While the vast majority of conventions that I attend are in Texas, there are a few outliers. One of which is Archon, which is officially a St. Louis convention that’s been going on for many decades. The first ones I attended were actually in St. Louis at a hotel near the Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River, but for a long time now, it’s been held across the river in Collinsville, Illinois at the Gateway Convention center. While it’s a two day drive to get there, many times it became a stepping off point for more wide-ranging travel—the first stage of a vacation.
Getting familiar with the Mississippi has also crept into my books. Golden Girl takes place in Oqwaka Illinois upstream from St. Louis and makes a great setting for that time travel book. The same thing happened with another time travel story, The Copper Room. Something about the Mississippi and time-travel go well together.
During most conventions, I’m a vendor, selling my books at a table in the dealer room. At Archon, however, I’m also a guest, speaking at various panels. It’s quite a juggling act, closing down my table for an hour at a time to attend the panels. We’ll see how it works out.
As I type, I’m outside of Blytheville Arkansas getting ready to catch some ZZZs before making the second day’s drive. Hopefully, I’ll post a bit more from this trip. I have to get back in the habit. What kind of a writer can’t make a social media impact?