And you are ...?

I'm attending Ravencon. My first con. I know where all the geeks are. Well, not all of them. I don't qualify, of course. I can clear a conference room in no time. I came in on the end of the "Are comics just for kids?" forum by which time the seven attendees were engaged in desultory conversation about prejudice against graphic novels. After I sat down they ended the discussion and cleared the room. I stayed for the next discussion on "How to write a blurb." Which turned into "How to write a query letter" which will later be the blurb used on the back on your dust jacket and in all other attempts to sell your book.* The tiny room was full except for the two chairs on either side of me which were apparently off limits to everyone else or were covered with a frost that I couldn't see. Half way through the hour a very senior gentleman entered pushing his walker. I shoved the furthest chair and mine aside, making room for him to exit his walker and enter the nearest empty chair. A tiny rustle stirred the room. Ah, now they knew who I was. Friend of old man. Nah. Guess again.

Last weekend I attended my first non-denominational earth-centered spirituality retreat. For the first 24 hours I got pretty much the same reaction. No one is rude or cold. There just happens to be a larger berth of air around me than anyone else has. I'm sometimes talked to as if I have made a wrong turn and am too proud to admit it. No. I want to be here. Listen. I've tried everything else, why not this? And get used to it. I'm not the only bored boomer out here. There's plenty of us looking for new, different and educational experiences.

*It's scary the amount of marketing publishers expect author's to do. The author is supposed to determine their market, locate the editor or agent who covers that market, sell it, write the blurb and the pitch. Really. I would have thought just writing a good book was enough.