2012 Souvenir Program Book (PDF) - Convergence

Guests of Honor
LydA MOREHOuSE
Introduction by Naomi Kritzer
Lyda Morehouse was kidnapped by fairies
as an infant and returned three days
later with a note saying, “Thank you for
showing us this baby, but she didn’t
quite grab us, alas.” She consoled
herself by attempting to become a
superhero as a child, a Jedi Knight
as a teen, and a vampire as a
college student. When working at
the Renaissance Festival failed to
satisfy her needs, she resorted
to writing science fiction and
fantasy.
Deep in the recesses of
her parents’ basement, there are
home movie reels of the Star Trek episodes
she made with her cousin when they were ten. Filmed
with a handheld camera (held by her cooperative father),
Lyda’s cousin played Kirk, Spock, and Scotty while Lyda
played McCoy and the entire Red Shirt contingent. (She
died very dramatically, many times.)
In the early 1990s, she took a Loft class on writing science
fiction and fantasy, where she met Harry LeBlanc.
The two of them started the Wyrdsmiths, which remains
the most successful writers’ group in the Twin Cities. Her
big professional break came with Archangel Protocol, a
post-apocalyptic cyberpunk dystopia with an oppressive
theocracy & radical angels. Archangel Protocol was followed
by Fallen Host, Messiah Node, & Apocalypse Array.
When her editor at Roc left, the series was orphaned.
Lyda held a wake for her career, complete with a
traditional Irish keen, single-malt Scotch, and a coffin
filled with books. A few weeks later, her new editor
suggested she switch to writing vampire novels, and—
appropriately enough—her career rose from the dead
under a new identity.
As Tate Hallaway, she wrote Tall, Dark and Dead, which
is still selling well and was just released in mass-market
paperback. That was followed by Dead Sexy, Romancing
the Dead, Dead If I Do, and Honeymoon of the Dead. The
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Garnet Lacey series covers the adventures of the smartalecky,
book-selling witch, Garnet, and her vampire
boyfriend (fiancé, husband) Sebastian.
She followed this with the YA-oriented Vampire
Princess of St. Paul series: Almost to Die For, Almost
Final Curtain, and Almost Everything, which put a secret
Vampire kingdom in the caves under St. Paul.
In the meantime, she wrote a follow-up to the
Archangel Protocol series, Resurrection Code, which
was published by Mad Norwegian Press. Most recently,
she wrote Precinct 13, about a coroner in Pierre, South
Dakota, whose first day takes a turn for the unexpected
when the corpse she’s autopsying grabs his liver and
walks out of the room, scraping his toe-tag as he goes.
(Precinct 13 comes out in August.)
Lyda is also known in the community as a prolific
mentor (having started her career with a class at the Loft,
she now teaches there herself), a wildly enthusiastic fan
(of comics, TV, movies, Anime...), and one of the most
hilariously entertaining people you could ask for on your
con programming, provided you fuel her up with coffee
first.
RuTH THOMPSON
Introduction by Ishmael Williams
Ruth began her artistic
career as a young girl
who, she was told,
was “pretty good at
drawing.” In high
school she discovered
Dungeons and Dragons and never
looked back. It was a world that captured her
imagination, and in it she created knights and dragons
and magical beings of every kind. When she had a
chance, she went to her first science fiction and fantasy
convention, called Continuity, in Birmingham, AL. Her
sister and a friend convinced her to enter her drawings
in the art show. Of the twelve pieces she entered, 7 were
sold for the huge total of $46.00. Ruth cherishes that
memory.
Immediately following college, Ruth took to art full
time, and has since produced illustrations for nearly
every fantasy company that can be named, from
collectible card games to magazines and books. After a
while, she grew tired of what she calls “the business of
the business” and established herself as a freelance artist.
She and her husband created her company, Tarnished
Images, in 1991, from which she sold art mainly at
science fiction and fantasy conventions.
In 1994, Ruth found Renaissance festivals, which
quickly became her greatest passion. Festivals
represented a living, breathing
version of the world she
thought lived only in books,
art, and her imagination. Since
1994, she has increased her
exhibitions at Ren Faires from
1 to 14, with her work displayed
year-round, from Arizona to New
York. She also has licensed her
work to the Excalibur Hotel, Hot
Topic clothes, and the Franklin Mint.
It was in 1997 that I first
encountered Ruth’s art. I began living
with my life partner and housemate
and sharing things we had in common,
notably our own individual loves for the
genres of science fiction and fantasy. In
a moment of happy circumstance, we
discovered a print that depicted a dragon
standing tall over a female warrior and a
male who was perhaps a bard or a wizard.
The moment united the three of us, and we
chose that art as an iconic representation of
our newly formed family.
In 1998 I joined CONvergence, at which Ruth was
the 2000 Artist Guest of Honor. I was elated by the
opportunity to meet someone who had created
something that meant a lot to me personally, and to my
family. The following year I found her booth, Tarnished
Images, at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Ruth
greeted me warmly, and we talked of her excellent
experience at CONvergence. She said then that she
hoped to come back one day, so when the “Women of
Wonder” theme was decided for CONvergence 2012,
Ruth came immediately to mind. She was thrilled at the
invitation - Ruth has always been appreciative of the
fact that we remember her and think of her so fondly.
After twelve years and a lifetime of memories, we gladly
welcome back our good friend, the amazing artist Ruth
Thompson.
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