Amy L. Herring (Louise Herring-Jones) writes speculative fiction, with a preference for historical fantasy and alternate mystery. Her stories, appearing in fourteen anthologies, include “The Poulterer’s Tale” in God Bless Us, Every One—Christmas Carols beyond Dickens (Voodoo Rumors Media). Amy coordinates the HSV Writers’ group in Huntsville, AL. Visit her online at http://www.louiseherring-jones.com.
Dragon*Con’s Art Auction on Monday interposed sales of fantasy and SF art with a rollicking comic routine by volunteer auctioneers Phil Lacefield and Marc Lee. The dynamic sales duo used horrendous French accents, pleas of kid fans to doting parents, and challenges to competing bidders to sell dozens of objects de art which had received at least five silent bids… Read more →
Debra Dixon, author of GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict, presented an abbreviated version of her three-hour GMC workshop to Dragon*Con writers. Featuring principles explained in her book, Dixon fielded questions and outlined her “who, what, why, and why not” approach to writing fiction, drawing on examples from The Wizard of Oz and other well-known movies. Dixon stressed that conflict was… Read more →
Authors Janny Wurts and James “Hawk” Bassett joined afternoon panels in a merry romp through fantastic fiction. The first panel featured Wurts and authors Michelle Belanger, Holly Black, Glenda Finkelstein, Mitchell Graham, and Nancy Knight. Storytelling was the topic, which included not only the panelists’ own personal favorite writers, ranging from Homer to Tolkien to Ray Bradbury and Ellen Kushner,… Read more →
The “Religion in SF and Fantasy” panel in the SFLIT track packed in SF&F literati as moderator John Ringo with fellow authors Glenda Finklestein and Van Plexico discussed the fixation of speculative genres on religion. Laurel Lawson, a priestess and mythological and theological synthesist, added a distinctive perspective as well as scholarly and spiritual dimensions to the panel. Lawson explained… Read more →
Author Esther Friesner, well known for her comic touch, and author/editor Teri Smith joined humor master Robert Asprin, author/editor Bill Fawcett, and author Richard White for a lively discussion about writing humor in science fiction and fantasy. Lawrence Barker made a brave attempt to moderate the Friday night fray, but it soon became apparent that conflicting ideas were flying through… Read more →
The world fantasy characters inhabit is often as important as the players themselves. Saturday night, six pros shared their tips for memorable worlds. Dragon*Con institution Josepha Sherman joined Robert Asprin, Brad Strickland, Kathryn Sullivan, Chesya Burke and Wesley Lowe on Sunday night for an authors’ look at world-building in science fiction and fantasy. “You need to think about your world… Read more →
Author/editor Selina Rosen (“Selina”) drove through ten states, racking up over 32 hours in drive-time and almost 2,200 miles to attend Dragon*Con this year in back-to-back appearances starting at L.A.Con IV/World Con in Anaheim, CA. With that kind of determination, it’s no wonder that Selina is debuting her first hard cover novel this year, Strange Robby (Meisha Merlin Publishing). Esther… Read more →
Author Ann Crispin guided graduates of her basic workshop through the complexities of pacing on Saturday—day one of her two-day “Advanced Writers’ Workshop.” Crispin said that there is no “magic bullet” to conquer timing issues in fiction, but that it is essential that stories and novels be paced correctly to maintain reader interest. She added that it is very important… Read more →
