Richard A. Knaak – Guest of Honor
Richard A. Knaak is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Legend of Huma, WoW: Wolfheart, and more than fifty other novels and numerous short stories, including works in such series as Warcraft, Diablo, Dragonlance, Age of Conan, the Iron Kingdoms, and his own popular Dragonrealm. Black City Saint, and Rex Draconis sagas. He has scripted comics and manga, such as the top selling Sunwell trilogy, and has also written background material for games. His works have been published worldwide in many languages.
His most recent releases include Black City Dragon — the third in his new urban fantasy series from Pyr Books — Of Dragon’s Blood for his epic Rex Draconis saga, and Climate Changeling, based on the Flash television series. He is presently at work on several other projects, among them both War of the Dragon Moon — the next step in the Rex Draconis saga — continuing the Dragonrealm with Dragon of the Depths, Black City Angel, Rogues Gallery, and more.
Currently splitting his time between Chicago and Arkansas, he can be reached through his website: http://www.richardallenknaak.com where more information on this trilogy can be found. While he is unable to respond to every e-mail, he does read them. Join his mailing list for e-announcements of upcoming releases and appearances. Please also join him on Facebook and Twitter.
Special Guests
Katie Cross
Katie Cross is ALL ABOUT writing epic magic and wild places. Creating new fantasy worlds is her jam. When she’s not hiking or chasing her two littles through the Montana mountains, you can find her curled up reading a book or arguing with her husband over the best kind of sushi. Visit her at www.katiecrossbooks.com for free short stories, extra savings on all her books (and some you can’t buy on the retailers), and so much more.
Howard Andrew Jones
.
Marisa Wolf
Marisa Wolf writes science fiction, fantasy, and every point she finds between. A core author in the bestselling Four Horseman Universe, she’s responsible (to blame?) for the Valkyries storyline of the Hit World Universe, and over 20 short stories among worlds both shared and her own. Her forthcoming novel with Baen Books grew from one of those short stories, so no wonder she’s not planning to stop any time soon. More at marisawolf.net.
Guests
Rob Hampson
Dr. Robert E. Hampson is an internationally-recognized biomedical researcher, public speaker, and Science Fiction author who injects cutting-edge science into his writing. He leads a team developing a medical device to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, teaches graduate students how to communicate science to the public, consults for TV, game designers, authors, and more. He writes nonfiction as well as short stories and novels in military and hard SF genres, with common themes of medicine, bionics, and scientific exploration.
Monalisa Foster
Monalisa’s writing career really began when she taught herself English by reading and translating Heinlein juveniles at the public library. After she devoured the juvenile section, she moved on to the grown-up books.
While space opera is her favorite genre to write, she considers herself genre-fluid and has written in several speculative subgenres, Romance, and Literature. She is currently working on sequels, both to Threading the Needle and in her Ravages of Honor series.
Alyssa Hazel
“Happiest in the middle of a haunting, Alyssa Hazel is an author of speculative fiction and horror. Her individual pieces have found homes in the Dark River Review, Red Coyote, and Bluestem Magazine. Recently, she completed the Twitch Light Trilogy, a series of anthology books dedicated to the bizarre, the fantastic, and the macabre.”
HP Holo
H.P. Holo grew up in a family where it was dangerous to say, “I’m bored.” She’s also a smart aleck. So when her parents told her to fix her boredom by reading a dictionary, she did. And then, just to be extra sassy, she began writing novels that required them to keep that dictionary handy.
Her first published ode to smart aleckery was YA fantasy The Wizard’s Way (with Jacob Holo), which readers have called “a veritable love letter to steampunk fans.” Her newest series is fantasy adventure Monster Punk Horizon, which readers have called many exuberant things, but especially “redonkulous.”
When not writing smart fantasy adventure, she also writes spicy fantasy adventure as Edie Skye, whose steampunk mecha harem series Titan Mage has become a runaway Amazon bestseller.
She lives in South Carolina with her husband and a cat who thinks exactly as much of herself as she deserves.
Jacob Holo
Jacob Holo has been a recreational geek since childhood, when he discovered Star Wars and Star Trek, and a professional geek since college, when he graduated from Youngstown State University with a degree in Electrical and Controls Engineering. He started writing when his parents bought that “new” IBM 286 desktop, and over the years,
those powers combined to push him to the next level of nerddom: a sci-fi author who designs intricate worlds and tech systems…and promptly blows them up in a string of nonstop action.
He is the author of eleven books, including the bestselling Gordian Division series (with David Weber), Time Reavers (a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book); The Wizard’s Way (with H.P. Holo), and Monster Punk Horizon: Excess (with H.P. Holo).
Rob Howell
Rob is the publisher of New Mythology Press. He’s the creator of the Firehall Sagas and an author in the Four Horsemen Universe.
He’s a reformed medieval academic, a former IT professional, and a retired soda jerk.
His parents discovered quickly books were the only way to keep Rob quiet. Without books, it’s unlikely all three would have survived.
You can find him here: robhowell.org
Melissa Olthoff
Melissa Olthoff is a mother of monsters, a military veteran, and a self-proclaimed mocha addict. She is a writer of military science fiction and urban fantasy stories with a dash of romance. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and at melissaolthoff.net.
Christopher Smith
A native Texan by birth (if not geography), Chris moved ‘home’ as soon as he could. Attending Texas A & M, he learned quickly that there was more to college than beer and football games. He relocated to San Antonio, attending SAC and UTSA, graduating in late 2000 with a BA in Lit. While there, he also met a wonderful lady who somehow found him to be funny, charming, and worth marrying. (She has since changed her mind on the funny and charming)
Christopher began writing fiction in 2012. His short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including John Ringo and Gary Poole’s Black Tide Rising, Mike Williamson’s Forged In Blood, Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell’s Noir Fatale, and Tom Kratman’s Terra Nova.
Christopher has co-written two novels, Kraken Mare with Jason Cordova, and Gunpowder & Embers with Kacey Ezell and John Ringo.
His cats allow his family and their dogs to reside with them outside of San Antonio.
Amy White
Amy White, is a Story Code™ analyst, author, and retired librarian. Amy currently works side by side with the founding researcher, Katherine Farmer and is obsessed with the 7 essential elements of successful stories, aka: Configurative character structure and what makes stories predictably connect with audiences. Caution is advised, if you ask Amy a story question you may not escape without a paradigm shift.
Christopher L. Smith
Lifetime Guests of Honor
Mark Wandrey
Mark Wandrey has been creating new worlds since he was old enough to write. A lifetime of diverse jobs, extensive travels, and living in most parts of the country have equipped him with experiences to color his stories in ways many find engaging and thought-provoking. His works include Cartwright’s Cavaliers, The Winged Hussars, A Time to Die, and the Earth Song series. Mark is a two-time finalist for a Dragon Award, first for A Time To Die, and then for Cartwright’s Cavaliers.
Joy Wandrey
Joy makes bags, backpacks and purses, as well as all sorts of small accessories and toys. She does these things while living in an RV with her husband and two tiny tyrants, the chihuahuas Pollo and Val. She has been a maker of things for as long as she can remember, and loves to share her skills with others. You can find her online at www.spinnersendstudio.com as well as @spinnersendstudio on facebook and instagram. Recently she has begun offering her services as a proofreader, maker of series bible, and builder of simple author websites. She can be found at www.spinnersendstudio.com and on facebook and instagram @spinnersendstudio.
Panelists
Mark Stallings
Mark Stallings is an Amazon Best Selling author living in Colorado Springs, Colorado since the early 80’s. He is a publisher of the Eldros Legacy, speaks at international conferences on Technology topics, is a writer of Wuxia, Fantasy, and Military Sci Fi. Mark is a competitive shooter, avid martial artist, drinker of craft beer, and motorcycle enthusiast. He continues to sling the ink with further stories in the Silver Coin Saga, The Eldros Legacy, and the 4-Horsemen Universes.
Richard Hailey
Richard Hailey is kinda new at this fiction thing, although he’s been writing nonfiction for decades as a technical writer, and spinning yarns to keep himself out of trouble even longer. A Navy vet, he’s travelled the world, and continues his travels with his wife. He writes mostly SF/F with an occasional side trip into other genres like paranormal romance, because, why not? If he’s not on a panel, or in his room writing, you’ll find him sitting quietly somewhere, listening and observing, storing up moments for the next tale.
Wendy S. Delmater
Wendy S. Delmater has edited the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy magazine Abyss & Apex since 2006. She’s a professional editor of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. She is also the editor of four Best of Abyss & Apex anthologies, and the author of numerous non-fiction books including the Better Dating Through Engineering series, Plant a Garden Around Your Life, and Confessions of a Female Safety Engineer. Her “how to” book for authors – Writing the Entertaining Story – is available on Amazon. * A former engineer and New Yorker, she’s now in Lexington, SC. Her Twitter handle is @safewrite ; follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wendy.delmaterthies. Learn more at http://wendysdelmater.net/ * Wendy was born in farm country in Western PA, spent much of her life on Long Island in NY, and now lives in Lexington, SC. Her husband and she spend inordinate amounts of time trying to out-geek each other.
Bill Mulligan
Bill Mulligan has been a high school science teacher in Sanford North Carolina for 25+ years. When not watching horror movies he can be found talking about horror movies on the Decades of Horror podcasts at Gruesomemagazine.com and the Videostore Junkies at https://rss.com/podcasts/videostorejunkies/. As an indie filmmaker, he has worked on 5 feature films and over 2 dozen short films, including BLOOD OF TEH MUMMY, KNOB GOBLINS, 400 WAYS TO KILL A VAMPIRE and BELLADONNA, as a writer, director, special FX artist, actor, and whatever else is needed. Hos first novel, RAUM, will be published in 2023 by Falstaff Books.
Amy Ravenel
Amy Ravenel has done a bit of everything – waitressing, customer service, teaching, librarianship. But writing has been the only thing she’s ever wanted to do. She has a deep love for bookstores, the mountains, and all sorts of geeky things. A native North Carolinian, she grew up in the foothills near the inspiration for Mayberry. Today, she lives with her epically-bearded husband and her epically-furry cats. She is the author of the Restless Spirits book series from Falstaff Books. You can find out more about her books and her social media links at amyravenel.com.
H.Y. Gregor
H.Y. Gregor was born in Portland, Oregon, but she’ll always call the mountains of Colorado home. She narrowly avoided law school after earning her bachelor’s degree in political science, and now happily uses her international relations and government background to create intricate, colorful backdrops for her fantasy novels. Her short fiction has received both Honorable Mentions and Silver Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future contest, and her work is published in Animal Magica Volume 2 and Particular Passages 4: South Wing. Her debut novel, Stonewhisper, will release from Eldros Legacy Press in 2023.
She can be found at: hygregor.com or on Instagram @toviahy
David Alan Jones
David Alan Jones is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served as an Arabic linguist. A 2016 Writers of the Future silver honorable mention recipient, David’s writing spans the science fiction, military sci-fi, fantasy, and urban fantasy genres. He is the author of Scholarship, published by Chris Kennedy Publishing. David is an author, a husband, and a father of three. His day job involves programming computers for Uncle Sam.
You can find out more about David’s writing, including his current projects, at his website: davidalanjones.com.
J. Edwards Holt
Born in North Carolina, United States, J. Edwards Holt always knew that he wanted to be a writer. After graduating high school, he attended college and pursued a degree in education, but later decided to change course and follow his dream to become a novelist and children’s author. Now a bestselling author, ordained minister, and mental health advocate, Holt spends his free time reading and helping the less fortunate in his community. He is passionate about spreading Christian messages through his writing, watching science fiction and superhero movies, and collecting comic books.
Nic Plume
Nic Plume is a Writer in Progress, Sufferer of Wanderlust, Human Sidekick, who learned English from Dragons and is always in search of the next “wheeee” moment. Her stories tell the triumphs, tribulations, failures, and pains of the human experience through a lens formed by her association with the military.
She has self-published the first two books in her Shadows of Peace series, Tinaree-Trial by Inferno and Tinaree-Forged by Crucible, and finished the third installment, Tinaree-Tempered by Blood, which will be released when the series is relaunched with Chris Kennedy Publishing later this year. She is also the author of Rebel’s Cause, a short story in William Webb’s Lost Brigade Universe’s Standing Fast on Foreign Shores anthology. In addition, she has edited over forty novels and proof-read over twenty German translations of novels.
O. Hai Mark
O. Hai Mark is an old school geek, software engineer by day and voracious pop culture consumer by night. He is a shadowcaster, sometime actor and blogger, contributor to Geek Radio Daily, a regular streamer, and an online social activities director. Currently he hosts weekly online game nights, monthly online karaoke nights, and DJs for GRD’s monthly poker nights. O. Hai hosts a weekly movie stream called “Terrible Movies with Wonderful People” where he and a panel of regular guests watch and discuss the oft-maligned but still fun movies that are the mainstay of late night cable, creature features, and riffers.
Jason Cordova
Bestselling author Jason Cordova was born in California. He has had his novels published in multiple languages around the world. The author is both a John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award finalist (though not in the same year). Jason is the editor of the anthology Chicks in Tank Tops (Baen Books), author and creator of the popular Kin Wars series, and co-author of Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever with Larry Correia. Along the way he has also been published in over 40 anthologies and penned over a dozen novels across many genres, including YA, horror, science fiction, and urban fantasy. A huge history nerd, Navy veteran, former teacher, and retired esports pro (don’t ask, long story), he currently resides in North Carolina with his muse and a plethora of animals.
Christian W. Freed
Christian W. Freed was born in Buffalo, N.Y. more years ago than he would like to remember. After spending more than 20 years in the active-duty US Army he has turned his talents to writing. Since retiring, he has gone on to publish over 25 military fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as his memoirs from his time in Iraq and Afghanistan, a children’s book, and a pair of how to books focused on indie authors and the decision-making process for writing a book and what happens after it is published.
His first published book (Hammers in the Wind) has been the #1 free book on Kindle 4 times and he holds a fancy certificate from the L Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. Ok, so it was for 4th place in one quarter, but it’s still recognition from the largest fiction writing contest in the world. And no, he’s not a scientologist.
Kal Spriggs
Kal Spriggs is a US Army combat veteran, gamer, and science fiction and fantasy author. He has visited over 35 countries and has worked in a variety of industries including environmental remediation, farming, civil engineering, the military, and transportation. Kal has drawn upon those experiences to write over thirty novels with complex characters who live in realistic worlds. When he isn’t writing, reading, gaming, or otherwise working, Kal enjoys hiking, skiing, and camping.
Jon R. Osborne
Jon R. Osborne turned a journalism education and a passion for role-playing games into writing science fiction and fantasy. His second book in The Milesian Accords modern fantasy series, “A Tempered Warrior”, was a 2018 Dragon Awards finalist for Best Fantasy Novel. Jon is a core author in the military science fiction Four Horseman Universe, where he was first published in 2017.
Jon resides in Indianapolis, where he plays role-playing games, writes science fiction and fantasy, and extols the virtues of beer. You can find out more at jonrosborne.com and at https://www.facebook.com/jonrosborne.
C. M. DeMott
Since discovering the Society for Creative Anachronism back in 1976, I’ve been writing and performing original ballads based on legend, faery tales and myths. If you like what you hear, I’ve currently got seven cds out, with an eighth due to join them in August. They’re available at morganwolfsinger.bandcamp.com.
C. M. DeMott is a small animal veterinarian living in Southwest Virginia. In addition to being an active member of the SCA, she’s also had two fantasy stories published by New Mythology Press. ‘Choices’, was published in the anthology Talons and Talismans II, and ‘Fluffers’, as one of the contest finalists for last year’s FantaSciCon anthology contest, in the anthology Bonds of Valor.
She’s also the wife of renowned game designer Greg Porter, as well as proofreader, game playtester, and chief game assembler for BTRC. And yes, she has cats.
Patrick Chiles
Patrick Chiles began his writing career with the self-published novels Perigee and Farside, which were acquired by Baen Books. His subsequent novels with Baen, Frozen Orbit, Frontier, and Escape Orbit have established him as a rising talent in near-future, hard science fiction. He resides with his wife in central Ohio.
Diann “DT” Read
According to her mother, Diann “DT” Read began writing as soon as she could pick up a pencil, though her first “stories” were mostly drawings of horses. By age 10 she’d appropriated her father’s old college typewriter and learned to type (with two fingers) because it was faster than pushing a pencil. At age 14 she entered the Utah League of Writers Contest for Young Writers and won 1st place in the Junior High Division. She started her first novel, a fantasy based on the Arthurian legend, in high school, but got sidetracked into science fiction early in college and never finished it.
Her first military science fiction trilogy, The Sergey Chronicles, was published in the late 1990s. Now available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, the Sergey trilogy continues to earn royalties after all these years. She also has a handful of published short stories.
Diann took a hiatus from fiction writing when she was mobilized to active duty following 9/11. She served for 23 years in the U.S. Air Force and retired in 2009 to return to writing. She learned her craft from such mentors as Orson Scott Card, C.J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Moon, and David Farland. She’s married to Jon Read, and they live in Texas.
Kevin A. Davis
Kevin A Davis is a contemporary fantasy author with two published series; the Khimmer Chronicles featuring the lively assassin Ahnjii, and the AngelSong series centering around the indominable Haddie. Ten short stories of his have been published in anthologies though they range from urban fantasy to romantic science fiction. Residing in north Florida, he attends southeastern US conventions throughout the year either as a vendor, panelist/guest, or a fan. His newest series, Pyre’s Pups, features the curly and curvy Kristen, a witch with passable skill in magic and a new agent in a team that tracks down the worst to seep through the realms.
Ray Krawczyk
Ray Krawczyk hails from a small town in Massachusetts. He has rambled across America, living in such exotic locales as Chicago, Rapid City, Raleigh, and has been allowed to reside near Philadelphia for the last several decades. He strongly suspects this has only happened because the authorities have not been alerted to his presence.
Having failed in his career goals as a raconteur and man-about-town, he had no recourse but to take up writing. When he is not tormenting his beta readers he works at rescuing vintage technology, classic Singer sewing machines, and dogs, rehabilitating several of each.
Amanda Montandon
Amanda Montandon is a Colorado mountain girl living in North Carolina with her husband, author Kal Spriggs, their son, and 3 mischievous felines. A Jane of All Trades, she has experience in law enforcement, veterinary care, private security, and more. She runs her own editing business, Pallas Cat Editing. She enjoys cats, coffee, snow, and shooting.
Kelly Grayson
Kelly Grayson is a highly-regarded critical care paramedic with a national reputation, award-winning EMS columnist, author and popular public speaker. When he isn’t prowling the seamy underbelly of the city looking for little old ladies who have fallen and can’t get up, Kelly fancies himself a fiction novelist who brings warmth, humanity, occasional profanity and an abiding sense of whimsy to his writing.
One day he hopes to be a retired paramedic and a full-time novelist who spends his hard-earned royalty checks on brown liquor, guns, and a woman who tolerates his shenanigans with a minimum of eye-rolling.
Gray Rinehart
Gray Rinehart writes science fiction and fantasy stories, songs, and … other things. He is the only person to have commanded an Air Force satellite tracking station, written speeches for Presidential appointees, devised a poetic form, and had music on The Dr. Demento Show. He is currently a contributing editor (the “Slushmaster General”) for Baen Books.
Gray is the author of the lunar colonization novel Walking on the Sea of Clouds, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, and multiple anthologies. As a singer/songwriter, he has three albums which feature science-fiction-and-fantasy-inspired music.
During his unusual USAF career, Gray fought rocket propellant fires, refurbished space launch facilities, “flew” Milstar satellites, drove trucks, encrypted nuclear command and control orders, commanded the largest remote tracking station in the Air Force Satellite Control Network, and did other interesting things. His alter ego is the Gray Man, one of several famed ghosts of South Carolina’s Grand Strand, and his web site is graymanwrites.com.
Greg Gagnon
Greg Gagnon: Author, speaker, coach. Man of many interests. Research
fanatic. Martial artist in multiple eastern and European styles, including SCA and HEMA. Former LEO, USMCR Scout/Sniper, Army & National Guard MP, EMT. History Degree and IT Security Degree. Adult education
instructor. Currently working for a software company in security pre-sales. Anishinaabe. Pink Pistols coach.
Catherine Gagnon
Catherine Gagnon, PhD: Author, speaker, coach. Has worked for the Army as a civilian and works for the USMC currently. Almost 20 years of
federal service. BS in Psych; MS in Counseling; PhD in Educational
Psychology. Adult educator and trainer of educators.
JL Curtis
JL Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1951 and was raised in the Ark-La-Tex area. He is a retired Naval Flight Officer, a retired engineer in the defense industry, an NRA instructor, and now lives in north Texas writing full time. He has novels out in three different series, The Grey Man (urban fiction), Rimworld (military science fiction), and a new series, Showdown on the River (western). He also has written a number of novellas and stories for a number of anthologies.
Mike Morton
.
C. V. Walter
.
Casey Moores
Casey Moores was a USAF rescue/special ops C-130 pilot for over 17 years- airdropping, air refueling, and flying into tiny blacked-out dirt airstrips in bad places using night vision goggles. He’s been to those places and done those things with those people. Now he lives a quieter life, translating those experiences to military science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and post-apocalyptic fiction. His biggest challenge is focusing on any one genre. Or focusing on anything at all, really.
For Chris Kennedy Publishing, he has written in the Four Horsemen universe with stories in numerous anthologies, several novels about Bull and his black ops rescue company, and much more to come. He’s recently expanded into the Salvage System and Fallen World as well.
Casey has joined Three Ravens Publishing’s JTF-13 series with Witch Hunt, a story about monster hunting marines in the Civil War. He also writes in Cannon Publishing’s Fallen Empire series. Finally, he has several stories out in his Deathmage War fantasy series, one of which—“A Quaint Pastime”—was a finalist in the 2021 FantaSci fantasy story contest.
A Colorado native and Air Force Academy graduate, he is now semi-retired in New Mexico. Find him at www.caseymoores.net
Jo Boone
Jo Boone is the author of The Combined Service novels, which feature highly unlikely things like FTL travel, resurrections, and sentient octopods. Her main goal in writing the Combined Service stories is to cram as many fun things at possible into each book. Jo lives in Winston-Salem with her saucy teenage daughter, her adoring better half and a dog whose breed will forever remain a mystery. Find out more about Jo at joboone.com
Mike Jack Stoumbos
Mike Jack Stoumbos is an author and educator, best known for his space opera trilogy THIS FINE CREW. He is a 1st-place winner of the Writers of the Future contest, and his work has appeared in a number of anthologies, including STREET MAGIC, GALACTIC STEW, and DRAGON WRITERS. Mike Jack teaches writing craft workshops for teens and writing habits workshops for emerging authors. He also writes articles and essays for TheBookBreak.com and other groups.
You can find him at MikeJackStoumbos.com or @MJStoumbos on Twitter.
Brent Roeder
.
Declan Finn
Declan Finn is a native New Yorker who has been writing for 25 years, but published for ten. He has 30 published books scattered across all genres, but half of them are urban fantasy with an overdose of action. He currently specializes in space opera and supernatural crime fighting procedurals. He can be found at Declanfinn.com, or on Substack, and almost all social media platforms. His review site, Upstreamreviews.substack.com is a little more recent.