Thrillerfest 2010

Thrillerfest was a blast - literally. Arriving early on Wednesday, my wife and I were greeted with a blast of 102-degree heat, which we promptly decided wasn't bad enough to stop us from descending into the even hotter and stuffier depths of the subway to ride down to Battery Park and then take the ferry to see Lady Liberty, determined to finish my research for the new Morpheus Initiative novel. After braving the 300+ steps (I lost count in the sweltering heat) to the viewing platforms, we finally somehow made it back to the hotel for what I hoped would be a more relaxing Thursday...

But things started up fast, with a great presentation by John Gilstrap, who showed us some rather graphic video proof of what happens when bullets of various calibers interact with flesh and bone, why your characters really can't go on fighting after being shot, and why there just isn't any such thing as a 'flesh wound'.

Then I did some volunteering, directing crowds of writers and agents to their high-tension pitchfest (and every minute I counted my blessings that I didn't need to go through that again). Sat in on more informative panels, went to the cocktail party, and I don't remember the rest... except some people in the hotel bar seemed quite interested in THE PHAROS OBJECTIVE and promised to buy it.

Friday was my panel, talking about the paranormal and why it's here to stay. Great fun with Jonathan Maberry, Christopher Golden, Dakota Banks and Heather Graham. I felt honored to be among such talent!

After that, I could relax. Did the book signing (and those people from the bar actually followed through and bought copies - yay!). I gave out some copies for potential blurbs to William Dietrich and Steve Berry (who was excited about the Remote Viewing aspect). And the rest of the time - just enjoyed hanging with friends and meeting new ones. Looking forward to the next one!