Monday, June 15, 2009
Stoker Weekend 2009
Thursday, 6/11/09

Arrived in LA just after 9am. Made it to the hotel by mid-morning and waited for my roommate, Angel Leigh McCoy to arrive. She is a writer from Seattle and we hit it off from the get go. I had to laugh when we ordered the same lunch and both proceeded to pull the tomatoes off of our sandwiches when they arrived. We killed a couple of hours in downtown Burbank, did a little shopping, and had a nice cab ride to and from the hotel courtesy of George, our driver. We met up with Hal Bodner for a tour of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The grounds were beautiful. If only I could afford to be buried there.

Later that evening, I attended the signing at Dark Delicacies in Burbank. Thank goodness there was a large crowd gathered in the store. If there hadn't been, I surely would've maxed out my credit card. I managed to escape financial ruin, leaving with only (1) book, a shirt and a new skull hoodie.

The signing was followed by dinner and drinks with the Dark Scribe Press crowd. (Thanks, Vince!) Their anthology, Unspeakable Horror, won the Stoker for Superior Achievement in an Anthology.

Friday, 6/12/09

Highlights included panels featuring: Mick Garris, John Farris, Richard & RC Matheson. RC talked a bit about his band, SMASH CUT. I had the pleasure of hearing them play a couple of years ago in NY and was happy to hear that they have a CD out. I'm sure it will be in high rotation on my iPod soon.

Saturday, 6/13/09

More panels. Supported my friends at Dark Arts Books by manning their table in the dealer's room and talking up their latest release, MIGHTY UNCLEAN. This four author collection features great stories by Cody Goodfellow, Mort Castle, Gemma Files, and Gary A. Braunbeck.

The evening kicked off with Dark Scribe's pre-Stoker party featuring 80's hits and feather boas. Jeff Strand was the MC for the banquet, a job that he must never give up. I love his sense of humor. After the banquet, I was on hand at the HWA/WHC2010 post-Stoker party to answer questions about the Reading Cafe in Brighton and convinced a few more people to start saving up for the trip.

Sunday, 6/14/09

Hit the HWA meeting and Closing Ceremonies in the morning. And then it was time to head back home. The weekend came to an end too quickly. Had a great time with old friends, made a few new ones and can't wait to see everyone again soon.

Many thanks to John R. Little and Lisa Morton (and all the other volunteers) for putting on a great show.

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