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Just a quick post this week to remind you that I'll be in Midland, Michigan next weekend. Fett's along with Midland Mall is hosting the first annual Fett's Holiday Market. I'll be set up with copies of all of my books, prints, stickers, pins, and bookmarks! If you're in the area, please come out and say hi!

After over two weeks of attempts, I finally have a cat scan scheduled for my lungs. It's not until mid-October, but at least it's scheduled. I'm not impressed with the hospital system for completely dropping the ball on this. Hopefully their techs are better than their schedulers. But hey, I got it done!

I'm tired and not the normal kind of tired. I call this depression tired..this unnatural need/desire to sleep all of the time. I feel as if I only have the energy to be up for tiny pockets of time and then I want to sleep again. It's hard to function when all you want to do is sleep and even though you battle, there's no real winning the war.

I know what triggered this, but like the battle for energy, there's nothing I can do to change the cause. I went to a convention last weekend and it was good. It was wonderful being back out among people and not just any people, but people who love indie comics as much as I do. I even helped do a panel which was amazing. It felt so good to talk about things that I knew and to have zero doubt that I knew what I was talking about.

I have to admit just remembering that experience has put a smile on my face. You see..I had planned on writing a personal post about my time in Columbus, but this wasn't it. It is now. You never know where things are going to go when you sit down to write, or at least I don't.

So, here's the thing...Columbus was a test for me. For the past year, I've shut myself off more and more. Some have noticed, most haven't. It's easy to hide when you don't live near anyone and everyone is so busy with their lives that they don't notice when you quietly slip away. Very few reach out and say hey, where did you go? I'm lucky that very few doesn't equal zero. Still, I needed some answers.

As I shut myself away, I slowly convinced myself that my other site would be better off without me. I wasn't sure if I still had the passion to do what needed to be doing. After all, the best person to run a site is someone who feels passionate about what the site does. With the struggles I've had over the past year, I wasn't sure if that person was me anymore. So, I decided that I needed to either find out or hand the site over to my second in command.

The test? Take myself off to a convention that is strictly 100% tiny indie comics..no vendors, no larger indie publishers that we already work with, just tiny indie guys. I figured that by the end of the weekend, I would know just how I felt about the industry and my future with Geek-o-Rama. Turns out that I was right. By the time I got back to the hotel room Sunday night and had a chance to reflect, I had my answers. I still love what I do. I love meeting new people and hearing about their passion for an industry that isn't the easiest to break into. I love being able to give bits of advice (though seriously, I may need to start charging consulting fees) and being able to share what I (and my amazing staff) do with them. Don't get me wrong, I still love working with the bigger indie publishers, but my heart will always lie with the underdog.

Honestly, it came as an incredible relief. I was afraid that this was one more thing that had been taken from me. It wasn't though and over the summer, I plan on diving back into the pool and working harder than ever.

To close out this post, how about a Top 5 list of random things from SPACE 2016?

1. Spending $5 to purchase an 11 year old's first comic and an art print from her is something that will never stop bringing a smile to my face. It's important to support our children's passions.
2. Having towels in your hotel room is really a good thing and hotels should be on top of that.
3. There's something great about making random connections on the road with people you'll never see again, but in that moment, you connected.
4. Waffle House post con with two really fun people is an experience that I hope to have again. One of the toughest parts of conventions is the sitting alone in a hotel room with takeout afterwards.
5. I really do love what I do and I need to stop letting anxiety get in the way of getting out there. 

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I know some of you must have been wondering what happened to me and where I've gone. I *think* that I posted here about my grandmother's passing. It's been a rough time since them around the homestead. I've been juggling far more than I realistically thought I could and while it hasn't been perfect, we've been surviving. I've been running back and forth to Corunna to help deal with her house. My mother and my uncles have decided to hold an estate sale so there's the process of sorting out what's worth any money and what's just worth something to me. It's exhausting but it has to get done.

Then, to add insult to an already painful time, my poor laptop decided to give up on me. While in the middle of something, the video card just said goodnight and refuse to wake back up. I am thoroughly blessed to have a man who felt this was unacceptable and after our replacement card didn't work, ordered me a new laptop. He's a pretty laptop, all blue and shiny.  We're still getting to know each other but I think it's going to be a good relationship. ;)

So, that's it. That's where I've been. The boys had their spring break last week and it was nice to have them here for an entire week. We didn't do a whole lot but it was nice to spend time together. We watched movies and played games and yes, did more than a little housework.

I wish I could say that everything was sunshine and roses, but it really isn't. I've been struggling and those closest to me know just how much. I've been really blessed though to have some amazing people in my life right now who just refuse to let me give up. Granted, I don't really want to give up but on those days where it just feels like I can't do anything right or the whole world hates me, they've been there to push me along. I can't begin to tell you how much the Facebook messages, ims and text messages have meant to me. They say that in times of dire need you find out who your friends are and it makes me sad and happy all at once to say that's true. I've discovered that some that I thought closest to me really weren't and those that are more recent friend finds have been the most amazing.

Which brings me to today's announcement! I won't be home this weekend! Ok, I know..you're hoping for more than that brilliant revelation. Well, there is more. I won't be home because I'll be in Chicago! That's right, this girl right here has a press badge (me? press? what?) to attend C2E2. I'm headed out tomorrow to go meet all sorts of amazing folks and I promise to come back with pictures, at least one interview and who knows, maybe even some prize giveaway type items. This will be my first trip to "the big city" all by myself and I'm a little nervous about the whole taking a train and multiple shuttles thing but hey, if they consider me press, I'd better darn well act all confident and stuff, right?

So, if any of you happen to be attending this weekend, drop me a line and let me know. Maybe we can meet up! Otherwise, keep your eyes open because I'm darn well trying to be back!




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If you had asked me even two years ago what I was doing for my birthday, you never would have heard me say I was going to a comic book convention. In fact, had someone suggested it, I most likely would have snorted and said, "and why would I want to do that?" You see, I was in the closet about part of my geek nature. Everyone knew I was into music and if you caught me unsuspecting, I'd even answer some sci-fi question without thinking. Now, fast forward to my birthday 2011. Want to guess where I spent it? Yep, at the Detroit FanFare Comic Book Convention. Ok, technically, it was the day after my birthday but since it fell during my birthday weekend, I'm counting it.

FanFare was held at Cobo Hall in Detroit. I had never actually been there before, but it wasn't too hard to find. Parking was a bit trickier, but we even managed to sort that out fairly quickly. By we, I ought to tell you, I didn't go alone. I actually tagged along with my friends Chris and Lauren. Chris ranks among what I call the uber-geeks of comic books. He has...*gasp*...subscriptions. Me? I merely have issues. They wanted to go and they were nice enough to let me tag along.

Lauren with some new friends

I am so glad they did. I had a great time and I met some really cool people. As usual, I want to tell you about the good, the bad and the summary. Ready?

The Good:
Location: Cobo is a great place to hold an event like this. It's spacious enough that you're not tripping over everyone and yet you don't feel like you're lost in a cavernous space, never to be heard from again. I have heard that next year they may move to a different location and I'm looking forward to seeing how this large event translates to another venue.

Plenty of space to setup photo shoots

Blood Drive: One of the things that this event offers is the chance to help save lives. In exchange for giving blood, you get the chance to rifle through tons of boxes of old comics and pick out 50 to take home and enjoy. Chris and Lauren both gave blood. I couldn't because of a recent tattoo, but because I tried, they still let me take home some comics. I think it's a fantastic way to combine a large event with something that could save lives. Since I have a son who needed a blood transfusion, I'm looking forward to next year and a new chance to help out, free comics or not. 

Lauren with Art Baltazar

The Costumes: Why didn't anyone tell me about dressing up? Ok, the truth was that I wouldn't have anyway. If you notice, I've not included a single picture of myself at FanFare. That's because there aren't any. I looked back through the pictures I took and there are a ton of the beautiful Lauren with a variety of people. Next year, insecurities will not get in my way. We saw so many great costumes and people just having a ton of fun. Here are a couple of our favorites:

The Tardis & the comic books for the blood drive in the background.

Now, for The Bad: