GenCon 2012!

Here's what I was doing end of last week and beginning of this week...in case you were worried.


The bad: Surprise, surprise! The hotel and accommodations again were less than spectacular and extremely overpriced. I got slammed with a valet parking bill that was added to my bill daily for $28.00 per day. Holy crap. Lesson learned the hard way again. Oh, well.

Hey, that's my book!

hey, that's my name!

The good: Everything else!

What can I say? Awesome. That’s what.

I had an incredible time! Aside from my hotel bill…again…which I cannot seem to do anything about.

I met some amazingly interesting people that I must say were very cool. I met Jason Klimchok, (@runnetib on twitter) a fellow author who found me in Author’s Avenue and introduced himself. Very cool of him to seek me out and say hello. Mr. Erik Scott de Bie, he of the Forgotten Realms fame (game designer and author) and Shadowbane fame, made his way over to my table to chat before he went off to sign books himself in the D&D booth. I also had breakfast on Sunday with Mr. De Bie, which I will detail a bit later.

I met and introduced myself to Jeanette LeGault who runs the whole thing and who was responsible for getting me in this year. She was very kind and spared time even though she was constantly busy.

my table at GENCON 2012

Special kudos to my son, who was with me all four days (way to go, Nick!) and who endured the 10+ hour drive both up and back with me. We had a great time bonding, which I will treasure always. Nick was awesome as my ‘booth monkey’ as he so eloquently put it.

I met fellow author Chris Jackson (@ChrisAJackson1 on twitter) and his wife (Anne, I believe) and they were very nice to me as well. I sat across the way from Tammy Blackwell, a librarian and fellow author who is writing an incredibly popular coming of age series about Seers and Werewolves, which I would check out. She can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Blackwell/e/B005A9B3XO. Tammy was also kind enough to gift a copy of her book to my wife, who I believe will enjoy it. 

I also gave some books away to librarians, interested book bloggers and a young woman who gave me this 'token of appreciation'.

my token of appreciation

Some of the people that I met come to mind when I write this that made an impact. I met a British fella named Adam that I really enjoyed talking to. Another long-haired college kid I chatted with a few times made an impression, though I cannot remember his name. A woman named Jeanette who purchased the books was extremely nice and she came back to snap a pic of me the next day (very flattering...I think?). I met a couple who chatted with me about Pathfinder for about an hour named Blake? he and his wife are inspiring me to possibly make a Realm of Ashenclaw RPG supplement for Pathfinder... might be coming.

Here are the best two experiences. I met a man named Tony Rodriguez who wanted the books and purchased them from me on Saturday and had me sign them to his son, Alex. He happened to bring Alex in on Sunday and he was happy to meet me, told me he’d read up to chapter 6 that morning and was loving it. Wow! That made my day. And it got better. The second was a man named Scott, who had downloaded Wothlondia Rising: The Anthology (The short story prequels) to his kindle. He went out of his way to come back on Sunday morning to tell me that he was 94% through the book and thought it was amazing…and that he had downloaded the other two books that morning!

I was again completely humbled by their expressions of how I had affected two different people in such a great way. I felt honored that they had chosen me and my writing in order to escape from reality. I was honored that they both entered into my Realm of Ashenclaw with open arms and with an open mind. I cannot express in words how that makes me feel as an author and a human being.

So, on to my breakfast meeting with Erik Scott De Bie on Sunday. I must tell you that it was a tale of mishaps and odd misunderstandings as Erik and I exchanged texts as to where to meet, but after an hour, we finally caught up at a Starbucks there. Interestingly enough, Erik is a rather tall and imposing individual and carries himself very well in conversation. That being said, Erik and I talked about many things. The most memorable to me was his advice. He gave me some constructive criticisms, advice on becoming a better writer and talked to me as a peer. I cannot tell you what his respect means. He not only gave me the critique, but he also made a point to give me the good news, and I am paraphrasing, but, it included the following: My covers were eye-catching and consistent, my branding and logo (Realm of Ashenclaw) was extremely professional and most importantly, that my writing was compelling. He went out of his way to say that I was passionate about my work, that he thought I was on to something and that he was happy to see what I was able to do as an independent author.

All of this was extremely humbling to hear from an author who works for Ed Greenwood and Dungeons & Dragons. After we parted ways, I went back to my booth for the last day and Erik stopped back one more time to gift me a copy of an anthology that he had contributed on for GenCon, which was above and beyond. I highly recommend any fans of fantasy to check him out and follow his writing, as I believe he is worthy of being included in the Forgotten Realms gaggle of writers.

Go buy his stuff! Erik’s site is here if you are interested in seeing what he is up to. http://erikscottdebie.com/

Well, that about wraps up my details. Next post will include pics of all of the scenes and costumes that I was able to get! Stay tuned.

Oh, and all of my books are currently resting at 99 cents on the kindle for a post-GENCON sale! Go download 'em before I come to my senses and raise the price...lol. 

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

SHORT HIATUS

Will be short on the posts while gone for the next week, but I should have plenty to share when I get back! Cheers all and if you are going to GENCON, find me in AUTHOR'S ALLEY and say hello! Wish me luck!

GENCON--Here I come!

The table banner...and Buster

That's right! I will be in Author's Alley in Indianapolis August 16-19th for GENCON 2012, introducing my product and the Realm of Ashenclaw to the masses. And I am dragging my son along as well. Of course, he wants to go to get his newest R.A. Salvatore book signed by the man himself as well as to help his old man, but I'll take it! I am hoping to run into many of you there, and if we have corresponded on social media, please stop by and introduce yourself! I am already planning on meeting some people there and am so excited to get together and chat with folks.

my paperbacks

I am also excited to not only be surrounded by that many gamers, but also to be around other independent authors, artists and creative people that will no doubt be there selling and talking about their own projects. And I cannot wait to see the tables of swords, armor, gaming products and whatever else they are preparing this year. The room last year was about the size of a city block!

This is just one of several pics of the vendor room.

I very much look forward to meeting and speaking with you all there and hope that you stop by to say hello! Please feel free to comment on this post and tell me if you are going!

See you in Indy!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

GENCON 2011 experience...

Well, as you all know by now, my favorite part of gencon is not a surprise. I must say that we had our fair share of mishaps, disappointments and all around frustrations. The trip out was an excruciating 11.5 hour journey from the Philadelphia area to Indianapolis. We arrived at the Days Hotel and were immediately disappointed by their lack of knowledge…not only about gencon, but about the surrounding area. We asked them if they had a map and the attendant said no, when there was one right on the end of the counter (which we found shortly after.) 

Then, after eating and sleeping on Wednesday night, we managed to catch a shuttle to the convention center. This was a miracle as well as we later found out that the shuttles were all done basically by one guy and he was servicing two hotels. You do the math.

We arrived at the convention center and were greeted by a line that must have been close to a mile long. WILL CALL! Argh! Next time, we take the cab the night before and get our badges. After that, it took us a little time to get acclimated and before I knew it, the day was gone and we had played our first two sessions of the Living Divine in the 4^th edition D&D game room. The games were fun.

 

Then we spent the next few hours waiting and calling for our shuttle, which did not arrive until 1:30ish in the morning. That sucked! Nick and I then arrived back to the hotel to find that our linens had not been changed. Strike Three, Days Inn! Next! And on top of that, one of our guys had to fly home Saturday morning as his wife went into the hospital. Turns out that she is OK (phew!) but it sucked, nonetheless. So, other than little sleep, which I had counted on, we got more than we bargained for in the way of fun-detractors.

Things did get better after that (despite the hotel’s numerous attempts to blemish my trip) and we managed to visit the amazingly vast dealer rooms, eat @ Loghmiller’s pub (our favorite eatery in Indy) and meet some amazing people! I met Jay Babcock, who was responsible for the 4^th edition Living Divine Event and the mods were fun. Our DM, Dave, was a pretty cool guy and so were all of the DM’s and marshals at the event. 

Then there were of course, the costumes and the statues…pics below. People at gencon are some of the coolest people I have ever met.

And despite all of the problems with the hotel, the travel and the expenses...I would do it 100 out of 100 times again.

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit: www.ashenclaw.com to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted. 

The Meeting of a Lifetime: R.A. Salvatore

I went to Gencon this year with two goals in mind: 

 1) to have some fun with my friends and 

2) to try to market my novel to anyone that would listen! 

There was an unexpected surprise, however, when I found out that my favorite author, Mr. R. A. Salvatore, would be there as well! I had signed a copy of my novel for him specifically as a gift. This was because I had gotten advice from him via email and he was kind enough to respond and always in a timely, polite and generous manner. This alone was special to me, but meeting him in person was going to be even better!

I was lucky enough to run into him and his wife on Friday at the ‘Neverwinter’ booth for Wizards of the Coast and handed him my novel personally. He was gracious enough to accept it and my buddy Nick snapped a pic! 

 

I was in heaven, needless to say. I was able to speak with him for five minutes and he asked if I was going to his Seminar @ the Marriot and I responded with a ‘well, I don’t have tickets for it,’ answer and he advised me to go anyway. It was Saturday and I had two games scheduled to play, but this was my hero, so I blew them off! 

I instead went to a book signing where he joked with me asking if I ‘wanted a book.’ I replied 'sure' and he said, ‘You gave me a book, it’s only fair I give you one,’ or something along those lines (I am paraphrasing). He gifted me a paperback copy of The Ghost King and signed it with the words: “Fellow Author, Eh?” Again, I was beaming! I said I’d see him @ 4pm for his Seminar and off I went.

It was a two hour session of back and forth with him telling stories about Drizz’t and the gang, his work on The Demon Wars series and The Highwayman series as well and the better part of the time was spent doing Q & A. I asked him which character he liked most to write about in the Forgotten Realms series and he answered with: “It’s gotta’ be Drizz’t.” I felt silly after asking the question not thinking that it would be so obvious an answer, seeing that I love Artemis Entreri! He went on to tell quite a few stories and answer tons of fan questions, never making anyone sound silly for having asked a lame question, etc. He told two stories about how two troops’ lives were saved when his book stopped a bullet from hitting the target when instead the bullet was stopped by one of his books! Really crazy stuff, right!? His books literally saved their lives! He claims to have pictures of the books as well sent directly from the troops in question! 

He also spoke about how his characters were what kept fans interested and how important this was in order to establish himself as a successful author. This was the exact answer that I claimed when asked what made my book different from all the rest of the fantasy out there. I believed that my characters, with their many flaws and relatable personalities, will be what make my work stand out (if I can get enough people to read it!) It is both reassuring and uplifting to hear my favorite author echo those opinions.

At the end of the Q & A, he told the famous ‘Wubba-Wubba’ story which I had heard before from the previous year’s Gencon on a podcast. It is hysterical and worth the five minutes. Check that out here - WUBBA-WUBBA.

So, on the day went. I got something to eat at my new local pub, Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery. There I planned to go to a ‘Meet & Mingle with author R.A. Salvatore at Scotty’s Brewhouse a few blocks from the convention from 8pm to 10 pm. So, naturally, I had to go to this, too.

I got there just as Mr. Salvatore and his wife were arriving and I noted that Ed Greenwood was there, too! The creator of the Forgotten Realms! Bonus! I went in the back and sat at a seat with a guy I had just met named Mike that worked for an online interview place called “With Special Guest” where he was waiting to get interviews with the authors there. Yes, I said authors, as in plural. Thirty minutes in, I was sitting there thinking 'I am not going to get to talk to anyone here’ and was about to leave when Mike said “Why don’t you stay until 9pm,” and I did. I am glad that I did.  “With Special Guest’ site can be found here: With Special Guest. After that chat, my night turned around.

I was able to speak with Mike briefly about Nick Titano’s Battle Maps website and plug them a bit - INFERNAL TITANS as well as talk to him about my own project. (You probably know about that as you are at my blog site….)

I was able to meet Erik Scott De Bie, who’s body of work was quite long and who’s latest work is called ‘Shadowbane’ for the Forgotten Realms (release date of September 2011), his site is here: ERIK SCOTT DE BIE. All of Erik’s work can be found there under: ‘Bibliography’.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Erin M. Evans, an author and editor and who is responsible for ‘The God Catcher’ and has another Forgotten Realms novel coming out called ‘Brimstone Angels’ about two tieflings. Her site is here: ERIN M. EVANS.

The two of them humored me as I excitedly gushed about my project, showing them my prototype copy of my novel and they told me a little bit about themselves and their current projects as well. I eagerly listened and gobbled up the information.

Later, I got a chance to get a signature from Elminster/Forgotten Realms creator, Ed Greenwood, but he was eating and I did not want to bother him for long, lest he smite me down with the might of Elminster!

I also met Scott’s (former?) editor, Susan Morris or ‘Serious Pixie’, but did not get to spend much time speaking with her.

I spent the rest of the night listening and interacting on and off with Mr. Salvatore about life, politics, fantasy and even baseball. We talked about the real possibility of how my Phillies would be meeting his Red Sox in a World Series slugfest and he said that was what Curt Schilling predicted as well.  I also had the pleasure of speaking to his wife, Diane, who was so kind and gave me some advice about marketing and conventions and other things. She was extremely gracious and too nice for words! 

I have to tell you, meeting Bob Salvatore in person was a dream come true. Hearing him speak and learning what he went through as a struggling author gave me hope and inspiration to keep writing. I will persevere and weather the storms to come, the doubt and criticism that will no doubt follow me (as it follows anyone trying to be creative), and I will focus on the positive. 

This memory will help guide me through the journey and help me reach my goals. And that is because my goals have changed after listening to his words. Like Mr. Salvatore, I know that when I am gone, I will at least have something to leave behind for my family. If I go no further, I will at least have written and published something to hand down for generations. I have, at the very least, left something behind that is very near and dear to my heart: The Covenant of the Faceless Knights.

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit my HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.