Wings and writers, that was what Dragon*Con meant to me. A few frazzled writers scurry through a crowd of winged—costumed individuals thrilled by anything with “star” in the title. I admit I was wary of this image. I was weird, but was I weird enough? Was Dragon*Con really an impenetrable group of eccentrics who have attended conventions forever?

I was nervous that if I went, I would find the blank faces of the crowd silently, instinctively closing their ranks to keep …

Cheers erupted in the Atrium Ballroom as fans got a second chance to see Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy.  He began by discussing his early career, including his first film, Zombies of the Stratosphere.  “I thought it would rocket me to stardom,” he said with a wry smile.  After all, “I was the first zombie through the spaceship door.”  Strange that his job was to portray an alien outsider, a role that would eventually make him a science fiction icon.

Nimoy …

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 …

The Knights Templar, a medieval order of warrior monks sworn to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, have been romanticized in popular fiction since early in their history. The first Templars story, a poem called Le Conte du Graal, was written in 1180 by Chretien de Troyes. Troyes’ work was “imitated” by contemporary writers who linked the Templars with the Holy Grail, establishing the Grail legend which Elonka Dunin described during Friday’s panel as “medieval fanfiction.” More modern …

In this Q&A panel in the Marriot M106-107 on Friday afternoon, Leigh Bennett-Conner, the X-Track director, and Rox Henkle were warm, friendly, and comical. They had the audience laughing from moment one, fielding several questions about the new series Warehouse 13. In tribute to Pete, one of the main characters, Leigh passed out cookies to all participants.

Topics of the Q & A ranged from the well-crafted writing to the amazing props incorporated into the show. The snappy writing seems to …

Patrick McLean, Slau, and George Hrab were the guests on this Q&A panel in the Room 201 (Hyatt) on Saturday morning. This lively group of gentlemen definitely know their craft.

One of the best ways to get your podcast to sound better is to get a better sound out of yourself. Posture, clarity, diction, and what you are drinking during broadcasting will make a major difference. Position your microphone far enough away that you don’t strain your voice or back but …

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 …

Sherrilyn Kenyon had her first individual panel on Saturday at 2:30PM.  In addition to the bevy of questions asked about her wildly popular Dark-Hunter series, fans got the opportunity to ask about a variety of topics such as her Lords of Avalon series and her forthcoming Chronicles of Nick series, as well as her often-mentioned love of manga.

On the subject of her upcoming Chronicles of Nick, Kenyon expounded on how this series will be a young adult-friendly retelling of the …

In honor of the 10th anniversary of Farscape, the American SciFi Television track welcomed Lani John Tupu, Virginia Hey, Claudia Black, and Ben Browder to the stage in the Centennial Ballroom on Saturday.  Ben Browder opened the panel by warning the audience that the panel was being broadcast on DCTV and to watch what was asked and, he remarked, what they were wearing as he didn’t know duct tape was a fashion.  Claudia Black playfully admonished him that, at Dragon*Con, …

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.