In the elevator on Saturday morning I found myself saying that I was on my way to a panel on how to kill people. Only at World Horror could you say something like that and not attract strange looks.
The hotel was overrun by a group of students from SMU in Dallas. They were far more raucous than we were, so they drew some of the heat away from our own rowdy behavior. More than one attendee was awakened in the middle of the night by their antics, including one incident where they were discovered dragging a box spring mattress down the hallway.
The aforementioned panel was great. Among the panelists were Joe R. Lansdale, Wrath James White, Brian Keene, Weston Ochse, Hank Schwaeble, Sandra Wickham, and Lincoln Crisler. They had expertise in just about every martial arts technique in existence, as well as firearms expertise. They swapped skills and also talked about things they see in movies and books that make them cringe, but also discussed how allowances had to be made for dramatic effect. Still, the ten-minute fight scenes really take about 8 seconds in real life, and a pistol fired four times and then pressed against someone’s forehead will go “SSSSssss” and deliver a second-degree burn. Ah, details!
I was on a panel (pictured) with Rocky Wood, Del Howison, Dallas, Lawrence Person and William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run). The question posed to the panel was what the horror landscape would look like if Stephen King had never entered it. Though we drifted from the topic from time to time, we had an interesting discussion. I was honored to be on the panel with such illustrious authors. I admitted that my two books would be a lot thinner if King hadn’t become a writer. Later, I postulated that the panel should have posed the question and then disappeared in a puff because, without King, the panel would never have existed. I wished I could remember the exact Douglas Adams quote that made me think of this.
My major accomplishment of the convention took place at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Beth Gwinn, the photographer who usually covers conventions for places like Locus magazine, missed the opening ceremonies, which was the only time all of the Guests of Honor and other special guests were in the same place at the same time. As Guest of Honor Liaison, I was asked by her to help get them back together for a couple of photos. The phrase “herding cats” came to mind on several occasions. At first we thought we’d get them together at 6 p.m., just before the supper break and the mass signing. I tracked everyone down on Friday and they all agreed. However, some made a note of it and some just said “yes,” so I followed up on Saturday morning. All of a sudden there were conflicts. So we backed it up an hour, but more conflicts arose.
Finally, I noticed that one Guest of Honor was finishing a Q&A at 4 p.m. and four others were on the panel that started immediately after in the same room. That was half the bunch. All I had to do was get the other five to show up in the gap between sessions and we were good to go. And it worked. Present and accounted for: Brian Keene, Sarah Langan, Joe Hill, Sandra Kasturi, Brett Savory, Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, Del Howison, Vincent Chong and Steve Niles. Pictures taken, mission accomplished.
I really wanted to hear Sarah Langan’s reading, but I was conscripted to baby sit the art room while Chad Savage had a break. While I was sitting there, a woman was taking photographs of a model in a medieval gown out in the pre-function area. She asked to use the art room wall as a backdrop and proceeded to explain to me why that color worked better with the model’s dress color. “I’ll have to take your word for it,” I told the photographer. “I’m colorblind.” The model looked at me in amazement. “And you’re working in the art room?”
I made it to the 4 p.m. panel on the subject of graphic novels, with Joe Hill, Steve Niles, Brian Keene, Joe R. Lansdale and others. While I was sitting there, Peter Straub appeared at my side and told me to scoot over. I scooted. “I read your twitter comment about my story,” he said. “I’ve got something for you.” He proceeded to sign the manuscript of the story he’d read the day before and gave it to me. What an amazing guy! Twitter to the rescue!
The evening was mostly taken up with the Mass Signing. I helped Wrath and others set up the place markers for all those who had requested a table and lugged in my boxes of books from the car. One of the advantages of driving was that I could bring more books than I normally do. I was seated next to Joe McKinney on one side and F. Paul Wilson on another, looking across at Yvonne Navarro, Weston Ochse and Rhodi Hawk, among others. I sold enough books to pay my week’s bar tab, including copies of Thin Ice, When The Night Comes Down, The Road to the Dark Tower and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion. I also signed a ton of other anthologies for people, including a few copies of A Sea of Alone. Martel Sardina had ordered a stack of these for the show. I signed her stock after we were done. The Mass Signing is a good chance to interact with people who you might not otherwise get a chance to see during the convention. I met a guy who lives only a couple of miles from me who I didn’t know.
I met up with Brian Keene, Mary Sangiovanni and others in the bar after the signing before we all headed upstairs to the various book launch parties. There was one on the third floor and another immediately above it, with the staircase nearby, so I drifted back and forth between the two and had many great conversations, mostly in the hallway where it was about 20 degrees cooler than in the suites.
Things started winding down pretty fast on Sunday morning. I had to drive Joe Hill to the airport after breakfast and then I babysat the art room again while Chad sat on a panel. Had a chance to chat with Peter Straub and his wife again when they wandered through the art room. Checked out of my room, made the rounds trying to say goodbye to as many people as I could track down, and hit the road by around noon. Same issue with the tire pressure light, but this time I just ignored it after I filled up with gas and verified that the pressures were all okay.
It was an amazing convention. This is the first time I’ve worked behind the scenes. I tried to fill in wherever they needed me, carrying stuff, finding people, working at registration or whatever, but I had ample time to take in the scheduled events, too. The show ran like a well-oiled machine and we received many compliments, which I always referred to Nate, Lee and the others who have spent the last two years putting this thing together. There were no major crises or glitches, and no complaints that I was aware of other than the behavior of the university kids, which was beyond our control. The hotel gave us a lot of latitude and support. The facilities were great, the rooms nice, the atmosphere welcoming.
There were two particularly poignant moments. The first came during the opening ceremonies when Nate told the attendees that he had found out a few hours earlier that his brother passed away. He was emotional for a few minutes (“that’s all you get,” he said) but he was happy to be among all of his friends at this difficult time. He was a trooper during the rest of the con. I’d never met him before, though we’ve interacted a lot online in recent years, and I was very happy to meet and get to know him. At the other end of the equation was Rocky Wood, who came up to me after the Mass Signing to say goodbye, probably for the last time. Rocky has ALS and his doctors tell him he probably won’t be able to travel after this fall. “I don’t want to be morbid,” he said, and he was anything but. He’s handled this horrible situation with grace and strength, and I can only wish him the best during whatever comes next.
And, as always, it was about getting to see old friends and making new ones. It would be impossible to name check everyone, but the con was well attended and everyone seemed to have a good time. It’s hard to believe it’s all over now, but I had a blast and I’m sure Nate and Lee are relieved to have this in the rearview mirror.
Now it’s back to real life.
