The DragonCon Report, 2009 Edition
Saturday, September 26th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | No Comments
Claudia (from Interview with a Vampire)
Want to see–and read–more? It’s all at Beyond the Veil. Enjoy!
DragonCon 2009: First Notes
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | No Comments
Back from DragonCon. I had such a fabulous time I’m way to tired to write coherently about it, but I thought I’d post a few (a very few!) of the highlights as a teaser of things to come–as soon as I finish sorting the 570 photos I took. Until then, this will have to do:
- FINALLY getting to see a panel with James Marsters (with green hair, no less) and Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones in Torchwood).
- Running into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years directly afterwards.
- Hanging with friends like artist/writer Marianne Plumridge and her husband, artist Bob Eggleton, Jana Oliver, Teresa Patterson and my roomie Dorie. Also ran into the old Press Room gang–Star, Leigh, Kelly, Dave & Phyl. (Randi couldn’t make it, but I did talk to her and the new bambino.)
- Dinner with Crissy Brashear (owner and publisher of Samhain Publishing), Jacob Hammer (Samhain’s office manager), Alex Ross (Jacob’s girlfriend) and writers Ally Blue and Rosemary Laurey/Georgia Evans and her husband George at Nikolai’s on the Roof, the extraordinary restaurant on the top of the Hilton. The company was fabulous and the dinner… Well, let me put it this way, the meal started on plates with gilded images of Faberge eggs and ended with the presentation of a single red rose to all the ladies.
- The amazing historical and Steampunk costumes, and dressing up in my own less amazing Steampunk outfit (see Marianne’s great picture of her husband, artist Bob Eggleton). At least the hat, the rose from Nikolai’s, and all of Marianne’s DragonCon pics were splendid. 
- Sitting back-to-back with William Shatner, Kate Mulgrew and Leonard Nimoy at the DragonCon Awards Banquet. (BTW, they’re actually serving meat now–the banquet, I mean, not the stars.)
- The Cruxshadows concert. (Duh!)
- Surviving a four-panel Sunday running from 10 a.m. (after the Cruxshadows concert–ow!) to 11 p.m., after the “sex panel”: “Sex in SF/Fantasy–Too Much or Not Enough?”
- The Lost Boys concert at the Pirate Ball followed by costume watching at the Marriott Starbucks, which has replaced The Perk as the ultimate people-watching destination since the Hyatt has gotten pissy about photos in the lobby.
- Sitting next to Rogue on my last panel, “Under Raven’s Wings: 200 Years of Poe”, listening to three of his dramatic readings, including the awesome “Annabel Lee”, and having him autograph this year’s Cruxshadows single for Bree and me when the panel was done. And day-um, he smelled good. White musk, I think. (Made me wish I’d packed my favorite Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab scents, but I’ve been afraid ever since my hand lotion triggered Barbara Hambly’s allergies at World Fantasy Con.)
- Drinking 12-year-old Glenlivet single malt in the Green Room at the Hair of the Dog Party (i.e., the clearing of the Green Room after the Dead Dog Party). I didn’t even know they had Glenlivet in the Green Room.
- Getting back home to Greg and the Duz. Gotta recover in time for next year, after all.
Posted 6 months ago at 11:42 pm. Add a comment
17 Reasons Why DragonCon Is a Regency Country House Party
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | DragonCon | No Comments
Would I lie to you? Well, not about this…
Enjoy!
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago at 11:27 am. Add a comment
Forget Necessity
Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog, DragonCon | No Comments
Desperation is the mother of invention in this house.
I was trying to line up the August blogs I owe to blog sites other than my own. The goal was to get it all over with now, so I’d have more time to write next month. They were all playing nicely except my August 22 Samhain blog. Given the date, I’d be a fool not do something related to DragonCon, but what? The program schedules are almost never finalized until the week before Labor Day, and I was pretty sure I’ve written everything there is to write about the con.
Should I do something about the balls? The Masquerade? The guests? My costume changes?
Then it hit me: Sixteen Ways DragonCon Is Like a Regency Country House Party.
The weird thing is, it works.
‘Til later…
Posted 7 months, 2 weeks ago at 1:49 am. Add a comment
DragonCon Whoops
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Blog | No Comments
That’s whoops as in “cheers”, not the kind you say when you drop something. Derek Tatum, the chair of the DragonCon Dark Fantasy track, has posted his preliminary guest list, and look who’s on it:
Michelle Belanger
Doug Bradley
Elizabeth Donald
John Everson
Allan Gilbreath
Christopher Golden
Rosemary Ellen Guiley
Charlaine Harris
Raven Hart
Mark Henry
Stacia Kane
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Jackie Kessler
Caitlin Kittredge
Alethea Kontis
Rosemary Laurey
J.F. Lewis
Jonathan Maberry
Marianne Mancusi
Richelle Mead
Mike Mignola
Scott Nicholson
Cherie Priest
Kat Richardson
Stephen H. Segal
Jeanne Stein
Jean Marie Ward
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Can you tell I’m grinning from ear to ear? 
Cheers and smiles,
Posted 10 months ago at 8:56 pm. Add a comment
DragonCon, here I come
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 | Author: jmward14 | Uncategorized | No Comments
My name is listed on the DragonCon Guests Page, and they’ve given me a biography of my very own. So it’s official, I will be adding my own special brand of madness to DragonCon, September 4-7. Not only that, they’ve added a new track featuring everybody’s favorite new genre, Steampunk. Okay, now you have Lois McMasters Bujold, Charlaine Harris and ME–plus that brand new Steampunk track–on the schedule. Why haven’t you bought your membership yet?
