Yesterday my buddy Stefan and I drove to Bristol for Bristol Horror Con at the Future Inns in Bristol, and damn it was a lot of fun. It was quite a long drive from my home in Kent but I wanted to go because CL Raven were going to be there, and although I’ve know them for a couple of years we’ve never met. I like a little horror in my life as well, so I thought screw it! Let’s go! And I am so glad we did. Not only was it great to meet Cat and Lynx I met a bunch of other people who I found to be awesome and welcoming. The atmosphere was just so chilled out and relaxed, it was great just being there and soaking it all up.
We spent most of our time on the 6th floor of the hotel where all of the dealer tables where but went down to a Jazz Club below the bar for author readings, which Cat and Lynx were a part of. That, I found a lot of fun and very interesting. There was four people doing readings, including Cat and Lynx. The other two novelist were A K Benedict and Martyn Waites. Sitting and listening to all four reading excerpts or short stories was really thought provoking. Both in that once I actually get my butt into gear and get stories written, then I’ll be (hopefully) doing this sort of thing. But also in listening to writers whose work I hadn’t come across before. Obviously I’ve read a fair bit of Cat and Lynx’s work, but it was a lot of fun hearing it out loud, and they really aced the reading. Both A K Benedict and Martyn Waites are new to me but both rocked their readings and I’ll be checking their work out.
Needless to say I brought a load of books, six in all. As well as a couple of comics, a few key rings, CDs and a T-Shirt from the band Lesbian Bed Death, and a gorgeous skull paperweight. I could have brought a lot more, but managed to reign myself in.
Lesbian Bed Death was an awesome experience, I brought their first album years ago but like with all music I lost track of them and am seriously out of date. So I managed to pick up a couple of albums, including their latest and damn, it’s some good stuff!
The comics I got were Domeinion: A Threat From Within, and Dark Matter. Both are from Close2Immortality, and really caught my eye. Some very gorgeous artwork and the stories sound fantastic.
The skull paperweight I got is really cool and hopefully will be the first of a number of badass ornaments that I’ll gather over the next few years. Definitely check out the creator From The Shadows. He’s got some really sweet bits on his site.
Now, onto the books. I brought Deadly Reflections and The Malignant Dead by the aforementioned CL Raven. The Starblood Trilogy by Carmilla Voiez. A Tiding Of Magpies by Peter Sutton. Dead Cells by Adam Millard, and The Last Plague by Rich Hawkins.
Speaking to each of these fantastic authors was a lot of fun. All of them were very engaging and all of them seemed really nice and down to earth. It was very inspiring, speaking to people who are getting their words out into the world.
Everyone was so nice and welcoming. I can feel awkward at times, and not quite sure of myself, but at Bristol Horror Con, and DemonCon, I felt at ease in these groups of people. They’re there for the same reason I am, a love of horror and sci-fi and comics etc. My buddy Stefan, who is a big horror nut, loved it too. We’ve both pretty much deciding to go back again next year.
It was a highlight of the year for me.
Peter Germany's World 
Excellent! I’m glad these cons all seem welcoming. I really want to start booking myself in for one or two soon (once I have a stock if paperbacks to sell), and I’d rather feel relaxed about it than feel there’s
expectation to be high and mighty
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I’d strongly recommend it, it was just awesome! I’ll be looking to do more next year, money permitting š
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Aye, the cost of a table must be pretty variable depending on the con too. I wouldn’t mind doing DemonCon, as it’s pretty local and the guy that runs it is a good guy
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DemonCon in February was the first Con I went to and a lot of fun. I went to the one a few weeks ago too but couldn’t stay long due to family being in hospital, but it was still a lot of fun š
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I normally head off for the anime themed ones (previously MCM Expo, more recently HyperJapan). Cons are good fun though.
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I’ve never really gotten into Anime, it’s something I need to check out more of.
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It’s variable, to be fair. There’s plenty of good stuff out there, depending on what you like, but there’s a lot of awful series as well.
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I’ve seen Ghost in the shell, that I liked. And I’ve been recommended Death Note and Attack on Titan.
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All of which are very good, and very different. The original Ghost in the Shell film is a marvellous piece of Sci-Fi, though I’d also recommend the two Ghsot in the Shell Stand Alone Complex series as well. Death Note is a clever bit of YA horror, and Attack on Titan is absolutely brutal at times.
Fullmetal Alchemist is also worthwhile in terms of dark fantasy/political intrigue. Out of the two versions, Brotherhood is best, but the original has its charm. If you’re going old school, Akira is a usually a safe bet, or possibly Ninja Scroll. The new versions of Appleseed are decent SciFi pieces, but not without their faults. I personally recommend the Evangelion Rebuild films, though I know people are mixed on these. Steins;Gate is a very smart time travel one. Durarara is anotehr fun one, but a little odd. Oh, and Spice and Wolf (though i’d say look up the story first to see if it takes your fancy).
One thing I’d recommend is hitting up YouTube, typing in a series name and adding ‘AMV’ at the end You’ll get plenty of music videos about each then, and that can give a good idea of what to expect.
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I’ve heard of most of those, many are on Netflix, but I’ll check the others out. I’m keen to expand my viewing etc. and I keep hearing good things about anime.
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It’s definitely worth experimenting with. If you’re fine with subtitles, I also recommend Crunchyroll for streaming. It’s free if you don’t object to adverts.
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I will add it to the list. I don’t mind subtitles, it’s much better than trying to watch something that’s been dubbed over.
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Whereabouts in Kent are you, then?
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Rochester for me, so a little way over from Maidstone. I tend to drop into the Grinning Demon when I’m down that way though, and the owner knows some the guys that I used to wrestle with.
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Nice, I’m up just outside of Gravesend. I need to get down to The Grinning Demon soon, aside from DemonCon I’ve not been there
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It’s a good shop with a nice selection of titles and assorted merchandise. Well with a visit if you do get the chance.
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I am planning one in the near future, might be after Christmas now though.
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Thanks so much for the kind words about the convention, glad you had a good time and great to hear about the readings as I wasn’t able to attend them myself. Can’t wait to get organising next year’s convention!
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Thank you for all the work you put into it. It really was great and I’m already looking forward to next year š
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[…] I’m going. My buddy Stefan and his girlfriend, Steph, are both coming as well. Stefan came to Bristol Horror Con last year with me, and the awesome CL Raven are going to be there too and I’m really looking […]
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