Here Be Dragons

There’s a lot I could be talking about on the writing front, what with a new book, new audiobook, and a new graphic novel all coming out in January.

But instead, I’d like to talk about the convention scene in my neck of the woods, Vancouver. Or, until recently, the lack thereof.

We used to have a big convention every year called VCon, a three-day event celebrating science fiction, fantasy, and all things nerdy. It wasn’t San Diego ComicCon big, but it was big enough, and it was a lot of fun.

Sadly, Covid pretty much killed it, but the first steps towards raising it from the dead happened recently with a one-day event called Here Be Dragons.

Yeah, that’s me hamming it up in front of the camera they had set up there.

It wasn’t a big convention, but at the same time it didn’t need to be. There were readings from local authors, panels there about writing, editing, comics… even one on the history of Godzilla! There were games going on with a Fandom version of Family Feud and your usual market area as well.

And there was that silly camera that I took way too many pictures of myself in front of…

But Here Be Dragons did more than just scratch my convention itch, it reminded me of why conventions are important. It’s a way to connect with new authors, find people with similar interests, try out new games, and expose yourself to the NEW in ways you just can’t do shopping on Amazon or browsing on Facebook.

I really hope we see more conventions, even one day events like this, in Vancouver in the future. And if your local cons were killed by Covid, I hope they come back as well!