[Writer Post] Armadillocon & The Last To Know

Last weekend I participated in ArmadilloCon, a literary convention I look forward to every year. This year was no different, and in many ways very important to me. First I want to thank everyone for asking about my dad, our whole family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers. I got the call on the way down to Austin that he was home and should have no lingering ill-effects. Getting that news let me relax and do my job at ArmadilloCon.

ArmadilloCon is (and always has been) a “literary” convention. That means it’s more geared to other writers – and those wanting to learn the business – and about the books and art. Its focus is a bit narrower than many fan-run conventions – there’s no costuming track, comics are a side note, gaming is a side niche. But that’s okay. That’s what they do. And it’s a “business” convention for me – networking, making connections, and the like. This year was no different. Though I did spend a whole chunk of Saturday introducing so very many people to the joys of Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets – which, hey, can be ordered from Amazon.
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I enjoyed the panels I was on – even though I felt a wee bit rushed before the first one. We got into Austin at 4 pm, the panel was at 5 pm, but I did my best. We talked about silly/bad movies we love. Found out some of my favorite guilty pleasure stupid movies are other peoples as well. That’s good to know. The sub-genre panel of Sunday was a hoot. Fannish Feud is always good fun, even if I don’t know what side of the aisle I’m going to be on – or if I’m going to be part of the hosting duties. But my favorite was the “Weird Fiction” panel.

What made that my favorite panel? For starters, only three of the five panelists showed up – me, Claude Lalumiere and Jacob Weismann. I was the moderator. As moderator, I made an executive decision to turn the panel into an interview process. Claude and Jacob are FAR AND AWAY more expert on the subject of Weird Fiction than I am – and since I wanted to hear what they had to say, I made sure that happened. And thanks to those two men and that panel, I had a minor epiphany during my 10 pm reading (thanks to the Tollivers, Dave Duggins, and two people whose names I don’t remember for coming).

I write “Weird Fiction” (not just I write strange little stories, but the sub-genre ‘Weird’). Scott Cupp said, “You didn’t know that? YOU didn’t know that?” Um, no. I just wrote stories. Mostly humor with a dark twist – which falls into the nebulous category of “Weird”. Claude defined it (with Jacob agreeing) that “Weird Fiction” is something that starts out straightforward then has a twist – generally the macabre. Okay…the two stories I read – which are pretty indicative of me fall into that realm. And yes, the author is generally the last to know.

ArmadilloCon felt kind of light – that could’ve been the new hotel space and not knowing where people were, or it could’ve been a “rebuilding” year after they didn’t do a full convention because of WorldCon last year. But even then, the people there were awesome. It was good to see old friends and make some new ones – and pick up some new books to read. And though I came home totally exhausted, I’m also creatively energized and ready to take on my September deadlines (which means I have to start writing more than a handful of words a day). Challenge Accepted. And thank you, ArmadilloCon for the awesome time.