I had a terrific time at zomBcon. What a great event it turned out to be. The event was packed with zombie enthusiasts and everybody seemed to have a great time.
First, I want to point out the quality of the staff. The volunteers were amazing. They are all fans, giving the convention an atmosphere of them having a great get-together, and rest of us are invited to join in the fun. They did a great job producing the event, and supporting the attendees and exhibitors.
Second, I had a fantastic time talking to fans and new readers. I appreciated how many people stopped by to say they enjoyed Tooth And Nail and The Infection. I need to give a particularly strong shout out to Moody’s Survivors, a Facebook group led by Shawn Riddle, Chip Fehd and Jeremy Mahan. To me, these guys are the ultimate fans of the genre, and it was great to hang out with them on Saturday night.
Third, I enjoyed spending time with other authors such as Jonathan Maberry and my fellow Permuted authors, as well as my publisher, Jacob Kier. We had a table near the entrance and every author sold all or almost all of his or her books. To mention just a few, I found David Snell, author of Demon Days, to be a very sensitive and thoughtful guy; Peter Clines, author of Ex-Heroes, to be a fantastic storyteller, somebody I felt comfortable with almost immediately; and Bowie Ibarra, author of Down The Road, to be naturally hilarious and an avid fan of pro wrestling. I will also give a shout out to Jason Hornsby, Timothy Long, Tony Faville, Ian McKinnon and Ellie Knapp. All of us talked shop–books and zombies–the entire time.
Fourth, I had a great time meeting Judith O’Dea, who played Barbara in Night of The Living Dead; Ian McCulloch, who played Greg in the amazing BBC series Survivors in the 1970s (and later starred in Fulci’s three Zombie films); and Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl in The Walking Dead. I enjoyed talking to them about the business behind their films/series, what it was like to produce, and so on. The great Sid Haig occasionally walked by and heckled us Permuted authors. All of the guest celebrities were very open, accessible and welcoming to their fans.
Overall I had a perfect event and was sorry to see it end. I’ll be sure to come again next year, and I’m also thinking about teaming up with Tim Long and others to maybe do Cripticon in May.
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