Thanks for dropping by, but I’m not here right now.  I’ve just left to attend the World Horror Convention in San Francisco.  Yay, a hometown convention.  I don’t have to get up at some ungodly hour to get dressed, so that I can get undressed again to go through airport security. I can get up when I want and drive in when I need to.  Nice.

They say that you should write what you know, but you should also write what you like.  I grew up reading crime novels and horror novels, so it’s no wonder that I switch between writing the two genres and occasionally smoosh them together.  Because of this, I attend both mystery and horror conventions.  I have to say that of all the conventions I attend, World Horror is my favorite.  That isn’t to say the mystery ones aren’t fun.  Don’t get annoyed.  But for me, World Horror is the one I can’t miss.  It may not be the best organized or the biggest, but it’s the friendliest of all the cons I’ve attended.  There’s a strong family feel amongst the attendees and because of that, people aren’t afraid to let their hair down.  It is also the most grueling con of any by far.  Scheduled events usually run into the wee hours and parties put on by publishers, authors and bookstores usually run on ’til morning.  Sleep isn’t an option.

Contrary to what you might think, the crowd at World Horror isn’t a group of slavering freaks looking for virgin’s blood.  It’s usually attended by some of most mild mannered and grounded people I know looking for virgin’s blood.  You’ll see very few people dressed up as vampires and such—just a lot of people wearing black tee shirts.  The misconception is that horror is an excuse for blood and guts, but it’s not, if it’s good.  Horror at its best lets you see the darkest side of human nature if you want to look at it or not.  But I digress.

World Horror is a four-day celebration for all things scary and a chance to see some of my favorite people that I only get to see once a year—like Santa.  It’s also become an all-encompassing con offering panels aimed at the reader and the writer.  There workshops for writers and editors.  It’s one of the few conventions that arranges pitch sessions with publishers and agents, which is one of the reasons I like World Horror so much.  I actually sold a book as a direct result of a pitch session at World Horror.

I’ll be pretty busy.  I have three panels, two autographing signings and one unofficial one, and a reading.  I’m especially looking forward to the con because advance copies of Working Stiffs will be there on Thursday.  The book isn’t out until Monday, by the by.

If you’re attending, you can find me at following events:

Thursday 8:00pm: Borderlands Signing Event 
Thursday 10:00pm: Morbid Curiosity Open Mic 
Friday 12:00pm: Building a Fan Base panel
Friday 8:00pm: Mass Autographing
Saturday 3:00pm: Marketing and Promotion for Authors panel 
Sunday 2:00pm: The Sounds of Horror: Audio Horror panel