Meet the Guests of CoastCon 46!
MEDIA GUEST OF HONOR – JAKE STORMOEN
Jake Stormoen was born in Minneapolis, MN. An avid world traveler, Jake earned his BCA from the University of Southern Queensland in QLD, Australia before moving to Los Angeles. There, he was accepted into the renowned acting program at the Ruskin Theatre where he studied under Sanford Meisner’s apprentice himself, John Ruskin. Jake quickly landed a lead role in the sci-fi fantasy feature film series “Mythica”. The success of the Mythica franchise landed him more than a dozen feature films, and three television series, including the Emmy nominated ‘Relationship Status’, last year’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Extinct’, and presently the network series ‘The Outpost’ on The CW, and subsequently on SYFY across the globe.
In The Outpost Jake plays the role of Garret – a Paladin of a Knight whose honor and loyalty are often placed above all else, at the risk of often dangerous outcomes. When asked about the role, Jake replies “My oldest childhood fantasy was to be a Knight—to fight for the people, to vanquish monsters, and to ride into battle. ‘Outpost’ is literally a dream come true.”
Jake’s lifelong love of countless books and games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and numerous MMO’s including World of Warcraft paid off. On set he performs all his own stunts when possible, putting to use his childhood garnered skills in archery, fencing, rock climbing and even cracking bullwhips.
TEDD WALLEY – ARTIST GUEST OF HONOR
Tedd has been a freelance artist since 1991 and is the longest, active comic book self-publisher in New Orleans since 2001, publishing Mathilda: The Forces of Evil vs. The 3rd Grade. He is also the founder of the longest, and largest, active group about indie comics on Facebook called Indie Comics on Facebook.
He’s done artwork for TV (NCIS: New Orleans), movies (Supercon, Netflix’s Point Blank, T-shirt and CD artwork for bands (Blowfly and The Genitorturers), art posters (House of Blues for The Misfits, The Reverend Horton Heat, and The Endless Night
Vampire Ball) and local conventions (New Orleans Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, and Exoticon).
His artwork has been displayed and sold in multiple college faculty art exhibits in the New Orleans area and at the Crescent City Brew House (the Fedoracle Exhibits).
He’s spoken on multiple panels about comic self-publishing at conventions, on radio with The Week in Geek, and Southeastern Louisiana University, and served a minor support role in helping Wizard World New Orleans in its first two years of operation.
He’s a two-time NISOD-recognized Teaching In Excellence award winner in Graphic Design, Illustration, and Animation while teaching at Delgado Community College, New Orleans where he also teaches the only comic book illustration and publishing
class in the New Orleans area.
When not working on something art related he likes to hide from the real world in his private castle off the Lakefront in New Orleans with his amazeballs wife/manager Dr. Angela Breckenridge and their four attack cats.
GAMING GUEST OF HONOR – SHANE HENSLEY
Shane Hensley is the president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, and a former designer, writer, and Executive Producer on several triple-A video games. He has an MA in military history, was a long-time freelance game designer, novelist, and writer for TSR, West End Games, and many others, and is the creator of the Deadlands intellectual property, the Great Rail Wars miniatures game, and the Savage Worlds roleplaying game system. He lives in Arizona, USA.
AUTHOR GUEST OF HONOR – MAX GLADSTONE
Hugo-, Nebula-, and Locus Award-winning author Max Gladstone’s works include Empress of Forever, the Craft Sequence of fantasy novels and games, and, with Amal El-Mohtar, the internationally bestselling This is How You Lose the Time War. His interactive projects include the XYZZY-nominated Choice of the Deathless and Deathless: The City’s Thirst, which take place in the world of the Craft Sequence. Gladstone created the Serial Box series Bookburners, and the interactive television series Wizard School Dropout
Gladstone studied Chinese literature at Yale and lived and taught for two years in rural Anhui province. He is a martial artist, fencer, and fiddler. Before writing full-time, he also worked as a researcher for the Berkman Center for Internet and Policy Law, a Swiss Embassy tour guide, a go-between for a Chinese auto magazine, a translator, a philosophy TA, a tech industry analyst, and an editor. He has wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, sung at Carnegie Hall, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia.
COSPLAY GUEST – 13.KATZ
After attending a local con, 13.Katz dived into the cosplay scene in 2014. What started as modifying a few bought cosplays evolved into an enriching hobby of crafting bizarre cosplays, oftentimes from scratch. Her jack-of-all-trades experience spans from basic sewing and foam work to more unusual projects like creating a yarn wig helmet and shaping giant claws out of a PVC pipe. Her drive behind her cosplays has always been learning how to make things work and then sharing that knowledge through social media and panels. In addition to cosplay, 13.Katz can be found with her dice hoard at tabletop role-playing games, such as Monster of the Week and Dungeons & Dragons, as a player and game master with almost 5 years of experience. In the meantime, be sure to check out her socials on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch.
Her photo is courtesy Honey and Heather Photos.
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – ROB CERIO
Rob Cerio was born at an early age, and has since grown much more hair. As a comedy writer, he denies all rumors of making inappropriate jokes at funerals. He has published four novels, six short stories, and helped author a YouTube web series. He has also won two awards for his writing contributions to his local 48hr Film Festival. He now lives in Metairie, Louisiana with his lovely wife, two adorable step kids, and a small annoying dog named after a large Japanese monster.
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – K. D. WOOD
K.D. Wood lives in north Mississippi with her family, a very spoiled White Waug, one old Goblin, and a princess. She creates love stories and smoking southern erotic romance, but not your mama’s happy ever after. A consumer of chocolate, but not spiders, and is completely composed of liquid awesome. When not in her office pounding the keys she can be found under a blanket, cup of coffee close by with her nose in a book. Her available titles are Unwilling, Unloved, Unboundless (paranormal romance series), and Boys of Fall (contemporary romance) Her catalog of work is available in eBook, print, and audiobook format. Follow her on Twitter at @KDWoodauthor, Instagram at @K.D.Woodauthor, like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/writerK.D.Wood, get awkward with her on TicTok @kdwoodauthor, or email her at K.D.Woodauthor@gmail.com
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – JULIE WETZEL
Originally from Ohio, Julie always dreamed of a job in science. Either shooting for the stars or delving into the mysteries of volcanoes. But, life never leads where you expect. In 2011, she started writing stories to entertain her sister, deployed with the US Navy. Julie currently lives in Mississippi with her husband and son. She’s a bit of a factotum that’s currently acting as a full-time author and part-time R/C mechanic.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JulieWetzelAuthor/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JulieKWetzel
Website – http://www.juliewetzel.com/
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – J.B. GARNER
Z-tier author/S-class editor, but generally awesome, J. B. Garner has written over a dozen novels across multiple genres, edited hundreds. Born near Baltimore, MD in 1976, she’s seen and done many things in my life, but her true passion has always been the written word. She writes fantasy, sci-fi, and pro-wrestling epics, among other things, and is always out to entertain and amaze!
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – ERNEST RUSSELL
Ernest Russell has written for Pro Se Productions, Beyond the Threshold Studios, and the literary journal Violet Windows. His stories and poetry can be found in All That Weird Jazz, The Further Adventures of Ned Land, and When The Shadow Sees The Sun – all published by Pro Se Productions. Monster Mayhem: An Anthology of Monstrous Proportions from Beyond the Threshold Studios.
He was a content and copy editor for “Tales of The Interstellar Bartenders Guild”- winner of the 2019 Pulp Factory Award for Best New Pulp Anthology, and for “Nightveil: Crisis at the Crossroads of Infinity” winner of the 2020 Pulp Factory Award for Best New Pulp Novel.
Some of his favorite things (besides coffee) are science fiction, horror, steampunk, and fantasy books and movies. His writing splits among those genres. As often as possible, you can find him playing board games, table-top, or an RPG.
You can find him at ernest.russell.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – JOHN HOLLAND
Tony Isabella, creator of Black Lightning and writer for Marvel and DC, called my comic A Girl and Her Dog one of the best comics of 2022. Along with that comic I published Alma “What if Buffy was a 72 year old Grandmother?” and Robot Sex “Lots of robots, no sex” through my imprint Die Bold Comics.
In the past I’ve done work with such publishers as Fantagraphics, Innovation, Kitchen Sink, Malibu, Comic Zone and more currently with Its
Alive Comics and Antarctic Press. I wrote the Christmas issue of the comic series based on the original Quantum Leap. Two Tons of Fury is coming out in February starring Herbie, Fatman the Human Flying Saucer and other public domain characters.
In the last year I’ve published over a dozen and a half comics through Die Bold Comics and this year will continue to do so, as well as work with other publishers.
REGIONAL AUTHOR GUEST – DEREK DYKES
Derek is a Mobile, AL native, and terminal Geek. He’s been writing for his friends and family for 25 years, killing characters and bad ideas as needed, and always bringing the need for thought to his writing. Read, think, reflect – and look out; that is the only guide we can offer when reading his work. His overactive imagination is a gift to us all. Pick up his books, and peek into his worlds; you’ll be glad you did.
Derek formally finished his degree at the age of forty. Over the years, he privately continued his studies in art, literature, archaeology, Celtic history, and a cornucopia of other subjects that interested him.
Derek moved home to Mobile, Alabama in early 2008 after living away for almost a decade. His journey home was a catalyst for the foundation of his first novel, MADNESS. In addition to writing, Derek enjoys photography, parenting and using any medium available to bring the creations of his mind to life. More of Derek’s work can be found by visiting www.derekdykes.com