Guests Of Honor
Writer Guest of Honor:
D.A. Roberts
D.A. Roberts is a cryptozoologist and an author of fiction, primarily in the horror/dystopian and science fiction genres. Born in Lebanon, Missouri, he now lives in Springfield, Missouri with his wife and sons. For most of his career, D.A. served his community in Law Enforcement.
Known for his “Ragnarok Rising Saga,” he blends the zombie genre with elements of Norse Mythology. The series has been called “a thinking man’s apocalyptic world.”
He is also known in science fiction for “The Lost Legion Series.” A second Sci-Fi series debuted in August 2022, called "Mann's Marauders."
His most recent releases are all in the horror genre. The Apex Predator Series, the Lakeview Man Series, the Code Name: Wild Hunt Series, the Nightmare Hunter series, and the newly debuted Dark Frontiers Series. Multiple new series are currently under development.
All titles are currently available now from Dark Water Endeavors and D.A. Roberts.
D.A. also hosts a popular podcast called D.A. Ex Machina, along with co-hosts Steve “Wildman” Monrotus, Kerry “Pocket Doc” Davis, and Robby "Rip" Raines.
Find it at: www.YouTube.com/DARobertsAuthor
Join the Patreon Community and help shape the future of the D.A. Verse. Depending on the tier, you could be able to help decide future book titles, plots, and cover designs. You could even have a character named after you.
Check it out at: www.Patreon.com/DARobertsAuthor
Find more about his work at:
Artist Guest of Honor: Nora Childers
Born in January of '86, Nora Childers comes from a long line of creative do it yourselfers. Her maternal great grandfather, fresh off the boat from Germany, instilled in the family the mindset of "If you don't have it, make it." This has carried down over the past century to spawn an entire clan of artisan folk. Great grandfather Godfred Hennig's welding and blacksmithing work from his early years on the Gulf Coast is commemorated in the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Nora's father was an amazing woodworker and musician, while her mother is an accomplished painter in her own right. Cousin Pamela Berkeley, whose Hennig clan parents were "well-educated bohemians", is an accomplished, highly acclaimed artist who lives in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Cousin Shelley Hennig is an Emmy and Teen Choice nominated actress known for her work on Days of Our Lives and Teen Wolf (2011), as well as a former Miss Teen USA.
A natural talent, completely self-taught - beyond extensive exposure to the arts in high school - Nora is the quintessential triple threat: Artist, Activist, and Actress. Driven by a determination to experiment, every project is undertaken for the sheer joy of the creative process itself, free of the cobwebs of predetermined expectations that seems to stifle so many.
With Nora, you never know what to expect. When she goes down the rabbit hole, as she calls it, she may come back up with a wildly rendered acrylic ink portrait or a carefully crafted, resin preserved, assemblage piece. "Inspiration comes from everywhere I look: bugs, listening to music, browsing art stores…"
Born in Gulfport, Nora moved to Memphis at the tender age of 16 to live with her sister and is a graduate of Collierville High School. She has literally been painting her entire life and was initially inspired by her mother. "Mom would paint and I would have a canvas next to her on my own easel. I loved the meditative state the art put her in and always wondered where she went when she painted. I've found it now, my own place of pure freedom and expression and me time."
For the past two years her passion for art has burned like a wildfire, providing a much needed therapeutic release from the trials and tribulations of life. "I was brought into this world not knowing my path, but kept finding myself falling back into art. Expressing myself is my adventure."
By day Nora is a quality assurance professional at a local avionics repair station where she started in 2005 as a graphic designer and engineering assistant. She describes herself as someone who is handy with tools, good at taking the ball and running with it and figuring out things on the fly, who also enjoys a myriad of DIY projects. She is also deeply devoted to local animal rescue volunteer efforts. Nora also put her graphic skills to good use by designing a t-shirt and movement called "PRO MPD", with proceeds going directly to support the Memphis Police Association.
*Nora is currently a member in good standing of Artists' Link "Memphis Area Visual Artists", Memphis and Germantown Art League, Mos Eisley Creative Collaborative of Midtown Memphis, (IAM) Indie Artists' Market & Collaborative, and (BAA) Bartlett Art Association.