About the Author

 

I have been attending conventions since I was 13 years old.  On average, I attend between four and five per year.  But, unfortunately, now I have an invisible illness called Fibromyalgia.  It is, quite frankly, the diagnosis doctors give you when they have ruled out everything else.  The main symptom is chronic pain throughout the entire body.  There is also fatigue, headaches, stiff joints, itchy spots, depression, anxiety (or, in my case, worsening anxiety) and a whole bunch of scary neurological symptoms.  As a writer, and as a long-time convention attendee, it has been difficult for me.  One of the reasons for this site is so that I can hone my writing skills and push past the fog that often makes it hard for me to remember words, or the brick wall that leaves me misspelling simple words that I've never misspelled before in my entire life.  It is often like trying to pull up a file on a computer that you know is there, but you simply can't access it.  The more I write, the more I can practice staying focused.

 

The other reason for this site, of course, is to honestly review the conventions that I still love attending.  But I am now in the unique position where I have attended conventions as a healthy person, and now as someone who is ill.  So I will be taking note of how conventions treat their disabled attendees, particularly those of us who don't necessarily look disabled.  

 

I also suffer from exercise-induced asthma, which leads to vocal cord dysfunction, which can also be exacerbated by my horrendous allergies.  I use a rescue inhaler, but it can also be hard for me to navigate cons for this reason.  Walking up stairs at con hotels is pretty much impossible without passing out, and the air quality at the con's location can also play a large role in how healthy I feel. 

 

This is not going to be a site where I blast conventions, though.  I plan to attend as I always have, except perhaps now with a little more help and a lot more resting.  And certainly a different viewpoint.  Basically, I want to turn these disadvantages into an advantage and use it to help people!

 

I still love to cosplay.  I love making and wearing costumes.  It's is an expensive and time-consuming hobby, but it's a hobby where I feel I can really show how much I love my fandoms.  So I will also be talking quite a bit about how cosplayers are treated by conventions.

 

Other than that, I own a home with my husband where we live happily with two cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon.  

My super loves are:  Star Trek, Once Upon a Time, The Disney Afternoon, Slayers, Doctor Who, Supernatural, and bears.  Yes, like the kind that shit in the woods.

 

 

In the Media

 

http://cosplaybrain.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/interview-with-arlette/

 

 

The Magic of Cosplay article which received publicity from Once Upon a Time lead actress Ginnifer Goodwin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Animerica Magazine Cosplay Showcase for Ohayocon 2003 and Ohayocon 2004