Took the family up to Minneapolis to visit some old friends and attend Fallcon, a small but growing comicon there.

They took fantastic care of all the creators there, even had someone show me to my table personally. I couldn’t have asked for more.

I sat next to a couple of very cool guys just getting started with their webcomic, Blank it comics. It’s the ultimate story about nothing, with two goofballs wandering around an infinite plain trying to deal with the reality – or non-reality – they found there. Very funny, and they’re going to do very well.

And I got to visit briefly with Diana Nock, whose mini I picked up at Wizard World was a favorite of my girls.

Nice crowd too. I could only be there Saturday because we had to drive back on Sunday. I brought up 30 books, donated one to their charity auction and sold the rest by 2:30. Allowed me to go out and enjoy the nice afternoon with my family at the city’s beautiful sculpture garden.

I’ll definitely be back there next year, with more books and for both days!

Oh, and they also had the Batmobile!

Crime Comic Book Creator Signing at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum

Friday, October 10, 2008, from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, a number of crime comics creators will be at a special signing event at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, 301 West Camden Street in Baltimore.
The event, coinciding with the big mystery convention Bouchercon, includes
- Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition)
- Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets)
- Greg Rucka (The Complete Whiteout)
- Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother)
- Tim Broderick (Cash and Carry)
- Duane Swierczynski (The Immortal Iron Fist)
- Gary Phillips (Darker Mask)

For more information, visit the museum’s website at http://www.geppismuseum.com/

I’m on my way to Baltimore for the biggest mystery fan conference in the country, Bouchercon.
Got through security just fine and I’m sitting here waiting for my flight. I hope to arrive with enough time to check in at the hotel before my 4:30 est panel. Should make it fine.
Weird person sitting near me – asked if she could watch my bag while I walked over to get a drink of water. Totally turned me down, but in a “not gonna take responsibility for your stuff” way.
Guess things have changed since the last time I flew.

Got in in plenty of time to make the panel and it went great! Featured Robert Gregory Browne, Mary Kennedy, Reed Farrel Coleman and Ona Russell.
We killed – got the audience involved and everything. Ended up selling three books and have been meeting tons of authors and great fans.
There’s a reception tonight at 7, I’m going to finish my beer and drop some stuff off at the hotel beforehand.
Fun note: Ran into Max Allen Collins – always a nice guy who makes time for everyone. Mentioned that he just sold a new serial-killer series.

Had a nice evening with some Chicago authors last night, good dinner at a local place.
Pretty easy day today – got the signing this afternoon and generally just hanging out and attending panels.
One thing I want to do is give a copy of Cash & Carry to one of my favorite authors Val McDermid. (Update: I did!)
And I just got some fantastic news from my publisher – I’ve earned out. That means there’s been enough sales that the print run and advance has been paid for. That’s a huge thing for an author to do – most never earn out.
I’ll be celebrating that tonight!

Good day Friday, with the signing at Geppi’s Museum and the panel where Vertigo introduced their new Crime line.
First the Vertigo panel:
I’d met Jason Starr at Chicago’s Love is Murder con, and he took me aside to show me some advance pages – they were beautiful. And the story is intriquing too. It was definitely something I wanted to sit down and read.
So I was looking forward to seeing the rest of the books and I can say that I was not disappointed.
First off, the books are all constructed with in the tradition of the novel – a self-contained story with memorable characters who (if they survive) could go on to be used in subsequent stories. The art for all of these books is black-and-white, some with grayscale while others are more stark.
And the stories look great. Jason’s features a young woman dealing with a significant and violent change in her life, Brian Azzarello has a disgraced college football player being hired to watch out for a rich man’s daughter in the sixties. Gary Phillips has a black detective and a white detective being forced to team up to solve their crime.
Finally, Ian Rankin works with the character John Constantine. Keep in mind that these were just quick previews so I don’t have a lot of info.
But I think it’s great news – and something I’ve been waiting for.
Kudos to DC for taking a serious step into real graphic novels – not just repackaging monthly comics. And they’re doing it with their eyes wide open to the challenge.
You see, they’re not just marketing this to comics readers, they’re doing this with the idea that these books should be shelved in the GN shelves of bookstores AND the mystery section.
Exactly what I’ve been preaching all these years, so I feel pretty good that others have seen the same potential.
I’ll blog more about the signing later.

That was my downfall, the Saturday night beer panel. Oy.
I’ll do my Bouchercon wrap up tonight, adding links and photos.

I’m still working on my Bouchercon wrap up, but I wanted to talk about something first.
Earlier I mentioned that I’d earned out – that is I’ve sold enough books that the print run and other expenses like the advance have been paid for. That’s a pretty big deal even for a small press author.
You see, most authors don’t earn out – they don’t make as much or more than the money the publisher has spent on them.
That’s to be expected though. Most publishers have authors who sell out their whole print run, who at least earn out and then authors who for whatever reason don’t earn out. In theory, the ones who make money for the publisher pay for the ones who don’t. And the ones who don’t do not necessarily fail to get another book published – their publisher may have confidence (more likely faith) that the writer will eventually come up with a breakthrough book.
But with a tough market and changing readership, that’s increasingly rare. It’s better to earn through.
With larger publishers, there’s usually a significant advance to pay for. The advance is meant to help the author live through the time when they’re writing the book or books and selling them too. That means they don’t get another dime until the advance is paid for. But when it is, the royalty checks start to flow.
For someone like me, there wasn’t much of an advance and it’s a typical small-press press run so it’s nothing compared to a mass-market book.
Still, it was a personal goal and I reached it in about seven months. I feel pretty good about that.

“Cash & Carry is a winner on every level. A tense, fast-paced thriller featuring a truly original and interesting protagonist. Tim Broderick’s illustrations are consistently vibrant, inventive, and fresh. As a storyteller and artist, Broderick is gifted on both counts, a genuine double threat.”
Henry Perez, author of “Killing Red,” Coming in 2009 from Pinnacle Books
Thanks Henry! Go check out Henry’s site – I can’t wait for “Killing Red!”

So here’s my Bouchercon wrap up, looking at the Geppi Museum signing and Saturday afternoon/evening.

Friday’s Geppi Museum signing wasn’t well attended, but who cares. It’s a terrific place and I recommend people go. Brian Azzarello and I were in a large room with hundreds of comics behind glass. Probably just a small representation of the entire collection, but there was the first Superman comic, the first Batman comic and it went on from there. I saw famous covers from comics I’d only read about. Amazing.
And speaking of cool:

I’d never met him before, but Gary Phillips picked up a copy of my book sight unseen. That’s him above, in the center talking with fans.
But I met Brian for the first time, as well as his beautiful wife Jill Thompson. I’m a small-press guy and they treated me like a seasoned pro. That’s pretty cool.

Cut to Saturday afternoon, and I’m getting ready for the Batman panel. I’m bummed out that Greg Rucka wasn’t able to make it, but DC editor Will Dennis did a nice job stepping in. Victor Gischler was there (and o hoot on the beer panel afterward) and McKenna Jordan did a nice job of moderating.

Directly afterward was the beer panel, and as I said before, it was my downfall. Started drinking at 4 pm, hit a party or two afterward and hung out in the bar as late as I could. Met a few new friends: Lori Armstrong, who held her own on the beer panel against the always hilarious JA Konrath; Brett Battles, who cheered on the Tampa Bay Rays loudly; and Chris Kuzneski, who patiently put up with us amusing drinkers.

So would I do it again? Absolutely. I had a terrific time, saw old friends and met new ones (hi RJ!), introduced myself to some new fans (I hope) and learned a lot about the craft.

OK, let’s finish it off with some photos:

Here’s me and Brian Azzarello at Geppi’s Museum. (Brian is the cool one)

Here’s Lee Child hanging outside on Sunday.