Tales from RadCon 2016
I had a wonderful time at RadCon last weekend, out in Pasco, Washington. This fantasy and science fiction convention has always been vital source of information about the writing and publishing industries, and this year's professionals did not disappoint. Mike Shepard and Kaye Thornbrugh had particularly useful information about promotion and pricing. They are both working on series in the young adult genre, like me. I'll know within the next couple months how effective those changes are in my own publishing efforts. Fingers crossed! Sitting on those panels and meeting so many talented people is a lot like drinking from a firehose. There's so much to learn and you just pray you don't run out of buckets, or in my case, notebook paper. I sat on a 'Medieval Weapons in Fantasy' panel with a number of history buffs, martial arts enthusiasts and soldiers. There's no better research about a topic, than someone who has already experienced it for themselves. My girlfriend, Sarah, attended RadCon with me. She has a health and fitness YouTube channel as Lady Luna and is currently working on her first novel and a collection of short stories. There's nothing better than spending Valentine's Day weekend with a fellow writer. She was even kind enough to take notes during the panels I spoke at. There just isn't time to record the 'good stuff' when you're trying to keep up with the conversations on the panel, so she really saved my bacon right there. There were a couple other interesting panels I participated in (as a regular joe, not a speaker). The Viking food and cooking presentation really helped me better understand the economics behind various diets in the Middle Ages, which will definitely be useful in my next fantasy novel. There was an aikido demonstration (samurai martial arts) which was illuminating to me. I've been studying Krav Maga (Israeli street fighting) off and on for the last couple years, so the contrast between what combat training was like in Medieval Japan and nowadays was pretty different. Samurai do everything in wide, sweeping motions and Krav Maga fighters work in straight lines. That's the simplest way to put it, at least. All-in-all, a great weekend. Now I've got to roll up my sleeves and get back to the next project. Have a great week everyone, I'll be in touch later.