jed quinn

Wizard World Des Moines 2016

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All setup for Wizard World!

All setup for Wizard World!

I’m still half-asleep as I write this, a long weekend at Wizard World combined with a 6:45 am dental appointment leaves little room for sleep. Bear with me as I chug coffee and attempt to tell the tale of Wizard World 2016.

Dennis & Aaron setting up on Friday.

Dennis & Aaron setting up on Friday.

So many exciting things happened, but I’ll hit the highlights.

We had so much fun with our panel last year, it was a no brainer when they asked us back for three panels this year. I mean seriously, how could we not say yes? Unfortunately, Tammy Jones and Rachel Aukes couldn’t join us, but Adam Whitlatch agreed to take their place, leaving me surrounded by boys. Not that I’m complaining, I love my boys! This time we decided to snag a couple of tables on the show floor, leading to many hours of shenanigans.

My babysitters for the event were, the prettier than me, Aaron Bunce and his beyond beautiful wife, Becca. Yes, the old lady needs a babysitter. She needs to be reminded to eat and her caffeine monitored, so she doesn’t get cranky. And I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with these two as I would like, a win, win situation. In the end, it was Becca keeping Aaron and I in line, except for one small thing, but we’ll get to that later.

My babysitters making sure I'm caffeinated.

My babysitters making sure I’m caffeinated.

Jed Quinn amazes me, so laid-back and relaxed no matter what the situation. We spent the entire Con giving him crap and he didn’t skip a beat! I wish I had half an ounce of his easygoing attitude. The dude is a social media star, it was too cool how he remembered to take pictures with each and every one of his fans. I love this big bear of a man like a brother and treat him as such.

I was delighted, the always suave, Dennis Green was able to join us on Friday and Saturday. I didn’t get to spend as much time chatting as we usually do, but enjoyed every second we did have. We might have been separated at the panels and on the show floor, but Popcorn and Potato Chips are still the greatest duo around. Speaking of which, TSF is still free until the 17th!

And now we come to my table partner, Adam Whitlatch. I’ve known him for a couple of years, but never spent any quality time together. That all changed the moment he setup on Friday. Holy moly, the dude is funny online, but even funnier in person. We were so goofy, when we caught sight of Kevin Sorbo, we wished he would’ve walked by our table so we could clap and chant Hercules, Hercules. What can I say? We had a blast with every situation, especially when I found out I was cosplaying. I didn’t realize I’d come in costume, but apparently I came as his wife, Jessica. We eventually got tired of telling people, “Yes, we’re married, but not to each other.” This is where my babysitters dropped the ball, I got married, again. So many people confused me with Jess, by the end of Sunday, I’d become Adam’s Con wife.

Besides hangin’ with my boys, there were a few other major highlights to the weekend.

First up, dancing delight, James Wylder. The poet and playwright was at the table directly across from us. Anytime there was a lull in the action, James would start dancing, and it was hard not to join in. He is so sweet, kind, and fun, I hope I get to see him again in the future. If you enjoy Doctor Who, you really need to check out his book. I HAD to get a picture with him for my coffee buddy, Terri, she loves Doctor Who.

The Amazing James Wylder!

The Amazing James Wylder!

Second up, the lovely elves. I was so moved by their costuming, I actually asked if they would take a picture with me. Those who know me, or have read my books, know I’m in love with all things elvish and these two were PERFECT! What I wouldn’t give to have them follow me around, from event to event, dressed as Keely and one of my gents, Alric, Teiran, or Vereinen.

Elves in Iowa!

Elves in Iowa!

The amazing fans are last, but certainly not least, on the list. A wonderful mother, daughter duo who stopped by to say hi everyday and attended all, but one of our panels. Gotta say, I was a bit smitten with the mother’s German accent. The lovely Lindsey, who purchased a book from each of us and allowed us to take our picture with her. And Pamela, what can I say about a fellow lover of Jim C. Hines? I adored talking about the Princesses with you, can’t wait to do it again!

Wizard World Des Moines 2016 was an awesome experience and now that my fifteen-seconds of fame are over, it is time to crash.

North Iowa Book Bash 2016

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me nibb2016

 I promised you the skinny on North Iowa Book Bash 2016. I also promised to get it up in a timely manner, well, timely for me.
There is nothing I can say about the BFBookies that hasn’t already been said. Lori, Rachel, and Micki are AWESOME in every way possible and a few that aren’t. Those girls and their amazing team of volunteers pulled a rabbit out of the hat again this year.
My one sentence description of NNIBB2016 is “Iowa’s answer to RT.” Seriously, it was that good and I expect it to grow in the future. Hell, there were authors from all over the States and even Canada.
I even had my own appointed assistant for the convention. Christin drew the short straw and had to put up with my B.S. all day. Something I wouldn’t have done if I were in her shoes. Joking aside, it was nice to have someone checking in to see if you needed anything, or just stopping to chat when there was downtime. I would love to hire Christin on a permanent basis, maybe someday…
Cassie Leigh is a bundle of awesome wrapped in vintage style. Think I freaked her out a little with my creepy greeting of “Hey, tablemate,” while wiggling my brows. She got over it pretty fast as we discussed books with editor extraordinaire, Barbara Malmberg and blogging queen, Terri LeBlanc. I finally delivered on that promised cup of java, hope Terri enjoyed it as much as I did.
It’s with a heavy heart, I concede my run for President of the Sisterhood of the Potty Mouth to Elle Boon. That woman can drop Fbombs faster than I can open my mouth. Anyone who knows me, knows my mouth is rarely shut.
Muscle cars rule, especially, Mustangs! You already knew I’d say that, but bet you didn’t know there were two of us in the writing world with a love of classic ’Stangs. Terry Maggert rocked my world by chatting ’Stangs with me. He also writes urban fantasy, so double win.
The most of the usual suspects were there. Jed Quinn and Michael Koogler where sharing a table, of course, they love each other like brothers and argue like them too. Sweet Cheryl Corbin was at the table next to me, lucky her. Aaron Bunce collected more Bunce’s Bunnies, because he’s so darn cute. The incomparable Tammy Jones and her hot assistant, Bill, topped off our little writer’s family reunion.
With over fifty authors there it was difficult to chat with everyone. Thank the gods for the interwebs. I can connect with them in cyberspace, if not real space.
I said it once, I’ll say it again, the North Iowa Book Bash is Iowa’s answer to RT. I can’t wait until next year.

terri

Terri of Second Run Reviews and fellow coffee lover.

terry

Mustang Terry!

tammynibb

Tammy and her hot assistant.

cheryl

Sweet Cheryl!

 

me&barb

Hamming it up again, while Barb continues to pretend she doesn’t know me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. We loved Clear Lake so much, we brought home a souvenir.

 

Schatzi

Wizard World Comic Con

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Des Moines was on the Wizard World Comic Con tour and I was lucky enough to be invited to be on a panel. Wow, what an eye opening experience! Costumes, celebrities, awesome artwork, activities and people, so many people. Absolute and total sensory overload, in a good way.

I’m glad I cut my teeth on smaller conventions, like DemiCon and the larger ICON, before taking on something as big as Comic Con. The Des Moines leg of the tour is relatively small in comparison to other cities, but it was still huge. Had I started my con experience here, I would have been overwhelmed. Being surrounded by friends also helped.

The panel I was part of, A Second Skin: how to add depth to a character different from yourself, was amazing. Tamara Jones pulled together a wonderful group of people with varying degrees of experience, genre, and opinions. Dennis Green rocked the roll of moderator, while still managing to answer questions as a writer. Jed Quinn, Aaron Bunce, Rachel Aukes, Tammy, and I did our best to give our insight into character development. All of us work well together, or at least I think so.

Sitting up there on the dais was a bit intimidating, especially when I looked out at the audience. Wow, there were a lot of people there to hear what we had to say. I have to admit, I was nervous—okay, terrified—when I saw all those people. But again, I was surrounded by friends and there were even a couple in the crowd. When we started, they were so welcoming, so friendly, so eager to hear what we had to say, I forgot to be nervous.

The Q&A portion was probably my favorite part. You all know how much I love interacting with book lovers. These people didn’t ask run of the mill questions. They were insightful and well thought out, heck, I learned things about my fellow panelists. I sincerely hope to continue the conversation at ICON.

A big thank you to Wizard World for hosting our panel.

Tammy, I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to participate!