Austin Camacho is incredible. Not only is he former military and the author of ten gripping books, he is also the force behind the C3 Conference. C3 is short for Creatures, Crimes and Creativity — and the event is geared at writers, from those yet to pick up a pen to bestsellers, as well as fans of genre fiction. Whether you love horror, mystery, thriller, science fiction, or fantasy, this con has something for everyone. Loads of international bestselling authors, innovative workshops, and best of all — lunch! Because, I don’t know about you, but I can’t be creative on an empty stomach. Here are the details:

September 30 – October 2, 2016

at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center in Columbia, MD.

For more details, please go to http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com.

And if that isn’t enough reason for you to register, here is C3 founder, Austin Camacho on the top 10 reasons you should attend. I particularly like #1 all the way at the bottom.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Con

by Austin Camacho

I want to thank Diana for giving me this opportunity to tell everyone why they want to attend The Creatures, Crimes & Creativity (C3) Con this year. The C3 Con is the Mid-Atlantic’s book lover event of the year. And this year, we have two international bestselling authors as keynote speakers. But that’s only the beginning.

We draw readers AND writers of genre fiction: horror, mystery, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy and paranormal authors will gather in Columbia MD, Sep. 30-Oct 2. Before the Con our little community hangs out at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452670518248659

So let’s count down the top ten reasons for attending the C3 Con:

#10 – FELLOWSHIP: Imagine being surrounded by avid readers and excellent writers for an entire 3-day weekend!

#9 – REED FARREL COLEMAN: Author of the heralded Moe Prager series and Jesse Stone novels, he’s been called our noir poet laureate. He’ll give a keynote address at dinner and teach a class.

#8 – ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF: Known for her Huntress/FBI thrillers, her smooth blend of paranormal and crime fiction is some of the most original and unnerving work around. She will give the other dinner keynote talk and offer a one-woman class.

#7 – MEALS: The registration fee ($275) includes five meals: Friday’s dinner, 3 meals Saturday and Sunday breakfast, so readers and writers dine side-by-side.

#6 – PANELS: Readers and fans will enjoy 36 panels and presentations from favorite authors, including the keynotes and local guests Donna Andrews (mystery) and Cerece Rennie Murphy (science fiction.)

#5 – GOODY BAGS – Each attendee will receive one filled with cool stuff, including free books (from Mulholland Books, Stark House Press, authors Alan Orloff and Debbi Mack, ) magazines (like Mystery Scene and Writers Digest,) our exclusive anthology filled with stories written by attending authors, and a flash drive from Smashword pre-loaded with ebooks.

#4 – TWITTER CONTEST: the attendee who tweets the most leading up to C3 will get a new Kindle Fire.

#3 – FOR AUTHORS: EXPOSURE: Published authors get to spend time with their fans, and to expose new readers to their writing by presenting on one or two of the 36 panels. Their name and a link are posted on the C3 website. They will be pictured in the C3 program book. And the Baltimore County library will shoot a video interview if they like.

#2 – BOOK SIGNINGS: Novel Books provides an on-site bookstore and hosts two giant book signings, open to the public, featuring all the attending authors and their books.

#1 – And the #1 best reason to attend the Creatures, Crimes & Creativity Con: Diana Belchase will be there in person taping for a segment of Book Smart!

You can register, and get more details, at http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com