Aida Jacobs

Aida Jacobs has always considered fantasy to be a large part of her life. her father read The Hobbit to her as a child, and she grew to love the genre. Every book, video game, and movie she experiences only adds to her love and fascination of the world of dragons, elves, and other mystical beings. Naturally, she wanted to contribute to that world on her own.

It took her fourteen years to write her first book, Dragon Guardian: Fire. After all the tweaks, rewrites, and publisher rejections, she took matters into her own hands and self-published. It was a tough journey, but she says she wouldn’t trade a moment of it. “Difficult as being self-published might be, at least my work is now out in the world, and that makes it all worthwhile.”

Dragon Guardian: Fire was the beginning of her Primordyan Chronicles. This series brings to life a world that has been growing within her imagination for seventeen years. She considers it her life’s work and is excited to share it with the world.

When Aida is not toiling away on her writing, she can be found spending time with her supportive husband and daughter in Minnesota where they make their home with their very spoiled cats.

 

 Christiana

Overcoming stage fright to follow your dreams of acting is tough for anyone. One of our guests did just that to become one of the miraculous role models she cosplays as.

Cosplayer. Actress. Model. Is there anything she can’t do? (Spoiler: Probably not.)

Christiana Cosplay is a panel host (among many other things) from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Christiana enjoys cosplaying as characters from several genres of fiction but is most recognized for her work portraying DC Superheroes and Disney Princesses. As a child, she was diagnosed with Selective Mutism, a psychiatric disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations or to specific people. This disorder usually coexists with shyness or social anxiety. These circumstances prevented her from performing, giving reports, and sometimes speaking throughout her life. Consequently, she was often alienated from her peers.
In 2010, Christiana began acting at a popular dinner theater. This job would require her to perform in front of hundreds of people and, considering her condition, it was quite a challenge. This experience helped her realize that she was stronger than she had known, and she has since landed various roles in other productions. While performing in the theater, Christiana also became interested in cosplaying, which she described in an interview with Con Culture Magazine as “an outlet for creativity and a way to give back to kids who may not know anyone there but do know the characters.” She has since donned her cosplay creations at various events as a way to connect with children that look up to the characters she portrays.

 

Jorge Guzman

Movies bring people together. With all of the different genres, it’s hard to find something not to have a favorite. Now meet a man who takes it a step further.
Jorge (pronounced George) Guzman is a collector of movie memorabilia. With an extensive assortment of props and items straight from the movies, he has an amazing collection and is bringing them to CoreCon IX: Monsters and Mechs. (Not all of them. We’d need a bigger hotel.)

Speaking of Mechs, this collection includes Transformer movie props. He even has a special social media page for them: TheTransformersCollection.

Some of you may have met him at previous CoreCons when he cosplayed as Bumblebee. Even if you don’t love Transformers, you will be fascinated by the stories of how his collecting has him rubbing elbows with famous actors. The stories behind props can be just as fascinating as the items themselves.