’Con Plague’ is a project I’ve had on my brain for close to two years now. Anyone who has attended a convention has probably heard the term bandied about. For the uninitiated, ’con plague’ refers to the not-so-surprising phenomenon where a huge portion of con-goers come down with some illness - be it a cold or the flu - after spending a few days in such close quarters. It usually results in a weekend’s discomfort upon returning home; in my novel, the stakes are a little bit higher.

As an avid gamer and self-described nerd, the idea of writing my own ode to geek culture was just too enticing to pass up. I consider this my love letter to gaming, conventions, and all the wackiness and fun they’ve brought to my life in droves.

In this dark comedy, a group of twenty-something friends with a deep passion for an cult-classic indie survival horror game are attending an annual convention, cosplay prepped and Red Bull in hand, when the unimaginable happens.

The elusive duo behind the game - twin brothers who have never made a public appearance or spoken out about the ambiguity of the story’s final ending - are going to be hosting an exclusive panel for a limited number of lucky con-goers.

What should be a nerd’s dream weekend quickly goes south, however, as a strange illness spreads like wildfire through the hotel, leading to a quarantine and an outbreak of strangely mutated, ravenous creatures. This tightly-knit group of gamers must band together to survive, find the source of the unidentifiable infection, and to unravel the mystery surrounding the identity of the enigmatic creators.

Does the brothers’ presence promise something more sinister than anyone could have anticipated? Can the convention-goers be saved? Are head-shots any easier to attain in real life than they are in the average FPS?

Hopefully, I’ll be able to answer all these questions and more in the chapters to come. This novel is something I really believe in, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.