Day 2
It started off by waking far too early with the realization that I had to wash my clothes. Calling down to the front desk revealed that the hotel did not have a public washer/dryer, and the laundry service had already left for the day. Off to the bathroom sink I went, to wash my clothes with…you guessed it…shampoo. I was particularly proud of the drying rig, constructed from two hair dryers, two hangers, and a small bag.
By noon, I was ready to head to lunch with my fellow members of the Order of the Digital Trebuchet. We all looked and felt a little worse for wear after the previous night’s part, so it was more than a little ironic that we wound up at the Max Lager’s brewpub for lunch. Much water and salad was ordered, and we had a pretty good time. My one regret was not getting to talk more with the members of Beatnik Turtle, Jared Axelrod, and Rich Sigfrit. Though, to be fair, the clouds were scraping together a bit loudly that morning, so I could probably be forgiven for my silence.
While I was off at lunch, Cathy was off performing her own MacGuyver magic at the luggage store at the mall. Cathy’s violin case was really uncomfortable to case around, so she sat in the store, playing with straps, latches, hooks and bungee chords until she’d fashioned a backpack harness for the case. I have to admit to being pretty impressed when we met back up to look at the exhibit hall.
The exhibit hall was the tough part for me. I’m not a big fan of crowds to start with, and while I was in those halls, I wanted to begin clubbing people out of my way. I would have given a lot of money for a cattle prod. However, I’ve learned that I only rarely buy things at conventions anymore…there are very few things I’ll buy there. I’m well past the point of wanting costumes, swords, masks, etc. The only things I did buy were copies of the follow books from the Dragonmoon Press booth, where I found Tee, Tony Ruggerio, Pip Ballantine, and Scott Sigler:
They were so trustworthy that I left my Amex there. Oops. Thank goodness it was there and not somewhere else at the con.
We trekked through both halls, and by the time that was done we were, beat. We headed back to the hotel to grab food and relax for a while before the Parsecs. Watched Ocean’s Thirteen, had a great dinner and cake for Cathy’s birthday. Did a sizable amount of arguing with the airline for my luggage. It had gone from Cleveland to Portland, Maine, then to Panama City. It was allegedly in Atlanta now, but no one at baggage claim could be found to take our call. we were stuck waiting, with nothing else we could do.
before heading over the Parsecs, we got to watch George Hrab in all his glory performing his Geologic Podcast. That was a lot of fun…George is one HELL of an entertainer, and is brilliant to boot. (As I write this, I’m wondering if I’ve put this on the right day. I was there, but I cannot recall if this was the right time slot. Oh well. Con-lag)
We hit the Parsec Awards, and those were a lot of fun. It was great to see so many talented people gathered together to honor one another. As for the other awards…those judges must have had one hell of a time. Everyone who was nominated was fantastic. I did not envy them the job. Winners were gracious, losers were good sports, and the night went off without a hitch.
I was honored and humbled to get an Honorable Mention (I think that’s what it was. I was honored, and it was a mention, so…) for the Joe Murphy Memorial Award, and the round of applause made my night. Sometime I forget how many people Podiobooks.com actually touches…and this was a wonderful reminder. Thanks to the committee for the kind mention, and to everyoen that I met that thanked me for my work on Podiobooks. It meant a lot to me.
To wrap up the evening, Cathy, Sam Chupp and I hung out and just talked for the rest of the night. We started at the food court in the mall, then moved to the Hilton, outside the podcasting room. Later, Michelle Belanger joined us, we had a fun time just relaxing and chatter. That’s what I love about these conventions…when those of us who never get to see one another can relax and hang out together.
2am, back to the hotel, and time to collapse. Happily, my luggage had magically appeared in my room. Yay!!
Day 3
By Sunday, I felt like I’d settled into things. Where were only a few things planned, and sadly, I had to miss the Escape Pod meetup, which bummed me out. After I got a few things sorted out with the folks back home via phone, Cathy and I headed off to pick up goodies for the kids from the dealers room.
Earl Newton had asked me if I would sit with him for an interview about the future of podcasting, and by the time we grabbed lunch, it was time head up to the Hilton to meet with him. Earl’s a pro. I’ve never been on video before, and he made me feel completely comfortable. I’ll be curious to see what he does with that footage.
After that, we hiked back up the hill to the Hyatt to see DP3 perform, then Cathy and I split. She was heading to a jam session with Paul Mercer of DP3, and I has off to the Podcasting Your Book panel.
The panel was really very interesting. I only rarely hear from authors what they have to go through to get their book ready for podcasting, and several excellent points were brought up about copyright, marketing, using music…all manner of useful info. My biggest advice to the authors was to develop a marketing plan for their book. We do what we can, but the truth is, unless an author is willing to work hard at getting the word out about their book, only a few people will ever discover it.
After the panel I met with a few folks who were interesting in having books up on PB, and I saw some of that fire in their eyes. It really made me smile. I can never be around that passion enough. It’s so inspiring to see people so jazzed about their work.
After that, things began to wind down, which was a fine thing. Cathy met a fellow who played flute and tin whistle, and the two of them played until nearly 2am. I hung out for the Podcast Peer awards, then for the afterparty.
The afterparty was the highlight of the whole con for me. It was finally a chance to hang out with some of my favorite people and just…be. It was wonderful, and I cannot wait until I get the chance to do it again.
End of Line
That pretty much does it. We thought we were going to miss our plane home, but everything worked out in the end. So now we’re home, and getting slammed by everyday life again.
I understand a little better now why people treasure their time at these conventions so much. I cannot wait until the next one.
“Podcasting Your Novel: Publishing’s Next Wave?” is the title of the latest article featuring the luminaries of the Podiobooks universe. J.C. Hucthins, Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty, and Evo Terra are all quoted in the discussion of how podcasting novels is slowly changing the publishing world.
To say that DragonCon is large a bit like saying the ocean is salty. Intellectually you know it to be true, but nothing can prepare you for the real thing.
After dinner, it was off to Mur’s reading of two chapters from Playing for Keeps. She’s going to podcast the whole thing, and based on those two chapters, I cannot wait to hear it.
