There was a shining star at MidsouthCon23 this year. Jackie came armed with cookies, her manuscript, and a smiling face. I caught up with Brad at a few panels in the author's track, and asked him for his impressions of Jackie. --editor

Out of all the great readings I attended at MidsouthCon, the best was Jackie's. Her writing was packed with emotion without being overly sentimental. When she read at the con she laid these emotions bare. I felt deeply for the characters to the point where I needed a tissue after the reading to dry some (very manly) tears.

Jackie proved herself a quick wit as well. She had audiences laughing uproariously at her antics in the Improv Panel and at her additions to the "Dark and Stormy Night" Panel.

But aside from her excellent writing and performance ability, Ms. Gamber called attention to a problem our country has been silent about for far too long. In her contributions on the "Imagining the World of Dragons" Panel, along with Jeff Crook, Steve Hickman, and E. E. Knight, she brought to bear the truth that the persecution of dragons must stop. Too many dragons, (and humans to be sure) have been hurt because of prejudice and injustice against these magnificent beings. Sure they may raze the occasional village, but who wouldn't after being subjected to the level of hate and bigotry glorified in the literature and cinema of the past century?

Dragons are caring, rational beings who are sometimes prone to great acts of violence. Are they really all that different from us?

Jackie Gamber's writing shows us dragons have much to teach us, if we would only listen.