Let me take a moment to thank you for being a member of ArmadilloCon 28. Memberships are already higher than normal and we are looking forward to a great convention and to meeting you!

Sincerely,
Kimm Antell, Chair

You may have received this progress report several times. That is because more than one member of your family is attending ArmadilloCon. However, we only have your e-mail address for the other member(s). If you would like to adjust an e-mail address for a family member, please e-mail me and I will make it so.

The hotel is filling up quickly and the deadline to make reservations and still receive the fan rate is fast approaching. We urge you to make you hotel reservations as soon as possible so we can be sure you have a place to sleep and stash your swag from the dealer's room.

If you are planning on throwing a party during the convention, please contact Fred Duarte (hotel liaison) so that he can make sure you have a good room on the party room.

The F.A.C.T. Reading Group recently reviewed Survival by Guest of Honor Julie Czerneda. It came through with smashing reviews. So good, in fact, that Willie Siros, owner of Adventures in Crime and Space and host of the meeting, sold out of the sequel that night. (Including the copy he was holding for me!) If you haven't read it yet, I recommend that you do so before the convention. It's a great read!

Special Guest of Honor James P. Hogan recently announced a new book release. Echoes of an Alien Sky will be released in April of 2007. Summary: "Colonists from another world are already making homes on Earth, while scientists and archeologists reconstruct the story of the extinct race that once inhabited it." If you can't wait that long, please pick up his most recent release, The Two Moons, which is a single-volume reissue of the first two novels in the Giants series.

Toastmaster Esther Friesner just released her newest novel, Tempting Fate. It sounds like a hoot and the cover will tickle your fancy. Be sure to snag your copy at the convention from one of the booksellers in the dealer's room and have Esther sign it!

We have a great many participants attending this year and we are getting more each day. The current guest list is as follows:

Joseph Abbott, David Lee Anderson, Kurt Baty, Paul Benjamin, Jayme Blaschke, Scott Bobo, Elizabeth Burton, Lillian Stewart Carl, Bill Crider, Scott Cupp, Aaron de Orive, Bradley Denton, Rhonda Eudaly, Mark Finn, Brad Foster, John Gibbons, Beverly A. Hale, Joan Upton Hall, Scott A. Johnson, Julie Kenner, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Rick Klaw, Joe R. Lansdale, Lee Martindale, C. J. Mills, Elizabeth Moon, John Moore, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Gloria Oliver, Cary G. Osborne, Lawrence Person, John Picacio, Alan Porter, John Quarterman, Jessica Reisman, Carrie Richerson, Chris Roberson, Josh Rountree, Patrice Sarath, Rie Sheridan, Sherlock, Willie Siros, Mikal Trimm, Howard Waldrop, Lynn Ward, Martha Wells and Wendy Wheeler.

The writers' workshop has recently posted the instructors for this year. Look forward to meeting: Alexis Glynn Latner, Julie Kenner, Matthew Bey, Steve Wilson, Chris Roberson, Patrice Sarath, Jessica Reisman, Rick Klaw, Martha Wells, Diana Gill, Wendy Wheeler and Jayme Blaschke.

Special Guest James P. Hogan will be speaking to the workshop. This special talk will only be available to writers' workshop members and instructors. If you would like to convert your membership from a regular member to a writer's workshop member, please let us know.

The deadline for manuscripts is coming up fast!!! The due date is July 6, 2006. You should get your manuscripts in the mail no later than July 3, 2006. Don't forget about the holiday mail.

Spaces are still available in the art show, but they are limited. If you haven't purchased it yet, do so as soon as possible. You can purchase space online or by mail. Our current artists are: Ellisa Mitchell, Cat Conrad, David Lee, Anderson, Thomas Bishop, Nancy Cagle, Daniel Cortopassi, Brad Foster, Ashen Gray, Kendall Hart, Rocky Kelley, Meredith Martini, Theresa Mather, C.S.L. McKeand, Margaret Organ-Kean, Nicole Pelligrini, Mark Roland, Sherlock, Dan Thompson and Ruth Thompson.

We still have a few tables available in the dealer's room. Last year's dealer's did quite well and we anticipate another bumper crop. If you are interested, please visit the website for more information. Our current dealers are: Adventures in Crime and Space, Audiotext, Feeping Creatures, Kazuko's Crafts, Jabberwocky Graphix, Lady Penguinevere, Joe Lansdale, missmonster.com, Frank Swehosky, Chair Massage, Ellisa Mitchell and F.A.C.T. If you aren't on this list, then we don't know about you!

This year's Armadillocon will feature several slots of RPGA Living Greyhawk (D&D) gaming. The specific modules to be played will be determined in the coming months. This type of tabletop RPG gaming is very exciting, for both experienced players and those new to the RPGA (see the Living Greyhawk site for more details).

We will be featuring introductory and low-APL modules during every slot of the Con geared toward new members or players who have never played in an RPGA event or are very new to the organization. We welcome you to the RPGA, judges will be on hand to issue RPGA membership cards and to assist with making characters.

The charity for ArmadilloCon 28 is Capital Area Reach Out and Read. Reach Out and Read (ROR) is a national non-profit pediatric literacy program that is endorsed by The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Texas Pediatric Society, and the Texas Medical Association. It promotes early literacy by bringing new books and advice about the importance of reading aloud into the pediatric exam room. The ROR-trained doctors actually give prescriptions to the parents for reading to their children, particularly between the ages of six months and five years.

If you would like to donate items for the charity auction, please contact the coordinator. We are also accepting donations of books. Please see the guidelines about which books are acceptable for this worthy cause.

The program book is still accepting adverstisements. You don't have to be a publisher or dealer to purchase an ad. We accept ads from anyone! Have a con coming up? Get an ad to promote it. Do you have a friend who will be attending the convention that you want to wish a happy birthday? Think of the memories they will get when they look back at your ad several years later.

We are interested in inserting art into the program book from our Art Show artists. Please contact the Program Book Editor if you are interested in contributing.

We can't run this convention without the endless help we received from volunteers. We would like to thank everyone who has put in the help so far and hope that many more of you will be able to help out. Even an hour of helping out gives the chair a chance to soak her swollen feet in a tub of ice. Contact the chair if you would like to volunteer.

Thanks!
Kimm