The author in front of a familiar blue police box.
As I wrote last week, I attended my third Farpoint con. Once again, I got to hang out for a weekend with like-minded geeks, sit on a couple of very interesting panels, and even signed and sold a couple of books.
My favorite part of attending the con as an author guest is the panels. Three of the four were amazing. It began with a Doctor Who Panel, where I got laughter and applause as I sported a fez upon introducing myself and said, “I wear a fez now. Fez’s are cool.” Then, I got to attend an amazing panel about AI and how it will impact creative works alongside one of the con’s chairpersons and special guest Erin Macdonald, science advisor for Star Trek! That was especially amazing.
This TARDIS is a photo booth!
A slightly disappointing panel was the “Did We Win?” panel. The pretext was, did geek culture becoming more mainstream mean we won? The moderator and creator of this panel let it go off-topic, and I felt he also allowed the audience too much leeway in comments over questions.
My final panel was all about Tropes. This was a lot of fun, as we discussed how to best use tropes, how they get abused, and turning them on their heads for various reasons.
I didn’t take a ton of photos, but here are a few.
Star Trek Lower Decks and Space Force star Tawny Newsome.
MJ Blehart signing and selling his books at Farpoint.
Wolverine cartoon voice actor Cal Dodd sings karaoke!
More cons in the future?
I need to find more cons to attend as an author guest. This will help me get more exposure as a brand, and also help me gain more comfort when it comes to this world.
The funny thing is, as much of a sci-fi geek as I am and always have been, Farpoint was my first con as a guest and only the second or third I’ve ever attended. I think between my mom being a single parent and growing up in the ‘burbs of Minneapolis in the 1980s, I never got into this. Then, in college, my involvement in medieval reenactment was quite intense, so cons weren’t a thing for me.
Still, I would like to find more cons to attend, especially as a guest. I’ve explored the possibility of going to Balitcon and AwesomeCon, both of which are less than 3 hours from home. However, getting involved as a guest has proven a challenge. And of course, this forces me out of my comfort zone. Which is good, but also an extra challenge.
My books at the con!
I’ve got lots more stories to tell. My journey as a professional sci-fi and fantasy author has only just begun. I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you, I conclude with this: How are you inspired to be your own creator – whatever form that takes?
Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
The question of “selling out” can get convoluted. There is an impression that someone who writes for money – or does anything else for money – is a sellout. This notion, unfortunately, has created the idea of the starving artist. There is this concept of nobility that comes of art for art’s sake without remuneration….
Words matter. So does the intent, action, and implications when you choose them. I have something of a love affair with words. As a child, I was a voracious reader. I loved having books to read, and I always enjoyed picking up something new to expand my knowledge and imagination. I started to write my…
I would love for you to read my stuff. But how do I get you interested? I have been writing for most of my life. My first illustrated, sci-fi book was written when I was 9. The next, when I was 13. Then, on and off, I continued to write various fictions. In 1998, I…
With the new year, what new art are you doing? Welcome to 2022. Happy New Year! For many people, a new year represents some sort of fresh start, choices to do something new, or something else of that nature. Some people make resolutions with an eye to some sort of change – but as they…
Of course. The pen is mightier than the sword, after all. The world is a crazy place. Spend any time on social media, watching or reading any news outlet, or doing anything anywhere and you’ll be inundated. There’s no end to the number of things happening in the world at large that suck. It can…
Editing your writing cannot be neglected. It’s important to make your work the best that it can be. I love writing. When I get to put words to the page or screen it makes me deliriously happy. This is my jam, whatever genre I am working in. Writing is joy. Editing, on the other hand,…
