Guests of Honor

Alexis Cruz

Actor Guest of Honor

Alexis Cruz has a veteran film and television career, having captured audience attention for over a decade. He is a graduate of New York’s prestigious High School of Performing Arts, and has since gone on to become one of the most respected young actors of his generation.

A Bronx born native of New York, of Puerto Rican descent, Alexis made his first television appearance with a guest-starring role on, The Cosby Show during its first hit season and then landed the lead role in “Gryphon” for the acclaimed PBS series Wonderworks. His feature career began with roles in films such as The Pick-Up Artist with Robert Downey Jr. and Rooftops by legendary director Robert Wise. A prestigious and prolific body of work soon followed and Alexis found himself starring opposite Anthony Quinn as his encouraging young friend, Manolo, in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie The Old Man & The Sea, directed by Jud Taylor. By the age of 17, he had performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and began directing theatre at the School of Performing Arts with his productions breaking 50 years of box-office records at the institution two years running. Alexis had also become a regular cast member on PBS’s award winning Sesame Street at this time which earned him a huge following of young fans.

Cruz achieved international fame after starring in Roland Emmerich’s 1994 box-office hit, Stargate with Kurt Russell and James Spader, in which he played the young Egyptian rebel leader, Skaara. Along with Erick Avari, he is one of only two actors to appear in both Stargate and its spin-off series Stargate SG-1, which began its 10-season run in 1997. He played Skaara, the brother-in-law of Daniel Jackson, in both productions as well as the Goa’uld Klorel in the latter.

After studying both Acting and Directing at the Boston University School of Fine Arts Conservatory, Alexis has gone on to star in the Hallmark Hall of Fame mini-series The Streets of Laredo, HBO’s Emmy-nominated true story P.O.W.E.R.: The Eddie Matos Story, as well as guest starring in The District, Dangerous Minds, NYPD Blue, ER, Providence, and HBO’s Arli$$. Other films include The Brave, Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, Showtime’s Riot, Detention: Siege at Johnson High, Bug, Almost a Woman, and Stand Up For Justice. Cruz appeared as assistant D.A. Martin Allende in the legal drama Shark, with co-stars James Woods and Jeri Ryan.

Alexis found world-wide acclaim for his pioneering role as the angel, Raphael, on CBS’ flagship prime-time drama, Touched By An Angel. While recurring on the Emmy award-winning series, Alexis simultaneously reprised his popular role as, Skaara, on one of prime-time cable’s most successful sci-fi programs, Stargate SG-1 with Richard Dean Anderson. He recently recurred as Sgt. Joaquin Garcia in Gregory Nava’s critically acclaimed series, American Family on PBS and is starring in the upcoming independent feature film, Tortilla Heaven.

Links:
Alexis Cruz Official FanSite & MySpace site
Wikipedia: Alexis Cruz, IMDB: Alexis Cruz

Lois McMaster Bujold

Author Guest of Honor

Lois Bujold wrote three books (Shards of Honor, The Warrior’s Apprentice and Ethan of Athos) before The Warrior’s Apprentice was accepted after four rejections. The Warrior’s Apprentice was the first book purchased, despite the fact it was not the first Vorkosigan book written, nor would it be the first one to be published. On the strength of The Warrior’s Apprentice, Baen Books agreed to a three-book deal to include the two bracketing novels. Thus began her career in science fiction.

Bujold is best known for her Vorkosigan saga, a series of novels featuring Miles Vorkosigan, a physically-impaired interstellar spy and mercenary admiral from the planet Barrayar, set approximately 1000 years in the future. Earlier titles are generally firmly in the space opera tradition with no shortage of battles, conspiracies, and wild twists, while in more recent volumes Miles becomes more of a detective. In A Civil Campaign, Bujold explores yet another genre: a high-society romance with a plot that pays tribute to Regency romance novelist Georgette Heyer (as acknowledged in the dedication). It centers on a catastrophic dinner party, with misunderstandings and dialogue justifying the subtitle “A Comedy of Biology and Manners”.

Lois has won the Hugo Award four times for Barrayar (1991), The Mountains of Mourning (1989), The Vor Game (1990), and Mirror Dance (1994). She’s also been the recipient of several other awards and nominations.

Bujold currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is divorced and has two children.

Links:
Lois McMaster Bujold website, blog, books in print
Wikipedia: Lois McMaster Bujold, Vorkosigan Saga

Joe Rheault and Megan Rheault

Artist Guests of Honor

Megan Rheault graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2004 with a degree in illustration. Her illustration work includes children’s books, business cards, logos, t-shirt designs, and fine art paintings.

Currently Megan has two children’s books on the brink of publication, both of which are done using pastels. She also works digitally as well as in acrylic.

Megan lives and works in her Saint Paul apartment/studio she shares with her wonderful artist husband and their two tail-less cats.

Link: Pixie Girl Studios

Joe Rheault has worked in comics for several years and has self published several creator owned books such as Tastes Like Good, Tastes Like Good 2: Powerlines, Asha in Thievin’ Ways, and The Burbs. He is currently working on a graphic novel called Rooftops and Masquerades. Joe holds firm to his belief that there will never be another video game as good as Shinning Force 2.

Link: Dirty Inks

You can see the artwork they’ve created for MarsCon 2011 in our flyer and printable poster and at MarsCon.

Worm Quartet

Dementia Guest of Honor

Worm Quartet is a Rochester, NY-based band that forcibly staples punk and electronica together and throws them into a blender with hysterically twisted lyrics. Although in the distant past the Worm Quartet has had as many as three members, it is now a one-man band. The soloist is Tim Crist, a.k.a. -=ShoEboX=-. In 2004, Worm Quartet’s “Great Idea for a Song” was the most requested song of the year on the Dr. Demento Show. In 2005 the Worm Quartet/Sudden Death collaberation “Inner Voice” took the same honor. When not performing at MarsCon, Crist might be found at his day job (as a software engineer) or adding tunes to the Funny Music Project website.

The worms names are Bob, Chutney, Elroy, and Leon.

Links:
Worm Quartet website, blog, Livejournal thingy
The Funny Music Project
Wikipedia article explaining the origin of “-=ShoEboX=-”

Other Notable Presenters

Authors

S.N. Arly

St. Paul science fiction and fantasy writer, S.N. Arly has had short stories featured at FearsMag.com, a limited edition DragonCon 2000 chapbook, several issues of Tales of the Unanticipated, and most recently the WolfSongs anthology. She has received two honorable mentions from the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest. She is a member the local critique group Guts and Rocks.

Link: Facebook page

Eleanor A. Arnason

2007 Guest of Honor

Eleanor A. Arnason is an American author of science fiction novels and short stories. Her work often depicts cultural change and conflict, usually from the viewpoint of characters who cannot or will not live by their own societies’ rules. This anthropological focus has led many to compare her fiction to that of Ursula K. Le Guin. She lives in Minnesota. Eleanor is the author of five published novels, and a number of poems and short stories. She has received both the James Tiptree, Jr. award for “gender-bending SF,” and the Mythopoeic Society’s Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for the novel, A Woman of the Iron People, the Spectrum Award (for “Dapple”) and the HOMer Award (for “Stellar Harvest”). Also the Minnesota Book Award for Ring of Swords. Her earlier novels are: The Sword Smith,,, To the Resurrection Station, and Daughter of the Bear King. Her short stories include “The Warlord of Saturn’s Moons” (which has been reprinted several times), “The Lovers” (a preliminary nominee for awards in 1996), “Ace 167,” “The Hound of Merin,” and many others which have appeared in Orbit, New Improved Sun, Tales of the Unanticipated, Xanadu, A Room of One’s Own, New Women of Wonder, The Norton Book of SF, and other places.

Cynthia Booth

Cynthia Booth is a published poet and playwright presently living in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Roy C. Booth

Roy C. Booth hails from Bemidji, Minnesota, and is a published author, game designer, comedian, poet, journalist, essayist, screenwriter/doctor, but is mostly known as an internationally award winning playwright with 49 plays published to date with over 650 productions of his work in 25 different countries on every continent save Antarctica. His most recent projects include the dramatization of Brian Keene’s bestselling paranormal suspense novel, TERMINAL, various book deals in horror, fantasy, dark poetry, and theatre, as well as various ongoing genre-based television/film deals. A recent interview by Horror World on Roy’s writing style and upcoming published work can be found at www.horrorworld.org/interviews.htm. Roy can also be found on MySpace, Facebook, and at www.roycbooth.com.

Rob Callahan

Rob Callahan is a Minneapolis writer, storyteller and life-long science fiction fan. His articles on Minneapolis arts, music and events have been seen in a number of local magazines. In 2009 he was nominated for the Twin Cities Top Ten Titans of Social Media, which he didn’t quite win but it was nice nonetheless, and was honored to have a drink named after him at Clubhouse Jager (the home of Sci-Fi Tuesdays) in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. He is the resident emcee at the bi-monthly Twin Cities Doctor Who Meetup Pub Quiz, a frequent guest of The Rockstar Storytellers, producer of the Nightmare Fuel podcast and author of the novel Hellbound Snowballs. He is currently serializing his second novel, Prom Queen of the Damned, as an eBook for iPhones, Kindles, Sony Readers and other popular eReading devices.

P M F Johnson

P M F Johnson has published dozens of poems, including genre poetry in Asimov’s, Strange Horizons, and Tales of the Unanticipated, mainstream poetry in Threepenny Review and Nimrod, and haiku in Modern Haiku, Acorn, and a couple “Best Of” anthologies. Along with his wife, Sandra Rector, he has published stories in Amazing Magazine and several pro anthologies. His web site is at PMFJohnson.com.

Naomi Kritzer

2008 Guest of Honor

Naomi Kritzer is the author of three fantasy novels in her “Dead Rivers” series: Freedom’s Gate (2004), Freedom’s Apprentice (2005), and Freedom’s Sisters (2006), and short fiction in Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, and Tales of the Unanticipated. Naomi recently completed a children’s fantasy novel in which a ten-year-old Minneapolis girl notices that no one else can see one of the houses on her block. www.naomikritzer.com

Craig R. Lang

Craig Lang is a UFO and anomaly researcher with Minnesota MUFON, the local chapter of the Mutual UFO Network. He investigates sighting and encounter reports in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. Craig is a Certified Hypnotherapist, with the National Guild of Hypnotists. His “day job” is as a computer engineer, working with a medical electronics firm in the Twin Cities. Mr. Lang has been interested in astronomy, ET life and UFOs since childhood. He is the author of two nonfiction books on UFO abduction, The Cosmic Bridge and The Other Side of the Sky, The Cosmic Bridge Companion. He is an amateur radio operator (KC0̸ZH), and also dabbles in writing science fiction. websites: www.craigrlang.com and www.thecosmicbridge.com

David Lenander

David Lenander of St Paul has served as moderator of the fantasy-book discussion Rivendell Group since shortly after its founding in late 1973 or early 1974. He Chaired Mythcon XXIV, as well as two Bree Moot small fantasy conventions; worked on the Minnesota Science Fiction Society Lecture Series in the ‘80s; has contributed extensively to Programming at several Minnesota and Wisconsin conventions; and maintains Websites for several local fantasy writers. His poetry and critical essays pertaining to fantasy fiction have appeared in markets including Mythprint and Tales of the Unanticipated.

Catherine Lundoff

Catherine Lundoff is the award-winning author of two short story collections: Crave: Tales of Lust, Love and Longing (Lethe Press, 2007) and Night’s Kiss (Lethe Press, 2009). She is also the editor of the fantasy and horror anthology Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories (Lethe Press, 2008) and co-editor, with JoSelle Vanderhooft, of the anthology Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Woman and Magic (Drollerie Press, forthcoming). She teaches writing classes at The Loft Literary Center upon occasion and works as a computer geek. Website: www.visi.com/~clundoff.

Rebecca Marjesdatter

Rebecca Marjesdatter is a past winner of the Rhysling Award for Speculative Poetry. Her work has appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated (TOTU), The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, the anthology Women of Other Worlds, and Asimov’s. She is the current Poetry Editor of TOTU. She lives in Minneapolis with too many cats.

Michael Merriam

Michael Merriam is a speculative fiction writer and editor living in Hopkins, Minnesota. His novella’s have been published as stand-alone books by Carina Press and Sam’s Dot Publishing. He has also edited an anthology for Sam’s Dot Publishing. He has sold short fiction and poetry to a variety of magazines, including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Bards and Sages Quarterly, and Three Crow Press.

Lyda Morehouse, aka Tate Hallaway

2002 Guest of Honor

Lyda Morehouse leads a double life. By day she is the science fiction author of the award-winning AngeLINK series. At night she transforms into the best-selling vampire romance writer, Tate Hallaway, author of the Garnet Lacey series and the young-adult vampire princess of Saint Paul series. As Lyda she’s won the Shamus (a mystery award) for Archangel Protocol, and came in second for the Philip K. Dick award for Apocalypse Array. She’s just finished a prequel in the AngeLINK series called Resurrection Code, which will be coming out later this year from Mad Norwegian Press. Tate has been busy as well. 2010 will see the publication of the last of the Garnet books: Honeymoon of the Dead, as well as the first of the vampire princess books, Almost to Die For. She lives in Saint Paul with her partner of twenty-four years, seven year-old son, four cats, two gerbils and a multitude of fishes.

Kathryn Sullivan

Kathryn Sullivan has been writing science fiction and fantasy since she was 14 years old. Having read her father's collection of sf and fantasy, she started writing her own. The world set up in The Crystal Throne (available both electronically and in paperback) has been developing since then. Some of the short stories escaped into fan zines, print zines and ezines, but those are now together again in Agents & Adepts (available electronically and in paper). When not writing, Kathryn is Distance Learning Librarian at Winona State University in Winona, MN, and coordinator of the Library's webpages. kathrynsullivan.com

Anna Waltz

Anna Waltz was a script writer for EverQuest II, where she wrote quest favorites like “Rat Smashing Fun,” along with the NPC monologues of Queen Antonia Bayle. As a local writer, she is best known for her book, Swedish Lutheran Vampires of Brainerd. Her fanfiction (written under various assumed names) has been floating around the Internet since 1997.

Other Notable Guests

Magician & Professional Magic Instructor Tyler Erickson

Tyler Erickson started pursuing magic at the age of 15. He has entertained people from every walk of life and under every circumstance: Private Parties for celebrities such as Garrison Keilor and Family, Manufacturing Conventions, Trade Shows, Store Openings, Ritzy Costume Balls, and the list goes on. He’s also appeared in Industrial Films as an “Expert Manipulator” for Mervyn’s, StoneArch Creative and Media Loft. Since starting his school TylerTeach, he has taught hundreds of different magicians from around the world. He won the coveted International Brotherhood of Magicians “Magician of the Year” award in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He has many First Place medals from their Presidential Competition, both in the Stage and Close-Up categories. In 2003, Tyler was made a member of FFFF, an exclusive invitation-only convention for sleight-of-hand artists, considered by many to be the pinnacle honor that can be bestowed in the international magic community.

“World's Fastest Whip” Robert Dante & his lovely assistant Mary Anderson

Black light whip cracking with a steampunk twist. Robert Dante, the “World’s Fastest Whip”, will be returning to MarsCon for an out of this world performance. This 3-time Guinness Book of World Records holder has electrified MarsCon in the past with his theatrical blend of dark fantasy and circus. You will be mesmerized. Dante is also recipient of the Brian Chic Whip Artistry Award, he offers private whip lessons, and he is the author of Let's Get Cracking! The How-To Book of Bullwhip Skills. More info at bullwhip.net

“Rocketman” Ky Michaelson

Ky Michaelson’s inventions are legendary. Ky has contributed to over 200 films, television programs and commercials. He also built the rockets for the movie, October Sky. In 2004, Michaelson’s Civilian Space eXploration Team became the first amateur group to design, build and launch a rocket into space. Ky’s creations are the subject of a book currently in the publication process Motorbooks International. He is also developing a screenplay focused on his life and accomplishments. www.the-rocketman.com

David E Romm

2004 Guest of Honor

Baron David E Romm produced Shockwave, the Twin Cities radio program, for over 20 years, bringing a variety of strange and interesting material to the airwaves. Beyond his involvement with Shockwave, DavE has also been a fixture of Minnesota science fiction fandom for over a generation. He’s helped plan several conventions, done strange and often highly entertaining “micro-programming” events for local conventions, written mid-convention newsletters such as the Bozo Bus Tribune, interviewed guests of honor for his radio program, and of course has performed Shockwave live on stage during conventions. And yes, he is a real Baron of the not entirely fictitious country of Ladonia. romm.org

Writer & Producer Rachael Saltzman

Writer & Executive Producer of the upcoming film Atlanta Nights. The film is based upon a collaborative novel created by a group of science fiction and fantasy authors, with the express purpose of producing a bad piece of work of unpublishable quality to test whether publishing firm PublishAmerica would still accept it. It was accepted, but after the hoax was revealed, the publisher withdrew its offer. Proceeds for the film will go to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Emergency Relief Fund.

Bands

Climbing Trees

Minneapolis band Climbing Trees makes its official debut at MarsCon with a mix of classic and alternative rock. As a band that made their name playing extended sets at bars and clubs all over the Twin Cities, they are sure to please!

Feng Shui Ninjas

The Feng Shui Ninjas are Dave Stagner, John Kentner, Justin Hartley, and Tami Murck. But the band is way more than the sum of its parts. The four singer/multi-instrumentalists draw from every music we have ever heard (whether we like it or not!), and synthesize it into sounds that feel both new and ancient, like the music you didn’t realize you have been hearing all your life. www.fengshuininjas.com

Fist Missile

The triumphant return of the astonishing Fist Missile, with a cosmic blend of hip hop and industrial to keep the party going!!

Hand of Doom

“Hand of Doom” is an anti-heroin song by Black Sabbath from their breakthrough album Paranoid in 1970. If you love heavy metal, you won't want to miss this tribute to Black Sabbath and others.

MarsCon 2011
March 4-6, 2011
Crowne Plaza Minneapolis Int’l Airport Hotel & Suites
(formerly: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites)
3 Appletree Square
Bloomington, MN

If you’re looking for the Marscon in Williamsburg, VA click here.
Questions about MarsCon: info
This page updated 09:55 am April 10, 2015, © 2011 Fans Educational Network for Science Fiction.