Six Hundred Sixty Six Bottles of Blood on the Wall: The Road To Killercon Part 1

Please excuse me as I’m recovering from the chills up my spine and the sting of happy tears that hit my eyes as I write the title to this post. About a year ago (9/22/12) I tweeted this: “All the tweets about Killercon are making my amateur self all kinds of jealous. New goal set. To be there in the next few years.”

Well guess what? I’M GOING THIS YEAR. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more excited for something in my entire life. Oh and I’m still an amateur, don’t get it twisted, but a passionate amateur, and hopefully that’s worth something.

Killercon is held at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas every September. Check out it’s website here: www.killercon.com.

The biggest and the baddest and a few newbies (like me) in the horror writing business go to eat and drink and gamble and a few of them probably screw. But more importantly, they go there because writing is a lonely job and it’s a lot of fun to get together with other writers who share your passion and ideology. They learn from each other, but they also just hang out because they’re friends. And what better place to hang out with friends than Las Vegas, Nevada?

The con is about 6 weeks away, and I’m going to blog about my preparation for the convention, what I’m doing and what I’m expecting. And then of course I’ll keep y’all updated when I get there.

In addition to just attending, I’m also registered for a workshop led by John Skipp titled “The Choreography of Violence.” If that doesn’t get you to at least half-boner (dick joke #1) I don’t know what will. Also, I’m attending writing bootcamp with Tom Monteleone. I’ve heard his workshops are the best of the best. I cannot wait.

On top of that there are nearly constant readings and panels on all things writing and horror with guests like Ellen Datlow, John Shirley, Ray Garton, Wrath James White and a ton more.

I’ve been to Vegas before, done some really stupid things there, but this trip is going to be worth semesters of writing courses and hopefully years of experience. I’m so glad I’m doing this now. I believe in moving before you’re ready. It makes you think on your feet, increases your creativity and I want to be better at both of those. I’m going in as green as the day I was born, but there’s no such thing as the perfect time. So I’m going for it.

Instead of drinking myself to death and trying my best not to dork a legal hooker (dick joke #2) and getting cash advances on my credit cards I’m going with a notebook and a pen. I’m gonna get brand new education.

I’ve got a lot more to say, including one more huge surprise, but I’m going to save that for a future post. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around that one. But it’s a damn good one. And I can’t wait to share it with you. I’m keeping this short because I’ve got writing to do, and it feels so good to be back, to be writing, creating and publishing all on the road to Killercon.

To be honest the funk I went through probably couldn’t have happened at a better time. Because now that I’ve broken through, I’m on the warpath all the way to the biggest event/milestone in my young writing life. And if I’m like this now, I’m gonna be the Incredible Hulk when I recover from the inevitable hangover that will follow me home from Vegas. (Yeah I said I’m going to learn, but c’mon, it’s Vegas) I’m fine with a Vegas hangover, and even losing money, I just hope it doesn’t burn when I pee too badly (dick joke #3) while I’m contemplating suicide during my 3.5 hour layover on the way home. Stupid for sure, but taking that horrible layover saved me $100. And I’m not going to take that extra $100 to the blackjack table. I’m buying $100 worth of books from the dealer’s room as soon as it opens.

I’d love to end here, because I think that last paragraph was powerful, and true, but I can’t. I got one more thing to say.

I wrote last week about my story “misery” and how the emotional aftermath of that story played a role in keeping me from writing for a few weeks. I won’t lie, it messed me up. And being the loyal gentleman that I am, I’d love for it to mess you up too. Or not, but I’d like for you to read it. It’s in a collection called Barnyard Horror from James Ward Kirk Publishing and it’s FREE for Kindle all weekend. Peep it here http://www.amazon.com/Barnyard-Horror-ebook/dp/B00EEG3ZUI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376122713&sr=8-1&keywords=barnyard+horror+kindle

On top of the story that slayed my emotions, the rest of the collection is rock solid. Some great stuff by some great writers, poets, and artists in Barnyard Horror. I encourage you to check it out. You’ll like it. So go, seize it, share it, review it, hold hostages at gun point and make them get it too. If you want to talk about it, tell me I broke your heart or made you ill, or that I suck, awesome. Here I am. If you want to give me a digital hug, high five or sack tap (dick joke # 4) that’s cool too, come find me on Facebook at New World Horror – Kerry G.S. Lipp or shoot me an email [email protected].

Ps. Sorry if the dick jokes weren’t funny, but a promise is a promise no matter how big or how small. (dick joke #5) You’re welcome.

Keep reading, keep writing, and keep it real,
KGSL