Overall, I really enjoyed this con and want to attend it again next year.  The con not only had the great panels I’ve already described but:

• Lots of gaming
• Art auction
• Movie night…with plenty to b-movies to riff on
• Steampunk costuming
• A smallish vendor hall

My wife and I also attended a panel on erotic vs. pornographic fiction, but did not take notes.  I was just enjoying the discussion too much to be bothered!

I attended a two hour session with Jim and Shannon Butcher.  Jim is the author of the brilliant Dresden Files series as well as the Codex Alera.  His wife Shannon writes paranormal romance.  I’ve not read any of her stuff, but I’d definitely be willing to give it try.  Both of them are just great people and so willing to interact with fans.  We also got to speak with them briefly at the autograph table later on.  I waxed nerdy about also working on a Roman-based fantasy setting, though he actually did it right.  Luckily the beautiful-and-talented Amy was there to make sure I did no permanent reputation damage.  I posed for a picture with Jim Butcher, but the camera must have been on the blink…flash but no photo.  Perhaps a case of a wizard shorting out the technology around him…

Steven Brust was very cool.  We attended a reading that he did of one of his new stories that he wrote for an open source e-zine.  Awesome story.  My wife has a “Faces of Fantasy” book with his photo in it that he was gracious enough to sign.  We also presented him with “Dzurlord (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Steven Brust’s Jhereg” to which he responded “Ewww…where did you get that?”  Worth the price of admission alone! 

Steven Brust at ConDFW

Authors Jim and Shannon Butcher at ConDFW

Your author at ConDFW