Last MM: Future Chronicles

Hugh Howey is one of my favorite writers and has been a great influence on my career.  Early last month, I had the opportunity to meet him.  A lot of indie authors like to do something called “meet ups”.  You see this sometimes on the Kboards or on a particular author’s Facebook page.  Sometimes, if you have online author friends, and they happen to be in the area for a book signing, or in Hugh’s case, Comic Con, they might just put out a call for anyone who is around to come and meet them.  Hugh even brought donuts.

I made the 3 hour drive (should have only been 2, but Comic Con traffic) down to San Diego to meet him.  His hotel, where he was hosting the morning meet up, was literally next door to the convention center.  Since I was there primarily to see Hugh, I got to park at the hotel and it turned out that it didn’t cost me a thing.  I found Hugh and a few other authors and fans sitting at a table in the cafe area near the pool.  I was surprised to see that there was only maybe ten people in attendance.  Which is ironic when you consider how many people were literally lined up to see him next door.

He talked about writing and his process.  He talked about how he puts a lot of importance on theme and how, even though the specific ideas that influence his story may not be what’s in the story, it’s what the story is about.  I was actually a little surprised to learn what Sand and Wool were really about.  It’s been almost 2 months, so I don’t want to paraphrase and mix up his message.  But they go a lot deeper than just dystopian scifi.

He was very open and invited questions, be them about writing, publishing, or his books in general.  He invited those of us who were authors to let everyone there know about our works.

I actually managed to speak.  More than a couple words.  I even jumped into the conversation from time to time and started a couple.  I was proud of myself.  I messaged Hugh after and thanked him for the meetup.  He was nice enough to write back to me and tell me that it was nice to meet me.

Honestly, that Saturday in July was one of the best days of my life.  I got to meet Hugh Howey, which was a big deal for me, I went to Comic Con (more about that next week), I enjoyed San Diego, and, it was just a perfect day.  Well, almost.  I could have gotten a better pic, lol. 🙂