When I first heard about the Corona Con, I could not wait to join! What a great idea to hold this virtual horror event!
I had SO much fun watching live throughout the day.
Let’s dive in!
My Notes from Corona Con!
I made sure to set an alarm to ensure I didn’t oversleep! When the alarm went off, I was out of bed much faster that I’ve gotten out of bed since the stay at home order was put in place! I brewed a tea, grabbed some breakfast, and went to my office/library to jump online.
This was my set up for the day:
Session Kick Off
To kick things off on an awesome foot, we had a lovely talk from Joe Ripple of Scares That Care, hosted by Kelli Owen. I loved learning more about this charitable organization! To learn more yourself, please click here.
Reading: Robert Ford
Bob read a chapter from his collection of stories. It was spicy and then took quite a turn! While he was reading, I kept thinking that he needs to make the audio versions for his work! His voice was so soothing!
What I’ll Be Ordering:
Panel: “Finding New Readers” Stephen Kozeniewski, Mary SanGiovanni, Aaron Dries, Wile E. Young, moderator: Steve Pattee (of Horror DNA)
This crew was hysterical! I loved this so much! While they were speaking, I looked up their work and I was so pumped to see a bunch that I recognized, but I haven’t read any yet!
Amazon was a big talking point here. I loved that they really dove into how helpful reviews overall are. They also discussed how much they appreciate readers, bloggers, bookstagramers, podcasters, booktubers, and others as they help to share their work. They appreciate anything that others can to help support them as word of mouth is key!
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- The Perfectly Fine House by Stephen Kozeniewski & Wile E. Young
- Catfish in the Cradle by Wile E. Young
- Magpie Coffin by Wile E. Young
- Chills by Mary SanGiovanni
- Where the Dead Go to Die by Aaron Dries, Mark Allan Gunnells
Reading: Brian Keene
Brian read from Love Letters From A Nihilist: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene, Volume 3. After that, he had a wonderful Q&A session. During this Q&A, Mr. Keene mentioned that Paul Tremblay’s Survivor Song is a book that he wishes he had written as it is one of his favorites!
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- Blood on the Page: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene, Volume 1 (The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene #1) by Brian Keene
- Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
Panel: “Collaborations” Bob Ford, Matt Hayward, Somer Canon, Wes Southard, moderator: Sadie Hartman (MotherHorror of Nightworms)
Another amazing panel! I loved learning more about their processes! If you’re considering doing a collab on an upcoming project, I definitely recommend checking out the recording of this session!
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- Those Below The Tree House by Matt Hayward
- Various States of Decay by Matt Hayward
- Boneyard by Somer Canon
- Killer Chronicles by Somer Canon
- Closing Costs by Wesley Southard
Reading: Aaron Dries
Aaron jumped on to read a tale that will be included in his upcoming collection, Cut To Care – a collection of people from the front line. I cannot wait to check that one out! The tale is also currently included in Shock Totem 11: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted.
Such a fun reading! Another author that I would love to see record their own audiobooks!
I cannot wait to read more from Mr. Dries! I asked where a new reader should begin with his work, and he recommended The Fallen Boys.
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- The Fallen Boys by Aaron Dries
- Cut To Care by Aaron Dries
Panel: “Characters likable vs. compelling” Bracken MacLeod, Kelli Owen, Tim Meyer, moderator: Bob Pastorella (of This is Horror)
I loved this panel so much! Watching and listening to this group discuss characters and debating the whole “likeable” character thing was super interesting.
I also enjoyed their conversation about story arcs and how they can take a turn and that that sudden change can make or break the story line. I always get so bummed when turns like this completely ruins everything that came before that one situation as it goes against their character in a bad way. There was a book that I read last year where one of the main characters did something so outside of his character that I had grown to really love, and it absolutely ruined the book for me.
I definitely need the characters that I’m reading about to have some reason for me to “enjoy” them as a character. This could totally go either way for me! I either need to like them or be interested in them. This is especially the case with the “bad guys.” I need the baddies to have something that clicks or with me or at least interests me.
This panel really had the audience chatting! I loved how interactive the entire session was. The questions for the Q&A were wonderful as well!
Also, THIS:
“You can’t write for everyone. You can’t write to protect everyone, either.”
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- Floaters by Kelli Owen
- Black Bubbles by Kelli Owen
- The Texas Chainsaw Breakfast Club or I Don’t Like Mondays by Bracken MacLeod
- Dead Daughters by Tim Meyer
- The Switch House by Tim Meyer
Reading: Jonathan Janz
Mr. Janz is always such a wonderful speaker! He joined the session with so much enthusiasm and excitement!
After a round of shout-outs, he began his talk about his upcoming book, The Raven, and then jumped into a reading. Yet another author that I would love to buy an audio book from! The comments section agreed, we all need audiobooks from Mr. Janz!
I have a copy of The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz sitting on my upcoming TBR stack! I can’t wait to dive in.
At the end, we also had a quick, but awesome Q&A session! Shout-out to Mr. Janz for answering my question! The three books are mentioned in the “What I’ll Be Ordering” section below.
What I’ll Be Ordering:
- The Raven by Jonathan Janz
- The Siren and the Specter by Jonathan Janz
- Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz
- The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz
Reading: Stephen Kozeniewski
When Stephen Kozeniewski jumped back on, he read from Leader of the Pack, a story included in Silverwood: The Door. I had previously read Skinwrapper and really enjoyed it so I was pumped to hear more from Mr. Kozeniewski!
When asked what his favorite book of his is, he listed The Ghoul Archipelago. I need to check that one out!
When I asked where his inspiration for Skinwrapper came from, he said that he wanted to see what it would be like writing a story set in a coffin. Well, friends, he certainly NAILED this tale!
What I’ll Be Ordering:
Panel: “Versatility and cross-genre” Brian Keene, Jonathan Janz, Stephen Kozeniewski, moderator: Shane Keene (of Ink Heist)
Another amazing panel! This session was mainly centered around the Q&A’s. The audience asked such great questions and everyone had wonderful answers!
Reading: Bracken MacLeod
WHAT AN ENTRANCE! I laughed so hard. Thank you for this, Mr. MacLeod.
Shortly after that entrance, we dove right into another wonderful reading filled with energy and excitement! The story read was from New Fears 2: More New Horror Stories by Masters of the Macabre organized by Mark Morris.
When I looked up Mr. MacLeod’s work earlier, I was immediately drawn to the title of The Texas Chainsaw Breakfast Club or I Don’t Like Mondays, so I just had to ask where he gets the ideas for his titles.
Thanks for reading!
And major shout-out to all of those involved in this virtual con! I loved this so much and I would be happy to participate in a future event if there is a second!
Click here to visit Kelli Owen’s Youtube page to check out the recorded session!
Wow, what a fantastic event! I wonder how many people “attended” in their pajama bottoms.:-)
haha! I certainly did! 🙂
It was fun seeing your updates throughout the day! It’s cool that they were able to put this together.
<3 I had so much fun with the event! I just reached out to the authors involved to see if they are selling their books directly. I'm making it a point to avoid buying books on Amazon if at all possible. Fingers crossed there! I have 22 new books on my to-buy list LOL
This is a lovely write-up. Thank you for attending and spreading the word =)
Of course!! <3 Thank you again for hosting! I had so much fun!
Sounds like fun. I should have done this as well. I love seeing a list of all the books you will be buying. I’ve read The Dark Game and Janz and it’s crazy good.
Ah! I can’t wait to read it!!
Aaron Dries was already on my radar so I might have to download something by him as a virus crisis treat…It looks like you’ll be adding a lot to the TBR, which is always exciting! I have a couple of Jonathan Janz books already. Maybe I need to plan a horrorthon where I choose a book by every new-to-me horror author and try to read it before the year ends. I’ll also have to check out all the books you plan to get and see what I can add to wishlist!
Wonderful idea! <3 Book treats are the best. I love that idea!! I hope you find some more of interest from my list. 😀
This looks like such a cool experience! Thanks for sharing, Erica.
<3 It sure was!! I can't wait for another! :)