Hades arrived at Gen Con Indy, Friday afternoon, around 3:30 PM.
It seemed like a 100 or more people asked if the book was coming and when it would arrive. Of course, we were worried it might not show at all. The printer was doing us a HUGE favor by rushing the book through the printing process and there was no guarantee they’d get it done in time for Gen Con, even with their best efforts. However, when I got the call that it was scheduled to be bound on Thursday by the midnight shift, I relaxed.
Sure enough, the book was ready first thing Friday morning. Roger and Randi Cartier picked up 10 cases around 8:30 AM and were on their way to Indy.
Gen Con, Friday, 3:30 PM seemed quiet in our end of the convention hall. The dealers' room would close at 6:00 PM and the crowds seemed to have grown thin. There was only one or two people at our booth moments before Hades arrived. I bent down to pick up my box-cutter for just a couple of seconds and when I looked up, I was surprised to see the cart that carried 10 cases of Hades surrounded by an excited 12-15 fans! I swear, they came out of nowhere, as if they teleported from another part of the room. As Wayne and I cut open the first two boxes, hands flung in our direction and snapped up copies of Hades as fast as we could pull them out. It was a fun and exciting moment, and one of the highlights for me at Gen Con 2007. Looking back at it, I realize that the booth was empty because the 8-12 gamers who heard me tell my guys to go get the books must have run off to tell their pals. It was very cool. I only wish the author, Carl Gleba, could have been there to enjoy the moment.
By the next morning, folks were coming back to rant and rave about the book. They loved it. Couldn't believe there were so many cool things. And just gushed about how Hades surpassed their expectations. We actually got to hear rants and raves almost immediately from freelance writers, Taylor White, Brandon Aten and Todd Yoho, who dived into skimming and reading parts of the book at our booth, and marveled at Carl Gleba's scary imagination. Nice.
Yep, Hades is jam-packed with cool characters, places, monsters and ideas for adventure along with great artwork and a ton of wild ideas and scores of encounter tables. Carl outdid himself and gamers are loving every minute of it.
Fear not, Dimension Book 10: Hades is on its way to YOU
Well, if you already ordered a copy, it is. Good ol’ Julius and Alex took it upon themselves to ship out the 119 pre-order copies on Friday. Kathy Simmons, confident Hades would arrive Friday, had processed all the orders and had them ready to go. Although I told the guys it could wait till we got back on Monday, Julius decided to shipped ‘em out Friday afternoon so fans could get the book as soon as possible! What a guy.
Wayne and I didn’t pull into the Palladium parking lot until well after midnight Sunday night (er . . . Monday morning), but as promised, we made sure all weekend orders shipped on Monday along with our distributors’ orders. That means most of you who pre-ordered should be getting your book later this week (maybe even tomorrow!), and before they hit the store shelves. (Sadly, those of you who ship via Media Mail are hit and miss. You might get the book later this week, or 10-18 days from now. Media Mail is unpredictable, sorry.) Most stores should get them sometime next week.
That’s it for now. It's been a long day of shipping books, unpacking from Gen Con, and trying to get caught up with e-mail and stuff.
More on Gen Con Indy tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Artist and Tired Person
© Copyright August 21, 2007