My Smartwatch Thinks I’m Dead

I’m home and relatively recuperated from Flashback Weekend. It was quite the whirlwind trip as, due to traffic I should have known would be present, I managed to finish getting set up exactly 10 minutes before the doors opened. I usually schedule an extra day at the hotel when I’m doing an “away” Con, but didn’t feel like doing so this time. Also, due to the overlap between Flashback and the National Sports Card Convention there was no availability at the hosting hotel.

For those who are unfamiliar with the process, usually a convention will book a block of rooms at the hotel where a convention is being held (or a nearby hotel if the convention is at a separate venue). This time around there were limited rooms available and I tried to book too late. There were also no rooms within walking distance of the hotel either. There were a couple that weren’t too far off, the they were, shall we say, cost prohibitive.

I’m trying to make money here, which isn’t going to happen if I’m spending $1K a night just to sleep.

I’ll be writing more about the con below. The main point of this was to point out that on Sunday I left the hotel I was staying at to drive to the convention, worked the table from 10 - 4. Packed everything up, moved my car, loaded said car, and drove home all on the same day.

I spent most of Monday only semi-coherent. When I got home I crashed on the couch to avoid waking The Mrs. I also didn’t set up my CPAP, which was stupid.

I left my watch on the charger when I left for the weekend. I didn’t bother putting it on Monday. Tuesday I didn’t do much of anything save have a belated birthday lunch, so not many steps there. And today has involved a lot of cleaning so the thing is back on the charger.

Hopefully it won’t contact 911 on me.

Listening To: As I’ve said before, one nice thing about the drive to a con is the ability to knock out a complete audiobook. This time it was the bizarre but enjoyable crime thriller Senseless by Ronald Malfi. Douglas Preston’s The Lost Tomb is keeping me company while I work today.

Currently Reading: It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest. Not a lot of down time this week.

Current Obsession: I was conscious enough to watch the first three episodes of Twisted Metal on Peacock. While I enjoyed the first season, I’m looking forward to the actual competition this time around.

The big news, of course, was our weekend in Chicago. We had a great time at Flashback Weekend (see below).

Our next appearance will be at Wicked Bizarre in exactly one month (if you are reading this on release day).

We learned of a major omission in our recent release Nightmerica: Corruption of the American Dream. As such we have changed all of the files for the various distributors. Everything should be corrected now. Unfortunately, this means that the Kickstarter hardcover edition will be delayed a bit.

We are happy to announce that Michael Cieslak will be one of the authors featured at the Brighton District Library’s Local Author Showcase this October. More information to come.

There were so many interesting and exciting things that I’m not sure where to start. As mentioned above, I stayed off site. The hotel was…interesting. If you follow my socials you’ll know that it was sketchy enough that I did what anyone in my situation would: I started a story where the hotel will feature prominently.

I had great neighbors on either side of my table. That always makes the time that much more enjoyable.

Sales were interesting. They weren’t super steady, but almost all of the customers bought multiple books. I had a weird set up with the shelves in front of the table. It made discussions a little difficult, so I simply stepped forward to talk to people.

I don’t often spend extra for autographs, but when I do I try to get multiple signatures on the same item. For example:

Those signatures would be from Joe Dante, Dee Wallace, and Belinda Balaski.

I also purchased Charles Band’s autobiography. He took extra time to talk to me. It’s pretty cool when someone who runs his own studio says “You know what it’s like. You run your own business.”

There were plenty of awesome costumes, but the one which had me laughing so hard that I had to lean against the wall was a lanky guy in old school gym clothes — red shorts with white piping, white calf high gym socks with three red stripes, Keds, a Jason Voorhees mask (from the end of the first movie) with a hockey mask pushed back on his head, and a tee-shirt which read I ❤️ MY MOMMY.

My only regret was that I wasn’t able to hang out for any of the after-show performances due to being at the other hotel. All in all, it was a great weekend.