My star-studded journey to Comic Con

My journey to Comic Con 2010 began and ended with a star-studded bang. On my first night, I attended an awesome cocktail party hosted by my Eos/HarperCollins editor, Diana Gill. Set in the plush, ultra-modern Se San Diego Hotel, luminaries included Jocelynn Drake, Mario Acevedo, Richard Kadrey, Guillermo del Toro, and John Picacio.


Friday morning, we headed downtown on the train, where we merged with the other 150,000 attendees. Our trek to the Mecca of all things sci-fi and fantasy led us to the steps of the San Diego Convention Center. Here, the train signs were suddenly written in Klingon.


The whole experience felt like entering Dr. Who’s tardis. That convention center looks one size from the outside, but I swear the inside is really an unending, ever-expanding universe. There is no way you can see it all, although you want to. Row after row of stunning artwork and T-shirts and books.




At times I didn’t know whether to look at the booths or the attendees—their costumes were so awesome. Below, artist, Justin C. Orr's sister poses as one of his cartoon characters.


And then there were the panels. I waited in line for more than an hour to attend the following panels: V, Fringe, and Vampire Diaries. Part of the wait was out in the hot, Southern California sun. Was it worth it? You bet. Each of those panels rocked! I’ll be posting more about the panels in another blog.

Then there was the Eos Bite Me panel. I had the opportunity to speak along with authors Tanya Huff (the Victoria Nelson novels), Mario Acevedo (the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series), Jocelynn Drake (Pray for Dawn), Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim), Lauren Kate (Fallen series), and Marjorie M. Liu (In the Dark of Dreams).


The crowd was fabulous. They waited patiently for the panel to begin.


And they asked awesome questions.


Afterward, we all signed books and got a chance to personally meet those who attended our panel. That was one of my favorite parts of the conference. I love meeting new people, and especially those who enjoy sci-fi and fantasy. One reason the book signing event went so smoothly was because the staff from Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego was fabulous!


And just when you’d think that my experience at Comic Con 2010 couldn’t get any better, it did. Saturday evening, my editor, Diana Gill, took me out to dinner to the Jsix restaurant. I honestly don’t have words to describe how incredible the food and service were. From the salad to the bread to the scallops, and how about that pasta? Yes, followed by crème brulee.


Neither one of us wanted to leave. Because right about when we were digging into our fabulous spread of delicacies, Diana spotted another scrumptious delicacy just outside our window. Spike (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) otherwise known as James Marsters.

But it didn’t stop with one Hollywood star. We just happened to get seated right in front of the annual Comic Con red carpet party, hosted by SyFy and Entertainment Weekly. Cameras flashing (okay, most of those flashes were me, attempting to get a good shot), TV cameras rolling, interviewers going over their questions, and fans everywhere, sometimes screaming.

Who did we see? Honestly, who didn’t we see? I took notes for awhile, then couldn’t keep up.

Here is who we saw, close enough to touch—if only we had the technology to reach through a glass window: Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic (Castle); Eric Bana (Star Trek); Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement); Julie Benz (Dexter); the cast from Vampire Diaries (SQUEE!); the cast from V (again, SQUEEEE); Cedric Daniels (The Wire); Kevin Sorbo (Hercules); Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory); James Callis (Battlestar Galactica)—again SQUEEE!; Zachary Quinto (Star Trek); Zachary Levi (Chuck); Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side); Sasha Roiz (Caprica); and Pauley Perrette (NCIS).

I’ve lived in the L.A. area for 20 years and I’ve never seen such a line-up of stars before. And the best part for me was the fact that they were all stars in genres that I love.

So, Comic Con 2010 truly was a star-studded festival that exceeded my expectations.

I’m hoping that CC 2011 will be even better.