CouchCast With Rocky Mountain Voices Brad Baldwin

Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this sometimes wacky, sometimes funny and sometimes techie podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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World Horror Con 2008 Wrap Up

Unfortunately I had some health problems that kept me away from the convention Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. I'm very disappointed because I was having a blast getting to know a lot of writers, editors and attendees.

I want to thank Charlie Harmon for putting together a wonderful convention. I know that its a pretty big deal to host an international event. I also want to thank everyone who volunteered for the WHC.

I'm a sucker for a good book and there were plenty of those at WHC. Here are the ones I walked away with:

(These books are linked through my Amazon affiliate. If you would prefer not to click through please search for the author or title.)

I also picked up a couple of convention only books; a short story called Little Boy Blue by James A. Moore, a convention only anthology called Desolate Souls, and an anthology called Love and Sacrifice. I also picked up a convention shirt; kind of like going to a rock and roll concert and getting a T.

I want to thank nightshadebooks.com for the excellent FREE T-shirt; can't wait to see the pics.

There were also some pretty interesting publishers in attendance like Bloodletting Press and Bones and Casket Press. I also saw some pretty interesting book titles which I would not share with anyone, even in a dark alley.

Some of my final thoughts

• There were plenty of panels and there seemed to be a good mix of topics
• The Hotel was very nice and had FREE WiFi, which is very cool, no code needed
• The dealer room was exceptional
• The art gallery was terrific; lots of great paintings, photos and drawings
• There were plenty of volunteer staff and they were easily spotted
• There were so many guest authors I felt overwhelmed
• Registration was a snap, and they had my pre-registration information

Things that weren't a big deal but a tiny bit annoying

• Some of the panelists were a little obnoxious and detracted from the topics
• It would have been nice to see someone shooting video of the sessions and the crowd
• There were too many Stoker and HWA events in the middle of the time blocks, making
  it difficult for those not attending the Stoker awards or not an HWA member to stay engaged. At least that's how I saw it
• I know the conference volunteers have no control over travel issues with guest speakers, but there were times when the speaker didn't know he or she was supposed to be presenting. Frustrating for the audience

I guess you could say I had a really good time. I know this is a once in a very long time event in Salt Lake City, and while I'm not a huge Horror fan, I think WHC 2008 was a great success.

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World Horror Convention Day One

Yesterday was day one of World Horror Con 2008 (WHC), in Salt Lake City, UT. One of the first things I noticed at this convention was the large amount of art work being displayed. I've been to conventions in the past and there was some art work, but this convention actually has an art gallery, with some incredible paintings. drawings and photographs.

I managed to get in a couple of panels (seeing how the dealers room closed before I got to the hotel), like How To Work With Editors and Why Manuscripts get rejected. Most of it is personal preference of the editors and publishers and not nearly as much on the ability of the author to sell the story.

I picked up a couple of books (actually several in the shwag bag, which I'll link to later), that seem to be pretty interesting. I also managed to take some photos. It's late and I'm having a problem keeping my eyes open, so I'm calling it a day.

 

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CouchCast With Automattics Joseph Scott

Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this wacky funny sometimes techy, sometimes not, podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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CouchCast With SocialOptimizes Jesse Stay

Visit CouchCast.org for all of our shows. Come and be part of this wacky funny sometimes techy, sometimes not, podcast. Hosted by Robert Merrill, Matthew Reinbold and Thom Allen.

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PodCampSLC Is Getting Close

We only have five days before PodCampSLC kicks off. The current schedule we have at the moment:

9-10 Come by and get your name tag, get a seat, and schedule your discussions
10-11 Kick off and Keynote by Michael Harper, Professor, Utah Valley University
11:15-12:15 Attend Session 1, join another discussion, or start your own
12:15-1:15 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Attend Session 2, join another discussion, or start your own
2:45-3:45 Attend Session 3, join another discussion, or start your own
4 Wrap up, comments and final thoughts

There will be a Podcasting Genius Bar -- Completely open access to recorders, cameras, software, and experts. Michael Harper, from UVSC/UVU, is driving this offering. Please contact Michael with suggestions or to volunteer -- harpermi AT uvsc DOT edu.

We need to be out of the building as soon as we can after the wrap up.

Bring your friends, business associates, anyone who is interested in sharing ideas or learning more about new media. Thanks, and we'll see you there.

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Sam Weller's Bookstore Hosts WHC Signings

World Horror Con starts in a few weeks and the schedule for authors who will be available for book signings has been released. This list is subject to change and I'll update if that happens.

Sam Weller's bookstore, at 254 South Main Street, in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been gracious enough to host the book signings. This is a great chance to meet some world renowned authors.

Dennis Etchison

John Jude Palencar

Simon Clark

Michael R. Collings

Jeff Strand

Mort Castle

Michael Shea

Lynn César

Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (THE MAN ON THE CEILING)

Heather Graham (DEATH DEALER)

Sarah Langan

Picture courtesy of Marion A.

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The Pose For Evan Courtney

Even Courtney asked us to take "the pose". Sitting on a couch in the office or I guess some where, and post the pose. My daughter had to take The Pose too. She thought it was funny I was doing this.

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World Horror Convention Coming To Salt Lake City

World Horror Convention is coming to Salt Lake City March 27-30th. I'm not really into the Horror genre but I think it's a fantastic opportunity to meet more writers, watch some great indie movies, and basically have a scary time. Come and join the fun.

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70 Days Of Sweat

Today starts the Seventy Days of Sweat. This is another opportunity for me to have some type of deadline for completing, or at least make significant progress, on one or more of my Novel’s and short stories. the idea can be found here and is very similar to NaNoWriMo, which is a contest to write a novel in 30 days.

I’m excited to be part of this effort. I’m committed to succeeding where I failed at the NaNoWriMo. I will be updating my progress daily, along with all the other posts I will be writing.

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