WHERE WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SEE ME IN PERSON THIS YEAR? ALL OVER UPSTATE, NY!
My convention appearances for 2023 are starting to pile up, so I think it’s best I spill the beans on what I have on tap thus far. You’ll notice something… outside of Scares That Care’s Authorcon, they’re all in Central and Upstate NY. I’m working on building my regional fan base, and what better way to do so than make regional appearances!
3/30-4/2 AUTHORCON II – WILLIAMSBURG, VA – #talkabouttislater
4/15 – HEROES & VILLAINS CON – CORTLAND, NY – this is tomorrow as of press time!
4/22-4/23 – ITHACACON – ITHACA, NY
5/27 – 5/28 – WATERLOO, NY MEMORIAL DAY EVENT (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
6/3-6/4 – NOCOCON (NORTH COUNTRY COMIC CON) – WATERTOWN, NY
7/20-7/23 – NECON (visiting as a camper!)
8/12 – FREYA FEST – REMSEN NY (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
8/19-8/20 ANCHORCON – CLAYTON NY
9/9-9/10 – BEAVER LAKE HARVEST FESTIVAL – BALDWINSVILLE, NY (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
9/16 – PAGAN PRIDE DAY – LIVERPOOL, NY (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
10/28 – BALDWINSVILLE LIBRARY – BALDWINSVILLE, NY (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
11/25 – SKY ARMORY NIGHT MARKET – SYRACUSE, NY (WITH THE WANDERING WORDSMITHS)
I’m certain this list will fill in more as the year progresses. So make your plans, friends & fans, peeps & perps, to come out and see me at one of these events, starting tomorrow at Heroes & Villains Con.
Cortland, NY is a cool city, albeit small. It’s the birthplace of Ronnie James Dio, the home of metal legends The Rods, and a town that loves its independent wrestling. With this in mind, I expect to see a buncha characters at this event. I’m excited to meet new fans, catch up with old fans, and see some people I haven’t seen in a bit- like my artist pals Miguel and Christopher. This is something I discovered two weeks ago at Scares That Care’s Authorcon II. How much I missed my tribe.
#talkaboutthatnow
Authorcon II was fantastic. I recently wrote the following words in an intimate post I made to the Scares That Care community:
This past weekend I attended my second AuthorCon and 6th Scares That Care event as a creative vendor. It was my favorite weekend spent with the charity, since first attending in 2016.
Scares that Care 3 was cathartic for me. Covering it for both Rue Morgue and the then Project iRadio, I attended to get content for my podcast and an article for the Canadian horror ‘zine. What I didn’t expect was the friends I would make. Excuse me, that’s the wrong phrase to use. What I didn’t expect was the family I would be welcomed into and how much it would change me.
Who would know that in 2017 I would attend a workshop wherein I would meet people who continue to be my friends and confidants. Or how in 2018 I would think outside the box and secure my first small press contract; after presenting a copy of what would become my first stand alone novella to the book’s eventual publisher. Or that in 2019 I’d be sharing a table with Mike Duke and I’d sell out of the 50 copies I brought of my first book. I don’t think I ever envisioned a world where I would be invited to speak on panels as I was at the first Scares event held after the pandemic in 2021, and the first Authorcon last April where I had my first solo table, or making people laugh at a live reading during the 2022 Charity Weekend.
And this past weekend? Where I was entrusted with leading two important panels for rising sub genres of horror I have somehow found myself at the forefront of in the indy publishing world, splatterpunk and folk horror? To say the experience was surreal is an understatement. And then there was the bittersweet opportunity I was given to speak at Jay Wilburn’s memorial, where there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. And what else can be said about the Gross-Out contest that Jeff Strand lost? I was honored to share an entertaining story that gave the crowd a few chuckles.
Scares That Care has allowed me to grow, to become a better person. I’ve always tried to be a positive beacon, a walking example of the values this charity cherishes. I haven’t always been perfect, none of us can be. I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way. I’ve fallen, I’ve brushed the dirt off, I’ve learned from my experiences, and I’ve gotten back up.
Thank you Scares That Care. Thank you for AuthorCon and what is does for independent and Big 4 Authors that no other event could ever do: provide an intimate venue for fans and creatives to meet, mingle, and grow.
For those who can’t make one of these appearances, my new book, A PRAYER FROM THE DEAD is finally available on Amazon in trade paperback, and on Godless and Kindle! It’s already getting rave reviews, as you can see above!
Also, don’t forget I have new “MASTER OF SPLATTERFOLK” designs up in my TeePublic merch store!
See you all tomorrow in Cortland!
Thomas R Clark 