My 2016 Visioncon Adventure

Rio and Punk Cosplay

Whoa! I'm not sure what happened, but I think a con passed by at light speed! Isn't that always the case? The things you look forward to the most take for-ev-er to get here and then when it arrives, time speeds up as you try  to take it all in? This happened to me the weekend of February 26th, 2016, and  I'm pretty sure that blur was Visioncon 25!

Since first attending four years ago, I've always been a fan. Those coordinating and attending have always been gracious and supportive. This year, something came together, both for Visioncon and for me. First of all, Visioncon became VISIONCON! They turned the Branson Hilton Convention Center into a Valhalla of geekdom. The vendor room no longer felt squeezed into my garage. It was this great sprawling thing that provided wide aisles where gifted cosplayers could traverse unhindered. I had room to breathe, and space to tell my tale. It just felt good to be there!

I was on my own Thursday night and all of Friday, but I still won't admit to waiting in the hotel lobby like a puppy looking out the window Friday evening as Cristi, Marina and Mayra rolled in. If you were at Visioncon, or saw the pictures, you probably noticed I had 3 spokesmodels for this con. I’d like to say this happened because I’m actually Bruce Wayne and hot 20-somethings are falling all over me all the time. The truth is, I have some amazing friends and things just sort of fell into place. Marina and Mayra are Cristi’s best friends, and close friends of mine as well. They’ve both joined us at cons in Kansas City, and it worked out that they could come to Visioncon. I couldn't be more grateful!

I refer to them as my muses because they are as beautiful as they are inspiring. We had an amazing time outside of the con, even if I totally failed at trying to be 20 again. There were some odd looks thrown at us from our waitress at one restaurant, to the point I finally explained I was married to all of them. I don't think she found it as funny as we did. One of my favorite moments was when my muses arrived in full costume Saturday afternoon. The line of photographers and numerous camera flashes made it feel like paparazzi at a Hollywood Red Carpet.

My muses did amazing! Not only did they do an incredible job helping promote my Angst novels, they made the con a lot of fun for me! A special thanks to Amanda Lynn Chainmaille Creations for providing their costume tops and belts!

This was also my best Visioncon to date for sales. I even pre-sold quite a few copies of my fourth fantasy novel, Burning with Angst (even though I'm only about halfway done with the rough draft.) One reader picked up a copy of Angst on Friday, read the entire book Friday night and purchased the rest of the series Saturday. I couldn't have been more flattered.

I should shout out my excellent neighbor at the con, who I spent all of my downtime pestering. If you enjoy romantic urban fantasy, be sure to look up Lisa Medley! You can learn more about her books here: http://lisa-medley.com/books/

I didn't think the con could get much better than all of this, but I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Brandon and Nate Shaw for their “Brothers on Whatever” show, which airs on St. Louis radio station 920AM. This was my first radio interview, and I had a blast. I’ve been listening to the entirety of the show throughout the week, and these guys are great! I highly recommend listening to their show either live, streaming, or by download! Thanks to both of them for the opportunity, and to Ed Gehlert for inviting me. You can find my portion of their show below.

You can find pictures of the con posted to my Facebook page. And finally, thanks to everyone who attended and organized Visioncon 25, I'm already excited for next year!

Now, back to writing book 4: Burning with Angst!