🎪 ARE CONVENTIONS GETTING STALE?

This week on the Indie Author Showcase, we're revisiting the convention discussion from our last episode, correcting a few mistakes, and asking an important question:

Are conventions struggling because of the economy, or are audiences getting tired of seeing the same vendors selling the same products year after year?

First, a correction!

Last week, I suggested that L.A. Comic-Con had significantly reduced its size. Turns out, I was WRONG! L.A. Comic-Con will be using all three halls of the convention center, just as it did last year.

Thanks to everyone who spoke up and corrected me! That's exactly the kind of discussion I want this podcast to encourage.

But the larger question remains: How can conventions keep attracting customers when so many vendors return with the same merchandise every year?

We discuss:

🎟️ Why convention attendance doesn't always translate into sales.

📚 The challenge of selling the same books to the same audience year after year.

🎨 Why vendors need fresh products and new customers.

🔄 Whether rotating vendors could help keep conventions interesting.

🏢 Why expanding a convention isn't always the answer, especially when poor traffic flow leaves vendors isolated from the crowds.

And why a successful convention doesn't necessarily mean every vendor will have a successful weekend!

Then it's time for this week's indie book showcase!

👻🚀 GO STATION — ENTITY I ENTERTAINMENT

What happens when you combine science fiction, supernatural horror, and a crew of criminals who can't entirely trust one another?

You get Go Station!

A group of outlaws fleeing the authorities takes refuge at an abandoned space station on a desolate planet. But something terrible happened there, and the station isn't nearly as empty as it first appears.

With mutated horrors lurking in the darkness, the crew must fight to survive while their already questionable loyalties begin to unravel.

Think Event Horizon meets Dead Space, with a little Pitch Black thrown into the mix!

What worked for me?

✅ Genre mashup! A great combination of science fiction and supernatural horror.

✅ Strong interpersonal dynamics! Criminals don't always make the most trustworthy teammates, especially when survival is on the line.

✅ Distinctive characters! Unique visual designs and personalities make the cast easy to identify and follow.

✅ Dark, menacing artwork! The illustrations establish an atmosphere of dread while keeping the action clear.

My biggest complaint?

I wanted MORE!

The story could have benefited from additional room for its characters and relationships to develop. In fact, I could have happily read another 50% of this graphic novel!

If you love sci-fi horror, haunted space stations, and morally questionable characters fighting for survival, Go Station is worth checking out!

💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

Are conventions becoming too repetitive? Would rotating vendors help bring fresh merchandise and new audiences to these events?

And what's your favorite sci-fi horror story? Event Horizon? Dead Space? Alien? Something else?

Let me know in the comments!

📚 ABOUT THE INDIE AUTHOR SHOWCASE

Hosted by multi-award-winning indie author Chad Robert Morgan, the Indie Author Showcase is the podcast by indie authors, for indie authors!

We discuss independent publishing, the challenges of being an indie author, storytelling, and showcase books and graphic novels you might otherwise never discover.

👍 LIKE if you enjoy discovering independent authors and artists.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE for more indie book showcases and discussions about writing and publishing.

📢 SHARE this episode with an indie author, comic creator, or sci-fi horror fan!

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📚 **Are conventions still worth it for indie authors?**

This week on the **Indie Author Showcase**, we're talking about the changing economics of selling books at conventions and the challenges facing independent authors!

👹 **THIS WEEK'S INDIE BOOK SHOWCASE: STRANGE DAYS**

This week's featured book is **Strange Days by Fred Wiehe**, a supernatural horror novel about a man whose body has been stolen by an evil entity from another dimension. Frank Talbot is trapped outside our physical reality while a monster wearing his body goes on a murderous rampage through San Francisco. His only hope? Joining his spirit with that of a critically injured police officer. But sharing one body between two souls comes with complications, especially when their memories, personalities, and emotions begin fighting for control.

October is Filipino American History Month, so this week on The Indie Author Showcase, we’re celebrating with a look at Filipino stories, mythology, monsters, and folklore.

After seeing Forgotten Island, Chad takes a look at some books, movies, graphic novels, and series that can introduce you to the mythology and culture of the Philippines—from manananggals and tikbalangs to ancient gods and modern supernatural adventures. Along the way, we talk Trese, Herbert de Leon’s Tala, Mask of Haliya, and Chad’s own The Baby-Eater and The Last Rite: Short Bites Vol. 1 – Bloodlines. IAS_S3_e28 IAS_S3_e28

Then, how did the first-ever Sinister Book Fair go? Chad reports back from Sacramento with the good, the not-so-good, how much the event actually cost versus what it brought in, and whether he’d make the trip again. Plus, he survived his first author panel. IAS_S3_e28

🧛 THIS WEEK’S SHOWCASE: Tempted by a Vampire by Susan Griscom

Maggie thinks she has everything figured out after moving to San Francisco—new job, new apartment, new life. Then she meets Kian, the sexy lead singer of a nightclub house band who happens to have one fairly significant complication:

He’s a vampire.

It’s paranormal romance with vampires, rock stars, supernatural secrets, danger, and plenty of spice. Chad describes it as essentially “Twilight, but for adults. And better.”

And most importantly...

THE VAMPIRES DON’T SPARKLE. 🧛 IAS_S3_e28

Finally, Chad shares a more personal story about recovering an autographed copy of Peter Clines’ Paradox Bound that he originally gave his father while his dad was battling lymphoma—and why that particular book now has a permanent place in his collection. IAS_S3_e28

The Indie Author Showcase — the podcast by indie authors, for indie authors.