If you’re an independent artist, getting your wares into physical stores can be a challenge. Now, before I go any further, let me clarify that by ‘artist’, I’m referring to any person skilled in a creative activity to produce an end product. For example, my sister is a glass artist and I am an artist of the written word.
That heading sounds a bit like the title for a rather strange Harry Potter book, doesn’t it? The only similarity between the two is that there were a number of Harry Potter cosplayers at AMC Expo, which is a pop culture convention, here in Melbourne (Australia).
Since attending Supanova earlier this year, I’ve become a fan of pop culture conventions. As soon as I knew the dates for AMC Expo — 15-16 October — weren’t going to conflict with anything else going on in my life, I happily submitted my application for a table in the Artists Alley. My son Kyle was excited as well, as he gets to help me and spend my money on lots of cool stuff. (He does pay me back, it just takes time.)
When my son first noticed AHS Reunion on the calendar, he looked at me and asked, “American Horror Story reunion?”
“Altona High School reunion,” I replied, though in the back of my mind I was wondering if the ‘horror story’ part might be right.
I had accepted the invitation early on. It was a small and easy step to click the ‘Yes’ button on Facebook to say I was going. As the event drew closer, my feet dragged and I found myself thinking, “I don’t want to go. I can’t face the people I went to school with all those years ago. I never really fit in. I always felt like the third wheel. I simply did not belong.”
I need to warn anyone who might be considering reading this article that it contains swearing and disturbing imagery. The same may be true of my books, but as fiction, we can go to bed and sleep at night, knowing that none of it is true. This article, however, is a recollection of events from my past.
Now that you’ve been forewarned, the choice is yours … to read, or not to read.
As Oz Comic-Con was my second pop culture convention, I wasn’t a bundle of nerves on day one, like I was for Supanova.
There were no wardrobe malfunctions, thank goodness. My wig stayed firmly in place and my corset actually gave me some cleavage for the via of angel’s blood to nestle nicely in my bosom. Yeah, I’m sure you really didn’t want to hear that, but it’s my story, and I’ll tell it the way I want, like I always do 🙂
What a bundle of nerves I was on day one of Supanova!
Firstly there were wardrobe malfunctions. My wig kept wanting to run away and the collar I was wearing, which Hamley Bear kindly lent me, tried to do endless 360s around my neck. When I ventured out among the public my black wings got knocked a fair bit, as they extend beyond the usual width of a mortal being. In the end I simply turned sideways when the traffic was bad in order to protect my wings. No big deal at all. I did knock down a few dragons with my wings at one point though. At least now I know dragons are no match for me and my wings!
Supanova is just around the corner (April 16–17), at the Melbourne Showgrounds. This will be the first ever pop culture event I’ve attended, and it just so happens I’m going there as an exhibitor. That means I’m there for the entire weekend, and hopefully will have a bit of free time to wander around and check out all the celebrities that will be on-site.
Team Mel consists of myself, my son Kyle and a good friend of ours, Mei Teo, who designed the covers for the first two books in my ‘Angel Series’. You can check out Mei’s blog here and her YouTube channel here. Between the three of us my table will be well manned.
Okay, so this is a bit different for me, though it does show that I am creative in more ways than one.
As I’ve booked a table at the Indie Zone in The Alley for Supanova Melbourne (April 15–17), I thought I’d need some business cards to hand out. My dilemma was finding something nice to display them in. I searched the Net for a number of hours, looking for an inexpensive and unique business card holder, and couldn’t find what I was looking for. So I thought to myself that maybe I could make one, and searched for ideas. Bingo! Lisa Minckler, at You Made Me Ink! used an earring box to make a unique business card holder back in 2012.
It’s almost the end of the year and I am sad. Why am I sad? Okay, prepare yourself for a tirade as I explain why I’m sad.
Note: If you are easily offended, perhaps you should stop reading this article now …
Over the years political correctness has spread like a virus to infect all avenues of our lives. In most cases it’s been a good virus, but in some — this one in particular — it’s plain awful and wrong.
I live in Australia, which is a predominantly Christian, English-speaking country. Here are some statistics to support that claim, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, for the latest census in 2011:
With those two words – Hello world – my journey as an author begins.
Welcome to my world! It doesn’t matter if you stumbled across my site by luck, or found me via social media, thank you for dropping by.
If you have any questions – keep it clean please – don’t hesitate to ask. No, I can’t provide you with the winning lottery numbers for the next draw – I was rather hoping that you could tell me what they’re going to be – and no, I won’t lend you any money.
Copyright © Melanie Tomlin 2024
