Attending the World Horror Convention was amazing. I met so many cool people and had a lot of fun. Charlie (Charlene) Harmon and her team did a spectacular job organizing and pulling off the convention. It was one of the best conventions I've ever attended. The horror writers know how to have a lot of fun. The gross out contest was so incredibly disgusting and funny. Also, the readings I attended were very memorable. These writers are so dramatic and they pulled off their readings will flair and panache.
The Stoker award banquet was really great. Jeff Strand was the toastmaster and was incredibly funny. I sat at a table with Stoker award nominee Michael Carvillo, nominated for his book I Will Rise, as best first novel. I was also sitting beside JoSelle Vanderhooft, a local friend nominated for her poetry collection Ossuary. The awards went to other people, but both Michael and JoSelle are winners.
The most fun I had was just meeting so many new people. It's inspirational to meet writers who have followed a path and carved out a little place of their own in the genre that they love. In this case, it's horror. I write mostly fantasy, but I've always loved horror and there is an element of horror in a lot of my work, like in my story Almost Brothers, which is the lead story in Fellowship Fantastic by DAW Books. It's the horror that makes that story so evocative.
I learned a lot from this convention and would love to attend again someday. What a great experience it was. It's just too bad I had to sleep, as I didn't want to miss a thing.
Paul Genesse
Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
www.paulgenesse.com
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