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Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2016 — Day One

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 nice cleavage for the vial of angel’s blood to nestle nicely into. 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. 🙂

I didn’t venture out and about very much, purely because there were so many people and, if I’m honest, crowds really scare me. It’s hard to be an introvert in a place where extroverts thrive! That’s okay though, because plenty of amazing people stopped by my stand and I made some new friends.

The venue — Melbourne Events and Convention Centre, also known as Jeff’s Shed — was much more to my liking. Everything was under the one roof and there was no way the cold of winter was getting inside. That said, it doesn’t take much for me to feel the cold, so first thing in the morning and last thing at night, when the crowds were thinner, I shivered with cold. We’re not even a third of the way through winter and I’m already hanging out for summer!

A couple of hours before closing on day one, my projector stopped working. I thought that perhaps it had overheated, but even after it had cooled down it refused to turn on. That night, at home, I checked it and sure enough it worked. That meant I ‘d be able to take it back for day two and play my book trailers on loop.

Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2016 — Day Two

I woke up on the morning of day two with a very sore back. Further inspection revealed a large red welt on my thoracolumbar junction — the place where the mid spine and lower spine meet. It meant that sitting for long periods was a real pain, literally, in the back. Oh well, the things you do for the love of your craft …

We set-up the projector and all the related paraphernalia, and once again it wouldn’t turn on! After much cursing and swearing on my part, I decided to pack it up and simply hang a few more ‘in-case-of-emergency-use-these’ posters on the wall where the projector screen had been. (Funnily enough, when I checked the projector again at home, it worked, so I think that perhaps I didn’t have a 10amp power supply like I was supposed to have.)

Without the sound that accompanied the book trailers filling our ears, we heard the constant buzz from the Shinto Tattoo Gallery booth that was diagonally opposite us, and the aptly themed music from a variety of TV shows, movies and video games that was playing over the speaker system. I can still hear the music for Tetris playing in my head, the day after the event has finished.

All in all it was a good couple of days and I’m definitely going to sign-up to attend next year. By then I should have another book in the Angel Series out — maybe two if I work hard — and possibly a vampire-themed children’s picture book, which will be even more of a challenge than a full-length novel!

Lastly, I can’t end this article without a special thank you to my son Kyle, who was the other member of Team Mel. I couldn’t have made it through the weekend without you, and your constant chatter about Sailor Moon.