By Jason Harris

It’s February and the third annual Queen City Kamikaze is upon us once again. It’s one bright spot during this cold and snowy month.  The one difference this year is that this anime, video game, comic book, cosplay, sci-fi, and fantasy convention takes place on a Sunday. For the past two years, it happened on Saturday.

There will be over 25 vendors at this convention including Dandelion Studios, Books & Boos, and Harrison’s Comics.

Mark Wholley, one of the Four Horsemen who founded Anthocon, Northern New England’s only multi-genre literature and arts convention, will be at QCK for his second time to promote Anthocon. He will also be selling copies of Anthology, an anthology that debuted at Anthocon. He wants to make some vendor contacts and meet some artists, Wholley said.

“I like the show because of it diverse audience it draws in, It’s local to me and I like to support other shows when I can. I enjoyed last year so I decided to attend again this year,” Wholley said.

At the Books & Boos‘ tables, there will be six authors: Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn, Tony Tremblay, David Price, and Gordon Bean. They are all members of the New England Horror Writers organization. These authors will be selling and signing their books. This will be Longo’s third time and Tremblay’s and Price’s second time attending the convention.

“I love this convention and meeting a younger generation of readers,” Longo said.

Along with selling new and used books, Books & Boos will be presenting two panels: Horror in the Movies (1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) and Where Authors Get Their Ideas (4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

Horror In The Movies: authors Gordon Bean (Dawn of Broken Glass), David Price (Dead in the USA), Stacey Longo (Secret Things), and moderator Jason Harris will discuss the best and worst, darkest and most disturbing, scariest and silliest examples of horror on the big screen on the Horror in the Movies panel. From the golden age of Nosferatu to the modern-day Conjuring, this panel will cover it all. Questions from the audience are encouraged throughout the discussion.

Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas? Authors Dale Phillips (Shadow of the Wendigo), Vlad Vaslyn (Brachman’s Underworld), David Price (Dead in the USA), and moderator Stacey Longo (Secret Things) will answer the number one question writers hear from their readers: How do you come up with this stuff? From disturbing first dates to summer camp adventures gone awry, audiences will learn how the most innocent of memories and experiences can be turned into scary stories and best sellers. Questions from the audience will be encouraged throughout the discussion.

There is a third panel: How to Create, Publish, and Promote Your Own Comic, which will happen during the convention, but isn’t sponsored by Books and Boos.

The Queen City Kamikaze takes place at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester, New Hampshire from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16. There is a $10 admission price.

Editor’s Note:
Author David Price won’t be able to attend the convention. A family issue came up.