TIKIMAN AND THE VIKING ON THE ROAD:
THE OBLIGATORY POST-CONFERENCE RECAP
OWFI 2024
This was the first opportunity for me and Brian Johnson (aka Tikiman and the Viking) to extend our scope beyond the realm of our podcast. Given that I had been a more frequent attendee in recent years and he hadn’t been for a while, I figured it was a chance to show others what we had been up to since the show started in July 2023.
As is typical, we were welcomed and treated well and encouraged to be as outgoing as possible for the benefit of new participants. Certainly, that was our intention all along. Additionally, however, attending sessions of significance to us individual was important. I needed to pay my respects to Rhonda Penders, the editor-in-chief of The Wild Rose Press. After all, they ARE the publisher who has been responsible for my last five books and a forthcoming sixth.
Brian was fortunate enough to pitch with Alicia Dean and, from what I’ve been told, there was some interest. It is a testament to the benefits of a writer’s conference, especially when you are sitting at your personal space, disconnected from anyone human who can appreciate your work.
We both had the opportunity to be on a panel called Dining With Death. This focused on crime, thrillers, horror, and just all-around nastiness. We sat with: thriller writer Dianne McCartney; The Sirens, hosts of a true crime podcast; folklorist and collector of spooky stories Jeff Provine; and Andrew E Kaufman who writes psychological thrillers. The diverse group, if I say so myself, was both informative and entertaining.
Now, this is the point where I stop being rote and giving a recap and name-dropping. This is where I reflect on what going meant to me and Brian individually as well as to our podcast. When you skip a year of going to a conference and, at a minimum, a dozen people tell you how they missed you last year, you get the impression you are somehow meaningful. Brian is a great story-teller and dazzled many folks he had met for the first time. Our sessions were well attended, giving me to believe we presented popular subjects.
We had fun. We learned some things. We connected with experienced writers and newer ones. We just might have added to our listeners. We talked intently on the drive home, making plans that we would need to weave into our real lives. But we validated that what we are doing as writers and bloggers and podcasters is on the right track.
So, follow the adventures of Tikiman and the Viking and be the first to hear where we may take the show on the road next time.
