m not worried there. I might buy two more just because they can be little piggies. Also going to need at least two more litter boxes. We have one and a half now, the half being one of those cheap plastic things. I’m pretty good at keeping up with it too. I don’t walk past it without scoping something out.

Clothing: I know, trivial, right, but to me it isn’t. I have two outfits I plan on wearing, but I still want two more. Then, of course, there’s foot wear, and comfy clothing…

Appearance: Okay, yes, I’ll admit it, I dye my hair. 😛 Husband has offered to do it for me, but I’ve declined. There are just some things a girl has to have done professionally.

For those of you who have been to conferences, am I forgetting anything? Hotel is booked and membership paid. Don’t need a passport as I live in the same country.

Anything else I need to put on my list?