Stephen
Euin
Cobb
…was
a Guest Author at
StellarCon 2004
(Click
to go to the StellarCon
website)
A Star
Wars triumvirate
This
Matrix gal has got all the moves.
Trinity
had better watch her back.
--------
Despite
having invented the game of “Death
Stacks”
Stephen
is not actually very skilled at
it.
Here,
he assumes his usual perplexed
posture for the game.
Ron
McClung (his opponent) is an avid
gamer and chairman
of the
con com that puts on ConCarolinas
—Charlotte’s
own SF&F convention.
(June
4-6 2004)
This
year ConCarolinas will host
the 1st
annual Death Stacks
Tournament.
Trophies
and a $250 first prize will be
awarded.
(Stephen
is not eligible,
which should
save him a great deal of embarrassment)
--------
Stephen
and his sister Peggy had lunch
with Joan and Fred Saberhagen.
(The
waitress was kind enough to shoot
this picture.)
All
four had grown up in the
and so had
plenty of anecdotes to exchange.
Stephen
was surprised to learn from
Joan that
although Fred’s
entry in the Encyclopedia of
Science Fiction
has his
first name listed as “
--------
Panel:
“The
Transcendent Vampire”
(How
and why did vampires change
from being
evil monsters to playing the heroes.)
Stephen
had the honor of
participating
on this panel with Fred
Saberhagen.
The
audience kept them both on their
toes.
Fred
Saberhagen has written many novels
concerning vampires (his Dracula series).
Stephen
Euin Cobb only writes Hard SF,
but he’s pretty sure he saw
the old
black and white movie “Dracula”
when he was a kid.
(Just
kidding. He’s
certain of it.)
--------
The
Godzilla Panel
Glenda
C. Finkelstein
Stephen
Euin Cobb
Stephen
Mark Rainey
Stephen
Mark Rainey proved himself to
be a vast storehouse of information on all things Godzilla.
He has
seen all the movies several
times—in both English and Japanese (I’m not kidding).
He
knows actor names, director names
and the order in which the movies were released.
Stephen
Euin Cobb had seen some of them
when he was a teenager.
Sensing
he was out-gunned, our hero concentrated
on providing brilliantly probing questions for
his fellow
panelist, while hoping that
Glenda would mimic his clever (if desperate) plan.
She did. So they all came out
looking good.
(Glenda
writes SF with a
spiritual-inspirational slant)
Glenda
C. Finkelsein’s Website
--------
Stephen
had a chance to talk with the
world-renowned artist Rowena.
Stephen
relaxing in the con suite with
Tera Fulbright (redhead).
Tera
was in charge of the con’s guests
and did an excellent job.
But the
unsung heroes of StellarCon are
the staff
of the con suite.
The
food was plentiful and excellent.
When
Stephen mentioned to Bill Mann
that
the food
was as good as that at Dragon*Con,
Bill
laughed and said,
“Regina
Kirby, our Con
Suite Director, is
the Director is charge of the VIP Suite at Dragon*Con.“
--------
Stephen
also had a chance to talk with
Marilynn Byerly.
Marilynn
writes SF&F romance
novels.
She
shared with Stephen
some choice
bits of news
from inside
a few of the
major
Stephen
signing books in the dealer
room
alongside
James Maxey
(author
of Nobody Gets
the Girl)
Glenda
C. Finkelstein stopped by to
chat.
Stephen
hanging out with
Fred
Saberhagen between panels.
Stephen
with the cast and crew of
the web
radio show
Requiem of the Outcast
(Ron
and Janine, and host Rich
Sigfrit)
These
people are crazy-funny.
They
can’t even say ‘Hello’ without it
turning into a three-ring standup routine.
When
they asked to interview
Stephen
on their show
he told
them he would only do
the
show, “If you promise not to make
fun of me.”
When
all their faces fell, he added
“…much,”
and they
brightened again.
Website
for “Requiem of the
Outcast”
--------
The
Panel
“The
Nature of Evil”
(James
Maxey, Paula S. Jordan, Stephen
Euin Cobb,
Fred
Saberhagen, Stephen Mark Rainey,
Allen Wold)
Paula
is a NASA orbital technician.
Allen
Wold has written novels as well
as non-fiction.
--------
The
Panel
“I am
Fred Saberhagen”
Michael
Stackpole did an excellent job
moderating this panel.
He
interviewed Fred as well as any talk
show host could have.
--------
The
Costume Contest
(All
the contestants on stage together)
Bill
Mann (head of StellarCon’s con
com)
discovers he has
something in common with Dr.
Evil
…his
own Mini-Me.
--------
Stephen
analyzes the handwriting of
Michael Stackpole.
Michael
was skeptical.
He
suggested an experiment:
“Next
time, tell the person exactly the
opposite
of what
you see in their handwriting
and see if
they accept it or reject it.”
Stephen
agreed to the experiment
but has
not yet set a time or place.
--------
Another
book signing in the dealer’s
room.
(Allen
Wold, Glenda C. Finkelstein,
Elizabeth Massie)
--------
All
these photos were taken by
Stephen’s
loyal assistant
and
sister:
Peggy
Sue Cobb-Gregory.
(Except
of course this one, which
Stephen took.)
==========================
Websites
mentioned on
this page:
Glenda
C. Finkelstein’s Website
Website
for “Requiem of the
Outcast”
==========