Something quite remarkable happened this past weekend. And, unless you follow the Pandaverse, you might have missed it. Seven Pandamoon Publishing authors met for the first time at the C2E2 event in Chicago. Er-uh…well, most of us had never met before, except for our regular online interaction. Two of us had attended a conference together last year, but we won't count that. What is strange, though, is that when we gathered together it felt a lot like a reunion with old friends, say, people we knew for a whole life--maybe like chums from high school.
It is a testament to the screening process at Pandamoon Publishing, which goes beyond simple evaluation of a manuscript for publishing. Potential authors are interviewed for their compatibility with other authors in the group. It is not quite as ominous as that sounds, though. It is a friendly conversational interview the publisher does with everyone whose novel has made it to the point of serious consideration. But, still, what is amazing to me is how much alike in our interests we are while being a fairly diverse group.
I think what makes us different as a group is that we interact, and although the initial introductions may be conducted in meetings our publisher has with us, existing members of the ‘club’ welcome the newbies and almost immediately the interactions on private channels begin. It is, at times, collaborative. We give immediate feedback about ideas. Sometimes we read one another’s manuscripts and give some suggestions. But moreover, we communicate regularly if not daily. And the vast majority of our interactions are completely spontaneous.
It wasn’t just me that felt the closeness. Everyone commented about how oddly comfortable we were with each other.
I was looking forward to meeting C, a.k.a. Christine Gabriel. We met online 4 years ago as members of the original group of Pandas we lovingly call the Alphas. I flew into Cleveland, which is about 20 minutes from C’s house. She and her hubby, JD met me at the airport. And then, we went somewhere I have always wanted to go, the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. Of course, years ago when I was in a garage band, my dream may have been to be famous enough to be worthy of induction. But, alas, I made it there only as a fan. And that was great, too, because music is central to the plots of some, if not most, of my stories.
Hanging out with C was pretty cool because she is rather spontaneous. She can be serious when necessary, but usually she can make me laugh and is therefore just about the best friend I would want.
The next day, early in the morning, C, JD and I hit the road to Chicago. And I have to say here that this trip constitutes the first time I have been back to Ohio since the sad visit in 1984 so that my mom could visit her sister who was dying of throat cancer. That trip was also the last time I visited Indiana, as I drove up to one of my alma maters, Purdue, and hung out with some fraternity brothers who didn’t know me except that my tiny picture adorned some of the annual members’ group photos hanging on the corridor walls.
Anyway, I entertained JD with some of my war stories on the way. At least, I think I entertained him. Maybe it just served to keep him awake. C was asleep in the back seat for the first half of the drive. But when she awakened, she took the requisite road-trip selfie with me in the background.
When we arrived at the venue, the McCormick Center in Chicago, we checked in at our hotel, which was adjacent to the convention center. Then, after seeing our bags to our room, we hurried down to the convention center. And the introductions began.
Alisse Lee Goldenberg is also an Alpha. She is actually the first Pandamoon author ever signed to a contract. So, C and I have known her since the beginning of our time with Pandamoon. And with her we serve the other authors, and one another, as mentors and publicists. Still, meeting Ali was special. She is from Toronto and is a prolific writer who specializes in fantasy. She has two series of her own under contract: The Sitnalta Series (SITNALTA, THE KINGDOM THIEF and THE CITY OF ARCHES - so far) and The Dybbuk Scrolls Trilogy (THE SONG OF HADARIAH was just published as the series debut.) And then, there is a Zombie Horror Thriller she co-authored with Delta class Panda, An Tran called THE BATH SALTS JOURNALS. Yeah, I don't know how Ali does it. She also has young triplets!
The whole idea for attending the event was Ali’s. She set everything up and gave out an open invite to all other Pandas, and six of us juggled our schedules so we could make it happen.
David Valdes Greenwood is a recently published Panda, author of REVENGERS, and member of the Delta class. But he is no rookie to writing. He is an accomplished, award winning playwright who has expanded his creativity to another medium. He came all the way from Boston where he teaches college English. Unfortunately, he had a family obligation for Saturday and was only there for Friday. But, at his recommendation, we all went out to dinner together after the event closed for the day.
Dana Faletti, a bestselling and recently announced award winning author of the Gamma class, came from Pittsburgh. Although her Pandamoon book, BEAUTIFUL SECRET, is Women’s Fiction, she also writes YA Fantasy and has a trilogy of titles available, which she brought with her.
Penni Jones is the recent bestselling Grit Lit author of ON THE BRICKS. She is originally from Arkansas but currently lives outside Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although her writing style may not be the usual fare one would find at a Comic Convention, she sported a flashy (literally) skirt and so, she fit right in. She is also a member of the Gamma class.
Meg Bonney joined us on Saturday, bringing her award winning, bestselling debut novel, EVERLY. Meg is also a Gamma and is from Kenosha, Wisconsin. She came by train with her husband Mike. Meg is a contributor to Pure Fandom. And, by the way, if you ever want the answer to some obscure TV trivia thing, just ask her. I don’t know for certain but I've heard that Google pings her for the right answers.
Then there is Christine Gabriel who has an award-winning bestseller titled CRIMSON FOREST and a sequel coming out in about a month titled CRIMSON MOON. She is also my publicist and I am hers.
And, yours truly, author of FRIED WINDOWS, BECOMING THUPERMAN and the upcoming WOLFCAT CHRONICLES due out in the Fall. I used to work in retail management and before that I served in the Air Force following a tour of duty in the trenches as an advertising copywriter.
Of course, we hugged when we actually met one another, but immediately, we started talking just like old friends do, which really, we are. It was an odd vibe, but in a good way. And I think everyone who stopped by our booth to talk to us caught on that we are a different breed of authors, the kind that are not trapped in a room cranking out pages of text. But, instead, we are people people.
You can expect more from Team Panda and we will eventually be coming to a town near you.