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SALT LAKE CITY — The "Star Wars" bedspread was never comfortable, but a young Felicia Day insisted on using it anyway.
"The pictures of all the ships on it made me so excited," said Day, now 35, a lifelong "Star Wars" fan who this week finds herself headlining Salt Lake Comic Con's FanX alongside one of her childhood heroes, Carrie Fisher.
From her work on her popular Web series "The Guild" and Joss Whedon's Internet musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," to TV roles on The CW's "Supernatural" and SyFy's "Eureka," Day has emerged as the ultimate geek girl, riding her love of science fiction and gaming to celebrity status.
And "Star Wars," she said, was among the catalysts for her career.
"Obviously 'Star Wars' is an amazingly influential movie and franchise, and that was one of the reasons I got into geeky things — sci-fi and fantasy," she told the Deseret News.
Day has been a regular on the comic book and pop culture convention scene for the past eight years, she said, "visiting different places, meeting the fans of what I do face to face." She's scheduled to attend FanX on Friday and Saturday at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Such events are becoming increasingly popular, which Day says is a testament to the importance of the connection between creators in the world of entertainment and the fans of those creations.
"I take so much away from meeting the people who like what I do," she said. "It influences the things I create in the future."
I take so much away from meeting the people who like what I do. It influences the things I create in the future.
–Felicia Day
Day regularly interacts with fans through social media, but meeting them in person "and seeing the way the things I create impact other people is a huge motivator for me in continuing to make things," she said.
"When you’re in an online environment, it isn’t always the most positive experience. You’re exposed to the people who love you and the people who don’t like you as much," Day said. "So meeting the people who are motivated to come out and say hello in a person-to-person way is really the thing that gets me through being behind a computer all day."
Day chronicles her journey from fan to Internet celebrity, actress, filmmaker and now author in her upcoming book “You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost).”
The book, slated for an Aug. 11 release, is "a funny, quirky and inspiring memoir about (Day’s) unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood," according to publisher Touchstone.
In "You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)," Day writes about "the things that I’ve done in the past, from starting things in my garage and making things that people told me not to make."
"I’ve been to a lot of conventions to talk about that story, so I finally decided to write a book about it," she said.
And though she's now the one signing autographs and posing for pictures, Day said she still gets geeky about those who inspire her — including Fisher, Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy and the upcoming "Episode VII: The Force Awakens."
"Certainly Carrie Fisher would be one I would be speechless to be in a room with," Day said. "I would be probably too shy to approach her, but I would stare from afar." Email: jpage@deseretnews.com Twitter: jaredpage
