ParaCon 2006 was a blast. I had no idea what to expect going in. It was cozy, relaxed, fun and informative. And I sold some books and made some money, which is always a plus. I felt I really botched my presentation. I got off track from my notes and ended up kind of winging it, with a persistent fly offering comic relief. People said I was entertaining afterward. I’m going to call that a good thing.

Next up, it appears I’ve been talked into a reading at Galileo’s Bar and Grill in Oklahoma City. This will be on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Me and Craig Wolf will be the featured guests, so we’ll take the stage at about 10 p.m. I’m a little nervous about this. Typically they have poetry readings on Wednesday evenings. I haven’t been to a poetry night there, yet, but I guess the audience isn’t shy about telling you if you suck. Should be interesting. The first hour, from 9-10, will be open mic, then Craig and I will go on. I guess we’ll trade off doing readings to fill the hour. It’s been decided that I’ll read “Dead Betty,” an accepted-but-not-yet-published zombie story. Kim doesn’t want me to read “Noodlers Nab Nekkid Nymphs.” It may be too long; I’ve been told the audience likes shorter stories and that one takes me about 20 minutes to read. Still, it embarrasses Kim and gets a good reaction from the audience, so who knows?

After that it’s Scare on the Square in Enid on Oct. 28. I’m really looking forward to this one, as I’ve never done a reading or signing in my hometown. I’m still waiting on some details about this one. The event is from 3-8 p.m. Tammy, the organizer, said she was planning to have some scary story time, but I’m not sure when. I’ll arrive a little after the start of things; a very good friend planned her wedding for noon that day. Yeah, that’s so inconsiderate, but what are ya gonna do? Then she didn’t even take my suggestion to have black and orange as her wedding colors.

Anyway, that’s it for the Halloween season. I’ll be launching some contests in November as my annual Give the Gift of Lycanthropy campaign returns. Contests will be for people signed up for my e-mail newsletter, my message board, and my MySpace group. Three chances to win prizes, but you have to sign up. The message board and MySpace contests will require some action on your part. It’ll be fun.