N.J. Gallegos

Saturday was the last full day of the conference.

First… coffee and waffles.

We walked to the conference on Saturday (less books to carry) and admired the gorgeous bridges of Pittsburgh. I really feel like architecture needs more spiky balls.

Then it was off to the first panel: The Long and Short of It: Prose Other than the Novel. Listened to some great folks (Douglas Gwilym, Karlo Yeager Rodriguez, Eric LaRocca, J.A.W. McCarthy, Paula D. Ashe, and John F.D. Taff chat about all forms of horror fiction from drabble to novella. Very inspiring to hear advice from folks whose work I have read. They made me want to get writing!

Next panel was: The Dead Don’t Die: Romero’s Enduring Legacy, a touching tribute to one of the horror greats. Told the wife we need to rewatch all his work, especially my favorite: Dawn of the Dead. Also found out that fellow author with Winding Road Stories Publishing, Clare Castleberry, is also a beekeeper. Not only can she eat a Nature Valley granola bar without making a huge mess, but she takes care of bees! What can’t she do???

Then back to the Dealer Room to monitor the booth while publishing Mom (Vanessa) and Dad (Michael Dolan) listened to pitches. At one point, a pair of double doors that was previously closed were propped open and a bunch of Swifties poured into the room. Not that I’m opposed to such attendees, I too love me some Taylor Swift and have listened to Anti-Hero no less than 100 times in the last week. And even better? One of the Swifties bought a copy of my book! Plenty Swifties enjoyed the horror content and more than a few opened their wallets, supporting us horror fiends.

In summary, the Con was absolutely fantastic. The horror community is so uplifting and supportive and I’m so thankful to have found my place in it. Every single person I met was gracious and lovely. The whole weekend was incredibly inspiring and I’m already working on new stuff to share with you all.

Now support your favorite horror authors, read their content, review it, and share with your friends.

Let’s get spooky!