The C3 CON: An Intimate Affair for Creatives!

During the weekend of September 13 - 15, 2019, I had a wonderful time at the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity (C3) Con at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel in Columbia, MD. Throughout the years I have made some great author friends at this intimate affair and it was a joy to see them again and to meet a few new ones (Julie Hyzy, Becky Muth, Matty Dalrymple, Mark Bergin, Patrick Hyde, and the list goes on).

Anyway, let’s get into the action of the conference. 

Friday night. Noir at the Bar hosted by Ed Aymar after dinner was awesome. The lineup of readers captivated the audience’s attention and made us yearn for more. Shawn Cosby brought his “A” game and knocked us out with his reading which was more like a performance and took home the winning trophy.  

Saturday was nonstop. Right after breakfast, I hit the ground running as a panelist on a panel titled “Writing Diverse Protagonists” which was moderated by Sharon Buchbinder. The other panel members included Debbie Mack, Natalina Reis and FJ Talley. We had fun using a buzzer (each with a different sound) whenever we wanted to answer a question. The audience was amused by this.

Anyway, we discussed what to do when writers want to create a diverse protagonist but are not included in that diversity. Our response – research by seeking out and interviewing folks who belong to that diversity but make your characters believable.

Shortly before lunch, I moderated a panel titled “Getting the Legal Facts Right.” The panelists included Annie Alexander, Mark Bergin, and Patrick Hyde. Great discussion about getting the legal facts in a courtroom or criminal procedure right. Again, nothing beats research and talking to police officers or lawyers.

After lunch, I moderated a panel titled “Marketing Using Social Media.” The panelists included Ellen Butler, Becky Muth, and Matty Dalrymple. The audience had lots of questions about which social media is most effective. We told them to use no more than what they were comfortable using (2 -3) and to let their personalities shine through.

Book signings. I had great tablemates – Glenn Parris, author of Dragon's Heir: The Archeologist's Tale and Becky Muth, social media guru and author of the Haunted Women Series, a collection of ghost stories set in Appalachian America. 

Time for dinner. The Italian cuisine menu and desserts were very delicious. The dinner keynote speech was given by Julie Hyzy, author of Virtual Sabotage. Julie talked about her writing journey and how bullies in her life and her love of books helped shaped her writing career. Great inspirational story.

Chill time. After dinner, we all huddled at the bar talking about our novels, muses, WIPs while enjoying a few cocktails. This intimate affair allows special moments like to include even hanging out with the keynote speaker. Now how cool is that!

Overall, this intimate gathering fueled our energies and lit a FIRE in our writing souls! I look forward to attending next year’s C3 Con on August 28 – 30, 2020. You don't want to miss lots of panel discussions, 5 delicious meals, keynote speeches, guest interviews, Noir at the Bar and so much more! 

Registration is now open at http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com/ Hope to see you there!