DragonCon

Hello All,

Well, I am exhausted from my one day at DragonCon, but it was definitely worth it.  That was more walking than I've done in a very long time.  I was lucky that we finished registering just in time and I got to attend the Mighty Men of Fantasy and SF panel to listen to Kevin J. Anderson, Jim Butcher, and D. B. Jackson speak.  It was very informative and fun.  It gave me a better idea about the personalities of some of the writers I admire and there were some useful tips about writing that I picked up on as well.  Next time we go we're hoping to have a longer weekend.  The problem this year was mostly money and a lack of enough days to take off.

Even though money is tight, we're considering buying the tickets early while they're on sale and going ahead and planning to go next year too.  I hope that we can.  While I can't afford going to most cons, I might be able to afford this one.  If I'm going to be serious about getting published, I really need to keep up with my connections from the writing class last year and anyone who is willing to help me on the road to success.  At the very least, I should be placing more business cards about my website around where people can see them.

I hand delivered a letter to Jim Butcher when I went to get his autograph later in the evening.  Honestly, the main reason I wanted to go (other than spending time with my sister, which I need to do more often...) was because I really wanted to meet Jim Butcher and to see the kind of person he is in reality.  My friends got to go and get his autograph about a year or two ago and I was very disappointed that I didn't get to go with them.  It seems like whenever I try to attend some sort of writing event, something unexpected comes up.  When I went to attend Neil Gaiman's writing tour, I suddenly came down with flu like symptoms and had to stay home.  I didn't want the same sort of thing to happen again.

I wrote the letter to Jim Butcher because I wanted him to know that he's one of my favorite authors and that I respect him and read all of his work.  I was also hoping that he could give me some advice on finding an agent and taking the next step in starting my career.  It occurred to me recently that I've been writing for well over five years now.  I've finished seven novels and am about halfway through three others, and I haven't had any luck finding an agent yet.  I understand that the first one that I pitched definitely wasn't ready for it, but I have to admit that I'm disappointed about the lack of interest in "Everburn" and "Blood Rain."  I really could use all the help or encouragement that I can get, so I ended the letter with, as a joke, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi.  You're my only hope."

I hope he reads the letter and I get some advice.  If any of you have any advice, please feel free to share it.  Right now, I'm just going to take the advice he gave at the panel.  I'm going to write everyday.  I'm going to find the time again, somehow.