Imaginarium Bound

This past week has been an exciting one for me. Not only did I get a huge box of print copies of Hemphill Towers, but the long-awaited Imaginarium Convention was at hand. Both my daughters, Barbara Bray and Rhonda Inman, and my son-in-law, Christopher Inman, made the trip to Louisville, KY with me.

We (they) packed up the rented wheelchair van Thursday night in order to get an early start on Friday. Of course, I didn't sleep much in anticipation of our six-hour trip. But dozing, as we sped along, did make the trip go faster. After arriving at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and convention center, the first person we met was my online friend, Mysti Parker. They say online friends are so different when you meet them in person--not true with Mysti or Veronica Jorden--they were exactly how I expected them to be. (Well, Mysti was a little thinner than I expected.) And my fear of not being able to read their lips flew out the window. 

Mysti and I shared a vendor table which soon held our books and goodies. No sooner had we settled in than a fire alarm went off. We spent about twenty minutes outside before we were cleared to go back in. Barb was up on the 4th floor and had just stepped out of the shower when someone yelled for people to leave via the stairs. She missed being in the photo below.

Leona & Rhonda

 Rhonda made up a fantastic basket with chocolates, crackers, cookies, a bottle of wine from my character's FMartinique winery, and more. People added their names to a bowl and we drew a winner Saturday evening. Congratulations went to Jennifer Laslie. She also won a copy of Hemphill Towers. 

Mysti Parker, Veronica Jorden, Leona Pence

I'm sorry to say that I let my deafness keep me from signing up for workshops and panel discussions. This convention was a learning experience for me. Stephen Zimmer did an amazing job putting it all together. The highlight for me was meeting Mysti and Veronica--and seeing our picture splashed across Facebook, thanks to Mysti's camera phone.


I also met Amy McCorkle who talked me in to leaving my comfort zone and traveling to the convention. She and I exchanged a book which I look forward to reading. I made many new Facebook friends from those I met at the convention. Mysti's family and Veronica joined us for dinner at the Hotel's Blue Horse restaurant. The picture is a bit dark, and Rhonda is missing because she's taking the picture.

The last event we attended was the Masquerade party. Don't you just love Mysti's ears?

Mysti & me

I enjoyed watching people on the dance floor. I don't know the name of the guy in the kilt, but boy could he dance.
All in all, I had a great time. I'd like to say I'll return next year, but...unless I can magically replace my 1995 wheelchair van, it won't be possible.

Rhonda started a gofundme without my knowledge. I was a bit peeved at her and wouldn't let her post it on my Facebook wall. I didn't feel right asking others for money. But, I was amazed at how generous my family and friends were, even complete strangers. When Thomas Bruch wrote an in depth article about me, it generated a lot of donations. A special thanks goes out to Thomas and all those who gave to the fund, and those who cheered  me on.

Thanks to Lea Shizas, my publisher at MuseItUp, for working hard to get my print books to me.