Oh. My. Gawd…!!!!!

ComicCon… whew! What can I say that the media already hasn’t? The event took over the entire region. There were literally 125,000 people per day bombarding the San Diego Convention Center and yours truly was in the mix! YES! LOL! Moi

Okay, okay, now that I’ve semi recovered, where to begin?

I got on a plane early Wednesday morning, over-packed, but wanting to be sure I had EVERY conceivable thing I could need while out on the west coast. Normal flight, blah, blah, blah… delays and layovers, standard fare… so at that point when I finally arrived and it wasn’t mobbed in the airport, I’m thinking, how bad can it be? That was until I saw the cab line. Okaaaay. The line there made the one at NYC’s Madison Square Garden during rush hour look like the express lane!

Every hotel in the area was sold out—luckily I had some friends at the Devil’s Candy Store who’d booked a year in advance and gave my publisher a room for me. Madness. Just think Mardis Gras times ten.

So I connect with the very cool crew of folks at The Devil’s Candy Store the next morning, as the flight, the layover in Phoenix, etc., and then the hotel commute and jetlag left me fried that first night I got in. In the morning we all met in the lobby of The Westgate Hotel and then walked a block to the mass transit line. (Forgedabout driving or taking a cab in the gridlock by the Convention Center.) Reducing our carbon footprint, we load onto a trolley that looks like a small Amtrak train, and we ride in a sardine-packed car to the Convention Center. Cool. I’m still thinking, so what’s the big deal, right?

But I’ve gotta tell you—there is NOTHING to prepare your mind to see the new age, ultra modern Convention Center structure with WB, Marvel, DC posters wrapping its four stories as the trolley careens up to a mobbed station. You literally could not see the ground for the pedestrians. Train trestle lights flashed as folks casually ignored the fact that a locomotive could squish them like a bug—they were in “the ComicCon daze,” so police were hustling people past the RR red & white barriers that were lowering.

Once on the sidewalk, the challenge was to just swim with the body current… it was linebacker time, namely, keep your shoulder low, protect your breasts from backpack wielding geeks, and be sure not to trip over small children. Moms with baby strollers were wicked NASCAR drivers, bulldozing folks out of the way like mini Mad Max and the Thunderdome. Some were dressed like ‘em too, go figure. I ain’t hating – smile, every so often a character would appear to be so much like the one in the movie that, all you could do was flash them a smile with a thumbs up. They eagerly responded to that and would nod back with pride. Sort of the ComicCon code of appreciation thing, I suppose–good manners in a foriegn land. Did I mention it was like Mardis Gras? Yeah, folks came dressed as their fav characters, which was eye candy in and unto itself!

Then… once making it inside—a process of unbelievable proportions; then came the time to look up in awe for a moment and gape (not too long though, because you’d be mowed down, LOL.) The teenagers were swift and moved like Jurassic Park Raptors, snagging giveaways before you could blink. They also knew the lay of the land, so if you followed them, a slower moving entity could feed off of their leave-behinds, lol!

But the awe was real. We’re talking 10 foot replicas of The Hulk with actual actors from the flick making appearances. Star wars, Battle Star Galactica, Wookies, Ewoks, Storm troopers, EVERYTHING with fangs, canines, and a few sub-species I didn’t recognize in between. The big boys of Hollywood were out—WB, FOX, Marvel, DC, all things anime and manga, then there were the various new summer hits, movie previews, the “sleep on the ground outside all night to get tickets to the Twilight trailer” contingent… as I staggered to my booth, I arrived speechless. Charlie and Aly just laughed at me in good nature—I was indeed a newbie.

Here’s a pic below of the booth with me, Charlie Athanas (head chef in charge of the store), and Alex Wold, one of the fabulous artists whose work is featured among other in the illustration book.

Then they uncovered the books… the VHL, limited edition illustration books and showed me the booth banners where my Vampire Huntress came to life. I screamed right there in the middle of the floor. Oh, yeah, it was soooo cool! Then they pulled a black drape off The Madame Isis and I had a screaming-jumping-hysteria fit, LOL!

IT IS GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Tony Swatton, who is the most loveable, HUGE (like 6’8” Viking dude) you ever wanna meet created a masterpiece.

Four blood gutters run into a single 36” steel forged blade with a gold-plated handle studded with semi-precious stones and hand etched cobra snakes and hieroglyphics… y’all… no words! He promises to make smaller letter opener versions so we can all get one, but dang!

They are going to auction the mother sword off on EBay for charoty, but the other limited edition items that are left over from the show will be available at: The Devil’s Candy Store for as long as supplies last.

All day we hung out, watching the crowd, and every now and then I’d sneak away to go collect stuff for the kids back home (my daughter, nieces & nephews would disown me if I’d come back empty-handed!) That’s when I got to run around the floor with crazy author-girlfriend, Anne Elizabeth, who took me to where Sherrilyn Kenyon was–so we could have a threeway screamfest, ha ha ha–that’s MY GIRL! Then we buzzed by The Dabel Brothers booth, the guys who will be doing the VHL in manga… everybody was up in da houze!

Also stepped away to do a book signing at Barnes & Nobles and met another great crew of people—where Ajani won the limited edition book we raffled off (he was there with his whole family of wonderful supporters and the most gorgeous baby boy—hugs to Cairo!)… and got into a fab discussion with Mario and his sister Jen and her friend, plus met 3 Sarahs (one rebel without the “h” – ha ha ha!) Then it was back to the show… because when they told me the B&N was only 15 minutes away, I was thinking a city 15 min, not a Cali 15 min, which involves highways and is NOTHING CLOSE to 15 minutes. LOL! I also did a panel with fab authors to a packed room of 300+ folks–and Kelley Armstrong, my shero in the werewolf genre, and I sat side-by-side signing–how cool was that!!!!

However, one of the greatest highlights was meeting the one and only Captain Cisco (Avery Brooks, in the flesh) from Star Trek The Next Generation! I AM SUCH A GEEK! We were at dinner and Dave Dorman, who is the number one artist for Star Wars (and who did the cover to our illustration book), knows everybody in the industry. He saw the good Captain come in and said, you wanna meet him, after Aly and I fell out. We babbled, and Dave in his inimitable cool style got up and summoned us over with a nod. Aly and I giggled our way over, and got a grand and ebullient welcome by Mr. Brooks… who touched my hand, yes, shook my hand, LOL… AND gave me a HUG! I didn’t scream until we left the restaurant and did it with my hand over my mouth—I do have SOME decorum, ha ha ha.

Ok, then it was off to The Abbey… madman and sword maker, Tony Swatton, was kind enough to get our group VIP tickets to The Abbey. He and his wonderfully sweet and gorgeous girlfriend, Dawn—who looks like Wonder Woman, I swear… yep, he even made her a bronze bustier for her lush figure, which she wears very, very well, I might add, hosted us to an out-of-this-world event at what used to be an old Franciscan Abbey turned Goth club. (I even met the owner, Kevin–nicest guy you ever wanna meet.)

Now, folks, I gotta tell you… the setting SCREAMED “this must go into a book.” So you can take that to the bank. In one of the Crimson Moon Novels, oh yeah—it’s gotta go in there.

Picture this… a bio-hazard Goth Rave (which is what this was) with folks all dressed up like various entities under black lights so their eyes, fangs, and even some of their drinks glowed, are partying up in an old monastery—replete with stained glass windows, et al. I walk in with 21 crosses set in mother of pearl and silver around my neck—so my crosses are glowing and several vampires look up from the bar at the same time—and I’ve got a huge Viking as an escort on my hip… the sword maker, LOL! The imagery was beyond deep.

I met a statuesque vamp beauty with blond dread-locks, who had glow-in-the-dark contacts that worked for Tony… got my picture taken with a 7 foot Wookie (Chewbacca), took a pic with a really tall daemon… it goes on and on… Aly and Charlie, decked out in medical gear, took my pulse and pressure to be sure I didn’t lose any blood while in there!

Here’s Dave and Aly with me in the middle… and below that is the fearless Dave Dorman (note the Ninja outfit; hombre is Jow-cool laid back… I guess you can be that when you are a Zen-chill-Ninja)– BIG GRIN!

And this is Siryn… who we met there…

Crazy, fun, exhausting. There were even three phantom ladies dressed in antebellum white dresses, faces painted midnight blue, and with dark gloves on so the black light made it look like their dresses and big sun hats were floating–kewel creative!

I have some pics here, but more will be sent to me from other sources in the upcoming days. Some of mine didn’t come out due to lighting, but Charlie got a bunch to send my way, and more are incoming from the event. As random bits jump into my head, I’ll add more… just as I’m getting in more pics from the Harlem Book fair still—so it’s all good. Not to mention, my daughter has to teach me how to get the pics from my cell phone off of it and onto my computer (shsssh, I know we aren’t supposed to admit things like that, but she’s my tech coach, LOL!)

Meanwhile, I’m checking to be sure I don’t have any strange aversion to sunlight – it was WILD up in there! But I was still lucky enough to miss the earth quake that rattled LA top San Diego a day after I left, whew!

Hope the summer is treating you all well… BIG HUG, and DEFINITELY stay in The Light!

–Leslie – BIG SMILE!

OFF THE CHAIN….!!!

Oh, yeah, we paaartaayed in Chi-town and in NYC!

First let me tell you, the Chicago Street team and crazy-azz sister-friend-author, Lissa Woodson and her road doll, “Miz Deb” hooked a sistah up! I don’t even know where to begin, but Alicia, Candace, Barbara and company scooped me up, had me hitting store after store, chile, we laughed till I was about to fall down in the Chicago heat. Downtown at Citicorp Center, they had it on lock, as well as at Books-A-million, Borders on Michigan and state Street… and you know I bumped into MY GURL, Seven, who works up at Borders on Michigan Avenue and we turned the store out with a scream-fest, LOL! But Lissa took us to this place called The Grand Lux, where we all experienced the “food-gasm.” See, that place made no sense—was the kind of smack yo’ Momma experience done in refined style… plank smoked salmon, salmon cooked three ways, desserts that were simply ridiculous—pics will be showing up on the forum and yahoo group I am sooo sure! (Candace took plenty of blackmail shots for everyone, ha ha ha!)

Then on to Borders Hyde Park, where it was thick with readers, we had the no-holds-barred discussion—which always causes more laughs, and then rolled gansta style (on two wheels) to get to the Come Out and Play Party hosted by Lissa… jerk chicken, rice & peas, homemade wheat rolls that melted in your mouth like butta, homemade cakes, steppin’, salsa, musical chairs, Bid, Spades… awwww sookie, sookie, it was mad-crazy fun. I was so tired and so full, I could barely breathe… but on Saturday, Lissa and her road doll took over the driving and spun me into this chicken and waffles joint for breakfast. By the time we left there, wiping greasy mouths, I needed to go back to bed, LOL… but we pushed on, hitting stores in stock-signing drive-bys, then stopped at Azizi Books and over at Walden’s at River Oaks (where they treat us like royalty—just like Dorothy does downtown at Citicorp Center.) Once out of there, Street team and Raw Sisters hijacked me to Bogart’s Restaurant with author-brother Earl Sewell and his lovely teenaged daughter, a steak house with stooopid portions and such good eats that I simply cried Uncle. Had to tell ‘em, “Y’all, just take me home!” Ha ha ha! At the end, Alicia hands me a tin of Garrett’s popcorn… this insanely delicious concoction of cheese and caramel. I know the folks in Chicago who got a book signed by me last year remember my orange thumb prints in their books—the popcorn is like crack! I inhaled a bag on the way to a signing and then was “orange fingered” for the rest of that day—this year Street team hid the tin and gave it to me at the end, LOL (that ain’t right!)

Now, mind you… right after Chicago, I had to head to NYC for “The Hueman Experience,” where the NYC Street team didn’t disappoint. Maaaaannnn… they took over Hueman, about 125 people thick in the house—standing room only, folks in the aisles, every seat taken, whew! They gave out door prizes, mugs, all sorts of key chains, magnets, and raffles… and we GOT DOWN on the git-down on what was gonna happen next in the series (BIG GRIN—if I tell ya I have to kill ya kinda discussion.) Madame Marva, owner-manager of Hueman extraordinaire gave me my BIG HUG and lots of love… I bow to her ebullient hospitality as always. Then we got a surprise visit from Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine! Yes, I babbled and kissed her ring, LOL—she is sooo gracious and soooo gorgeous, just a beautiful spirit. Carmen, gansta Street Team, ha ha ha, went over to her and convinced her that it was all right to break into the discussion to say “hi.” Everyone gave her a standing ovation and clapped—made my night!

See, y’all have to understand… Susan Taylor, for me, was the first image as a young woman I had of an African American editor/publisher. I was in my teens when Susan Taylor grasped my mind and left her brand upon it. She was so serene, graceful, calm, and spiritual… and her image left a lasting impression on my psyche. A queen… and there she was… had floated into the bookstore with her trademark braids and glowing skin and flowing robes of pastel hue—and all I could think of was one of the Neteru Queens had given me the nod. When she smiled at me and said she’d listened to the discussion and was so glad that I was doing what I was doing… wow… that was like getting a divine “go in peace my child” from Aset. I wanted to laugh and cry and felt just like a star-struck newbie… yeah.

But Street team wasn’t having a short night, no siree, LOL! We had to go do Dinosaur Burger’s in style… ribs, big ass pulled pork, Lynchburg Lemonade, et al. We ate till we couldn’t breathe and laughed just as hard. Carmen, her sister Rosemary, Adrienne, Brother Glenn (aka Phat Jesus), his boy, Barry, Mz. Lisa-Lisa and her handsome boy, Rene, plus Roshida brought her husband, Keith, who is a throw-down hoot—family… it was all good. We staggered out of there, they got me a cab, and I passed out when I got back to my hotel. Next day, the heat—and I do mean Harlem HEAT WAVE was ON!

It had to be 110 degrees in the shade, but Street Team was out representing. They rushed me through the crowd at the Harlem Book fair so I could make my panel with my author sister-friends, Donna Hill, Gwen Forster, Nathasha Brooks, and Sandra Kitt up at the Thurgood Marshall Academy… then from there was a run past all the vendors to sign at the MacMillan booth, but you know Carmen hooked me up with fried fish from her borough office while Adrienne had the keychain and magnet distribution on lock—BIG GRIN. Just like in Chi-town, I saw lots of friends, familiar faces, and received plenty of love. (Shout out and Hug to Leslie, who came with a lovely stuffed wolf and handmade, gorgeous jeweled book mark! Bless you, sis!) Long day, lotta fun, there’s nothing like Chicago and NYC. Fell down and had a beer at Manie Barron’s house, then headed up to Brooklyn to hang out with my baby sis. On Sunday, we got to go to the Ausar-Aset Society in Brooklyn… profound experience and inspiration there. They also have a vegan restaurant and bookstore that is out of this world, smile!

So, today I’m home, washing clothes, packing and reading two manuscript edits and heading out to ComicCon. There will be stores, this I know, LOL! Tony Swatton, GENIUS with a blade—from The Sword and The Stone, is casting the Madame Isis as we speak, here are some pics below (this is work in progress, but I thought you might find the whole bronze casting thing really deep and interesting)—plus I got invited to a Vampire ball… I cannot wait!

Here is Tony’s work and Tony “at work” — check him out:

Yes he is actually FORGING an Isis! I am chair dancing! Here are some rogh sketches of what the hilt will look like–and he is using semi-precious stones, quartz crystal, and all that jazz

How deep is that, huh? And this is work in progress….

BIG PHILLY HUG and stay cool, y’all… Love, Leslie!
Stay in The Light!

The Devil’s Candy Store Merchandise

PS: But don’t worry… They will be offering mini versions of the Isis dagger on line at the Devil’s Candy Store, as well as jewelry and the illustration book after ComicCon. So folks can hit them there and order–I swear I don’t have any, LOL!