OK, so GRL 2016 (Kansas City) is officially over. Time to look back over my pre-con predictions:
1) The Dancing Bear: There was no dancing bear (though there was a dancing Cowardly Lion – who knew Steve Zimmerman was so furry?). There were also dancing flying monkeys, fancing witches, and a handsome dancing tin man. Prediction Rating: 2 out of 5.
2) The Smores Bar: There was no smores bar, though there was a fairly good buffet on the last night, and the Grease movie night featured a fair selection of candy and some great pop corn, including Hershey bars, which you use in smores, right?. Prediction Rating: 2 out of 5.
3) The Special Guest Appearance: No one from any of the various Star Trek shows or films made a special guest appearance. I did see some art at the end of one of the hotel halls that looked vaguely Star Trekish. Prediction Rating: 1 out of 5.
4) My First Big Fan: My first big fan did in fact show up at this con. Jason Mitchell stopped by my Supporting Author table to tell me how much he loved the audio version of The Autumn Lands, and several other folks came by to tell me they loved some of my anthology stories as well, including Flames and The Bear at the Bar. I was on cloud nine. Or maybe ten or eleven. Prediction Rating: 7 out of 5.
5) Being the Belle of the Ball: I was *not* actually the Belle of the Ball. That honor would have to go to Angel Martinez, in full-on green body paint as our own Wicked Witch of the West. I did come up with a belated costume idea that was brilliant but very poorly executed. You try being a Flying Monkey Repair Man with only the things you can find in your hotel room. Prediction Rating: 2 out of 5.
6) The Educational Workshops: The educational workshops did not in fact include How to Research Sex Scenes, Making Money Hand Over Fist in MM Romance, and Building a Writing Cave to Survive the Trumpocalypse. However, there was the Cock Walk, which covers most of the above. So I’m gonna give myself: Prediction Rating: 3 out of 5.
7) The Fine Cuisine of Kansas City: Turns out, KC actually does have some fine cuisine. We’ve eaten at a couple great places already, and will try a few more in the next couple days as we explore the city before going home. However, I *did* say it kinda snarkily. So: Prediction Rating: 4 out of 5.
8) Kansas City’s LGBT Nightlife: OK, I was kinda dead on for this one. GRL *was* the KC gay nightlife. Prediction Rating: 5 out of 5.
9) Selling Enough Books to Pay for…: Yes, we did in fact sell enough books to pay for our wifi service (which was technically free, but even if we’d had to pay for it). We did not sell enough to pay for the plane ride there or back. Or the hotel. Or those little chocolates they should have been putting on our pillows at night. Prediction Rating: 4 out of 5.
10) Proving to the World That Angel Martinez and I are Not the Same Person: Totally accomplished, especially since she had a Featured Author table and I did not. Although a “could they have separated just before the con via cellular mitosis” theory was floated toward the end of the con. Prediction Rating: 5 out of 5.
So that’s 35 out of a possible 50. Not too bad!
GRL was more than I expected. There were so many amazing people there, and the traffic was good, especially in the bookseller’s room the first day. We had a QSF gathering on Saturday, and so many old friends and new ones stopped by the QSF table, hung out with us for breakfast lunch and dinner, or just visited with us in the halls.
The next one will be held in Denver in 2017, and we’re planning to be there. See y’all soon!