FREEEEEDOOOOM!!!!
The end of the day Free State Comicon 2017
I'm fried. I should probably skip the update and crawl into bed, but I feel compelled to share some highlights from the Free State Comicon adventure from today (10/21/17).
Friday night I made the trek cross country to Tonganoxie, KS to stay with some friends overnight before the convention. It was a joy getting to hangout with them as always, and we had a really nice time catching up. (I wish I could do it more often.) I also greatly appreciated their hospitality as they saved me the necessity of getting up at 3 AM to make it to the convention site on time. (Blech!)
The only downside is, my night driving years seem to be long behind me. After about an hour my eyes started doing that wibble-wobble thing, and between harvest time spooking the deer (that I thankfully didn't see if they were there), the highways in the area I was traveling being narrow, and the maze of impossible to see turns, there was way more adventure involved in that drive than I was eager to participate in. Add that to the repeatedly dropping cell service freaking out my GPS, you can imagine my relief when I finally got to my friends' house.
This morning I hopped in the car, fired up the GPS, told the navigator lady "Let's do this thing!" and hit the road. Apparently "this thing" involved testing my patience and trying to get me killed. Navigator lady had me make a turn (1. that I missed and 2. that I thought seemed a little premature) right onto a back country ROCK road for a good 8 miles before I hit a "Road Closed" detour that redirected me to the highway I thought I was supposed to be getting on in the first place. While it makes for a fun story, this town boy was not amused at the time. Navigator Lady thankfully stopped trying to kill me and got me to the convention site right on time in spite of sending me on the scenic tour.
While I was there I got to catch up with a few of my convention friends, which helped make the near-death experience so much more worthwhile. (YAY! Dakota and Jordan Caldwell, and Seth Groves!)
I met some new folks and even thought to catch a photo with some cosplaying Voltron enthusiasts.
Mind you, I totally blanked getting pictures of the awesome Aquaman, Red Hood, Rogue, Captain America, and numerous other cosplayers that passed by repeatedly. *DOH* (Sorry, Lynn Main! I failed my mission... kinda.)
Every convention has its own unique qualities and vibe, as I'm slowly learning. Free State Comicon was very comic book oriented as opposed to general pop/geek culture oriented (as the organizer is very proud of maintaining). This one was particularly interesting as the comic book sellers and collection vendors were in their own building while the artists, independent cosplayers, creators, comic book authors, and print authors were in another building across the lot (a new feature this year, as I understand it). We didn't have Artist Alley, we had Artist Building, which created its own fascinating dynamic.
As for sales... uh... yeah, I may have been a little over enthusiastic in Friday's Blog. But hey, at least I was there and made the effort, right? You never know if you don't try. Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn something new and make connections. It beats sitting at home wondering if maybe I SHOULD have gone. Also, lunch was provided, which was super awesome.
So we reach the end of the day, we start winding down and tearing down our booths. Dakota and Jordan beat feet earlier than usual saying they're trying to beat the storm that's coming in. Seth comments that he's not excited to tear down knowing that he's going to be driving through the incoming storm for most of his trip back to Wichita. I'm left wondering just how bad this storm is until Seth shows me the radar on his phone.
This is the radar about 3 hours after I got packed up and ready to leave the convention You see Lawrence there in the center. That angry swath of "this is going to hurt" on the right is what was coming at us. Let's just say, the drive home sucked. A whole lot. No question about it. Also, I got lost.. Twice. My day rate for the GPS service ran out just as I was getting ready to leave. Me believing myself clever, thought I could find my way to the interstate and avoid getting stuck in the heavier traffic of the inner city streets. Ha... ha ha... ha... shit. After the second time realizing I had no idea where I was going, I paid the extra day on the GPS service and got the guidance I needed, Just in time for that big blob of red to swallow the lingering traces of daylight and the world whole. Did I mention the drive home SUCKED?
Anyway, I made it home., got unloaded, unpacked, and had just enough energy left to do a Blog entry after letting folks know I wasn't dead in a ditch. NEXT ADVENTURE: LADY'S NIGHT OUT, Downtown Seneca, KS, Saturday, November 4, 2017, 4pm-8pm! I'll be returning to Cornerstone Coffee Haus as their guest to sell and sign books. After that it looks like a good time to focus on Book 2 and plot more adventures for 2018!
