Learning to Cosplay

Once all the writing is done, redone, revised and redone yet again, and the hard work converted into a physical book, then the author can breathe for a while and have fun. Take last Saturday, for example, at Hudson Con! where I shared my books as I enjoyed meeting all kinds of characters. I even dabbled a bit in this adventure called cosplay, a portmanteau creation of blending the word costume with the word play. All morning long when I was at my volunteer job, I was delighted to view a long, drawn-out walkthrough of wannabes dressed in a wide variety of fictional comic book or computer game characters. By afternoon I was free to roam through the displays and enjoy the view. One featured guest was the man behind the voice of Scooby-Doo, Scott Innes, who was gracious enough to pose with two of my books.

Of course I had to have my photograph taken at the entrance. Take a look at the outfit I chose: Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, a little conservative for my first time dressing as a comic character. 

Here's the full outfit with my book being held up a cosplay enthusiast dressed as a Minecraft creeper.

For a brief moment in time, we all entered into the pages of a book or into a computer screen and became someone other than ourselves. We left reality behind. Well, I didn't exactly. I wanted to see what those characters would think of my books. 

My favorite of all was this monster. Was it a person or a robot? I'll not tell. (Because I DON'T KNOW!)

There were all kinds of vendors with all kinds of merch. My books were for sale in their usual spot, The Red Awning Gallery, down the hall from the auditorium where everything was happening. Two booths were sponsored by friends of mine. One was so congested with people that I couldn't get a decent photo. The other ran a booth filled with those good old games and toys people remembered from their younger years.

Behind all the fun I had at this event, there were hours and hours, no, let me say months and months of hard, grueling work. Sitting in front of my computer. Researching. Interviewing. Learning patience. Learning various computer quirks. Replacing broken-down computers!

Days like this are sweet, sweet icing on the cake. Fellow writers, hang in there. You'll have your own wonderful sweet icing experiences being an author. 

First, get that book done!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen