Rebecca at Dragon*Con, Atlanta, 2007

I attended my first ever Dragon*Con in August, and it was wild. Sixty thousand fantasy, science fiction, comic book, manga, and anime fans in three hotels in downtown Atlanta. A lot of the attendees dress up for the occasion. So we ran into people dressed like storm troopers, some of  "The Three Hundred" Greek Warriors, Chewbacca, Hagrid, the Wicked Witch of the West, belly dancers, Captain Jack Sparrow, the monster from Alien, and just about any other character you can name.

I was on four panels–one with Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible Hulk), Tippi Hedren (from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds), and David Prowse (Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies). I also did a reading and an autograph signing. So I was plenty busy. But my favorite activity was finding a seat at the entrance to the Marriott Hotel and watching the people pass by. It was like a big Halloween party, only better.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster's divine presence

Rebecca, Angela Knight, and Susan Sizemore Rebecca, Angela Knight, and Susan Sizemore

There’s also a huge parade at the beginning of the conference, with costumes and floats. There’s a costume competition one evening. Movies run non-stop in some of the conference rooms. One thing I loved was the special conference TV channel, where you could watch Star Trek parody episodes, made just for Dragon*Con, as well as hilarious ads for science fiction and fantasy products and services. Like a rocket pack that blasts you into space!

Another highlight was the "Walk of Fame," where you could chat with actors from a lot of wonderful movies and TV series. Just like the rest of the fans, I got to gawk at stars like Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, and Lou Gossett Jr.

Rebecca with Star Wars Storm Troopers

Rebecca & Norman as Queen of the Night and Escort

Later this year, four other authors–Maggie Shayne, Susan Kearney, Angela Knight, and Susan Sizemore--and I will be launching a new Web site called bumpinthenightcentral.com. We had a booth to introduce fans to the site. At the booth we offered chances to win two treasure chests full of books and other goodies. A lot of people stopped by and signed up for a chance, which gave us the opportunity to meet a lot of people. And it was a real thrill for me to have people come up and say, "You’re one of my favorite authors." Most of them didn’t know I was going to be at the con. Well, I’m telling you now, it was a blast, and I’ll be back next year.

Rebecca's Panel-Mate, the Incredible Hulk

Typical Dragon*Con Attendees