Heartland

Am guesting at this:

http://whc2015.org

7-11 May. It's my first time in this fair city. On the off chance i can escape the hotel for an hour or two, what must i see/where must i drink?

And if any of you are into horror, the Mass Author Signing event is open to all on Friday 8th from 6:30pm-8pm. If you fancy a free book drop by my table - the name's Frazer & the password is MYHEARTLAND

Cool. Have a brilliant time.
You up for any awards?

I'm in (although not from) Atlanta. In terms of what to see and do, it depends on what you're into. The typical tourist spots are World of Coca Cola, the aquarium, CNN center... which are ok, I suppose, if that's your cup of tea.

There's plenty of history here -- the Carter center, the Cyclorama (in Grant Park, itself quite a pleasant place for a walk around some old homes). Kennesaw Mountain is a good place for a hike and to see a civil war battleground. And there's all the MLK stuff in the old fourth ward. Oh, and for the goths (and history buffs) there's Oakland Cemetery

In terms of drinking, there're quite a few good spots around. I recommend the Wrecking Bar in Little Five Points -- a good brewery with good food. L5P itself is fun, and The Vortex is a pretty good spot for a burger and a beer. For other good food, anything along the Buford Highway is good, and we have plenty of great restaurants (try Rathbun's if you don't mind spending a bit).

The Atlanta beltline is a rails-to-trails conversion that's really nice for a walk or a run (although it's getting hot already), with plenty of restaurant patios and the like en route. The east side trail, which runs from the Old Fourth Ward to piedmont park, is a great way of seeing a cross-section of the city.

You'll also be overlapping with the Shaky Knees festival, which has a pretty decent line-up. Oh, and, of course, there's a lot of Walking Dead stuff in and around Atlanta.

A couple of other good spots for drinks:

- The Highlander, in the highlands, is a good unpretentious rocker bar
- Sweetwater brewery does tours and tastings
- The Porter in L5P
- Sister Louisa's on Edgewood. (A few good spots along here, but it's a bit of a sketchy neighbourhood.)
- The Brick Store pub in Decatur - fantastic beer options and right on the square so a nice spot. There're lots of other good restaurants etc. in Decatur, too - try Leon's Full Service.

I'd pop in and say hello, but I'm going to be in LA for a conference over the same time period. Have fun, though!

My knowledge of the area is limited to the Sandy Springs area (bit north of the city proper), but I can definitely recommend the Mellow Mushroom pizza chain (try the Maui Wowie pizza - it is effing awesome!) and the Sandy Springs gun club if you fancy an hour or so blowing off some steam - rent a pistol, buy a box of shells and a couple of targets, and unleash your inner beast. Lovely people there, totally non gun-nut, lovely premises. You'll need to take your passport for ID.

And, if hitting golf balls is more your speed, Sandy Springs gun club is right around the corner from the cheap and cheerful Steel Canyon.

Thanks Kafka (have a great time in LA-LA-land) and EvilBastard very useful suggestions there (you had me at "unpretentious rocker bar" hehehe)

And Pista not up for any Stokers this time around, but am on the Jury for my sins........which are many! Am launching my new novel The Skintaker & presenting the world premiere of my new short film The Stay, they've got me on a couple of panel discussions too - really looking forward to hanging with some horror peeps and doing a bit of sightseeing.

Cheers again for the suggestions!