J. F. (Jeremy) Lewis is the author of the Void City vampire novels Staked and ReVamped (Pocket Books, 2008 and 2009). A resident of Birmingham, Alabama, Lewis drew flack from the elders of his (former) church for the, ahem, adult aspects of his Void City characters and world-building. Undaunted by his ex-fellowship status, Lewis is working on his fourth novel in the series.

I met Lewis at Dragon*Con last …

What makes a book a science fiction or fantasy “classic”? Moderator Van Plexico led his lit experts into inquiries about the ages of SF achievement and what characterizes a classic story. The thorny questions carried the panelist and lively audience from early masterpieces to novels written today. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and John Carter of Mars series were noted as significant early works that left us with characters and situations which have defied the passage …

In a rare Regency Ballroom setting for the Writer’s track Sunday afternoon, writers and fans thrilled to the charms of the “first ladies of the fang.” Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro were together for the first time this year at Dragon*Con thanks to Harris’s debut appearance at the convention. Under the guidance of moderating writer Eugie Foster, the authors discussed their individual contributions to vampire fiction as well as current trends.

Foster introduced the panel by asking what …

Kate Mulgrew wooed a captivated audience in the Atrium Ballroom (M) Saturday afternoon with reminiscences of her decade-long role as Captain Kathryn Janeway in the series Star Trek: Voyager. Mulgrew created the role of the first woman Star Trek starship captain over Voyager’s seven and a half years on the air followed by a three-year encore in her one-woman show.

And the winner is…Warrior Ariam (Lucy Maria Boydston), of Hixson, TN.  [The Daily Dragon staff appreciates very much the subtle reminder received from Miss Klingon Empire 2008, Nej Vestai Le'nIvnav (Sonya Desilets), that the winner is really what the contest is all about.  Torture by 'oy'naQ painstick will not be necessary.]  The Daily Dragon staff cowered behind red-shirts hired for added protection while Warrior Ariam …

Original Star Trek stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were fully engaged in good-natured bantering Friday morning when “boos” greeted Trek Trak Director Eric L. Watts. Watts, who had introduced the stars, carried a ten-minute warning sign, signaling the imminent end of the program to the capacity crowd. Shatner suggested that Watts tap-dance or imitate a sandwich board, reminiscing about the beautiful girls who carried “Round  3” signs for boxing matches. Watts returned with the sign held against his torso, imitating the bouncing gait of a sandwich board advertiser.

The most impressive panel to open Dragon*Con programming in years blasted off to a packed crowd Friday morning at the Hyatt.  Two icons of Science Fiction television, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, exuded warmth, camaraderie, and humor throughout the hour-long dialogue. Their friendship as apparent as their talent and enthusiasm combined into a remarkable “fascinating” exchange. Yes, Shatner used the line, emphasizing to Nimoy that, “Just because you used to say it, doesn’t mean you own the word.” He added, “Live Long and Prosper, I can say that, too.” To which Nimoy retorted, “You can say it, but it doesn’t mean the same thing!”

Dragon*Con readers who like a little weird along with their World War II historical fiction/alternate history should be bloody glad that Rosemary Laurey is returning to the convention this year.  Under the pseudonym “Georgia Evans,” author Laurey has written a new version of the Blitz that has supernatural “Others” fighting on behalf of both Allied and Axis powers.  The blend is something out of a B horror flick, Dracula versus the Werewolf, but set in a sleepy English town with all the elements of a cozy mystery.  Wake up, Agatha!  You’ve got competition, and she’s sporting fangs.

Dragon*Con 2009 welcomes Charlaine Harris, the author of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern vampire novels (from Dead Until Dark through her latest novel, Dead and Gone, a recent New York Times hardback #1 bestseller) as well as the Harper Connelly, Lily Bard, and Aurora Teagarden mysteries.  Readers beware:  the Sookie Stackhouse novels and the HBO series True Blood, based on Ms. Harris’s “Sookie-verse” books, are just as addictive as “V-juice,” the street name for vampire blood.  Continue at your own risk.

Reviewer, writer, judge, classicist, systems engineer, Australian author Jenny Blackford presents as a Jill-of-all-trades, a Never Never Land kind of woman who hasn’t ignored the question of what to do when she grows up; she just does it all.  From her diverse science fiction and fantasy stories and reviews to her first book-length publication, The Priestess and the Slave, Blackford’s inspired journeys embrace the kind of …