Well everyone, I’m back from Gencon. A good time was had by all, or at least by me.
I brought back all sorts of interesting stories, some cool swag, and an exciting disease. So all in all, I guess I have to consider the weekend a success.
On a related note, I’ve received a MUCH bigger response than I’d expected from my recent blog where I offered to sign people’s books if they sent them to me. I’ve had a couple dozen e-mails so far.
When I was down at Gencon, I mentioned how my plan to reduce the number of book signing requests had kinda backfired on me. One of the more experienced authors mentioned that I should really get a post office box, rather than use my home address all the time.
I waved the warning aside at first. Then she looked at me and said, “How are you going to feel when the first person shows up on your doorstep? Or looks in your window?”
Now personally, my feeling is that anyone who looks in my window is probably going to get exactly what they deserve, a profoundly traumatic experience followed by years of therapy. But more importantly, I tend to think that my book is cool and, by extension, the people who like it have to be cool too. In fact, it seems to me that the people who liked it the most would be the coolest people, and therefore hugely unlikely to try to give me the love knife or the full-blown Misery treatment.
And I have to say that in the several months since my book has come out, I haven’t had a single bad experience with a fan. Generally speaking, everyone has been lovely. Nobody’s done so much as call my house without e-mailing first, let alone give the impression that they’re getting ready to go all stalkeratzi.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all it would take is one social maladjust showing up at my house to seriously weird me out and ruin my day. So I went out to to get a P.O. Box.
But apparently it’s easier to buy an assault weapon than rent a PO box these days. I need two forms of ID with current address and photos. But I just moved, so my driver’s licence is out of date. And if I’m going to go get a new licence, I should really get a haircut first. Right now I look like the unholy paring of John the Baptist and a certain Hogwarts gamekeeper brought to life by the Henson Company. Not really the look I want my official ID to have for the next umpteen years….
So things are taking a little while to sort out, but eventually you will be able to send in your books to be signed. I promise.
In a couple days, when I’m up for it, I’ll post up the highlights of the convention for those of you who are interested. There are a few interesting stories to tell…
And now to sleep,
pat
P.S. The disease I brought back was just a cold, for those of you who were wondering.
14 Comments
Welcome home Pat, and make sure you take care of yourself before you go to get that license. Nothing worse than being in the middle of a sneeze for all of posterity to laugh at for the next few years.>>The whole issue with the P.O. box is pretty whacked out too, innit?
Colds aren’t exciting! They’re just… annoying. I guess they’re exciting if you’re looking for an excuse to avoid attending some sort of funtion or event.
Thank you for mentioning the disease before the end of the blog. I was a bit concerned! ;-)>>Indy was so happy to have you btw!
Hello,>>I teach literature and English in small town America. We are considering using your book for our reading group. The Nova Assembly is a Jr High/High school reading group that I founded a few years back. I think the readers would be thrilled to recieve some comment from you about how you feel about our group working through your book. I am an avid reader but have NOT read your novel yet. I think we will choose your book as the reviews can not seem to say enough GOOD about your work. Your thoughts? Thanks!>-Tom
Tom: >>I love the thought of reading groups working their way through the book. >>If you want to chat about this more, contact me off the page and we’ll e-mail back and forth a bit…
Stalkers aren’t nearly as funny in person as they are in urban myth, so a P.O. Box is probably a good idea. In fact, when you mentioned in a previous post you’d moved, I thought that was the reason!>>Happy homecoming and all that.
Welcome home! You know, I never even considered the whole stalker aspect of the author thing. But then, I tend to trust in human kind more than I should. Hopefully nothing will happen on that front. Good luck to you with getting your liscense renewed, as well as the cold.
SO GLAD you’re getting a P.O. box. Here’s the thing about stalkers: you don’t know you’ve got one until she/he shows up on your doorstep with a gun and asks about all those personal messages you wrote to her/him throughout all your books. I’ll sleep better at night now.>>Can’t wait to read the con report.
Well, I’m sure I could find you on Google Earth of Microsoft’s Live Local, but what fun is that? I’d rather keep things at a distance as I have a “freakier than thou” complex I’m afraid you may put to the test.>>Now I’m off to continue brainstorming on what to send as an offering for a signed book.
Hmm… You’d better get a big box. I have this odd suspicion that some of the swag you may recieve will be quite large (just intuition, really!)>>But good call on the impending tidy-up. I somehow managed to take both my passport and my license pictures in the same cruddy sweatshirt. On different days in different years even! Not smart.
I iz at ur window, stalkinz ur pen0r.>>No, I’m just kidding, but seriously, giving out your address probably the greatest idea now that you’re Big Shit.>>You might get weirdos like me!
Yeah, stalkers are not fun. Not fun at all.>>And I agree with Mary in thanking you for mentioning the disease! If something happened to you so that you couldn’t finish your books I’d not only be sad that you’re sick, but sad that the books would go unfinished like the Wheel of Time seems to be..
My God Man! You caught something at Gen Con!? Was it gammer funk? >Hey are you going to share any shots of you in costume? I must say you looked cute at Con.>>Troll
You evidently made an impression at Gencon. Nathan, my “Starbucks guy,” talked me into purchasing your book while serving up my “Venti Brenda” this morning. I’m headed to Borders tomorrow (they <>say<> it’s in stock).