For all the fans of fiction, Phoenix Comicon is becoming a premier destination to meet best-selling authors both local and international. They continue this tradition of bringing a variety of authors from all genres including steampunk, sci-fi, young adult, and so many more to the convention.
Graphic novel author Van Jensen is a former newspaper crime reporter and magazine editor. Jensen broke into comics as the writer of “Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer,” which was named one of YALSA’s Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. He also has written “The Leg: The Remarkable Reappearance of Santa Anna’s Disembodied Limb,” “Green Lantern Corps” and “The Flash” for DC Comics. A native of western Nebraska, Jensen now lives in Atlanta.
Delilah S. Dawson is the author of “HIT” and “Servants of the Storm” for young adults and the “Blud” series for adults, including “Wicked as They Come,” “Wicked After Midnight,” and “Wicked as She Wants,” winner of the RT Book Reviews Steampunk Book of the Year and May Seal of Excellence for 2013. She also writes short stories and comics from her aerie in the North Georgia Mountains.
M. L. Brennan is the author of the “American Vampire” urban fantasy series. The first three books, “Generation V,” “Iron Night,” and “Tainted Blood” were published by Roc during a whirlwind year and a half, and the fourth entry in the series, “Dark Ascension,” is due out in August 2015. She has an MFA, teaches basic composition at several New England colleges, and enjoys indulging her lifelong love of fantasy and science fiction.
Viola Carr was born in Australia, but wandered into darkest London one foggy October evening and never found her way out. She now devours countless history books and dictates fantastical novels by gaslight, accompanied by classical music and the snoring of her slumbering cat. She likes steampunk, and thought it would be cool to investigate wacky crimes with crazy gadgets…just so long as her heroine was the creator of said wacky gadgets: a tinkerer, edgy, with a dash of mad scientist. Her novel “The Diabolical Miss Hyde” was just released on February 10th.
In 2014, Wesley Chu was short-listed for the John W. Campbell Best New Writer Award. Chu’s debut novel, “The Lives of Tao,” earned him a Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award and a Science Fiction Goodreads Choice Award Finalist slot. The sequel, “The Deaths of Tao,” continues the story of secret agent Roen Tan and his sarcastic telepathically bonded alien, Tao. Chu has two books scheduled for 2015. The last book in the Tao trilogy, “The Rebirths of Tao,” is coming out April 7th, 2015. “Time Salvager,” featuring an energy stealing time traveler with addiction issues, is slated for July 7th, 2015.
Alex Gordon, author of the supernatural thriller “Gideon,” was born in the Northeast, grew up in the South, and now resides in the Midwest. She is currently working on “Jericho,” the follow-up to “Gideon,” and is having too much fun doing research. When she isn’t working, she enjoys watching sports and old movies, running, and the company of dogs.
Full event passes are only $70 until March 31st and can be purchased at www.phoenixcomicon.com so get your tickets early. With an increased attendance of over 50,000 in the past three years the info section in Phoenix Comicon’s official site is an amazing tool in planning your comicon weekend. From hotel and restaurant info, to where you are able to park and register it is highly recommended for both the first time con goer, or the weathered veteran, to take a few moments and plan ahead for the best con experience possible.
