Well, once again it’s time for me to gird my loins for a week at Dragon Con. Yes, I’m well aware that Dragon Con is a four-day convention. I am a crazy person who volunteers, so I’m on site Wednesday afternoon, and I don’t schlep out of there until lunchtime in Tuesday. In between, I’ll mostly be in the Chicago Room of the Hyatt Regency or snoring into a pillow in my hotel room, though I do hope to be able to emerge into common areas and maybe catch a meal or a drink with friends here and there.
This will be my ninth trip to Dragon Con, my eighth straight as a volunteer. I went for a day once in about 1998, when I was deep into fandom for “The X-Files,” but it wasn’t until 2007, after I moved back to Atlanta from my New Jersey exile, that I looked into going again. I discovered the Daily Dragon, the on-site publication, and contacted the editor, Eugie Foster, asking if she needed any volunteers. She did, as it turned out. She’d tried several people to do layout for the print issue that’s handed out each morning, but none had gotten the job done. She’d been ready to give up, but she gave me a shot… and at the end of the weekend, begged me to come back. I told her I’d be delighted. LOL
My tasks have morphed and grown over time. I now do editing work for the larger publications department, including editing guest bios and panel descriptions, and this year I helped out with some film festival editing, too. August always gets a little hectic with everything needing to be done at once—including planning and packing for the actual con!—but it’s all too much fun to give up.
I did decide to simplify things this year and forgo costuming. I’m going to stick to jeans and geeky t-shirts in the name of comfort. Plus, I usually end up in what amounts to jammies for my late-night volunteer shifts anyway. I might go for some interesting hair color to make up for the lack of costuming, though.
Despite the listing of Dragon Con on my appearances list, I won’t actually be doing anything as my author self. No panels this year, and none of my publishers are doing anything. But I’ll be there, of course, and anyone who’d like to meet up is welcome to email or tweet at me, and I’ll do my best.
Really, though, the best way to find me will be to find the Daily Dragon offices, especially after 10 p.m., and ask for Shae. Because that’s where I’m most likely to be!
shaeconnorwrites 