Slight Depression today...
Oct. 29th, 2003 08:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
per_soloJust got an e-mail back from The Fabulous Lorraine (Who is Neil Gaiman's manager/assistant/everything he needs taken care of person), and they are not committing Neil to any conventions. So, now I need to consider a few of the other people I was thinking of, for Incon 2005.
Gaiman was my first choice...really, he was my only choice. He is, in my personal opinion, the best writer out there. And, a LOT of people here local to Indy haven't gotten the chance to see him...hell, I've not gotten the chance to see him...I hear his readings are great...fun, spooky, and all that. I've not lost hope, but I'm now seriously glancing at other people...
I want to do something different...there is a lot of "Well, we can't do that" mentality with this convention, and it's taken me 8 years to get into a position to be able to say "Yes, we can...", and I want my convention to reflect that. I want us to have as much advertising as we can get...any/every radio station to mention us. Hell, even the Country stations, because you never know if a Country listener is into Sci-Fi, or if he's listening at work, and the person next to him is...it's something that hasn't been done, that needs to be done, in order for the convention to grow. Truth be told, we need advertising...any and all forums. Or else we will just continue to shrink and die.
To do that, I want to get literary people that are ones I've read...for several years at Incon, they had authors I'd not read..sure, I'd heard of them, but never read. The first year I went, I met Richard Knaak...a VERY nice guy, but I've only read one of his books, that I bought at the convention. In 2001, we had Joel Rosenberg, who is the first author we've had that I've read a significant portion of his works. And Joel was a fun guest...he seemed rushing, a little, but he did look like he was having fun. And, that's the whole trick with a convention like this...ANYONE can come just to show up, and get their ego stroked, and do very little to have fun, or make the convention fun for the attendees...My goal is that the guests are having as much fun as the attendees.
Fortunately, Incon, in the last several years, has had guests like that...Richard Biggs and Jason Carter, and Eugene Roddenberry, Jack Stauffer, Anthony Fredrickson, Penny Juday, Elizabeth Moon, Steve MacDonald (A filker, if you haven't heard of him, you ought to find him at a convention sometime), Steve Jackson, and even Sammy Terry. I'll forgive you if you don't know the last...as, he is/was a local TV "Horror Host".
Basically, the convention is supposed to be fun, and if it's only fun for the attendees, then why should guests even bother?
So, at this point, I don't know who I'll get...but, I'm gonna try something fun and interesting..otherwise, all those people who voted for me will be disappointed. :-)
Just the thoughts rattling around my head this AM...if any of you have happy thoughts, please direct them to the "Neil's Schedule will clear enough for him to do Incon in 2005" arena. :-) Thanks.
Gaiman was my first choice...really, he was my only choice. He is, in my personal opinion, the best writer out there. And, a LOT of people here local to Indy haven't gotten the chance to see him...hell, I've not gotten the chance to see him...I hear his readings are great...fun, spooky, and all that. I've not lost hope, but I'm now seriously glancing at other people...
I want to do something different...there is a lot of "Well, we can't do that" mentality with this convention, and it's taken me 8 years to get into a position to be able to say "Yes, we can...", and I want my convention to reflect that. I want us to have as much advertising as we can get...any/every radio station to mention us. Hell, even the Country stations, because you never know if a Country listener is into Sci-Fi, or if he's listening at work, and the person next to him is...it's something that hasn't been done, that needs to be done, in order for the convention to grow. Truth be told, we need advertising...any and all forums. Or else we will just continue to shrink and die.
To do that, I want to get literary people that are ones I've read...for several years at Incon, they had authors I'd not read..sure, I'd heard of them, but never read. The first year I went, I met Richard Knaak...a VERY nice guy, but I've only read one of his books, that I bought at the convention. In 2001, we had Joel Rosenberg, who is the first author we've had that I've read a significant portion of his works. And Joel was a fun guest...he seemed rushing, a little, but he did look like he was having fun. And, that's the whole trick with a convention like this...ANYONE can come just to show up, and get their ego stroked, and do very little to have fun, or make the convention fun for the attendees...My goal is that the guests are having as much fun as the attendees.
Fortunately, Incon, in the last several years, has had guests like that...Richard Biggs and Jason Carter, and Eugene Roddenberry, Jack Stauffer, Anthony Fredrickson, Penny Juday, Elizabeth Moon, Steve MacDonald (A filker, if you haven't heard of him, you ought to find him at a convention sometime), Steve Jackson, and even Sammy Terry. I'll forgive you if you don't know the last...as, he is/was a local TV "Horror Host".
Basically, the convention is supposed to be fun, and if it's only fun for the attendees, then why should guests even bother?
So, at this point, I don't know who I'll get...but, I'm gonna try something fun and interesting..otherwise, all those people who voted for me will be disappointed. :-)
Just the thoughts rattling around my head this AM...if any of you have happy thoughts, please direct them to the "Neil's Schedule will clear enough for him to do Incon in 2005" arena. :-) Thanks.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 05:32 am (UTC)ang/elkins
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 08:08 am (UTC)My favorite author is Lois McMaster Bujold. If you haven't read her, she's absolutely fantastic. Pick up The Curse of Chalion. Her famous stuff is Miles Vorkosigan, of course, but that's a long series you really need to start from the beginning. Chalion is a stand alone book, and it knocked my socks off.
I heard she lives in Ohio, so she might be attainable. And I was very impressed with her when I saw her in programming at WorldCon.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 08:26 am (UTC)Thanks, I'll look for Curse. Right now, I'm considering King, or Piers Anthony, and will check through my books to see if anyone else jumps out at me.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 11:00 am (UTC)Piers is getting rather old, I think.
What exactly are you seeking that's "different"? It sounds to me more like you're looking for high-profile. I'm quite content to meet an interesting author, and I'm willing to buy a book ahead of time if I haven't read that author.