So, last Thursday began my return visit to Boston Comic Con. After attending last year to hand out print copies of the promotional Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic book, it was time to see if the giveaway would translate into sales of the first Pan novel, Blood Feud.
Friday I spent strolling around Back Bay, taking in the sights (I don’t play tourist, I just wander). I passed by Fenway Park—home of the Boston Red Sox—which was celebrating its centennial. Baseball fans had already started lining up in 10 a.m., for two reasons: an afternoon game against their most-hated rivals, the New York Yankees; and (I later learned) a chance to walk on the playing field. Based on the outcome of the games they attended, that rare field access was probably the highlight of the weekend for Red Sox Nation…
Anyway, Saturday was day one of the con, and it got off to a busy start—the turnout helped, no doubt, by the great weather. (BTW, in the photo that’s artist Erica Henderson with the two-tone hair in the foreground.) Almost right away I had people stopping by, usually greeting me with: “I’ve seen that banner/cover.” “I’ve seen your name around.” “I still have your comic from last year, and it was awesome!”
“And now it’s a book!” I’d say, and point to Blood Feud. One of three things then happened (and this held true for the entire weekend): they’d buy a copy; they’d tell me they already bought it online, it was great, and where’s the next one?; or they’d lament that they already have too many books in their house and their parents/spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend would scream if they brought another one home.
“Well, it’s also an e-book,” I’d tell them. “There’s a Kindle version and a Nook version. [Admittedly, the versions most people focus on.] And it’s only $3.99.”
“Really? Oh, then I’m definitely gonna check it out!”
Then I’d direct them to the Pandora Zwieback site to not only download the e-version of the freebie comic, but to also make use of the direct retailer links we have on the “Buy the Book” page. So, hopefully there’ll be a rise in e-book sales in the coming weeks.
A little after noon, The Dome and Kriana of the weekly podcast Sci-Fi Saturday Night stopped to say hi. I’d done an interview with them and the rest of the cast back in December, following The Dome’s highly complimentary review of Blood Feud. They asked me (twice!) to come back on the show to promote the second Pan novel, Blood Reign, when it’s released.
Shortly after that, a fan named John arrived, to ask that I sign his omnibus copy of the X-Men: The Chaos Engine novel trilogy that I wrote a decade ago. (Sorry about the slightly blurry cell-phone shot, John!) He came back on Sunday for me to sign his Pandora comic.
Among the new Pan-atics added to the Zwieback Collective when they bought copies of Blood Feud were Paige, Karen, Tom, Val, and Sci-Fi Saturday Night cast member The Dead Redhead—so, hi and thanks again for your purchases!
The other title that drew a lot of attention was our Snow White e-book. With the growing buzz over the upcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman (starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth), con-goers were impressed by the e-book’s design (a presentation “copy” is stored on my Nook Color) and blown away by the art, which was first published in 1883. And the low price of $1.99 for a full-color book is a little hard to resist. 😉
Saturday ended with a visit from Julie A. Dickson, a fellow small-press publisher who was promoting her latest project, The Seven Trials of Kiera Snow: an illustrated young adult novel about a girl’s quest to find her missing best friend. Julie and I traded books; in exchange for Blood Feud, Julie not only gave me Kiera Snow but tossed in a copy of a previous YA novel, Girl From the Shadows, as well. Continued success with the writing, Julie!
Sunday was almost as busy as Saturday, from what I could see, but for me it was fairly quiet—far more conservations about the Pan series than actual sales. One bright note, though: an attendee I’d pitched Blood Feud to on Saturday came back to say he’d purchased the Nook edition when he got home. And again, there was plenty of interest in Snow White—well, the 19th-century art is pretty awesome, after all.
Then closing time rolled around, and it was time to pack up and head to the Amtrak station for the trip back to New York. Thanks for the good time, Beantown!
