X. Ho Yen's Author Newsletter (30 Jan 2024)--COSine '24 AAR & Poll
Greetings Dear Subscribers,
How are you? Any news? Send me a note. Seriously. I’m not kidding. :)
* COSine ‘24 AAR & Poll
* The standard stuff
=== Colorado Springs Science Fiction Convention ‘24 After Action Report and Poll ===
https://www.firstfridayfandom.org/cosine/
We took a Misty Mountain Hop down to CO Springs
This was my third local geek convention as an author with a table. Each one has been very different and educational. These last two have also been fun because of our table neighbors.
We brought Fussy with us. This was her second convention. She’s getting accustomed to traveling, fortunately. (The ride to Fan Expo Denver a couple of years ago was quite upsetting to her. This time we used a quarter dose of a sedative to help, plus a raised, strapped-in cat bed in the car so she could see around her. It worked out well!)
My COSine buddy Lena M. Johnson was there as usual. Always nice to see Lena and shoot the shit. Hi, Lena!
Our neighbor to the right was K. Anderson, who was just a lovely neighbor! Hi, K.!
I'm hoping K. will make a guest appearance on Space Autistic Author and tell us about her creative journey and works! Keep an eye out.
Our neighbors to the left were Jim and Rhonda Henderson. Same deal there. Lovely people. Hi, Jim and Rhonda! Jim is in the middle of sending me A/V assets for his guest appearance on SAA.
The Directions Robut (think Zoidberg when you read that) at the check-in table.
Some cool pottery by Melanie Unruh in the Art Room
and this 1.5m tall bizarre alien/fantasy globe display thingy with an $8k minimum bid, $10k buy-now price. It’s amazing, but I think mostly a demonstration-of-skill piece.
Less misty on day 2, when we saw…
…this unexpected Freaky’s South Jersey Gifts, Tattoo, and Subs place next to the Starbuck’s on N. Academy Blvd., complete with sign with 3 of 5 lights burned out. It was just like visiting the Jersey shore!
We sold a few books, and I contributed a bit to the "Return to the Moon" panel. But it was the enjoyment of meeting some nice authors that made the trip worthwhile. Strangely, there were far more creators there than readers looking for books, based on traffic through the atrium where Author’s Row was located.
This was still during setup, but nonetheless pretty representative of traffic through the atrium.
Keep an eye out for other possible guest appearances on Space Autistic Author by Michael Carroll, Michael Kilman, and Levi Jacobs. (assuming they don't wimp out!) I'm also still hoping to get Adeena Mignogna on the show, and Melanie Trecek-King from thinkingispower.com.
I also met and interrogated Dr. Robert Williscroft, who told some amazing true stories (from first hand experience) about Cold War submarine espionage and treason. His true-life exploits form the basis of his military adventure books.
Finally, Stephanie A. Gillis did a microinterview with me for her tiktok channel. It’s my tiktok debut. :) You can find it on my VLOG page: https://xhoyenauthor.com/vlog Hi, Stephanie!
Yes, this is all very weird for an autistic to be doing, even a “high functioning” one (which mostly means that my autistic stuff is mostly hidden from you). It’s a good thing I have my social interaction emulation software running, based on observations of my brother many years ago. At the end of each day I desperately needed quiet alone time. One day I even turned off the light in the hotel room and put a pillow over my head for a while. Still, these small cons are much less overstimulating than the madhouse that is Fan Expo Denver.
At this con I did, however, confirm once and for all that my visuals are failing miserably to convey what I do, or at least what I DON’T do.
I had suspected, but now I know that my big banner in back allows people who are merely glancing to think I do military sci fi, space opera, and/or military space opera. Despite those words right there on the banner…
Someone right in front of my table gestured at it and said "military sci fi" to people they were showing around. And I learned from a friend that the betentacled, transbiological, spherical beings on the banner are being seen as a spaceship, a warship.
So, I must replace my problematic graphical presentation, and not just for conventions.
I’ve begun the process of seeking an affordable graphical designer who’s up for this task. But damn it, graphical designers cost money and I’ve done a little amateur dilettante graphical design, myself, over the years. So in parallel with that search, I’m also working on my own ideas.
Unfortunately, since I’m not an artist, such work involves compositing and altering already available images, like the free-to-use-for-commercial-purposes images posted on pixabay.com, or (blech) “AI” generated images. I’ve already resorted to using some “AI” scrape-riff images for Space Autistic Author (control rooms and corridors).
Below is a first attempt at an improved branding graphic. It’s a composite of two “AI” scrape-riff images I used bing.com to generate, plus text that I added. It needs to convey things like:
THOUGHTFUL
INCLUSIVE
IRREVERENT
HUMAN
SCI FI
while also conveying that we’re NOT talking about military sci fi, alien invasion, space opera, macho individualism, violence p0rn, or time travel type works.
POLL
Please do tell me if you think this KIND OF thing has potential. I plan on building around eight more different options.
I realize it’s a bit busy for a branding graphic, but from afar there are three basic elements: humans in a desert (metaphorical, can suggest many things), a fascinating wider reality above, and my text prompt about pondering the human condition.
This particular first try has the down side of using that desert visual right at the time a new “Dune” movie is coming out. But I can’t run from desert metaphors just because of that, can I?
But this first attempt does NOT give the impression that X. Ho Yen writes military, space opera, alien invasion, macho individualism, violence p0rn, or time travel, right? Or at least not military sci fi, right?
It has an inclusive feel, right? There isn’t anything particularly “white male ‘American’” about it, right?
And it more conveys realism-based sci fi than sci fantasy, right?
Do share your thoughts, even if you hate this!
Clear day for the return trip
Yes, I am working on Space Autistic Author, Log 2. Lately my body hasn't been doing so well, so my ability to sit and work for the many hours required is reduced, especially after my M-W computer-centric day job. Animation takes time!
I'll let you know when Log 2 is out, with guest appearances by Mike Torreano and Jim Henderson, and introducing a primary antagonist. It should help other potential guests understand what they’re getting into. :)
============ The standard stuff ============
Here’s a printable, one-page ad for MSD if anyone has a nice bulletin board/ad column nearby.
All purchase options can be found here: https://XHoYenAuthor.com/books or at GrandUnificationMonastery.com. Both sites include links showing how several of the big vendors allow you to gift eBooks.
Thanks for sticking with me! I hope it’s at least mildly entertaining to watch this author second career thing come together.
Please do share my page with fellow realism-based sci fi fans, especially anyone who enjoys Andy Weir’s books, Older’s Infomocracy, Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Card’s Speaker for the Dead, Mandel’s Station Eleven, Corey’s The Expanse, or Suarez’ Delta-V. I'm convinced my books would appeal to the same audience, because I wrote it for me and *I'm* in that audience.
Thanks for your support!
XHY
https://XHoYenAuthor.com