StokerCon

StokerCon was interesting. I’ve only been to a few over the years, as there have only been a few, and am torn between it and the older HorrorCon, That said, the Horror Writers Association (HWA) is turning this into a great conference, especially adding the Bram Stoker Award gala to the mix. It was in San Diego this year, one of my favorite places on earth.

Writer, Mentor, Friend, Brian Evenson and me catching up at StokerCon

I cannot lie, I mainly went to give my wife a vacation that included beach and ocean, which San Diego delivers on in spades. Personally, I hoped to catch up with some old friends. The first, Brian Evenson, was someone I met in grad school at the only Buddhist university in the states, Naropa. Brian was a great teacher and we have kept in touch over the years. I had the opportunity to attend a writing workshop in Transylvania, and thought of him as the perfect instructor. Fortunately, they ran the workshop the following year, and Brian was the headliner. 

Miss Murder (Mercedes M. Yardley) meeting again for the second time without loss of blood

Next, I wanted to catch up with Bram Stoker award-winning writer, Mercedes M. Yardley, someone I met several years ago at a Storymakers Conference. Mercedes was pinch hitting for MichaelBrent Collins at Storymakers, who had to cancel at the last moment. It was the first time a horror workshop had been offered at Storymakers, and Mercedes hit it out of the park. We’ve kept in touch over the years via Facebook, as we both have special needs children, so it isn’t often we get to meet in the flesh, as they say. She is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met.

At this point, I plan to write more in my next blog post about StokerCon, and other conventions in general, as well as my next destination, the Utah Shakespeare Festival. See you next time.