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2002
World Horror Convention
Raddison Hotel at , Chicago, Illinois, USA
DAY 1
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DAY 2
Page 2
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This World Horror Convention was very special as my brother, Sean McMullen (no, not the Aussie S.F. writer) 16 years younger than me, just got out of the Army after 5 years. With such a vast age difference, my brother and I never really had any common ground while he was growing up and I was never home anyway. He left the Army in December (Yes it was an honorable discharge! Sheesh!) and we were both surprised to find we had a lot in common (as well as some unsettling differences). So when the World Horror Convention rolled around, and Sean realized that I loved to road trip at least as much (if not more) than he, we hit the road! The trip was two-fold. For me, I was going to Chicago and introducing my bro to the wonders of Horror fans and writers - the best damn people in the world! For Sean, it was to visit his Army buddies who he left behind in 2001. Even though the trip grew rough in places (our car overheated and broke down in the middle of the desert for 5 hours!), we got along great - like brothers! Except for those times when we fought - like brothers! I dunno. You'd think we were from the same family or something. So we prepare to set out! "Sean," I say. "What's all this crap in the backseat of your car?" "Don't worry about it," he says. "Just put your stuff on top and we can put the rest in the trunk." So we open the trunk. Several small bodies fell out. "What in the hell are these?" I asked incredulously. "Those are Bionicles!" Sean said with pride. They are these really cool robots that you build and collect and they move when you turn the thing on them that makes them move." He looked at his trunk for a moment, pondering. "You'll have to leave some of your stuff here at home," he said. "Bullshit!" I fired back. "I only have two damn bags and I'm taking both of them! Get this crap out of your car and put it in the store room!" At this point, we had only 2 hours to make our departure window if we were going to arrive in time for Chicago on the first day. So we emptied his car of all the clutter and Sean was amazed because he forgot that the carpet in the trunk was such a nice color. Then we put my two bags in and all of his stuff. We were now ready to go. 1 hour left on our depature window. We made it to the first gas station, four blocks away. The car was overheating. "This can't be!" Sean hollered. "I did a full engine flush myself!" Up went the hood and the problem was instantly apparent. Sean had used the smallest gauge of connector he could find for his coolant hoses. "It was the easiest one to put in there," was his reason. "The others were too tight, but that one just slid in." Water was spraying out everywhere around the connector, and it wasn't cool water either. So we waited for the water to cool. 30 minutes later and left on our departure window, I took the next larger gauge of connector and plugged it into the torn up (these were NOT nice clean cuts! Sean may have had a dog chew his radiator hoses in two when "fixing" his car) hoses. Then I added water. Sean started his car and we let it run for a bit, looking for tell tale signs of leak. "Is that the water that was already there or is that new water?" We were now right on our leave window and would have to ...ahem..."make up some time" to get to Chicago on the first day. 50 miles later the car overheats and we coast to the side of the road. Luckily, there was a gas station nearby. The radiator hose was leaking around the connector. I was steaming myself when I stumped into the gast station (one of those huge shopping mall sized truck stop gas stations) and got a tube of orange sealant. This stuff would seal anything. So I punctured the metal cap on the tube, grabbed the two coolant hoses, still wrapped around the ineffective connector, and lathered them down with orange rubber sealant. We walked over to KFC and had lunch while the sealant dried. That took awhile. 5 hours from the time of original launch, we were back on the road. 200 miles later and in the dark, my brother says, "We have to visit Bridgett." "Who?" I ask. Why do we HAVE to visit anyone? "She lives here in New Mexico and I can't pass through the state without visiting her." he says. This is why its vitally important for me to drive my OWN car on road trips. That way "I" make the rules! The visit goes from being a few minutes to being a few hours. We are now 7 hours behind our launch window and I don't see how we are going to make up the time. "We'll just go a little ways over the speed limit," Sean said cheerily. "We needed to do that after the breakdown anyway!" I growled. But I knew that I had to keep calm. This was a road trip and we would be in each others close company for nearly a full day there and a full day back. So far the trip was GRRRRR!!!!! So what does this all mean? Forget Day 1. There is no Day 1. On to Day 2! |
DAY
2
Got a question? Write me
| These Photos Supplied by James Futch | |
 As if Chicago didn't have enough problems, Horror fan Donn Gash (I'm gonna write something someday!) and Horror Writer James Newman (HOLY ROLLERS), befoul the city with their estimable presence. |
The boys are here in the form of (Left to Right) Mike Oliveri (DEADLIEST OF THE SPECIES), GAK (Editor DEAD CATS BOUNCING w/Gerard Houarner), Gene O'Neill (GHOSTS, SPIRITS, COMPUTERS AND WORLD MACHINES), and Weston Ochse (NATURAL SELECTION) |
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From left to Right, Reviewer, writer, and editor, Regina "Media Noche" Mitchell (REUNION), Mike Oliveri, Donn Gash - famous though he don't know why - reviewer/writer Ryan Harding (PARTNERS IN CHYME w/Ed Lee) and fan and writer Jenny O. |
You
want to talk about a shoe string budget? THESE guys, as publishers,
are on a serious shoe string. I'm not kidding! Good God! |
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Donn Gash (Dammit! Who is this nobody and why is he hogging precious camera time?), John Pelan (editor: THE CHILDREN OF THE CTHULHU, DARKER SIDE), and Kelly Laymon (editor: IN LAYMON'S TERMS) step out in high style. |
James Futch
and I have been covering cons - he of the photos and me of the article
- since 1999: and 2002 will be no different! |
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While Dark Tales publisher David Nordhaus aka Victor Heck (A DARKNESS INBRED) tries to explain his arcane accounting system - and why James Newman has yet to see a royalty check - William F. Nolan (LOGAN'S RUN) explains to Jack Haringa how vital it is to agree to a percentage of the gross, never the net. |
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Alan Beatts, Propriator of BORDERLANDS Bookstore in San Francisco, CA. has got the goods to be a welcome guest on ANY trip! The party he threw was also excellence without equal! |
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A fast
talking Brian Keene (NO REST FOR THE WICKED)
seals the deal with Mary San Giacomo. |
James
Futch assumes a mask of polite interest as Ryan Harding (PARTNERS
IN CHYME w/Ed Lee, BOTTOM
FEEDER) happily speaks of his first trimester. Good luck, that is. |
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From Left
to Right |
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I know
that sounds like an accounting firm, but James is standing beside Guest
Of Honor, Peter Straub (THE HELLFIRE CLUB, THE
TALISMAN [w/Stephen King], BLACK HOUSE [w/Stephen King]), who
is graciously holding James' new chapbook, PLAINFIELD DREAMS. |
 KIND HEARTED STRAUB Then Peter posed with newbie micro-press publisher, Collin Burn. Then he posed with a mess of other folks. Peter don't need to do this. There are a lot of authors who have a small fraction of the fans that Peter has and THEY don't do this. It ain't a case of crazed fans or the hassle of celebrity, its about being a real person regardless of your success. Pete is real. |
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Getting in close with Joan McCarty, I accidentally stepped on her foot, thereby ruining her gait (that's the way someone walks) for the rest of the con. We wound up having to push her to parties and bathrooms in an office chair. |
 FLEX IT, BABY! Alleged heterosexual, James Futch, cops a feel off of the more than willing arm of Kick-Box champion and Horror writer Wrath James White. |
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From Left
to Right |
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Mark McLaughlin (THE URBANITE) loves to goad Brits into doing an impression of William Shakespeare. Naturally, any Brit who has never more than glanced at the book cover to Willie's plays, imagines themself more of an expert than the most studious of Yanks. Mark's task is impossible, of course, since no recordings of the Bard's voice even exist. Which only makes it all the more exasperating when writers like Simon Clark (VAMPYRRHIC) finally break down and do it, only to have Mark bitterly shake his head and walk away saying, "No! No! Not even close!" |
With one final grope from Rain Graves, Brian Keene bids a fond farewell to his single life. And to prove his domestic intentions to his future beloved, Cassie (who was certainly somewhere - just not here!), he finally removes the gym sock he has worn in his underpants, lo these many years. In the background, meanwhile, Adam Pepper grabs his theory for male superiority over women, to a dubiously bemused Gina Osnovitch. |
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DAY 2
SEPHERA
GIRON This page
Copyright 2002 by E.C.McMullen Jr. Nothing on this page maybe used for
public use or show without express written permission from E.C.McMullen
Jr. |
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