Myth, the Universe, and Everything

This is the first chance I've had where I actually had time to sit down and write about what's been going on with GenCon. What makes this unfortunate is that it means I'll abridge and inevitably miss some really cool stuff that happened, but this is the way of things. Since I was only semi-coherent on Wednesday anyway, there are probably things I'd miss regardless.

Wednesday: Left at 3:45 a.m. for the airport. Slept a little on the plane to Detroit, but couldn't sleep from Detroit to Indianapolis. I planned out my Eberron: Xen'drik Expeditions character, instead (which I still haven't had a chance to play).

The convention registration opened at 5 p.m., so most of the early day was spent by exhibitors putting together their booths. The folks from White Silver picked me up at the airport, dropped me off at the hotel (where I couldn't check in yet), and then took me over to the convention center. Nominally, I was to help set up the booth, but as the guys from White Silver told me, they're from the South, which means I wasn't allowed to lift very much. (Someone is always offering to take heavy things from me, which shames my internal bookseller, but makes my arms quite happy.) I unraveled some wires that had tangled up in transit, which was quite productive, then let them handle most of the rest while I went to training for True Dungeon.

If you've never been through the True Dungeon before, it is a must see event. As it runs over $20 for an 1 1/2 event, it's a little outside the price range of some gamers. This didn't stop the event from filling up entirely in the first two hours that the event tickets went on sale at the convention. I imagine that traversing the dungeon (which is similar to a haunted house, except with puzzles, riddles, and mock combat) is well worth the price. The other great way to experience True Dungeon is as a volunteer, and they need plenty of them to keep the place running. I picked up my make up and wig and chatted with folks to find out how it worked (and got a new copy of my script, which I'd left somewhere in Connecticut), then headed back down to the exhibit hall.

Because of the loading and unloading through the docks outside the hall, the convention staff said the air wouldn't be turned on until Thursday morning, making it quite a warm place to set up. Despite the heat, banners rose into the air on fork lifts, buildings were built (the Wizards of the Coast booth has an entire small library with furniture to create a cozy environment for author signings), and books made their way onto display. I wandered over to the Kenzer and Company booth and helped them with the set-up, doing my best to use my Barnes and Noble bookseller training to create an attractive display. (Pyramid displays really *do* look better than other arrangements!)

By the time I returned to the White Silver booth, huge banners were rising from the booth, displaying prominently the cover image from Into the Reach and the cover image for the Chronicles of Ramlar Core Rulebook. There wasn't a whole lot for me to help with other than shifting boxes and starting to arrange displays, which didn't entirely work as it's hard to maneuver around a booth with seven people trying to help. Mostly, I stood with editor Tony Lee and we pretended to supervise.

I headed back up for the rest of my True Dungeon training and realized I hadn't had nearly enough to eat, so I headed down to the Champions Bar at the Mariott (where the True Dungeon was being held) and ran into Jolly Blackburn, creator and writer for Knights of the Dinner Table. We chatted while I waited for my food, then I headed back up to True Dungeon to watch the walk through for the VIP attendees, in order to get an idea of how the show worked.

Sadly, this was not to be, as my body decided to shut down around 7 p.m. I said farewell to the True Dungeon staff, headed over to the convention center to tell the White Silver folks I was headed home (and said a very sleepy hello to Lindsay Archer, the artist who did the cover and interiors for Into the Reach. Then I headed back to the hotel, where I slept for about an hour at a shot; tired as I was, I had a severe case of nerves. I don't know if it's easier to just know your book's release date and mark it silently or if it's easier to be right there in the thick of the action and knowing exactly how well your book is selling in those first few days. I imagine the first might be just as nerve wracking as the second, and the second is pretty darn nerve wracking!

More when I have another chance to write. I'm back over to the convention center to start another day of carnival barking and book selling.

I've discovered that I get the best writing done when my computer is disconnected from the internet. I've also discovered that it takes me quite some time to catch up on all the author blogs and industry newsletters I read when I do this. Someday, I will find an ideal balance. I hope.

**

On the actual news front, GenCon and my book release are only six days away. I think I am in denial, as it just doesn't seem possible that it's coming up so soon.

As the release date has crept closer, I have gotten interview requests, which astonishes me. One came from the Secret Identity podcast, and the other, from my ninth grade English teacher, who has volunteered to write an article about me for the hometown paper in Charles City, Iowa, where I grew up. I'm extremely excited about both opportunities, and was amazed at the paranoia I experienced while sending an e-mail back to my high school English teacher. Was my grammar correct? Were there typos? Tell me there weren't typos!

The podcast interview will, obviously, take place live, over the telephone. The newspaper interview will be via e-mail, which is of great relief to me. I like being able to consider my answers and then respond in the most intelligent fashion possible. Though I'll acknowledge that I've occasionally written something remarkably silly in a print interview, it gives me nowhere near as much cause for anxiety as a live phone interview. I am and have always been a remarkably chatty person, which sometimes leads to my going right ahead and talking before I fully think through what I'm going to say.

If any of you reading this have tricks for being eloquent in a live interview, I'd love to hear them! Otherwise, general wishes of good luck would be much appreciated.

Ah, Origins. Game convention of adventure and excitement. This was my third year as an Origins attendee, and again, it was a productive experience.

For some background:

At Origins of 2004, I met James Lowder, who presented at a panel on shared world fiction. (The panel also featured Michael A. Stackpole of Star Wars novels fame.) Mr. Lowder was kind enough to speak with me after the panel and give me some advice on how to get into the industry. Though I no longer remember most of the details of the conversation, I remember that moment being the one where I decided that this was something I could really do.

At Origins of 2005, I passed off my business card to John Prescott at White Silver, who is, in August, publishing my first novel. (I've contributed to both of the other sourcebooks they have coming out at GenCon, where I will be signing my novel. It's been great fun to work with them.)

So Origins of 2006 rolled around, and I came armed with business cards and the pre-print of my novel to show around. Because I consider going to Origins a business trip, I attended several writing workshops. Having arrived an hour early for the workshop on how to present your portfolio to publishers, I decided to attend another seminar happening in the next room. To my delight and surprise, there was James Lowder on the panel! (The panel, which was on the nature of the secret identity in super hero fiction and games, included Sean Patrick Fannon (seanpatfannon), the events coordinator for Origins as well as a writer for the Champions RPG; Michael Miller, the creator of With Great Power; Steve Kenson, designer of Mutants and Masterminds; and active audience member Steve Long of Hero Games.) The panel was excellent, both because it was informative and because it was the creators on the panel and the audience talking about our favorite comic book heroes. It doesn't get much better than that.

(Incidentally, the theory was espoused that neither Clark Kent, reporter, or Superman are the real identity of America's favorite super hero. Instead, Clark Kent, farmboy, at home with his parents, is the true identity of Superman. Both of the others are just aspects of his personality. I have been converted to this way of thinking.)

After the panel, I showed James Lowder my pre-print copy of Into the Reach and told him that he'd literally changed my life, which he took extremely well for coming out of the blue. I hope that it pleased him to know he gave me such confidence!

I quickly hurried over to my scheduled panel on showing your portfolio, which featured Keith Baker of Eberron fame; Rich Burlew, creator of Order of the Stick; Ken Hite, who was offering an exclusive Origins release first printing of his new book Dubious Shards (and who may or may not be princeofcairo, but I rather suspect he is); and an artist whose name I sadly neglected to write down. These presenters were excellent, and what was perhaps most exciting about the panel was learning how much I've been doing right in marketing myself. It's extremely nice to be assured by people who are successful in the industry.

Keith Baker and Rich Burlew were both around and available for conversations during the rest of the convention, and I had a wonderful time chatting with them. It makes me extremely pleased to know that my money that has gone into buying their books has been well spent, not only because they both do such great work, but because they're really awesome people as well.

Most of the rest of my convention was spent working with the Living Kingdoms of Kalamar staff. The show was extremely good for them, largely due to the successes of the other staff members (despite the credit folks have been kind enough to attribute to me). Our Conventions Director did an amazing job, as did the rest of the crew, who judged when they weren't scheduled, printed out new certs that had been forgotten, and quickly solved all manner of other crises.

Alas, I did not get a chance to play in the new Xen'drik Expeditions campaign, but I hope to be able to catch an evening slot of that at GenCon. Otherwise, the convention was a roaring success, and I got to show off my pre-print to assorted people in the industry who are far better known than me (including Jamie and Renae Chambers of Margaret Weis Productions, who have promised to set aside a copy of the new Serenity RPG adventure for me at their booth at Gen Con). Many of these folks even offered to come stop by the White Silver Publishing booth at GenCon. I hope that their fans will say, "Well, if Keith Baker thinks she's worth reading, I ought to buy a copy of her book, too!" I'll post my schedule for when I'll be at the booth at GenCon as soon as I get it, so if you're coming, you can stop by, too.