John Scalzi – Guest of Honor Writer
Olivia Sailor – Lead Organizer Writers Symposium
Byron Leavitt – Diemension Games Writer
CSE Cooney - Author
Gilles Plantin - Monolith Creative Director & Jeszika Le Vye - Artist
Chris A Jackson - Author
Aaron Rosenberg - Author
Michael Stackpole – Sci Fi & Conan Writer
Jim Zub – Conan Comics Writer
Sean CW Korsgaard - Battleborn!
Parth Kelkar survived a PhD Internship at work, and unlocked a trophy achievement of Helen's Daimones T-shirt! You rock Parth.
Most photos are mine, but I did glean a few from John O'Neill. Highlighted first is the Howard Andrew Jones Panel, Top Image L-->R Arin Komins (Moderator), John O'Neill, James Enge Seth Lindberg, John C. Hocking. Other speakers: Greg Mele (center left), Kevin Cook (center Right), Ryan Harvey (Bottom Left), Bob Byrne (Bottom Right). In short, Howard Andrew Jones passed away this January but his legacy of bring the Sword & Sorcery community together continues strong. swords Together!
Leading up to this, I captured a number of memorials and obituary tributes :
Link to PDF of Writer-Focused HAJ Photo Montages (link).
Below is a collection of select photos of the Celebration of Life (link) held in Evansville, IN Feb 22, 2025.
From the official obituary:
"Howard Andrew Jones, 56, of Evansville, passed away at his home Thursday, January 16, 2025 surrounded by loved ones.
Howard was born July 19, 1968 in Terre Haute, Indiana to Shirley (Jewell) Jones and the late Victor Howard Jones. He graduated from Indiana State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Radio-TV-Film and completed a Master’s Degree at the University of Southern Indiana in Liberal Studies.
Howard was an outstanding story teller, an expert in several genres, a musician/composer, a shotokan black belt, a loyal friend, a hobby farmer, an encouraging editor, a kind soul, and a beloved family member who improved the lives of everyone he encountered with his bright inquiries, quick wit, and warm support. He spent years pursuing his writing goals and championing heroic fiction, leaving behind 12 novels, numerous short stories, and countless editorials.
He was devoted to and will be greatly missed by his wife of 33 years, Shannon Jones, MD; his adult children, Darian Vincent Jones and Rhiana Christina Jones; his mother, Shirley Jones; his sisters, Sydney (Chris) Argenta and Alli (Chris) Anderson; and many nieces, and nephews. His passing will also be mourned by his close friends from around the world, his fellow authors, his fans, in-laws, neighbors, and even acquaintances. The good world is diminished without him."
Peace to Shannon, Rhiana, Darian Jones, and all who knew him.
Chris Bell had very kind words regarding my previous Chair roles and passing the torch to him. He rocks as a leader.
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
Thanks to Sean CW Korsgaard, (editor/author/S&S-aficionado) who filmed a bunch of Gen Con 2024 panels, you can listen in on two of the panels I moderated.
I have a mission to meet the authors my stories share anthologies with ("selfie" tag), and for Perseid Presses' Heroika and Heroes in Hell Series, I've cornered a bunch in Chicago, Indianapolis, New Orlean, Norman OK, and now Atlanta! Beth Patterson, Charles Gramlich, Joe Bonadonna, Jack William Finley, Tom Barzcak ... and now Milton Davis!
Just ran into one of my inspirational role models for writing and publishing Milton Davis (in this case, I was in Atlanta for an American Chemical Society Green Chemistry convention...which is cool because Milton has been a formulation chemist for decades).
"Omari Ket is a rogue warrior, not a spy, but he is as suave, cunning, and as lethal as any Secret Agent Man. ‘Agency’ is a term for the capacity of a character to act independently, and Omari is an Agency onto himself: he reports to no one. Omari is a ladies’ man in a dog-eat-dog world. If you like a cut-throat, libertine, action-oriented protagonist, then you are ‘Eda Blessed.’"
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During my annual trip to the IASR surfactant consortium meeting in Norman Oklahoma, well before breakfast was served, I sought out my author/artist friend Tom Barczak (link to prior join-ups) and we snuck in a few minutes of drawing together.
This time we convened at the newly opened DIAK office, the architecture firm owned by Tom's wife Shannon Barczak. Their clients are mostly indigenous (Native American) communities. Below is a blurb from their website.
DIAK Architects is a Full-Service Native Woman Owned Architectural Firm, a leading design firm that specializes in producing a wide range of innovative architectural and interior design applications.
DIAK is an Apsaalooke word, meaning “To make.” To make something, to create something, that wasn’t there before, and to take on the honor and responsibility for its effect on everything and every life that it touches. It is a gift, and a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
Had a blast meeting up with fellow Sword and Sorcery authors at the local pub. With Andy Fix and Bill Pearce ... we salute Howard Andrew Jones whom we've admired and perhaps even served as Skull Interns. All hail the Skull!
With Bill Pearce who has a story in Tales from the Magician's Skull issue #11 (link to Gen Con 2023 when we first met),
Fellow Perseid Press author Tom Barczak and I built a relationship in 2014 when I interviewed him about his Evarun series. Since, we've shared a table of contents in several anthologies, most recently Mystics in Hell.
Every November I visit Norman for the Institute of Applied Surfactant Research consortium annual meeting and seek out Tom before the meeting starts; I have a blogger tag/label dedicated to our visits.
We share a common muse to create Dark Fantasy experiences via mixed media (art, prose). I purchased one of his sketches on a prior visit. This round, he graced with an orc drawn with conté sticks. Thanks Tom for the friendship, discussion, and the art!
