MystiCon 2019: Full Schedule

Event Date: February 22 - 24, 2019

**PLEASE NOTE: SIGNING UP AS AN "ATTENDEE" ADDS A PROGRAMMING ITEM TO YOUR SCHEDULE AND DOES NOT RESERVE YOUR SEAT IN ANY EVENTS, INCLUDING GAMING EVENTS.**

3:00pm EST

Author Showcase

Authors who have written books coming out in 2019 can briefly discuss them in a panel.

Moderators

Darin Kennedy

Author

Darin Kennedy, born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC, is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Bowman Gray School of Medicine. After completing family medicine residency in the mountains of Virginia, he served eight years as a United States Army physician and wrote his first novel... Read More →

Speakers

Jason T. Graves

Author, editor, illustrator, publisher, educator—Jason is most happy making things or teaching others. He is the author of four novels—Blood Roses and Morning Stars, books one and two of the Noctivagas Chronicle; The Alewife: Curse of Obsession; and Gretchen Thyrd: On the Bridge—and... Read More →

Michael G. Williams

Literary Guest

Michael G. Williams writes queer-themed science fiction, urban fantasy, and horror celebrating monsters, macabre humor, and subverted expectations. He’s the author of three series for Falstaff Books: the award-winning vampire/urban fantasy series The Withrow Chronicles; the th... Read More →

Davis Ashura

Davis Ashura resides in North Carolina and shares a house with his wonderful wife who somehow overlooked Davis' eccentricities and married him anyway. As proper recompense for her sacrifice, Davis unwittingly turned his wonderful wife into a nerd-girl. To her sad and utter humiliation... Read More →

Jason Gilbert

Literary Guest

Jason is the author of The Clockworks of War series, The Rifle Chronicles, and urban fantasy series The Coldstone Files. His stories are Alternate History with an Urban Fantasy and Horror element set in worlds of the supernatural!

Richard C. White

Friday February 22, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

4:00pm EST

The Useful, the Dangerous, and the Dark: an Overview of Magical Objects in Harry Potter

In this session, we will compare and contrast enchanted objects, cursed objects, and Horcruxes. We will discuss the elements, effects, and purpose of these different objects as described in the original texts as well as interpretations in film.

Moderators

Kari Kilgore

Kari Kilgore lives and works in her native mountains of Virginia. From that solid home base, she and her husband Jason Adams find adventures all over this world and others to bring to life in fiction. Exploring local legends and mythologies in particular delights and inspires them... Read More →

Speakers

Ginger Snaps

Professional Con Goer. Singer. Member of the Shadow Balladeers.

O. Hai Mark

Online Media Guest

O. Hai Mark is an old school geek, software engineer by day and voracious pop culture consumer by night. He is a daily streamer on Twitch, sometime actor and blogger, contributor to Geek Radio Daily, a sometime shadow-caster, and an online social activities director. Currently he... Read More →

Jason Adams

Jason Adams is a recovering Air Force brat and unapologetic IT nerd. Among various other Systems Administration duties, he performs forensic investigations, data retrieval, and confidential data security work.Outside of the IT world, Jason studies ancient and medieval history, world... Read More →

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Alexandra Christian is an author of mostly romance with a speculative slant. Her love of Stephen King and sweet tea has flavored her fiction with a Southern Gothic sensibility that reeks of Spanish moss and deep-fried eccentricity. Her guiding principle as a romance novelist has always... Read More →

Pamela K. Kinney

Author

Pamela K. Kinney gave up long ago trying not to listen to the voices in her head and has written horror, fantasy. science fiction, poetry, along with 5 nonfiction ghost books and the cryptid book, Werewolves, Dogmen, and Other Shapeshifters Stalking North America, plus nonfiction... Read More →

Friday February 22, 2019 4:00pm - 5:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages

5:00pm EST

Building Character

Witness our panelists take off their fictional personalities for a moment to briefly decribe their process for building, promoting and maintaining their personal branding (character).

Moderators

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Speakers

Jason Adams

Tera Fulbright

Director of Guests & Programming, ConGregate

With over 20 years of event planning experience, Tera Fulbright uses that knowledge to create new and different programming at ConGregate – a convention for the fans, by the fans.She is also the author of several short stories including her first, “History in the Making” published... Read More →

Crymsyn Hart

Author, Paranormal

Crymsyn Hart is a National Bestselling author of over eighty paranormal romance and horror novels. Her experiences as a psychic and ghostly encounters have given her a lot of material to use in her books. Vampires, grim reapers, shifters, and other paranormal creatures tend to end... Read More →

Kim Iverson Headlee

Author - Publisher - Chief Chef and Bottle Washer, Pendragon Cove Press

Kim Iverson Headlee lives on a farm in the mountains of southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, fish, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, someone elseâ€™s cattle, half a million honey bees, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old... Read More →

Kari Kilgore

Friday February 22, 2019 5:00pm - 6:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

6:00pm EST

Contemporary Fantasy: Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World

An inherent advantage of the fantasy genre is that it offers a dazzling diversity of settings. Some fantasy is set in alternate versions of the historical past, in which the magic of folklore is real. Other stories take place in imaginary worlds populated by folkloric characters. Such fantasy settings free the author from the constraints of the "real world." Want your heros to have to find their way over or through a precipitous mountain range? Draw the Misty Mountains down the middle of your map. Want a dragon to show up, breathing fire and speaking in riddles? Name him Smaug and start writing. So, with such freedom available, why do some authors opt for the constraints of the here and now? What are the advantages--and pitfalls--of writing the fantastic into our own backyards?

Moderators

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest

Born in England, Fraser Sherman spent most of his life in Northwest Florida. He’d be there still if he hadn’t fallen in love and moved to Durham NC to marry his dream woman. They’re still together, with two dogs and two cats added to the family.Fraser has had two dozen published... Read More →

Speakers

Kari Kilgore

R.S. Belcher

Writing

R.S. (Rod) Belcher is an award-winning newspaper and magazine editor and journalist, as well as an author of short and long fiction in a number of genres. Rod has been a private investigator, a DJ, a comic book store owner and has degrees in criminal law, psychology and justice and... Read More →

S.A. Hunter

S.A. Hunter writes the popular Scary Mary Series. It is a young adult series about a high school girl who hears ghost. The tagline is, "The dead speak to her. She wishes they'd shut up." In each book, Mary must deal with paranormal and teen issues. From standing up to bullies to stopping... Read More →

Pamela K. Kinney

Author

John Walker

Friday February 22, 2019 6:00pm - 7:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

6:00pm EST

Dynamic Story Creation in Plain English

Are you a writer or aspiring writer looking to improve your skills? Do topics like major and minor themes, reversals, plot points, motifs, reader fulfillment, scene arcs, or the mythic structure interest, upset, baffle, or frighten you? If so, join our panelists as they break these topics down into easily understandable bits you can use to improve your craft.

Moderators

Mike Allen

Author/Editor/Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books

Mike Allen edits and publishes Mythic Delirium Books in Roanoke, Virginia, with his wife Anita and not-so-troublesome cat Pandora. His short stories have been gathered in three collections: UNSEAMING; THE SPIDER TAPESTRIES; and AFTERMATH OF AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT; with a fourth, SLOW BURN, now in the... Read More →

Speakers

Querus Abuttu

Author/Editor/Publisher, Scary Dairy Press LLC

Querus Abuttu, also known as "Dr. Q.", is a retired U.S. Navy veteran who works as an author, editor, and publisher. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Dr. Q. primarily writes dark tales, speculative bio-horror, and science fiction... Read More →

Crymsyn Hart

Author, Paranormal

Darin Kennedy

Author

Melissa McArthur

Literary Guest, Falstaff Books

Melissa McArthur is the founder and president of Clicking Keys Writer Services, a full-service editing, cover design, and layout company based in the upstate of South Carolina. She also serves as an Acquiring Editor for Falstaff Books, and is an accomplished editor and proofreader.Her... Read More →

Greg Smith

Executive Director, Agile Writers

Greg Smith founded Agile Writers in 2011 with the mission of finding a new approach to helping beginning writers complete a first-draft in six months. The Agile Writer Method is based upon the writings of experts in mythology, screenwriting, and psychology. He also co-authored the... Read More →

Friday February 22, 2019 6:00pm - 7:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

7:00pm EST

Iron Author

Iron Author is the panel where teams of authors collaborate to write stories on the fly, based on suggestions from the audience. The results are unpredictable and usually hilarious! Audience members are encouraged to form their own teams and participate. The finished stories will be collected and sold at the Mysticon scholarship auction.

Moderators

Phyllis Van Eps

Auction director, MystiCon

Speakers

Stuart Jaffe

Literary Guest

Stuart Jaffe is the madman behind The Max Porter Paranormal Mysteries, the Nathan K thrillers, The Parallel Society series, The Malja Chronicles, The Bluesman, Founders, Real Magic, and so much more. His unique brand of old pulp adventure mixed with a contemporary sensibility brings... Read More →

Dr. Valerie J. Mikles

I'm a PhD astronomer who defected from academia to work on weather satellites for NOAA. Ask me about being a scientist. I wrote/produced a series of short, comedic films about asexuality, because I'm asexual and wanted to see aces in action. I recently came out as agender and I got... Read More →

Bryan Nowak

Author, Bryan the Writer

Author Bryan Nowak originally hails from the south suburbs of Chicago. Born in 1973, the world of the paranormal drew him in while he played amongst the abandoned ruins of the once powerful WWII industrial center of Chicago.Stories of monsters, ghosts, and things that go bump in the... Read More →

Jody Lynn Nye

Author

Jody Lynn Nye lists her main career activity as “spoiling cats.” She lives near Atlanta with three feline overlords, Athena, Minx, and Marmalade; and her husband, author and packager Bill Fawcett. She has published more than 50 books, including collaborations with Anne McCaffrey... Read More →

Friday February 22, 2019 7:00pm - 9:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

9:00am EST

Out of the Box

In the current eBook market, it's imperative that new authors become marketing experts. Panelists share their ideas for creative marketing plans, having realistic expectations and horror stories of "marketing gone wrong."

Moderators

Stuart Jaffe

Literary Guest

Speakers

Davis Ashura

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Kari Kilgore

Melissa McArthur

Literary Guest, Falstaff Books

Greg Smith

Executive Director, Agile Writers

Saturday February 23, 2019 9:00am - 10:00am EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

11:00am EST

High Concept

Fantasy novels tend to be high-concept. THE LORD OF THE RINGS, the Narnia series, and the Harry Potter series all involve horrific global battles between good and evil. These are great fiction (in spite of certain well-known “flaws” in craft) because they are both high in concept and at the same time intensely personal. Can Science Fiction be high-concept? Our panelists discuss both sides.

Moderators

R.S. Belcher

Writing

Speakers

S.C. Houff

Geek Life

S.C. Houff is the daughter of a revolutionary and a TV quiz master. A natural story tell and a full time geek, she has been known to tell a tale or two which mostly is considered lying. She is not a liar but the author behind the From the Files of the Department of the Arcane series... Read More →

Greg Smith

Executive Director, Agile Writers

Adam York

Artistic Director, Film

Adam York is an independent filmmaker from central, North Carolina. He is best know for his directing work on the run away hit, “The Devil's Lettuce.” A sequel entitled DL2 - Edible Evils is currently in post production and set to be released in 2019. Adam’s other directing... Read More →

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Michael G. Williams

Literary Guest

Saturday February 23, 2019 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
Ballroom E

WRITING, PANEL

12:00pm EST

Monsters are People Too!

What exactly makes one a monster? The role of non-human races & how they are different from human characters.

Moderators

R.S. Belcher

Writing

Speakers

Wendy S Delmater

Editor and Publisher, Abyss & Apex Magazine

Crymsyn Hart

Author, Paranormal

Mariah Johnson

Makeup Artist, Bio Duck FX / Darkstone Entertainment

Liz Long

Editor/Author

Liz Long is a USA Today bestselling author of YA and urban fantasy, most recently The Brighton Duology. She is a magazine editor in Roanoke, VA, and when not writing, can be found drinking happy hour prosecco, attempting hand lettering, or cuddling her dog, Fisher. She is the Director... Read More →

Dr. Valerie J. Mikles

Saturday February 23, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

2:00pm EST

Successful Indie Publishing

This workshop will help attendees navigate the intricacies of independent publishing, from start to finish, showing them what to do and what to avoid in order to bring their book to market and become a successful self-published author.

Moderators

Stuart Jaffe

Literary Guest

Speakers

Shawn Durington

The Art of Shawn Durington

The Facebook Page for artist Shawn Durington who specializes in art for the whole family but especially those young at heart.AwardsMysticon Artist Guest of Honor 2018Playthrough Game Convention Cover Artist 2018Playthrough Game Convention Shirt Designer 2017Mysticon Guest 2016Mysticon... Read More →

Kim Iverson Headlee

Author - Publisher - Chief Chef and Bottle Washer, Pendragon Cove Press

S.A. Hunter

Heather Elizabeth King

Author

Heather Elizabeth King is a novelist who lives in Virginia and writes dark fiction (urban fantasy and horror). She’s been a storyteller since she can remember. Some of her favorite memories are of telling stories to her girlfriends at slumber parties when she was a pre-teen. She... Read More →

Greg Smith

Executive Director, Agile Writers

Saturday February 23, 2019 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

6:30pm EST

World Mythology in Contemporary Fantasy

There are worlds of diverse gods, djinn, daemons, Ghabali, manticores, sylphs, yowies-and oh, yeah, Baba Yaga-to learn about. And you can find them all in the pages of books. Join our panelists to learn about the monsters that roam the Earth and how world mythology provides the building blocks of contemporary storytelling.

Moderators

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest

Speakers

Teresa Frohock

Virtual Guest Speaker, Writing

T. Frohock has turned a love of history and dark fantasy into tales of deliciously creepy fiction. She is the author of Miserere: An Autumn Tale and the Los Nefilim series, which includes the novels: Where Oblivion Lives, Carved from Stone and Dream, and A Song with Teeth. Three... Read More →

Darin Kennedy

Author

Pamela K. Kinney

Author

Jody Lynn Nye

Author

John Walker

Saturday February 23, 2019 6:30pm - 8:00pm EST
Vista Room

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages

8:00pm EST

Writing Up Close and Personal

This panel will cover point-of-view choices and how to “write close” to your point-of-view characters. Do certain points of view only work with certain types of stories? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each form?

Moderators

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest

Speakers

Teresa Frohock

Virtual Guest Speaker, Writing

Crymsyn Hart

Author, Paranormal

Heather Elizabeth King

Author

Michael G. Williams

Literary Guest

Allen L. Wold

Allen L. Wold was born a long time ago in south-western Michigan, where he began writing when he was about eight years old. He still has some of those early “stories” somewhere. He finished high school in Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from Pomona College, in Claremont, California... Read More →

Saturday February 23, 2019 8:00pm - 9:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

9:00pm EST

Let's Take Flight

Flight has always been at the center of scifi and fantasy- Mary Poppins had her umbrella, Harry had the Firebolt, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch had her vacuum. Let's count all the fun and fancy ways scifi and fantasy has shown us to get off the ground!

Moderators

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Speakers

Abigail Cordes

S.A. Hunter

Darin Kennedy

Author

Amanda J. McGee

Writer

Amanda J. McGee is a mapmaker by day and a writer by night. She has degrees from Hollins University and Virginia Tech, and is the author of the epic fantasy series The Creation Saga. When not writing, she can be found in the garden. She lives in Southwest Virginia with the love of... Read More →

Saturday February 23, 2019 9:00pm - 10:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

9:30pm EST

Getting Combat Right

How do you evoke battle scenes that are both compelling & realistic. This panel covers everything from the mechanics of weapons-handling to the emotional state of crisis response, panelists will help paint a believable picture and tease out their experiences on the page.

Moderators

Kim Iverson Headlee

Author - Publisher - Chief Chef and Bottle Washer, Pendragon Cove Press

Speakers

James Beall

Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for almost 50 years, beginning as a nuclear engineering officer in the US Navy. Civilian experience includes design, construction, inspection, enforcement, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm... Read More →

Stuart Jaffe

Literary Guest

Querus Abuttu

Author/Editor/Publisher, Scary Dairy Press LLC

Adam York

Artistic Director, Film

Saturday February 23, 2019 9:30pm - 10:30pm EST
Dogwood 2

WRITING, PANEL

9:00am EST

Epic Scale Fiction

How can we maintain canon and consistency as our fictional universe expands and expands?

Moderators

Stuart Jaffe

Literary Guest

Speakers

Heather Elizabeth King

Author

Dr. Valerie J. Mikles

Sunday February 24, 2019 9:00am - 10:00am EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

10:00am EST

Edits That Hurt...But Really Help!

It is very hard to cut a scene or character you love, but the story may be much more powerful without it. Or maybe it belongs in a different place? Perhaps dialogue could be cut, or explanations? A dramatic backstory could be woven in that needs work, changes the plot, but adds passion and reality? Join Anne Perry to explore these questions and more.

Moderators

Liz Long

Editor/Author

Speakers

Querus Abuttu

Author/Editor/Publisher, Scary Dairy Press LLC

Melissa McArthur

Literary Guest, Falstaff Books

John Birmingham

Actor and Filmmaker

John Birmingham stars as Ronald McDonald in the number one Ronald McDonald video online from 2016 to present, with more than 60 million views, "Rowan is Terrified of Ronald McDonald." The video idea was conceived by John as creator/producer and lead as Ronald McDonald, and the video... Read More →

Wendy S Delmater

Editor and Publisher, Abyss & Apex Magazine

Jason T. Graves

Sunday February 24, 2019 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Ballroom E

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages

10:00am EST

Genre Blending: SciFi Fantasy and More

Mixing science fiction and fantasy with other genres like mystery and westerns can give you a genre cocktail that is great...or very, very bad. Some authors have been hugely successful, while others have crashed and burned. Our experts tell you how to get it just right.

Moderators

R.S. Belcher

Writing

Speakers

Michael G. Williams

Literary Guest

Jody Lynn Nye

Author

Teresa Frohock

Virtual Guest Speaker, Writing

Heather Elizabeth King

Author

Sunday February 24, 2019 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Ballroom C

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages
AV Needs 4 mics

11:00am EST

Surprisingly OK

A panel to discuss all things Sherlock (BBC, and any other incarnation).

Moderators

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest

Speakers

Carol Cowles

Fan Guest, Geek Life

Carol Cowles - Carol has long been a fixture of Geek Culture in Charlotte. She has served for several years as the Programming Director for ConCarolinas and worked the Carolina and Arizona Renaissance Festivals for 15 years. She also podcasts – she is Carol the Cat on the weekly... Read More →

Querus Abuttu

Author/Editor/Publisher, Scary Dairy Press LLC

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Jason Gilbert

Literary Guest

Sunday February 24, 2019 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
Ballroom E

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

11:00am EST

YA Lit Insanity

Vampires sparkle, werewolves are cuddly, but children kill children for adults' pleasure while adults experiment on teens to find solutions for their problems. And, of course, there are more schools and school based stories than ever. The trends in YA Lit are interesting statements on society even if they are fun to read. Join our panelists as they discuss the plots already in print and speculate on the trends to come.

Moderators

Liz Long

Editor/Author

Speakers

Ruth Sanderson

Artist Guest of Honor

I'm a professional illustrator with over 85 published children's books. In addition, I create coloring books for adults, book covers, fantasy art, collector's plates, and more. I also enjoy teaching writing and illustrating for children in a summer graduate program at Hollins University... Read More →

Jason T. Graves

S.A. Hunter

Jody Lynn Nye

Author

Sunday February 24, 2019 11:00am - 12:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages

12:00pm EST

Military Psychology

This may be a new twist to add into a military fiction panel. In some circles, there are misconceptions that the military trains soldiers to be mindless killers. That is not true. Operational psychology panels and tests actually screens those traits out. There is also a misconception that everyone in the military develops PTSD--also untrue. The last numbers I saw showed that about one third develop PTSD. If you have a panel on military fiction, this may be a good/fun subject to add in.

Moderators

Richard C. White

Speakers

Querus Abuttu

Author/Editor/Publisher, Scary Dairy Press LLC

O. Hai Mark

Online Media Guest

James Beall

Darin Kennedy

Author

Chris Shrewsbury

Fan Guest

PLEASE NOTE: The following bio was written by Chris himself, so it may well be filled with exaggeration, self-importance, and outright bulls#!t. You have been warned. Chris has volunteered, paneled, guested, staffed, and been committee at literally dozens of cons along the east coast... Read More →

Sunday February 24, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

12:00pm EST

Time Travel and the Butterfly Effect

How does time travel affect story lines and character development? How have our panelists handled this in their books? Come learn some tips and tricks for incorporating time travel into your stories.

Moderators

Fraser Sherman

Literary Guest

Speakers

Abigail Cordes

Wendy S Delmater

Editor and Publisher, Abyss & Apex Magazine

S.C. Houff

Geek Life

Melissa McArthur

Literary Guest, Falstaff Books

Sunday February 24, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
Dogwood 1

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit All Ages

1:00pm EST

Collaborating in a Shared Universe

Collaborating with others can be hard. Collaborating in a shared universe can also be hard. Learn how to do both in this panel!

Moderators

Richard C. White

Speakers

Mike Allen

Author/Editor/Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books

Alexandra Christian

Literary Guest, Writing

Steve Jackson

Gaming Guest of Honor

Steve Jackson has been playing games for nearly 50 years, and designing them since 1976. He graduated from Rice University, where a lot of his time went to wargames and the school paper (he spent two years as editor). Now he’s a writer and game publisher, proving that college can... Read More →

Melissa McArthur

Literary Guest, Falstaff Books

John Walker

Sunday February 24, 2019 1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Ballroom D

WRITING, PANEL

Age Limit PG-13

2:00pm EST

Beyond Western Europe - Other World Cultures for Fantasy

Most Fantasy settings strongly resemble Western Europe to some degree. What other cultures have existed throughout world history that are worth considering as an alternative? What are the advantages and drawbacks to using them?

Moderators

Amanda J. McGee

Writer

Speakers

Jason Adams

John Gaines

James F. Gaines and John M. Gaines have been writing science fiction together for several years as a father-son team under the collective name J. M. R. Gaines, besides publishing other works individually. Their Forlani Saga is composed of Life Sentence (2016), Spy Station (2017... Read More →

Age Limit PG-13