You would think being an actor, I wouldn't have any problems getting up in front of an audience. It never really mattered if it was a packed house or an audience of one, I always felt at home in the spotlight. I've been that way since I was a kid.

Still, I had butterflies in my stomach the week before my appearance at Madicon 11.

Why? Well, a lot of it had to do with the fact I was in a very alien environment (pun fully intended there, folks). I was, to play a bit with the title of the Guest of Honor's recent book, in the company of writers. Actors are easy, more or less, to figure out after a few words shared over a cup of coffee or a really good scotch. But the people I was rubbing shoulders with were not actors but writers. I'm still learning the in's and out's of this trade, and that was the main drive behind my fear. The resumes of these "fellow authors" (a title I was very hesitant to throw around) were on their fourth or fifth book or had been published several times over in anthologies. I was the New Guy. All of my bylines were "in the future" and I had nothing in hand apart from my chapter (for the readings...more on that later...) and a website. My running joke was I needed to find a corner to curl up in to a fetal position and suck my thumb. I was a stranger in a strange land, lost in the Twilight Zone, and lost to the power of the one ring that would rule them all...

So maybe it was appropriate I was at a science-fiction and fantasy convention, after all. From my point of view, Madicon 11 was a HUGE SUCCESS for MOREVI and Dragon Moon Press. It was definitely the right place to begin the buzz for our epic adventure.

The con started off with me being introduced to Julie Czerneda, Philip K. Dick nominee and DAW author. She couldn't have been nicer! Canadians really know how to make a guy feel good. She invited me to sit in (and even help out) on her Writer's Workshop (where I got a lot of good affirmation and advice). We also talked a bit about Toronto Trek (another con I'm heading to in July) and what I could expect. The subject of scotch came up, and I think we are going to be sharing a snifter or two after Day One! Julie was a real delight to talk to.

So we're all the authors!

What was a real joy was the other authors treated me like "one of the gang" and gave me plenty of support.

Tony Ruggiero was promoting his fourth book, Team of Darkness. Hot off the presses, barely a month old. Then there was David Honigsberg. This guy does EVERYTHING! I thought I was a renaissance man, but this guy writes short stories, games, and music!

I felt extrememly at ease and welcomed by everyone there, and was getting really charged up over what the day would hold...

The Authors of Madicon 11
(l. to r. -- Tee Morris, Julie Czerneda,
David Honigsberg, and Tony Ruggiero)

Then came the readings.

I was TERRIFIED on a number of levels, the main one being I was the ONLY "new author."

The Conchair decided on an order and it was Tony who went first with his prologue from Team of Darkness. It was Anne Rice meets Tom Clancy. Great premise -- set in Present Day, the military come across vampires during their peace-keeping operations in Cosovo. The vampires are "recruited" for Black Ops against Drug Cartels. The theory is that vampires would make the "perfect" Black Ops soldier...provided they could be controlled. A really cool idea!

Then it was my turn. So I turned on the actor and had fun with it. I left folks on a James Bond/Indiana Jones kind of cliffhanger ending, and I got a lot of smiles, a few nods, and a "Ooooohhh..." from Julie. I can only hope interests were piqued and that my website would soon be hit hard with visits.

Julie was next with a reading from her last book, In the Company of Others. I see now why she said "My background in biology really influences my work." I learned a lot about terra-forming in that opening prologue...and as my guard was down, its ending left a few goose pimples on my arm.

David's work was an unpublished sequel to a short story he had done for a Magic: The Gathering anthology. The story featured INTELLIGENT goblins, and that was a terrific concept. It was a really charming tale. All we needed was a campfire to complete the setting...

Sadly though, James Madison University still has strict policies concerning "open flames," but David's story was a great way to end the readings.

Then came the panel on publishing. It was a mix of the future of publishing along with the why's and how's of getting published. to say our table was diverse was an understatement. Julie moderated the panel and brought her experiences with DAW to the table. Tony did a lot of talking about his presses and commented on the differences between print publishing and e-publishing. David went into the up's and down's of getting published in anthologies and in the gaming industry which is a lot harder as you have a different kind of audience. I gave a new guy's perspective on things and also provided something I knew I was well experienced with — comic relief.

I also learned a lot about the publishing world and some do's and don't's, and I felt ready to handle the next panel I would do, whenever and wherever that would happen. It was a lot of fun and we all shared a lot of laughs with the con-attendees.

It was one FANTASTIC con-experience, as well as my first as an author. I made a few new friends, picked up a lot of fantastic marketing and promotional ideas, and maybe even started up a bit of buzz over MOREVI. While I think I still feel the butterflies over these upcoming engagements, I am now really looking forward to Balticon in May where I will bump into Tony again and then hang with Julie at Toronto Trek. I now find myself in a brave, new world, and I know that the experiences are just beginning for me...

...the "New Guy."