Monsters & Mayhem: How to Keep the Pages Turning

Have you ever wondered how authors create a gripping story? At the “Monsters & Mayhem” panel on Sunday at 1PM in the Hyatt Embassy D-F, a distinguished panel of writers—Bill Fawcett (moderator), Elizabeth Moon, Esther Friesner, Peter David, Rebecca Moesta, and Larry Correia—discussed techniques they use to keep readers reading. When posed the question of what keeps a reader reading,… Read more →

Masquerade Winners Selected

Masquerade Winners Selected

The annual Masquerade Sunday night (8:30PM, Hyatt Centennial II–III) showcased a wide range of costuming excellence, from tiny Jedi to giant dragons. Winners were selected in three child and nine adult categories. Children Best Toddler: Amelia Lewis as Princess Serenity Best Pre-Teen: Nicola Tesla Desilets as Anna (Harley Quinn) Best Teen: Sierra Rivera, Twilight Sparkle Adult Best Movie Character: Nancy… Read more →

Sleepy Hollow’s Father and Son

Sleepy Hollow’s Father and Son

The Sleepy Hollow panel on Sunday in the Marriott Atrium Ballroom started out with the disappointing news that Nicole Beharie wouldn’t be able to attend. She had to leave the convention early. But the mood quickly shifted when it was announced that John Noble and makeup artist Corey Castellano would be joining the panel instead. Moderator DJ Ichabod brought them… Read more →

A Man of Many Ways: The Jim Butcher Interview

A Man of Many Ways: The Jim Butcher Interview

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and his new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills that were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and… Read more →

An Hour Well Spent with Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon spent an hour with her fans in the Westin Augusta room Sunday at 4PM. She was accompanied by Alethea Kontis. Kenyon spent a few minutes talking about upcoming projects. There is a movie and TV series coming out, as well as more Dark-Hunter and The Chronicle of Nick books. Of course, what would a Kenyon panel be without… Read more →

2015 Parsec Awards Winners

The 2015 Parsec Awards ceremony (Sun 5:30PM, Hyatt Regency V) honored the best in speculative fiction podcasting. Podcast shows are nominated by fans, finalists chosen by a yearly steering committee, and finalists voted on by an independent panel of judges from outside of podcasting. Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form) “The Sinister Secret of StarNasty” OR “A Mike in… Read more →

Relativity, a Study in Spaghettification and Rings of Fire

Relativity, a Study in Spaghettification and Rings of Fire

Perception is relative. That’s essentially the crux of Einstein’s theory of special relativity. For example, if you’re standing on the side of the road and a car passes you going 55 mph, from your perception, the car is going really fast. Conversely, if you’re in a car on the highway going 50 mph and that same car passes you going… Read more →

Industry After the Apocalypse

If civilization failed catastrophically, how much industrial capacity would humanity have? The 7PM Saturday panel in the Apocalypse Rising track (Westin, Chastain 1 & 2), “Not Just Spikes on a Car: Bootstrapping Industrial Capacity After an Apocalypse,” examined that question. The panel consisted of Tedd Roberts, a neuroscientist who writes articles, short stories, and a column for Baen Books, author,… Read more →