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Oct 18th - Oct 20th 2024

Holiday Inn

3803 13th Ave S, Fargo, ND

Menu - ValleyCon 49

Past Guests of ValleyCon 38

ValleyCon strives to bring the best and most relevant guests featured in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comics, gaming and film & TV! These guests include Media Icons, Artists, Authors, Psychics and many more. Autographs are available at one of the industry's LOWEST price point ever. The guest will do panels, readings and demonstrations for your education and entertainment.


Christopher Mihm

Media Guest

Filmmaker who created The Monster of Phantom Lake, It Came From Another World, Cave Women on Mars, Terror from Beneath the Earth, Destination: Outer Space, and Attack of the Moon Zombies.



Dean Haglund

Media Guest

Dean is best known for his nine seasons playing Langly, one of the computer geeks known a "The Lone Gunmen" from the FOX TV series The X-Files, as well as from the spin-off series The Lone Gunmen.

Birthday: July 29, 1965
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Manitoba

His parents, he jokes, always wondered why he went into acting, "...when I had such a burgeoning animation career." Though he has done cartooning and even played in a rock band ("We were terrible!" he admits), he always returned to his first love – the stage.

His acting career began early, with roles in school plays and community theater at the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg. When he was old enough to get into bars, he started doing stand-up comedy acts to help pay for acting classes. He eventually moved to Vancouver and began attending Simon Fraser University, getting a Bachelor of Arts in multidisciplinary studies (theatre, dance, and video production). He also joined the Vancouver TheatreSports League; an improv group that was to be his "day job" for many years. While at the Vancouver TheatreSports League, he started scripting some of the group’s routines, including several festivals and corporate stage shows for them. This eventually led to his co-writing the pilot for a situation comedy called "Channel 92," which aired on UTV. About the same time, he began to get bit parts in television shows such as "Sliders," "Lonesome Dove: The Return," and "Street Justice". "I sold drugs to Lorenzo Lamas in [HBO's upcoming] Mask of Death." In an episode of Lonesome Dove: The Series, "I was beaten and hanged before the first commercial." This led to his being hired on for a one-time bit part on a show called "The X-Files."

And the rest, as they say, is history – the history of a hacker-dude named Ringo Langly. Dean, who in real life is the most tech savvy of the Lone Gunmen actors, says that while he can't hack his way into top-level security systems, he does have a good basic knowledge of computers and often has friends call him to help fix their systems. The difference between him and Langly, he says, is that Langly, "... has that really cool software where he can just sit around reading books and drinking Tab while it works!" When he has the time (and he hasn’t had much time lately), Dean enjoys working on his computer.

And yes, he says he IS a Ramones fan.

Dean's real roots lie in stand-up, however, and he still performs regularly in select clubs across North America. He's a member of Vancouver TheatreSports, an improv group that performs on Granville Island (very funny show, by the way).

Inspiration for Langly: Computer-nerd friends and grunge-rocker types.
How he's like Langly: "I own a computer, I listen to the Ramones, the long blond hair is for real."
How he's not: "I'm not as paranoid and I don't wear glasses."
Startling revelation: "I'm Canadian and I can't skate."
Favorite episodes: "War of the Coprophages" (killer cockroaches) and "E.B.E." (introduced the Lone Gunmen).
Off duty: Married, practices yoga, can do splits.
Is the truth out there? Regarding conspiracy theories he says, "They're all true--but only to certain people."
What he'd like for Langly: "A job at the Pentagon."

Actor filmography
1.X-Files: The Movie (1998) .... Ringo Langly
2.Mask of Death (1996) .... Dealer
3.Dangerous Indiscretion (1994) .... Crack head
4."X-Files, The" (1993) TV Series .... Langly (1994-)

Notable TV guest appearances
1."Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (1998) playing "MIB (Mr. Lincoln) " in episode: "Honey, I Shrunk an Illegal Alien"
2. Sliders (1995) playing "Stockboy" in episode: "Fever"
3. Street Justice - Appeared in one episode. No information is available.
4. Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (1995) playing Nathan Silas in episode: "The Return".
5. The Commish (1994) playing "Zack" in episode: "Working Girls".
6. The Commish (1992) playing "Drug Dealer" in episode: "V.V."

Miscellaneous crew filmography
Channel 92 (1996). "Pilot". Haglund was the cowriter. "I own a computer, I listen to the Ramones, the long blond hair is for real. I'm not as paranoid and I don't wear glasses."-- Dean Haglund, "Langly" on The X-Files, regarding any similarities between him and Langly.

The following is an interview conducted shortly before the final “X-Files” episode was aired.

As The X-Files was winding down it's nine year run on FOX with a two hour series finale, Dean Haglund laments on his time as one of the beloved Lone Gunmen, "Langly," and what the series had meant for him personally. And what the future holds for him.

"To be nine years with something and yet not be with it everyday was amazing. I did some of it so I could see the forest grow but not be a tree in it so to speak. And yet at the same time to be included in it. I had tons of free time to develop other things yet it was regular employment." Sort of like having your cake and eating it to? "It's exactly like that. I believe I'm the luckiest person. Sure I would have wanted more money, but I'll get that on my own. I've had the opportunity to do stand-up, all the conventions, and you know, be in the show once and a while. I don't think if I was in it full time, it'd have offered me that opportunity."

The opportunity to play one of the Gunmen was supposed to be a one time appearance. The Lone Gunmen were created by former "X-Files" producers Glenn Morgan and James Wong as sort of an homage to Sci-Fi convention goers, but the fans immediately connected with the unlikely heroes played by Haglund (Langly), Tom Braidwood (Frohike) and Bruce Harwood (Byers), and what started as a one shot appearance, grew into a nine year run that eventually lead to a spin-off series.

The Gunmen are such a part of The X-Files universe, that when this seasons episode "Jumping the Shark" killed the beloved trio off, fans were calling for Chris Carter's head on a platter. Fans needn't worry though, the Gunmen are back and very much alive (There is a sequence where Mulder has a vision of people that he's dealt with through the years who are now dead), and working to help Mulder. While Haglund won't divulge just how the Gunmen are "brought back to life" he does allude to the fact that it might have something to do with the character Morris Fletcher (Played by Michael McKean).

As for the demise, albeit temporary demise, of the Gunmen, Haglund has a theory to Chris Carter's madness. "Ya know, ever since the first season he's said no one was safe. I think he's got that Stephen King thing where he's really angry at the fans." Really? "It seems that way doesn't it? Seems like he's killing off now, after nine seasons of fighting with network executives, he's taking it out on the show. He's laying siege to any and all!"

Conspiracy theories involving Stephen King aside, Haglund recounts when he realized the Gunmen were something special. "We had come back for our second episode, still feeling like extras, and producer David Nutter, whom we'd never met before, came up and said 'Hey guys, have you seen Cinefantastique?' He showed us the article that had a first season review and we were called out. We went 'Hey! Somebody's watching us!' That was our first indication that the Gunmen were a part of The X-Files genre. I'll never forget it. We were outside on a picnic table, and it was a sunny day." The popularity of the Gunmen grew to the point where FOX eventually gave them their own series, aptly titled "The Lone Gunmen" that debuted in March 2001. The series, while loved by many, never could find it's feet and was not renewed for another season.

Haglund believes there was no one reason as to why the show didn't work, and that in itself doomed the series. "If there is one thing that doesn't work, you can fix it. Everybody had something different about the series that they didn't like, so there was no way to say 'Ok, this is what's broke, fix it.'" Haglund was characteristically philosophical about the series from the beginning. "It was a mixed blessing really, because it took me back to Vancouver, which is where I'm from, but it also took me away from L.A., where I had some stuff going." Haglund is quick to point out that he's not ungrateful for the series. "It was the opportunity to do your own series. I guess it's sort of like anything else. You're happy if it did go and happy if it didn't. You can't really attach yourself to a show. If you're clinging your whole life to it and it goes away, then your whole life falls apart. " One thing Haglund has not done is hang his hopes on a single endeavor. He has a slew of projects in the works, including working with a production company to put together a show for the Sci-Fi Channel. "I don't want to say what it is just yet because the idea is so awesome! I'm also working on a half hour sitcom for American TV."

In between show developments, he 's still doing stand-up comedy. And as if that wasn't enough, he's teaming up with Peter Murietta to write a Bizarro issue for D.C. Comics. He's quick to clarify that it's "going to be a stand alone like the Superman Bizarro. That Bizarro, not the character "Bizarro." It's part of the series of Alternative Artists doing Superman comics. We're (Dean and Murietta) doing Batman. I think it's coming out in the Fall."

I asked Haglund what his feelings were as he left the FOX lot for the last time, and closed this chapter of his life. He described feeling a bit shocked by his reaction to leaving for the last time. "I knew it was ending for 3-4 months. It was like, 'I'm already over it.' At the same time there was kind of a pang. I was shocked as I was driving away. I got the pang, and that made me smile, and that was it. The smile was a job well done. Wasn't that fun?" "I was just so excited to be a part of something my kids thought was cool. They're big fans of the show and so it was great to be cool in their eyes."—Blythe Danner on her role as A.D. Cassidy in The X-Files movie, Fight the Future. And in case you forgot, one of her children is an actress named Gwyneth Paltrow.



Michael Aron

Media Guest

Actor from Star Trek Next Generation and Founder/Owner of Mojotown.com

Founder & Owner of Mojotown.com - A full Service Multi Media Agency & Motorcycle Gear Shop, which was founded in 1998, the same year he made his last film. Founder of The Mojotown Project a 501(c)3 charitable organization donating creative services to qualified non profits.

Michael's acting career began on the stages of Northern CA where he was part of an ensemble theater group that has produced some of Hollywood's top current stars. The transition to television was inevitable landing numerous commercials and guest starring roles.

The next step was the move to Los Angeles and proved to be the right time for a young actors career to take off. Booking a series regular role on a FOX TV series "Tribes" within the first 6 months of being in LA and continued to book great roles on popular shows such as Midnight Caller, Cheers, China Beach & Star Trek the Next Generation as well as many other nationwide shows and commercials.

His commercial work consists of Twix, Coke, Hugo Boss, Macy's, Jacoby & Myers, Cica Shoes and many others. Smash forward to 2012, Michael is making a return to the acting business after taking time away to launch the creative agency and non profit organization, Mojotown Multi Media and the Mojotown Project donating charitable services.
 

About Mojotown & Sister Companies:
I transformed my combination of racing and graphic desIgn skills to form Mojotown.com a full service creative agency specializing in web design and corporate identity for small to large business as well as motor sports marketing for companies.

Some of those industry clients are: Hickory Farms, Mat Mladin, Suomy Helmets, Yamaha Factory Supercross Team, HMC Ducati and many others.

In 2004 I founded The Mojotown Project a 501(c)3 charitable organization granting our design services to qualified non profits. Rather than just hand over cash and ask people to work for free, we raise money then hire local talent at fair market wages so that they work gets done professionally. The end result is that we create jobs locally and the non profits get what they need most to effectively raise money for their cause. To date we have raised over 200k for various charities.

With the slowing economy around 2009 we saw the need to re-invent ourselves and added a new twist to the program. We opened a retail motorcycle gear shop, catering to the diverse motorcycle community in Marin County. It's a small boutique shop with many top brand names with a major focus on customer support, which seems to be a dying art form.

Mojotown is located in San Rafael, CA



Nicole DeBoer

Media Guest

Best known for Star Trek: Deep Space 9, The Dead Zone and Forever Knight

Nicole deBoer (also credited as Nikki de Boer) was born in Toronto, Canada on the 20th December 1970. She started her acting career at the age of 7 when she got a lead role in a school play - The Wizard of Oz. Not long after this she got an agent and a role in a Christmas special starring Vincent Price and Red Skelton called Freddy the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner. During the past few decades Nicole has featured in numerous commercials, TV series, theatrical productions and movies.

TV series include Dooley Gardens, Mission Genesis, Kids in the Hall, Catwalk, First Resort, 9B and others. She is famous for her appearance as Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) and, more recently, as Sarah Bracknell Bannerman in the 5 season series The Dead Zone. (More information here on The Dead Zone Season 1, The Dead Zone Season 2 and The Dead Zone Season 3)

She's also had many guest appearances in various TV shows including The Fearing Mind - Upgrade, The Outer Limits - Monster; -Quality of Mercy, Ready or Not -All or Nothing, Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal - Possession/Man out of Time, Poltergeist: The Legacy - The Crystal Scarab, Tek War - Chill Factor, E.N.G - The Play's the thing; - Baby It's You, The Hidden Room - The Faithful Follower, Beyond Reality - The Passion; - Mirror Mirror, Forever Knight - Dark Knight, Maniac Mansion - Sophisticated Lady, Sweating Bullets - Abandoned, Street Legal - Home. She also appeared on the docudrama Heart of Courage.

Nicole's appearance in Cube was lauded throughout the world with many cinemas displaying the title of the movie next to - 'starring Nicole deBoer' on their billboards. The other stars of the program barely got a mention in Sydney. Other movies she's appeared in include The Kissing Place, Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (Check out the cover for the UK edition here), Family Pictures, J.F.K.: Reckless Youth, The Counterfeit Contessa, Jungleground, National Lampoon's Senior Trip, The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, When Innocence is Lost, My Date with the President's Daughter, Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion, Rated X, Public Domain, 5ive Days to Midnight, Phil the Alien and others.

On stage Nicole has appeared in productions of The Father, Little Foxes, The Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, Our Town, and Little Women.

Because of Nicole's appearance in Paramount's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) she is a regular convention goer worldwide. Attending at least 10 conventions a year in amongst her busy schedule, Nicole attended another in Sydney in mid October '05.

Nicole is married to John Kastner - guitarist and singer for the rock band 'All Systems Go'. They got married on 18th December 1999. Nicole and John have a daughter born in January 2007 named Summer Lee Kastner. Nicole took a year of work to take care of her daughter. She is now available for work and will appear in the upcoming Stargate Atlantis episode "Whispers" currently predicted to screen in either August or October 2008.

www.nicoledeboer.com



Kevin J. Anderson

Author Guest

Author Kevin J. Anderson has written 46 national bestsellers and has over 20 million books in print worldwide in thirty languages. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFX Readers' Choice Award.

Kevin J. Anderson is the author of more than one hundred novels, 47 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists. He has over 20 million books in print in thirty languages. He has won or been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, including the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, the American Physics Society's Forum Award, and New York Times Notable Book. By any measure, he is one of the most popular writers currently working in the science fiction genre.

Anderson has coauthored ten books in Frank Herbert's classic DUNE universe with Herbert's son Brian. The initial deal with Bantam Books was the largest single science fiction contract in publishing history. The first novel, DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES became a #1 international bestseller and was voted "Book of the Year" by the members of the Science Fiction Book Club by the largest margin in the history of the award. All of the subsequent DUNE novels have also been bestsellers, each one peaking even higher on the lists; the most recent volume is PAUL OF DUNE, a direct sequel to the original classic DUNE; the authors released WINDS OF DUNE in 2009. For further information, see the official "Dune" site, www.dunenovels.com. Herbert and Anderson are also co-producers on a major new film of DUNE from Paramount Pictures.

Anderson's highly popular epic science fiction series, "The Saga of Seven Suns," is his most ambitious work, comprised of HIDDEN EMPIRE, A FOREST OF STARS, HORIZON STORMS, SCATTERED SUNS, OF FIRE AND NIGHT, METAL SWARM, and the grand finale, THE ASHES OF WORLDS, as well as the graphic novel prequel, VEILED ALLIANCES. Practically unheard-of in the field, Anderson released all seven large volumes on time, year after year, and he completed the series with Book #7. On his book-signing tour of New Zealand and Australia, METAL SWARM became the #1 best-selling science fiction novel on the continent. The final volume hit general fiction bestseller lists in the UK.

Now that "Seven Suns" is complete -- after eight years of effort -- Anderson is working on an epic nautical fantasy trilogy, "Terra Incognita," about sailing ships, sea monsters, and the crusades. The first volume, THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, will be released internationally by Orbit in June 2009. He has begun work on the second volume, THE MAP OF ALL THINGS, for summer 2010 publication.

Anderson's STAR WARS "Jedi Academy" books were the three top-selling SF novels of 1994. His three original STAR WARS anthologies -- TALES FROM THE MOS EISLEY CANTINA, TALES FROM JABBA'S PALACE, and TALES OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS are the best-selling science fiction anthologies of all time. He has also completed numerous other projects for Lucasfilm, including the 14-volumes in the bestselling and award-winning YOUNG JEDI KNIGHTS series (cowritten with his wife Rebecca Moesta). Anderson is the author of three hardcover novels based on the X-FILES; all became international bestsellers, the first of which reached #1 on the London Sunday Times.

He has also coauthored a major bestseller with Dean Koontz, PRODIGAL SON, which sold more than a million copies in a single year. He has written original novels SLAN HUNTER (a completion of SF grand-master A.E. van Vogt's last novel), HOPSCOTCH, CAPTAIN NEMO, THE MARTIAN WAR, BLINDFOLD, RESURRECTION, INC., and the thrillers ILL WIND and IGNITION (both with Doug Beason). In 1997, during a promotional tour for his comedy/adventure novel AI! PEDRITO!, Anderson set the Guinness World Record for "Largest Single-Author Book Signing." For the Horror Writers Association, he edited the bestselling anthology of humorous horror stories, BLOOD LITE (Pocket Books), containing new works by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Joe Lansdale, Kelley Armstrong, and many others.

Anderson recently worked with DC Comics to publish THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON, an epic science fiction novel that reveals the never-before-told story of the end of Superman's planet. His next novel for DC, due in May 2009, is ENEMIES & ALLIES, telling the first encounter of Superman and Batman in the 1950s during the Cold War.

Anderson has scripted numerous bestselling comics and graphic novels, including Justice Society of America for DC, Star-Jammers for Marvel, Star Wars and Predator for Dark Horse, X-Files for Topps, and Star Trek for Wildstorm. He and his wife Rebecca Moesta also wrote the original comic series and graphic novel, GRUMPY OLD MONSTERS for IDW.

Anderson's research has taken him to the top of Mount Whitney and the bottom of the Grand Canyon, inside the Cheyenne Mountain NORAD complex, into the Andes Mountains and the Amazon River, inside a Minuteman III missile silo and its underground control bunker, onto the deck of the aircraft carrier Nimitz, to Maya and Inca temple ruins in South and Central America, inside NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral, onto the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange, inside a plutonium plant at Los Alamos, and behind the scenes at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC. He has climbed all 54 mountain peaks in the Colorado Rockies higher than 14,000 ft elevation, and he has completed more than 300 miles of the Colorado Trail. He also, occasionally, stays home and writes.

Personal Bio

Kevin J. Anderson was born March 27, 1962, and raised in small town Oregon, Wisconsin, south of Madison — an environment that was a cross between a Ray Bradbury short story and a Norman Rockwell painting.

He first knew he wanted to create fiction when he was five years old, before he even knew how to write: he was so moved by the film of War of the Worlds on TV that he took a notepad the next day and drew pictures of scenes from the film, spread them out on the floor, and told the story out loud (maybe this is what led him into writing comics nearly three decades later!).

At eight years old, Kevin wrote his first "novel" (three pages long on pink scrap paper) on the typewriter in his father's den — "The Injection," a story about a mad scientist who invents a formula that can bring anything to life . . . and when his colleagues scoff, he proceeds to bring a bunch of wax museum monsters and dinosaur skeletons to life so they can go on the rampage.

At the age of ten, he had saved up enough money from mowing lawns and doing odd jobs that he could either buy his own bicycle or his own typewriter.

Kevin chose the typewriter . . . and has been writing ever since.

He submitted his first short story to a magazine when he was a freshman in high school, and managed to collect 80 rejection slips for various manuscripts before he actually had a story accepted two years later (for a magazine that paid only in copies). When he was a senior, he sold his first story for actual money (a whopping $12.50), but he never slowed down. He sold his first novel, RESURRECTION, INC., by the time he turned 25.

Kevin worked in California for twelve years as a technical writer and editor at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the nation's largest research facilities. At the Livermore Lab, he met his wife Rebecca Moesta and also his coauthor, Doug Beason.

After he had published ten of his own science fiction novels to wide critical acclaim, he came to the attention of Lucasfilm, and was offered the chance at writing Star Wars novels; he ended up doing 54 projects for them.

Along the way he also collected over 750 rejection slips, and a trophy as "The Writer with No Future" because he could produce more rejection slips by weight than any other writer at an entire conference. When asked for advice about how to be a successful writer, he answers quickly: PERSISTENCE!

After living in California for 15 years, he and his wife moved to Colorado where they have spent the past decade. He is an avid hiker and camper, doing much of his writing with a hand-held tape recorder while on long walks in Death Valley, the redwoods, or the Rocky Mountains. He is also a great fan of fine microbrews.



Rebecca Moesta

Author Guest

Author of Young Jedi Knights Series, Heirs of the Force, Jedi Under Siege, Darkest Knight, Jedi Bounty and many others.

Rebecca Moesta (pronounced MESS-tuh) wanted to be an author since her early teens, but it wasn't until 1991 that she began writing in earnest. Her solo novels include Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Little Things (2002) and three novels in the Junior Jedi Knights series. With her husband, Kevin J. Anderson, she wrote the Crystal Doors trilogy, the movie novelization of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN under the pseudonym "K.J. Anderson" (2003); a movie novelization of SUPERNOVA (2000); a novelization of the popular StarCraft computer game STARCRAFT: SHADOW OF THE XEL'NAGA, under the pseudonym "Gabriel Mesta" (2001); and a Star Trek graphic novel, THE GORN CRISIS (2001). The team, currently working on a Young Adult science fiction series, has also written two young adult TITAN A.E. novels, TITAN A.E.: CALE'S STORY and TITAN A.E.: AKIMA'S STORY (2000), two high-tech Star Wars Pop-up Books, and a series of fourteen young adult STAR WARS novels:

  • Young Jedi Knights Series
  • Heirs of the Force (1995)
  • Shadow Academy (1995)
  • The Lost Ones (1995)
  • Lightsabers (1996)
  • Darkest Knight (1996)
  • Jedi Under Siege (1996)
  • Shards of Alderaan (1996) Diversity Alliance (1997)
  • Delusions of Grandeur (1997)
  • Jedi Bounty (1997)
  • The Emperor's Plague (1997)
  • Return to Ord Mantell (1998)
  • Trouble on Cloud City (1998)
  • Crisis at Crystal Reef (1998)

Moesta has written several short stories, both on her own and with her husband, ghost-written a novel and co-written three science fiction and fantasy books under pseudonyms. In addition to her many fiction credits, she has had photographs, computer art, and nonfiction articles published in numerous magazines. She authored three novels in the Junior Jedi Knights series:

  • Junior Jedi Knights Series II
  • Anakin's Quest (1997)
  • Vader's Fortress (1997)
  • Kenobi's Blade (1997)

Born in Heidelberg, Germany, to American parents, and raised in Southern California, Moesta has traveled extensively in Europe. She has one son, who is in college. She is also CEO of WordFire, Inc., the company that she and Kevin J. Anderson jointly own. Moesta is currently writing a Young Adult fiction series. Her remaining time is spent serving as final reader and copyeditor on her husband's manuscripts.

Personal Bio

Rebecca Moesta (Anderson) was born Rebecca Sue Moesta on November 17, 1956, in Heidelberg, West Germany, to American parents. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Darmstadt, where her father taught theology at a small seminary. Just before Rebecca's sixth birthday the family moved back to the United States and settled in Pasadena, California. She lived in Pasadena for the next seventeen years while she attended grade school, junior high, high school, and college.

The fourth of five children (she has an older brother, two older sisters, and a younger brother) Rebecca began reading fantasy from the moment she could read. As early as second grade she remembers being an avid reader -- even after bedtime, when she would often sneak a book under the covers and read it, one line at a time, by the dim light of her electric blanket controls.

Rebecca's love of science fiction was influenced greatly by her father, a high school English teacher who holds advanced degrees in both English and theology. Rebecca also credits Mrs. Whitaker, the children's librarian at her public library, for steering her toward the types of books she enjoyed. By the time she was ten, Rebecca had already integrated science fiction into her reading diet. Rebecca's mother, a nurse and a pragmatist, felt it her duty to introduce some reality into her daughter's life by sneaking biographies, adventures, and the occasional spy novel onto her reading stack. Though Rebecca fell hook, line, and sinker for these subversive tactics, she by no means abandoned her first love of fantasy and science fiction. She struck back by reading aloud from the works of George McDonald, C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, and others to her sisters, brothers, mother, father, grandmother, friends, dog -- anyone who would sit still long enough to listen.

Starting in her early teens, Rebecca dreamed of writing her own books, plotted them in her head, and gave them titles. On Saturday mornings, Rebecca and her sister Diane watched every sword, sandal, and sorcery movie ever made. And, whenever a new science fiction movie or television show debuted, Rebecca and her father were there to watch it. She was a Star Trek fan from day one.

Rebecca was not a Star Wars fan from day one. She was, however, a fan from day two. She was in college and looking forward to a summer break when her younger brother told her about a fantastic new science fiction movie she just had to go and see. She wasn't completely convinced at first‹since her brother's tastes ran to movies like Godzilla and Rodan‹but when a group of her friends from Caltech suggested seeing Star Wars the day after it opened, she willingly agreed. When she and six of her techer friends, arrived at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood that evening and camped out for three hours in line, they had no idea what they were about to see. Fortunately, it proved to be worth the wait. Her love for the movie was instant and enduring.

Throughout her college days, Rebecca managed the offices at a small electronics company in Southern California. This, along with her friendships with techers, her love of science fiction, and a lifelong association with her father, sealed her fate: Rebecca became the founding member and faithful adherent of a philosophical system of beliefs she calls Gadgetology.TM The devout gadgetologistTM sums up her belief system as follows: If anything -- be it electric, abstract, electronic, mental, or mechanical -- is the newest, the latest, the greatest, the best, I will undoubtedly want one; indeed, I must eventually have one. After Rebecca graduated with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Cal State LA, she married one of her many beaus from Caltech and for the next eleven years became Rebecca Moesta Cowan.

In 1981, Rebecca and her first husband moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he entered the PhD program in nuclear physics at Yale University. After one year, the couple transferred to Darmstadt, and lived in Germany until 1987 during the graduate research and dissertation phases of his doctoral studies.

While living once again in West Germany, Rebecca took graduate courses with Boston University and earned a Masters of Science degree in Business Administration. She spent the next couple of years teaching courses in math and business management for noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in the Army. During this time she became pregnant with her first and only child, Jonathan, who was born in Wiesbaden. A month later the family returned to the United States and, two months after that, settled in Livermore, California.

In 1989 Rebecca took a position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a proof reader and copy editor. There she formed a science fiction club. She met Kevin J. Anderson when her club asked him to be a guest speaker at one of their weekly meetings. She later worked as his copy editor on several technical documents. After Rebecca's split from her first husband in 1990, Kevin and Rebecca began dating. They married on September 14, 1991.



Rhiannon Paille

Author Guest

Author of Integrated Intuition and a Metaphysical Therapist



Joel "MOjo" Moen

Artist Guest

Local artist who's works include Batman, Major Bummer, X-men Unlimited, and Night of the Living Dead: Barbara's Zombie Chronicles.

Joel "MOjo" Moen started out his career as an inking assistant to Tom Nguyen on such books as: Major Bummer, Superman- Man of Steel, JLA, Batman, and X-men Unlimited.

Soon after he was contracted to ink the book "Hellion" from upstart company Dead Dog Comics. MOjo stayed on at Dead Dog Comics for 8 years as Editor-in-Chief while also inking, writing, or scripting the books: Bad Company Incorporated, Mydevil, From Heaven to Hell, Night of the Living Dead: Barbara's Zombie Chronicles, Curse of the Blood Clan, and Cryptic Magazine.

MOjo's latest project is a 35W bridge crash story for Negative Burn with Pete Krause and Jeff Limke called: 13 seconds.



Paul Fricke

Artist Guest

Artist who co-created and self published the Trollords series



Angelique Montag

Guest of Honor

Costuming expert-Steampunk/Ren Fest expert



Rich Shepardson

Guest of Honor

Game tester/designer/Ren Fest performer



Rudy Sigmund

Guest of Honor

ValleyCon founder and Edgar Rice Burroughs expert will be promoting 100 years of John Carter and Tarzan.



Stephen Miller

Guest of Honor

Stephen Miller is a new presence in the role-playing game industry. He is the co-author of the Gaslight Victorian Fantasy Campaign Setting, the editor of Sherwood: The Legend of Robin Hood role-playing game, and co-author of the upcoming Darwin's Guide to the Mystical and Mundane, all published by Battlefield Press, Inc.

Stephen's interest in what would later be called Steampunk started at an early age. He was just short of eight months old when his father started watching the debut episode of The Wild Wild West in 1965. Ever since then Stephen has had a fascination with combining history and high technology in a myriad of ways..

In late 1979 a major influence entered Stephen's life and set him on the course he continues to follow to this day. That year he learned about something called a role-playing game, specifically Traveller, the science fiction game. Somehow his parents found a copy and gave it to him for Christmas that year. From that point he was hooked, figuring out ways to play, run, and change the game to suit his fancy. The first non-science fiction game setting he created involved Sherlock Holmes, ray guns, and zeppelins.

Over the years his interest in games and authors like Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.. G. Wells, William Gibson, and Neal Stephenson have influenced Stephen's game choices and his interest in writing and creating games. In the 1990s GURPS was the game of choice, which lead to his playtesting credits in GURPS Steampunk and submissions for the GURPS Bestiary. These acceptances gave him confidence to become more involved in a hobby that had become a big part of his life.

Knowledge of history and English culture brought him from being an overly detail-focused playtester to being the editor for Sherwood: The Legend of Robin Hood from Battlefield Press, Inc. (BPI). A few years later he was asked to contribute to the Gaslight Victorian Fantasy Campaign Setting, also from BPI. This allowed Stephen to combine his love of Steampunk with his love of gaming and share it with others.

Currently, Stephen is working on a companion book for Gaslight titled Darwin's Guide to the Mystical and Mundane. He is also developing two board games and a card game, which he will gladly tell you about, given the chance.

Link to Gaslight Book



The Kamikaze Snowmen

Guest of Honor

The KAMIKAZE SNOWMEN have been making music (the term used loosely here) for roughly ten years. A KAMIKAZE SNOWMEN song can run the gamut from FOLK to FUNK, from SATIRE to SILLINESS. Utilizing the best in free recording technology and an array of instruments, the KAMIKAZE SNOWMEN try to keep things fresh and funny.



Tiffany Johnson

Guest of Honor

Acclaimed psychic, Tiffany gives inspiration, insight and understanding into your ever-changing life.

Personal life

Combs was born in Oxnard, California, and raised in Lompoc. He attended Santa Maria's Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and later developed his acting skills in the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington.

Career

Combs's best known horror role was as Herbert West, the main character in the movie Re-Animator, which he has reprised in the film's two sequels.

On television, Combs enjoyed critical and popular success playing alien characters on the various modern Star Trek incarnations, beginning in 1994 with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in 2000 with Star Trek: Voyager, and in 2001 with Star Trek: Enterprise. Combs has played nine different onscreen roles in the Star Trek universe. His largest science-fiction role to date has been his regular guest role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Vorta clone Weyoun. Combs has said that Weyoun was his favorite Star Trek role, and he had a great deal of input in developing the character.

On the same series, Combs had a recurring role as the Ferengi character Brunt. During the DS9 episode "The Dogs of War", Combs appeared as both Weyoun and Brunt, making Trek history as the first actor to play two unrelated recurring roles on screen in the same episode.



Todd Eliassen

Guest of Honor

Screenwriter whose works include The Black Donnellys, Hidden Hills, Teen Angel and Windfall.

Graduate from MSUM, Todd has work on various film projects, including The Black Donnellys, Hidden Hills, Teen Angel and Windfall.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1472644/


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