Busy Weekend: It's Con Season

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It's Tuesday, and I'm beginning to feel more like me after my marathon weekend of activities. On Friday, I headed for Charlotte, NC and ConCarolinas. I've attended this con many times over it's 20 years, and it just keeps getting better. This year, I went as a presenter instead of a fan. 
Full disclosure: I thought I had applied as a guest but somehow didn't get that particular application submitted. They still found a few panels for me to join when we realized my mistake. Since the writing panels were filled already, Jim Nettles (ConTinual: The Con That Never Ends and Author Essentials) invited me to sit on a few of the Science and Tech panels.

You might be scratching your head on that one, but it makes more sense than you know. I have a degree in Zoology. Bet you didn't know that! Plus, I've been a corporate trainer for 30+ years and started out as a tech trainer. Add my experience running my own business and creating my business platform as well as my author platform, and you might begin to see the reasons for this decision.

I sat on the Mad Scientist panel Friday night. It wasn't until 9 pm which meant raucous hilarity. We had 8 or 9 of us on the panel. There even was a question that applied to my other degree: MA Professional Communication. The questioner asked whether we could realistically expect to communicate with an alien lifeform. The much longer answer boils down to this--it's not that simple.

My other two panels had to do with social media platforms and the legalities you might run into as an author/business owner.

The rest of the time I visited with lots of great friends, made some new ones, checked out books and the vendor area, and attended a few panels.  All in all, the trip was amazing! And I'm glad that one of my local SCWA chapter members, Marcia, was able to go with me. It was good for both of us to get away from the regular day-to-day of our lives. Thanks to Marcia, I can share these pictures from the panels, too.

I got home Sunday afternoon in time to stuff some food in my mouth and turn around to meet my daughter, Heidi Cox, and her boyfriend, Jonathan London, for the Reedy Reels Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Greenville, SC. Since I'd committed to ConCarolinas before we knew about her participation in the film festival, I wanted to make sure to get home in time to attend the awards. AND...

Her film, Chasing Fletcher Allen, won BEST SHORT FILM!!!! Here's a brief vidoe of their acceptance speech. 



The film is not available for public viewing yet, but once it is, I'll share. Meanwhile, you can check out some of Heidi's other work through her production company, Dweeb Darlings.

So, that's my week. I'm gearing up for more events this month and will be starting to do some more giveaways on my newsletter. If you're not subscribed and want in on some prize opportunities, make sure you sign up for The Watchers Tribe newsletter.

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