Friday, March 28, 2025
This morning, Brugger and I rose with the sun (well, almost); clambered into the Rodan Mobile, which I had packed up last night; and set forth for Scares That Care—AuthorCon V in Williamsburg, VA. With stops for a few geocaches, pees, and lunch (at Indian Fields Tavern in Charles City, VA, which is one of my favorite taverns on Earth), the trip took about five and a half hours. Happily, traffic was relatively light, we encountered only a small amount of road construction, and the weather turned out nice. A generally stress-free drive, which doesn't happen often.
This morning, Brugger and I rose with the sun (well, almost); clambered into the Rodan Mobile, which I had packed up last night; and set forth for Scares That Care—AuthorCon V in Williamsburg, VA. With stops for a few geocaches, pees, and lunch (at Indian Fields Tavern in Charles City, VA, which is one of my favorite taverns on Earth), the trip took about five and a half hours. Happily, traffic was relatively light, we encountered only a small amount of road construction, and the weather turned out nice. A generally stress-free drive, which doesn't happen often.
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| Old dude with Erica Wetzel-Fields |
I had packed several boxes of books for my table, and once we disembarked at
the
DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Williamsburg, we had our work cut out for us setting things up. After a while, the table
looked as you see it in the photo above, which I figure is pretty respectable.
Opening ceremonies began at 3:00 p.m., with the usual introduction of the
Scares That Care board of directors and awards presentations. At 4:00, the
vendor rooms opened up. My table occupied a very good, highly visible position
in the promenade area, just outside the main ballroom/dealer's room doors.
Business picked up almost at once, and I sold a passel of books in the first
couple of hours. Come the dinner hour, things slowed down a bit. The hotel had
a convenient food bar just outside the convention area, so rather than go out
for foodz, I partook of some very expensive chicken wings, which I fear were
fair at best.
Things stayed slow for a while, but not long before closing time—9
p.m.—business picked up, and books went flying off the table; mostly copies of
The House at Black Tooth Pond
and
West Virginia: Lair of the Mothman. After the con closed for the night, Ms. B. and I made a supply run at the
nearby Food Lion. And then...Scotch with Dansky. That's Richard Dansky, author
and connoisseur of ye Scottish spirits. A veritable horde of thirsty souls
descended upon his room at 11 p.m. to partake of Scotch and a variety of
cheeses. I donated a partial bottle of Johnnie Walker Island Green, which I'd
picked up at the duty-free shop on the Liberty of the Seas when we were
on our Caribbean cruise a little while back. As you might guess, the spirits
and company proved incredibly intoxicating.
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| With Tim Waggoner |
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| With Maurice Broaddus |
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Valerie Williams and Ms. B. share similar tastes in T-shirts |
Saturday, March 29, 2025
It was nice that we had a coffeemaker in our room but hardly surprising that the hotel-supplied coffee didn't exactly hit on all cylinders. At 10:00 a.m., the dealer's area opened, so when I went down, I grabbed some honest-to-Yog coffee from the little shop on the main floor. Costly but good. I ended up revisiting the shop several times during the day because... coffee.
To be sure, there were numerous moments of hustle and bustle during the day,
but many of us observed that the crowd appeared smaller than usual. Still, I
sold several books and spent some quality time (at least for me) bending the
ears of friends/authors Garrett Boatman, Maurice Broaddus, Rebecca Cuthbert,
Mike Deady, Tom Deady, Christopher Golden, Scott Goudsward, Justin Holley, Tom
Lucas, Sirrah Medeiros, Mark Sieber, David Simms, Rob Smales, Tim Waggoner,
Sidney Williams, Valerie B. Williams, Trisha Wooldridge, and lots of other
folks. When I took a walk around the hotel complex to get in my requisite
daily step count, I noted that there was plenty of parking available. In the
past, the lots stayed full day in and day out; today, the rear lot was largely
empty, which again led me to conclude that attendance this year is down from
the past couple.
At 3:30 p.m., I had a reading with Rich Dansky. I read a chapter from The House at Black Tooth Pond and Rich read one of his new, as-yet-unpublished cosmic horror tales. His was solid gold, I can assure you. The attendees threw nothing at either of us, so I call that a success.
For dinner, Ms. B. and I wandered over to The Whaling Company, a nearby seafood restaurant we'd visited last year. A couple of excellent martinis, a load of steamed clams, and platter of fried cod with cole slaw and potatoes about did me in (in the best way possible). Great service as well, so I give this place top marks.
At 3:30 p.m., I had a reading with Rich Dansky. I read a chapter from The House at Black Tooth Pond and Rich read one of his new, as-yet-unpublished cosmic horror tales. His was solid gold, I can assure you. The attendees threw nothing at either of us, so I call that a success.
For dinner, Ms. B. and I wandered over to The Whaling Company, a nearby seafood restaurant we'd visited last year. A couple of excellent martinis, a load of steamed clams, and platter of fried cod with cole slaw and potatoes about did me in (in the best way possible). Great service as well, so I give this place top marks.
We headed back to the hotel and settled at the bar, where we encountered
numerous acquaintances and fiends. Had nice conversations with authors Kenzie
Jennings and Valerie Williams and the convention's jack-of-all-trades, Jake
Lerner. There might have been additional drink involved, but I can't be
entirely sure, which would suggest—suggest, I assure you—that maybe
there was.
And then... nighty night.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
I woke up early and realized that the suggestion that I might have over-imbibed last night had some merit. So, I immediately headed to the coffee shop downstairs and fueled up. The morning makeover took a while, but by the time the vendor area opened, I was back in top form (meaning I could walk and almost talk). Oftentimes at cons, Sundays are pretty dead but with occasional peaks as book buyers have a last hurrah with their remaining funds. That very thing happened this morning, and I moved a bunch more books—almost as many as all day yesterday. The room was open till 3:00 p.m., and I might have sold a few more, but Brugger and I wanted to hit the road before so we wouldn't be very late getting home. So, about noon, we packed ourselves up, offered fond farewells to so many of the world's best folks, and hit the road. We stopped again in Charles City for lunch, this time at Cul's Courthouse Grille, which is another of my favorite dining destinations when I'm out this way. I resolved to avoid alcohol today and for most of the coming week because the con setting definitely brought out the social drinker in me. So, reluctantly, I said no to the Sunday Bloody Mary specials. I do love me some Bloody Marys.
I woke up early and realized that the suggestion that I might have over-imbibed last night had some merit. So, I immediately headed to the coffee shop downstairs and fueled up. The morning makeover took a while, but by the time the vendor area opened, I was back in top form (meaning I could walk and almost talk). Oftentimes at cons, Sundays are pretty dead but with occasional peaks as book buyers have a last hurrah with their remaining funds. That very thing happened this morning, and I moved a bunch more books—almost as many as all day yesterday. The room was open till 3:00 p.m., and I might have sold a few more, but Brugger and I wanted to hit the road before so we wouldn't be very late getting home. So, about noon, we packed ourselves up, offered fond farewells to so many of the world's best folks, and hit the road. We stopped again in Charles City for lunch, this time at Cul's Courthouse Grille, which is another of my favorite dining destinations when I'm out this way. I resolved to avoid alcohol today and for most of the coming week because the con setting definitely brought out the social drinker in me. So, reluctantly, I said no to the Sunday Bloody Mary specials. I do love me some Bloody Marys.
Of course, AuthorCon is great for bookselling, networking, and having
fun, though its true mission is to support the
Scares That Care
volunteer charity. To date, the charity has raised and donated nearly a
half-million dollars to organizations and families with a child affected by
illness, burns, or women fighting breast cancer. So, supporting the con
directly helps individuals in dire need.
AuthorCon VI will be held February 26 to March 1, 2026, in
Williamsburg, at the same location as always (The DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Williamsburg). Hope to see you there.
