Well, I've been back from Epicon for a few days now and I'm still sleep-deprived, so tired that I can't even sleep. I hate that! Of course, some of that might be from the pregnancy.
This was my first Epicon, my first ever writer's conference, and I had a blast. It was a lot of fun. The best part was being about to put faces to names and just talking, even if it wasn't about writing.
We (hubby and baby came along) went on a vampire tour the first night. Hubby didn't care for it too much, he had expected something else. Basically, Adam, the tour guide, showed us different buildings where murders happened and the perpetrators drank blood. "Real" vampires don't have fangs, aren't killed by garlic or stakes, can go out in sunlight. Essentially, vampirism is a condition of the mind. It isn't real, although some people might think they are. Because I graduated from college with a concentration in forensic science, I took a lot of CJ and psych courses, and learning about serial killers have always fascinated me. I'm strange, I know, what can I say? So I really enjoyed the tour, although I do think that a lot of it was stretched for entertainment purposes.
On the tour, I met Sara Thacker. Great gal, we spent a fair amount of time together throughout the conference. During one of the lunches, Holly Jacobs gave the keynote speech. Hilarious! What a funny, charming lady. I really enjoyed her. So easy to talk to, too. Another doll was Laurie Larson. I was so thrilled for her when she won her EPIC E-Book Award for Preacher Man.
There were many others that were also wonderful to meet. Can't mention everyone by name though. All in all, it was a great experience. Even if I did have to wait forever to be served lunch one day because I couldn't eat the entree (crab wrapped in fish). The vegetarian plate was delicious though.
Next year, I probably won't be able to go to any conferences. Not with baby #2 going to be too young. So I might go to one or two (or zero) more this year. There's a local one the end of the month. (Registration ends in a few days so I really have to make up my mind about it quickly). Plus I'm thinking about the Lori Foster Get Together. I would be traveling by myself this time, should I go.
What conferences have you gone to? Where they worth it? What did you learn? Would you go back again?
4 comments:
I'm glad you had fun at your conference! I've never been to one. Maybe in the future I'll go?
I've wanted to go to a writing conference, but I haven't gotten around to it. I'm a bit nervous to go by myself, but I don't know anyone to go with me in the area. We have one coming up in my area in September/October, so I am going to look into it. I hear they can be great places to learn.
Cool! I've never heard of Epicon, was great seeing it through your eyes. I'm going to my second writer's conf this year, I think. The Faithwriter's Conf. in MI. Should be loads of fun!
I would definitely recommend going to a conference. It's a great way to meet other writers, publishers, editors, and agents. The networking alone makes it worthwhile but then there are also workshops so you can learn too. Going by yourself can be daunting, even though I traveled with my family, I attended the conference by myself, but the people there are looking to make connections and friends, so it's a wonderful opportunity for all writers, no matter where they are in their writing career.
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