Blasted Book Release Day for @JamesAMoore

I'm bringing the best part of Monday into Tuesday.  Today, our Monday Word-Whore @JamesAMoore releases his second book in the Seven Forges epic fantasy series:

 THE BLASTED LANDS

The Empire of Fellein is in mourning. The Emperor is dead, and the armies of the empire have grown soft. Merros Dulver, their newly-appointed – and somewhat reluctant – commander, has been tasked with preparing them to fight the most savage enemy the world has yet seen.

Meanwhile, a perpetual storm ravages the Blasted Lands, and a new threat is about to arise – the Broken are coming, and with them only Death.

Buy It Now On:     Amazon     B&N    Independent Bookseller

Need Book 1? Buy SEVEN FORGES here:
 Amazon     B&N    Independent Bookseller

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As for the weekly topic of Conventions: Worst Mistakes I've Made... Here are my Top 5:

1. Holed Up In My Room: I've posted previously about why that's a terrible thing to do at a Con. Learn from my mistakes, grasshoppers.

2: Underestimated The Power of My Deodorant: Oh yeah, funky monkey was I, was I. Cons are usually shoulder-shoulder experiences. Get the clinical-strength deodorant. Better still, if you're staying in the hotel at which the Con is occurring, give yourself time for a mid-day shower too. You'll feel refreshed physically and mentally.

3: Wore the Wrong Shoes: It takes a lot to get me out of my stilettos. But once those piggies are freed from the confines of high heels, they're not going back in. Bring the cute shoes. Rock the cute shoes. Have the comfy ones on hand. There is no shame in being able to walk.

4: Sat in the Back: I've thing for quick exits; however, I also paid good money to hear the panelists and keynote speakers. It's not brown-nosing to sit in the front of the room, it's a strategic way of removing the din of a rude crowd.

5: Didn't Wear Floor Attire: Accept it, your butt is going to meet the floor. You're not going to want to stay on your feet throughout a crowded panel. (see #4, above) That impromptu gathering of totally awesome people and no vacant furniture? Butt + floor (just don't sit in the traffic pattern, please, please, please).

Convention Organizers - What Not To Do

Did I show you guys this yet? My publisher, Kensington Books, made them for us at the RT Booklovers Convention. It's supposed to be a crystal ball, with the present book on one side and the future book on the other, but it also has snow in it, so I call it a snow globe.

Super cool, either way.

This week's topic is the worse mistakes we've made at conventions. I don't really have a particular mistake I regret, but there is an entire convention that was a mistake. I won't name names. (Though if you ask me privately, I'll tell you.) Suffice to say, I'll never go back to this particular convention again. These are the reasons why:

1) Schedule changed without notice

I arrived for the opening key note, only to discover that the online schedule was wrong and everything had started one hour earlier than posted. It was in the registration packet - which I received when I arrived on site, an hour late.

2) Big gaps in schedule

After the early key note, another event went faster than anticipated and someone else didn't show up. We sat around for two hours with NOTHING going on.

3) Bait and switch

I got my publisher to contribute free copies of my ebook for a jump drive to be included in the tote bags, which I later discovered the the con organizers decided to sell for $20 each. This put me in violation of the agreement with my publisher.

4) No Shows

One of the conference organizers had collected materials from us to do a "Mad Libs" game with excerpts from our books for a reader party. She had all the stuff and never showed up. Not a great party with nothing to do.

5) Late late late

Doors for the big dinner did not open until 1/2 hour after they were supposed to.

6) No instructions or prep

I signed up for, and PAID, to be part of a Murder Mystery Casino Night deal. Had no idea what I was doing. Neither did anyone else. I had my costume, but didn't get my character instructions until I walked in the door. Nobody knew how to play. Total bust.

7) No accountability

I bailed. I left a day early and filled out my feedback form, giving all of my reasons why. No one ever contacted me, though I put my name on it. I heard later that one of the organizers - the one who didn't show for the Mad Libs deal - had experienced some sort of personal crisis. But no one ever told me directly. Or apologized. Or anything at all.

But they sure as hell contacted me to come again the next year.

No, really just no.