I have a ticket for the World Horror Convention in Brighton this year…but I don’t think I’m going to be able to use it. I’m not known for making these sorts of decisions easily, and my mind isn’t completely set on this one, but really, I would say with 99% certainty, I won’t be going. You see, the thing is as much as I really want to go (and I do, I really do) I applied to Clarion West this year.

The odds are very much against my being accepted to Clarion West but if I get in, that would take priority for me over WHC.

While it’s actually possible for me to manage to go to both, I don’t want to. That’s a lot of money and a lot of time spent away from my family. Danica will have a tough enough time dealing with my being gone for six weeks if I get into Clarion West, adding another week for a trip to Brighton not long before that would be wrong.

The tricky thing is, Clarion West generally notifies people about whether or not they got in sometime in March, usually (I’m told) toward the end of it. Word Horror is in March, which means I’d need to have a plane ticket sometime before then. And so, and so…

I don’t think I’m going to Brighton. I suppose the deal is actually pretty much sealed, even if I try to deny it or pretend there is still a question about it. I want to go to Brighton but let’s face it, if I went it would be more pleasure than business (I haven’t got a horror novel to promote yet and Niteblade doesn’t make money so I can’t justify the trip on the grounds of promoting it) and Clarion West could do amazing things for my writing and thus, my writing future. So I’m not going to Brighton. It makes me sad, I will miss being able to see friends, and hang out and all the good stuff that comes with conventions (oh, and the bag ‘o books, I’ll -so- miss the books!) but in the end it’s the right thing to do. And if I don’t get into Clarion West? I guess I’ll just take that money and take my family on a beach vacation somewhere. That will help soothe my disappointment.

Also, if you could keep your fingers crossed for me that I get accepted into Clarion West that would be fabulous.

(The picture is of my cat, Indy, and is completely irrelevant to this post. I put it there because I couldn’t think of something relevant to put as a picture and I’m trying to include more of my photographs in entries…so…yeah.)