Fun & Games Across America: From the Bar to San Diego and Back

 
Yes, it's been a full week since my last post, but that doesn't mean I was sitting poolside, lost in a haze of bourbon and Pinkberry. It's been a busy week, let me tell you. When we last left off... oh yeah, I was headed off to the very first Noir at the Bar L.A., hosted by Eric Beetner, Stephen Blackmoore and Aldo "El Jefe" Calcagno. And it was a true blast. Great crowd, a great lineup of writers (including Josh Stallings and Holly O'Neill West) and a cool space (the Mandrake) that allowed us all to read with an endless loop of film noir trailers playing behind us, which created some interesting, random moments. Check out Mr. Blackmoore with a little James M. Cain backing himu up:

Mr. Blackmoore only rings once.
For the complete set of noir-tinged photos, wander over to my Facebook site. (Not on Facebook? OK, I'll slap 'em up on Flickr, too. Give me a few minutes...)

Most of this past week was spent writing and having meetings about stuff I can't talk about quite yet... but on Thursday I hit San Diego for my very first taste of Comic-Con! I caught a ride down with this guy:

A mini-dog with a mini-hog.
Comic-Con was everything I expected: sprawling, crazy, crowded and pretty damned awesome (once you adapt to the sprawling, crazy crowds). The best part: the happy discoveries. Like aimlessly wandering down one aisle to discover that legendary director Tobe Hooper, of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist fame, was signing copies of his debut novel, Midnight Movie. You'd better believe I flipped the switch to FANBOY mode. Below: a pic of me and Mr. Hooper, who turned out to be the nicest, coolest guy to ever dream up a world populated with cannibal families and evil entities who beckon young children into the light.

Hanging with Mr. Hooper.Right after this photo was taken I raced over to the Hachette Booth, where I signed copies of Fun & Games for close to an hour. Everyone in line seemed to have a cool first name; I wanted to stop signing and actually jot down a few of them for future use in novels. I was also surprised to see a few youngish kids in line, so I inscribed their copies with a gentle warning: DAVEY, DO NOT READ UNTIL YOUR MOTHER GIVES YOU PERMISSION. Felt kind of like I was corrupting the morals of the young, but hey... you're never too early to hook a new reader.

Finally I raced up to Room 7AB where Charlie Huston was conducting his Spotlight panel. Weeks before, Charlie asked a gang of us to be his secret "expert guests" for a quiz game he'd be running. So before I knew it, I was up on stage with Charlie, Daniel (Deadpool) Way and Circle of Confusion manager Kemper Donovan for a fairly absurd-yet-fun game of "What the Fuck." The rules: Charlie would pick an audience member and ask them a question. However, said audience member was not allowed to answer; instead he or she had to tap a member of the expert panel with the phrase, "What the fuck, Daniel Way?" or "What the fuck, Kemper Donovan?" Prizes were awarded even if the so-called experts totally fucked up the answer. So... everybody wins! I think a cable network should give Charlie Huston his own goddamn game show. Here's Charlie in action:

"What the fuck, Charlie Huston?"
Before long, it was time to return to L.A. I made it to the train station early... only to learn that Comic-Con Con-gestion had snarled up the schedules something fierce, so my 8:20 train turned into a 9:30 train, depositing me back at Union Station just after midnight. You know, I really should have tried to hitch a ride back with that dog on the mini-hog.

Postcard update: Yes, there are still a few dozen to roll out! L.A.-centric postcards are going out  to Laurence K. in Brookings, OR; Brian A. in Amherst, NY; Mark F. in Lilburn, GA; Derek R. in Pasadena, MD; Charles E. in Gainesville, FL; Jeff. M. in Plano, TX; Zachary C. in Rockland, ME; Sarah C. in Aston, PA; Dean B. in Alexandria, VA: Tina P. in Ridley Park, PA; Logan R. in Bayside, NY; Aziz B. in Henderson, NV; Matt S-G. in Chicago, IL; Mary C. in Joilet, IL; Henry DiR. in Cortlandt Manor, NY; Duncan C. in Lane Cove, Australia; Mark A. in Gladesville, Australia; Tania H. in Ottawa, Ontario, and finally, Wostri F. in Budapest, Hungary!