The panelists for this program were Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, writers; Stephen Youll, illustrator; Patrick Loberto, an editor at Bantam Books; and Jamie Warner, Art Director of Bantam Books.

Brian began the presentation by emphasizing that here at Dragon*Con we are paying tribute to Frank Herbert, his father. Brian said that on his father’s eighth birthday, he stood on his mother’s dining room table and announced he wanted to be an author. On his ninth birthday he was …

The esteemed author Anne McCaffrey made a rare U.S. appearance here at Dragon*Con this year. The prolific writer is the author of the extremely popular Pern books, as well as many other series, including The Ship Who Sang, The Rowan series, the Crystal Singer series, and several other stand alone books for adults and children.

We asked Ms. McCaffrey:

What authors influenced you as a child?

Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Will James. Austin Tappan Wright’s Islandia was very influential when …

The Women in Gaming panel was lead by Mur Lafferty, the webmaster of the Rainbow 6 web site, and Damon Floyd, from gamegirlz.com. There is a general misconception that all gamers are adolescent boys who are geeky and awkward. That view ignores a growing portion of the gaming market, women.

The panel was a round table discussion about women in gaming. Those that attended are tired of seeing barely clad females portrayed as little more than set dressing or plot devices. …

With: Mira Furlan, Maggie Egan, Julie Caitlin Brown, and Claudia Christian.

Since Julie was the first usual suspect to arrive she strode to the stage and proceeded to vamp till Maggie and Mira made their appearance. Like the Men’s group the previous day they too made phallic jokes, with and about, the microphones. I think I detect a theme here.

First I must make one admission, the sound system was unclear or maybe it was my hearing, so any mistakes in content …

The crowd lined in anticipation to find out whom the most embodied the beauty of the Klingon Empire. The judges where known as Admiral Kroesh of KAG (Larry Septrick), Richard Herd (L’Kor on TNG: Birthright I & II), and Cheralyn L. Lambeth. Amidst the honorable Klingon warrior caste, eight stalwart warriors battled for the place of most desirable Klingon in the Empire. The warriors were judged on presentation and crowd working, talent, and the one question (while staying in the …

The Annual Dragon*Con Masquerade Costume contest was held last night with its traditional hilarity and strangeness. There were 44 contestants in a wide variety of genres who put a lot of work and effort into their creations. Congratulations to all the contestants for a job well done. These were the best of the best.

Best Artist in Show: Todd Lockwood, Dragon Lance

PROFESSIONAL
Best Color Piece: Todd Lockwood, Dragon Lance
Best Black & White Piece: Joy Marie Ledet, Aisling
Best 3-D Piece: Jonathan Bowling, Keeper

AMATEUR
Best Color: Stanley Morrison, Pet Dragon
Best Black & White: Melissa Gay, A Magical Meeting
Best 3-D Piece: Todd Bowlin, Goblin (2)

SPECIAL AWARDS
Best Clay or Wood: Kenneth Armstrong, The Prize
Best Textile Piece: Judith Rauchfas, Siren
Best Jewelry Art: Teresa Mather, Midnight Sky
Best Mixed Media: Laura Reynolds, Lucillus the Light Bearer
Ambassador’s Award: Oleg Slepov

Bright and Groggy in the morning, the Kids Track presented “Drawing With Larry Elmore.” It was a beginner’s guide to drawing the face, and the common errors people make. Step by step, his workshop taught the children in attendance (and old ones too), how to draw the face profile and another option using just shapes in the stead of lines. He explained the common errors people make when drawing the face and how to correct those errors. Altogether, the track …

Opening the night of fun was an underground band from Florida. Existential, sophomoric humor seemingly derived from the musical group Beck, permeated their lyrics and their repetitious musical thumpings. Three young men playing bass, lead guitars, and drums and two dressed as ‘bots did the “robot” to all their music is what equated to their band. Sadly all the energy from their show came from the ‘bots. My favorite song from the group was as I recall it (probably misnamed), …

Following the performance of Sir Millard Mulch and the witty segue by Claudia Christian, was the indomitable performer Apollo Smile. This was her third Dragon*Con attendance and she has gotten bigger and better rooms each time. Every year I have come to Dragon*Con I admired her from afar, she has a wealth of good karma and energy that seems that no matter what gets in her way she will smile and prevail. Her show was a hallucinogenic experience of good …