romance cons

So. Yeah. Romance Cons.

A whole different world.

First up, the swag. Pens, pins, calendars, post cards, sticky notepads, bookmarks, jewelry, stickers, books, gift bags, candy OMG the candy, stories, photos, autographs.

Benny Bekro

Then there's the cover models. Brooks. Yummy. And Benny Bekro. Beautiful.

And lots of readers, who I LOVED meeting. It's so cool to hear what they read, what appeals, and why. Also, romance readers READ. So many people in the bar and lobby hanging out reading; I really liked that lots.

I got to spend lot of fun time chatting with my friends and made new ones, too. Oh, oh, oh, and the Leatherman Club was having their monthly dinner there last night, at the convention center. Yes, I'll leave that to your imagination.

Plus they play games. I'm not big into games but it's a great way to connect with readers. We played Build a Hero/Villain (came up with an evil mist...more on that later) and pictionary based on our books.

And the book signing was fun, did a giveaway and met tons more readers!

Overall a fun con.

Will I do it again?

Probably not.

I don't think it's really my scene. I love writing me some erotica, and even romantic erotica, but my heart really is in the fantasy realm. Dark stuff, which many romance readers just don't do. I also don't "do" women as well... I've always gotten on better with guys and women who are buddies with guys. Really the women I talked to seemed to be more of that sort. Non-competitive.

Which brings me to another point: I felt this air of competitiveness. Maybe cuz it was so many women in one area, but at SF cons when the Great Prolific Writer walks into the room, there is an air of respect. Plus, the attendence is much more sexually balanced.

Now for the other half of the equation. (disclaimer). To be fair, I'm just coming off ComicCon and a little deadline and a bunch of mama-type responsibilities, so I was pretty tired this weekend. I slept almost 7 hours last night when I got home. A new record.

Here's where I might sound snotty, but as an author, I'm an attraction, not an attendee. I'm not there to play, I'm working. I expect the con to help me in that regard, like, for instance, bringing in someone to handle book sales. Ask any writer: handselling your books is miserable, pointless work.

Rom Con in particular annoyed me because they seemed to nickel and dime not only the attendees, but the authors as well. Every dinner, every intimate chat, it seemed almost every damn thing cost extra. For the money I didn't think authors, or even the attendees, got much. I'm wondering if the authors didn't outnumber the attendees, actually. And this after expecting us to provide all the prizes for games and freebies and handouts.

But, I do have to admit, the attendees I saw were all having a grand time.