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ATL Pride Part II - The Vendors
The previous entry about Pride was written while I was still in Atlanta. The rest of the entries are being written here in DC, with some time passed.
As I wrote my journal entry, ate my muffin, and drank my juice in the lobby of the Sheraton Colony Square, I was joined by the very talented Michael-Cristopher, author of the Living the Life graphic novels. I met him for the first time at Pride in DC this past Memorial Day weekend. A nice guy. Very handsome. Knows a lot of people, it seems. Been in the game for a while. He had a vendor table toward the back of the marketplace. Not the ideal location, but inches away from an adult film star, which ain't too shabby.
We were pretty much just sitting around and chit-chatting. He then introduced me to Michael Slaughter, who was one of the co-chairs of In The Life Atlanta. He's a nice guy, too, it seems.
I kinda don't remember what I did for most of that day other than hang out in the lobby, eat lunch, and get my area set up for the vendor area, which was set to open at 4pm.
I should use this opportunity to thank EVERYONE who helped me out! Callis, Issam, Dwayne, and Fred -- you guys are the greatest!!!! I love you.
Luckily, I have no bad stories about vending. All the buyers were very positive. Nobody tried to clown or throw my book around. (It's happened.)
In the marketplace, I met Ty Lattimore. We had corresponded earlier this year and he is just as nice in person as he is on email. And *ahem* yes, I did support his adult DVD endeavors. ;-)
I got a shirt from bsixtee6. They were directly across from the Old Gold Soul table. Briian Dargon and his brother....so nice....and nice to look at, lol.
Cheril N. Clarke had a table. She is the author of Intimate Chaos, a novel. I wish I had had more time to chit chat with her, but she was so far away from us. I got her book though! She seems really cool.
Brent Dorian Carpenter was also among us, promoting his four books. Bald Ambition, his latest, is finally available. If you pre-ordered it, bear with him. He's on the road a lot and hasn't gotten back home long enough to ship out the pre-orders.
Warm Spirit, a self-care and wellness company was there. They were basically straight chicks selling candles and body oils or something. I know, it's sad, I really didn't know what they were selling until the last day, when I bought a candle. The vendor (on that day) was a Soror and we really hit it off.
BARC was in full effect. They are a skin care system for men of color. I didn't buy anything from them, but they hooked me up with a free sample. I'm really particular about anything I put on my face. But I will try it soon.
The half nekkid men from Flava Men Magazine were there. I can honestly say that although they were very nice men, I really wasn't as impressed with them as other folks were. Part of the reason is because as a vendor of books, it was sad to see more people ogling the bare chests of models than pawing Brent Dorian Carpenter's books. The other reason why I wasn't that impressed was because they were pretty small....kinda on the short side, kinda on the slim side. Three of them walked by and I was like what is this, B2K?
But as I said, they were very nice guys. And yes, I *ahem* got a related DVD that was on sale at their table.
OH YEAH....I forgot that my novel was reviewed in one of the Flava Men related magazines. Not the strictly dickly one, but the lifestyles one.
Yvette Michelle Hall was there! LOVE HER! She was my "back" when I was a vendor at DC Pride. She is so nice. (I've been saying "nice" an awful lot, but really, all these people were SO NICE!) She was selling her book Unconventional Love.
Although he wasn't a vendor, I did get to meet Waddie G. in the vendor area, too! That was great -- I'd been emailing with him back and forth for like months and months. He's a really cool dude.
Now for the patrons....as I said before, most everyone was really really cool. I sold quite a few books, and for that I am grateful. Issam, Fred, Dwayne, and Callis really did a lot to keep me sane while I was "on."
And Frat....I met so many Frat. Tall Frat. Short Frat. Skinny Frat. Fat Frat. (Actually, no Fat Frat, believe it or not.) Most importantly, hot frat. We're a pretty good looking lot. I was like YEAH, go us!
All in all, I am glad I signed up to be a vendor for all three days. You get to meet other vendors and see damn near everyone who decided to come to Pride.
Stay tuned for more installments about The Lobby and the special events.
Posted by Rashid on September 6, 2005 5:46 PM
Comments
Ok. Now just which frat category did I fall in? Nevermine don't answer that because I might resemble that remark - lol. I must say that you were the ablest author in the Marketplace and at the Literary Cafe. And, I say that not just because I consider you a friend, but because it is true. Fred is really cool, too. Too bad he didn't have a vendor booth because side by side, you two would be the invincible, dynamic duo of authors (you can decide between you who is Batman and who is Robin). Someone I am close to is thinking of having Lazarus for his book club. I encourage anyone else who is reading this post to do the same. Shem hotep!
Commented by Fratman1906 on September 7, 2005 10:55 PM
Damn...well where was the market place? I missed the substance part of the weekend.... le sigh
Commented by Valentino on September 9, 2005 12:10 AM
Barc is an skincare line that a friend introduced me too last month. I have super sensitive skin. I was surprised how well it worked. You should check it out. no bumps on my face anymore.
Commented by Chris Dephoelle on September 16, 2005 2:35 PM
I've always enjoyed the feedback expressed by all walks and we almost always appreciate it. Labor Day weekend was no different. It was a lot of work for Flavamen Magazine because we sponsored so many events and did a lot of leg work to promote the premiere issue of our lifestyles magazine, FlavaLife but, it was a trip well worth it's weigh in gold because it served it's purpose in uniting all of the entities we've become and continue to be. This was a perfect illustration to the answer of the question, "Can't we all just get along?" I definitely look forward to next year.
Commented by Devin on November 3, 2005 12:10 AM