Salt Lake Comic Con 2017

It's interesting how you can have low expectations for something and then have them totally reversed by the end of the day. That's what happened this year at Comic Con, for me.

Now, I always have high expectations for the Salt Lake Comic Con. It's run well and it's always interesting, and the guests are always so great. However, this year I was only able to go for half a day. How much fun can you have in half a day, and is it worth the ticket price?

But I went anyway. I am working on two nerdy stories, so I needed the research, and I wanted to buy a nerdy lanyard for work. I did all I could to maximize my experience. I cosplayed as Vanessa, aka Human Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

I went to panels.

And I enjoyed the sights.

And I had a really, really good time!

The panels alone would have been worth the ticket. It was great hearing Elijah Wood talk about doing the Lord of the Rings movies and how it felt returning to the set for The Hobbit, and Zachary Levi is a really, really good guy. He was funny and dorky and so humble and fun. I enjoy getting to know the celebrities that come to Comic Con, just a little bit. It always makes me like them more when I find out that they're good people for real.

Zachary Levi would hug you for $20, which would go to charity. I wanted to do that, but he was leaving just as I got there. So bummer.

I got my sister a nerdy shirt at Comic Con, which I found fun because this particular sister isn't geeky and normally wouldn't like this stuff, but she is a fan of Stranger Things, so I took a little joy in getting her a nerdy shirt at a nerd convention, knowing she'd like it. It was one of these:

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Heather Dixon!

She's my favorite blogger. If you haven't read her blog Story Monster, you should. It's fun and interesting, and she talks about everything from her art and books to funny and sad things that happen in her life. And then, you should read her books Entwined and Illusionarium. There's a real magic to her work, and I love it all.

I totally fangirled over her, and I hope it didn't freak her out. She was one of the few people who recognized my costume. And I got a signed print of Tiffany Aching! If you read this, you know how much I love Terry Pratchett.

So, yeah, highlight. It was a good day. I'm glad I went, even though I couldn't stay for very long. I got my lanyard and some chocolates shaped like Baby Groot's face, so that was good, too.

I'm currently working hard on several projects, so I'm pretty busy. I'll keep you posted with any developments with Arts and Thefts or my work in progress. Thanks for reading, as always!

Here are this week's debuts:

Middle Grade:
Kim Ventrella - Skeleton Tree (9/26)
Patrick Moody - The Gravedigger's Son (9/26)

Young Adult:
Margaret Rogerson - An Enchantment of Ravens (9/26)
Jared Reck - A Short History of the Girl Next Door (9/26)
Kes Trester - A Dangerous Year (9/26)