I've finally got home, caught up reading LJ, and had the spare time to actually post an update. (By building it up like that I hope it'll sound like an accomplishment and not a late con rehashing.) I'm still tired from the con and a nagging cold (light for con crud).

<LJ-CUT TEXT="Part I: Furry Friends">
<U>Part I: Furry Friends</U>

MFF was a good one this year, IMHO. I travelled out with <LJ USER="kit_ping"> and <LJ USER="3catsjackson">. It was Trey's first time travelling to a furry con.

Had a lot of fun and saw a lot of new, old, and/or far-flung friends. A brief and surely incomplete list, for people who like seeing themeselves in other journals, would be:
<LJ USER="aeto">, <LJ USER="babsbunny">, <LJ USER="icedog"> (shared a panel with, lotsa fun), <LJ USER="jugularjaguar"> (here 'n' there), <LJ USER="kevinjdog">, <LJ USER="kindar">, <LJ USER="kinkyturtle">, <LJ USER="latinvixen02">, <LJ USER="maxgoof"> (briefly), <LJ USER="orv"> (met for the first time), <LJ USER="rain_luong">, <LJ USER="rcking"> (busy but always find a few good minutes for ya), <LJ USER="rustitobuck"> (all-too-briefly), <LJ USER="siegferret">, <LJ USER="snapcat"> (runnin' fursuit events like the pro he is), <LJ USER="tiresta">, <LJ USER="tjcoyote"> (in passing), <LJ USER="tonyringtail"> (again, in passing), <LJ USER="yappyfox"> (more often in suit than out), <B>Keggan</B> (aka Kyreeth or other hard-to-spell-and-remember names), <B>Wolftail</B> (excellent animatronics panel), <B>Alopex</B> (I think I found the correct account: <LJ USER="brerandalopex">; wish I had more time to chat with ya), <A HREF="http://www.herbietoons.com/">Herbie Bearclaw</A> (always the charming fellow, he was nice enough to autograph a book for me; great to see you once again), <B>Dave Allen</B> (a familiar over-the-dealer-table face), <B>Metallix</B>, <B>Northpaw</B> (nice to meet you), <B>Loriana</B> (had some time to actually chat; I have much to learn about fiberglass!), <B>Firepup</B>, and doubtlessly others.

Given my normal memory for names, I'm impressed I got that far! Drop me a note in reply if you're on LJ and I missed you on this list, should you happen to read this.
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<LJ-CUT TEXT="Part II: Meeting Mary-Jo">
<U>Part II: Meeting Mary-Jo Pehl</U>

One of the big moments for me, at least, was getting to meet <A HREF="http://www.scifi.com/mst3000/thebrains/#pehl">Mary Jo Pehl</A> star of ex-show <A HREF="http://www.mst3kinfo.com/">Mystery Science Theater</A>. I went into the Dealers' Room and there she was, sitting at the Plan Nine table with <LJ USER="kevinjdog">! Looking decidedly less evil than on TV, I would note.

I went up, introduced myself, apologized for any overly-fannish behavior, and proceeded to have her autograph <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553377833/qid=1069830391/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-8919889-7579219?v=glance&s=books">a book</A>. My brain was more or less consumed by the self-conscious thought "I will <I>not</I> look like a total wonk. I will <I>not</I> look like a total wonk. I will <I>not</I>...".

Fortunately, she's a wonderful and charming person. Her disarming smile was able to help me get past fanboy mode and actually engage in some real conversation, too.

I presented her with tapes of our <A HREF="http://www.mft3k.org/">Mystery Fandom Theater</A> work. She seemed pleasantly surprised that we had created three episodes as tribute. She promised to watch them when she got home and had the time.

I asked her about her view on this sort of fan activity. It had been my understanding that previously, circa 1996, it was said that Best Brains didn't really mind fan creations as long as they weren't defaming or for-profit. But we've recently heard rumblings that such might no longer be the case. For her part, Mary Jo stressed that she was in no way part of BBI since the series ended; Jim Mallon remains the owner. She, however, seemed to think it sounded fine but emphasized that her opinion no longer carried any weight. So... MFT will probably be writing to Jim to see what the word is.

Anyhow, the important part is: I got to meet Mary Jo. She is cool. She has a book coming out... sometime soon.
</LJ-CUT>
<LJ-CUT TEXT="Part III: Hawking of Wares">
<U>Part III: Hawking of Wares</U>

Speaking of, one goal of the trip was to promote my upcoming book. I put flyers on the reg table, had a small room party, and did a little shameless promotion at panels.

I put about 50 flyers on the reg table, all told. By Sunday, they were gone. Clearly, somebody was stealing them! Darn 'coons...

Had a handful of people show up for the party. It was a fun chill-out and chat affair, more than anything. Most of the people who turned up decided to pre-order the book.

I also gave brief plugs at panels. That seemed to produce the best results, with about half my sales coming from panel crowds.

All in all, I got a dozen pre-orders. I'm happy with that! Given that this is my first book and I have been honestly nervous about its reception, this was quite bolstering. Thanks to everyone who ordered! (Especially to Alopex, who I think ordered one just to make me feel good since earlier that weekend he was giving me some tips! What a swell guy.:)

So the trip was a success on the business side. Got some orders and publicity buzz going, which helps to defray the cost of the trip.
</LJ-CUT>
<LJ-CUT="Part IV: Con Wrapup">
<U>Part IV: Con Wrapup</U>

I was in three panels on costuming. Got a chance to go to a bunch of other interesting panels.

MFF is a pretty good con, all told. Good mix of programming, good crowd, nice hotel. I certainly intend to make it back next year.
</LJ-CUT>