A.C. Smart, aka Barbara Forman, made her first professional sale to the 2001 anthology Bending the Landscape, Volume 3. As she was teaching at an inner-city middle school at the time, she used a pseudonym: Alexi Smart. She continued as A.C. Smart with Havoc and Bellwether, both published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
She has since achieved both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Forensic Anthropology, supplementing previous degrees in biology and psychology. She left behind the up-to-148-hour work weeks (not a typo) required to pay for said degrees, and has settled into a database research position which she enjoys and describes as “working puzzles.” She volunteers at a food bank, attends fossil-club field trips, SCUBA dives, trains cats, and has again taken up the pen. The taphonomy studies in her yard are placed so as not to disturb the neighbors, but the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has found her queries disconcerting.
Her parents live in Oklahoma, where they homesteaded when the author was a teen. Her trips home are scheduled around both SoonerCon and the Murray County Antique Tractor and Implement Association Fair (September), for which she also volunteers.
Noon | Location: Sooner B
Delve into what makes chilling tales so delicious. Purgation? Vicarious punishment? Just a sick psyche? Exactly why do we want to be frightened for entertainment?
Moderator: Tommy B. Smith
Panelists: Tommy B. Smith, Mark Alfred, Daniel Erickson, Pigeon, A C Smart
Tracks: Film & TV, Horror, Supernatural & Paranormal, Gaming, Writing & Publishing, Pop Culture & Entertainment
1:00 PM | Location: Sooner B
Are classic monsters like mummies or vampires being diluted by their many fictional riffs? Or do basic archetypes provide endless springboards for variation?
Moderator: ET Wardwell
Panelists: ET Wardwell, James Hollaman, Ted Pennella, A C Smart, B J Thrower
Tracks: Writing & Publishing, Horror, Gaming, Supernatural & Paranormal, Film & TV, Pop Culture & Entertainment
7:00 PM | Location: Embassy Hotel: Interior Courtyard - Atrium
Join panelists in the hotel lounge for lively conversation. BYO beverages, please.
Moderator: Julie Barrett
Panelists: Julie Barrett, La Blanke, Brook Bullock, Charles Dane Clark, Dr Paisley, Phillip Drayer Duncan, J.H. Fleming, Tim Frayser, Caleb Haldane, Nick Johnson, Bekah June, Mike Kennedy, Kimber, Dennis McDonald, Paula Helm Murray, Pigeon, Alan J Porter, James Simpson, Bradley H Sinor, Sue Sinor, A C Smart, Stevo the Gutter Nerd, ET Wardwell, Steven E. Wedel, Mario Wytch
Tracks: Writing & Publishing, Meetup, Food & Drink, General Interest
9:00 AM | Location: Embassy Hotel: Interior Courtyard - Fountain
Join panelists in the hotel breakfast area for morning networking and conversation. BYO coffee, please.
Moderator: Mark Alfred
Panelists: Mark Alfred, Alice-of-Hearts, Aoi Kitsu, Beku.Cos, Blair Bartlett - Alternate Realities Studio, Aaron Bossig, Brook Bullock, David Carrico, Cat of WhiskersandBeans, Peri Charlifu, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Crazy Red Artist, EBA Comedy, Daniel Erickson, Rhonda Eudaly, Everyday Futurist, Shai Fenwick, Mark Finn, Caleb Haldane, Sally Hamilton, Teddy Harvia, Lyde Van Hoy, Barrett Huddleston, Nick Johnson, Jovial Juggernaut, vickey malone kennedy, Knightmage, Julia S. Mandala, A. Lee Martinez, Moe, Tracy S. Morris, Kathleen M O'Brien, Remy Domino, Joey “Okie Space Queen” Rodman, James Simpson, Seth Skorkowsky, A C Smart, Tommy B. Smith, Squirrelly Jedi Photography, Stevo the Gutter Nerd, B J Thrower
Tracks: Food & Drink, General Interest, Meetup
10:00 AM | Location: Sooner A
Writers describe the wildest inspirations they've had, or heard about, for a good plot or character. The best things can spring from the oddest places.
Moderator: vickey malone kennedy
Panelists: vickey malone kennedy, Tracy S. Morris, Rook Riley, Sue Sinor, A C Smart, Kim Ventrella
Tracks: Writing & Publishing
10:00 AM | Location: Boomer A
What does a good hero story look like today in spec fic? High tech, low tech, otherworldly and fantastic settings aside, how has the hero's journey changed in 2022? What stories need telling now? What's it mean to be a hero, anyway?
Moderator: Rhonda Eudaly
Panelists: Rhonda Eudaly, Brook Bullock, David Carrico, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Daniel Erickson, A C Smart
Tracks: Anime, Film & TV, Gaming, Fandoms, Cosplay, Writing & Publishing, Pop Culture & Entertainment
11:00 AM | Location: Sooner B
Survey the behavior of those caught up in societal panics. Examples are the Red Scare, (fictional) child-abuse rings, Satanic panic and D&D, mad gassers, and such. Must a group define itself by defining and condemning an Other, even if the Other ain’t there?
Moderator: Dara Fogel, PhD
Panelists: Dara Fogel, PhD, Dr Paisley, Mark Finn, Pigeon, Joey “Okie Space Queen” Rodman, A C Smart
Tracks: General Interest, Culture & World Affairs