TUESDAY, 24 MARCH 2015 Week 31
The past week has been very busy indeed. In fact, I am
now exhausted, but still doing almost daily sightseeing things. I left off last
weekend because I basically did two Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions
back to back to raise my profile as an author and of course to sell some books.
So first we attended: EM - Con Nottingham. We arrived early (like 7am early)
and I was already in a panic because it was organised chaos around the back of
the arena, although it was cool to see what only the stars and staff normally
see backstage!
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We found our very tightly packed six by four pen and
dressed it up to look as professional as a book signing as I could. Bear in mind that some people had nothing, just stock.
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The stall was made up all pretty and even Del
brushed up well in his dinner suit and tartan bow tie. I went for the Scottish
theme because my books jump back and forth to a witches' coven - a castle lost
in the Scottish Highlands. Plus, we had bought a lot of tartan on our recent
trip to Scotland!
Of course it wasn't all
work, and we did have some fun watching the people who go to extraordinary
lengths to make their favourite sci-fi and horror film characters come to life
with their costumes.
This Ghostbuster had a real proton pack (not the blow-up ones you see at parties), and it made all the real noises and flashy lights.
I think it's fair to say that the Star Wars Crew won
for best costumes. There were also a lot of stars there. It seems that some of
these conventions should actually be called "Meet people who dressed up in
costumes on TV and film and so have no idea who they are!" There was the
girl who played the weeping angel in Dr Who's Blink episode (I've seen her
advertised to do signings at a shed load of these events this year.) Some
obscure actors dressed as Star Wars Aliens and Dr Who sidekicks.
However,
there were some great famous stars there like Uhura in Star Trek, James Glover
from Game of Thrones and Highlander (he said hello to Del. Del was dead
chuffed!) The entire Red Dwarf Crew, Eve Myles who plays Gwen in Torchwood, 3
yes three Dr Who's, - Peter Davidson, Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker, and the
Atlantis crew. I had no idea who the others were. They lined up back to back to the full length of the main arena and I was actually amazed at how much they charge
for an autograph and even a selfie with them!
I decided I wasn't going to queue and pay, I had books
to sell, but I did walk past them all and have at nosy at what they look like
in real life. I did get to speak and meet with Chloe Arnett and Danny John
Jules, who play Kristine Kochanski and The Cat in Red Dwarf, as we all waited for
taxis at the end of the day. So that was cool.
We had a midweek break to unwind after my very first
convention I'd participated in at Plassey Leisure Park in Wrexham. It seemed it
was an old farm at one time, transformed into trendy boutique shops, cafes and
deli and a beauty salon. The caravan park was park of the complex with.... wait
for it.... A luxury swimming pool. A touring caravan park with a pool - that
was open! Bliss!
Once all batteries were charged, we headed for Hafan Y Mor Caravan park in
Pwllheli, Wales, of for the Sci Fi Weekender, and it was brilliant.
Not only did we get to meet up with lots of friends we
haven't seen for a while, I was also asked to sit on two author discussion
panels. Me! I was so excited and nervous, of course. This was the first one and
it was in the main arena, on stage, music, intro, flashy lights, The Works!
There was a large attendance of audience too, but
after answering the first couple of questions without stuttering, stalling or
drying up completely, I settled in for a brief hour of fame. Lol! Just kidding.
But it was a great experience for me in public speaking. Before I became an NLP
Master Practitioner, there was no way on this planet I would even have agreed to get up
there, let alone speak for an hour! So, a bit personal development to boot.
Most of the weekend was spent in the trader’s hall,
because I needed to sell some books. I actually sold quite a few purely off the
back of that panel.
People from the audience said I came across very well
and they loved what I talked about so they decided they'd try out The Beyond
Series for themselves, which I was really chuffed to mint balls about and
gave me the booster confidence I needed to do the panel the next day about
Horror Writing.
As you can see from the photo's there's more dressing up costumes or as they
call it in the business - Cosplay! Something else I learned this weekend. This
little boys Sand People costume was brilliant, but creepy, especially when he
cocked his head to one side like this and just stood and stared for what seemed
like ages. Del finally got to meet his hero - Darth Vader. Even Del dressed up
with his steampunk hat and glasses. Lol!
Besides this, they had magic shows, music, comedy, gaming (behind me in my
piccy) It was a bit like The Big Bang Theory when they all went to a Dungeons
and Dragons competition. And at night there were discos, a rock festival (but
no one else seemed to want to go so I had a quick nosy). And lots and lots of
sci-fi films. Yup, the event had its own cinema! We watched The X-Men: Future
Past, Star Trek: The Voyage Home and Guardians of the Galaxy.
I found the atmosphere at this weekend's conventions far
more relaxed and friendly. Time to meet old friends and time to make new ones.
If I were to do conventions again, it would be ones like this one rather than the
'smash and grab' feel of Em-Con. Well, onwards and upwards. We're continuing
through Wales now until about the end of April.
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