Larry with Gwaihir 800 x 600 The Very Last Picture Taken from the Lord of the Rings work Katrina Packing 287 x 353 Hey Larry! Caught while loading supplies for the first hurricane run. Larry and the Speedster 800 x 600 Larry in vintage motoring gear, with the 1927 Bugatti Speedster replica. Larry Dixon is a respected, funny, friendly and completely approachable guy with a diverse and adventurous history. He is a "Player Character," as he puts it, whose life seems like fiction---but he is completely for real. Son of a Delta Force career commando and an Oklahoman farmgirl, Larry grew up in many American and European settings, usually haunting the local art museums and hobby stores. At age 9 he saved up his babysitting money and bought his first typewriter, intent upon writing and illustrating his own novels. Northern Italy is where his passions for painting, sculpting and storytelling took root, as well as his interests in state-level diplomacy, early computers and rocketry. In Junior High, Larry became one of the "Boy Wonder" strategists at the Ft. Bragg Battle Simulations Center, spending his weekends facing off against Army officers on armor-and-batallion sand tables. During this time, he learned Chainmail and D&D; from some of the original mimeographed and handwritten manuscripts of the games. He has been a roleplaying games buff since the 1970's, and has illustrated or helped design many RPGs. Educated at the North Carolina School of the Arts during High School, and then at the Savannah College of Art and Design, his story work became as popular as his artwork. He has been an uncredited co-plotter or co-writer for many popular properties, bringing jovial and energetic approaches to collaborative work. Many cover-credited novels have followed, too, including the ever-popular Gryphon series, the Winds, Storms, SERRAted Edge, and Owl books with the mighty Mercedes (Misty) Lackey. BORN TO RUN has been hailed as a "romp with a conscience," and THE BLACK GRYPHON has been critically referred to as "A modern classic," and is in its nineteenth printing. As a birds-of-prey rehabilitation specialist, he and his wife Misty have gotten over four hundred hawks, owls, falcons and corbies back into the wild from their home-based facilities in Oklahoma. Additionally, Larry is an accomplished race car driver, storm-spotter, volunteer firefighter, world traveler, aviculturist, show host, occasional movie consultant/special effects man, model maker and internet veteran. His biggest movie contribution thus far---though still very minor, he says---is as the Great Eagles advisor for Peter Jackson's Lord Of the Rings films. Larry loves standup comedy; genre movies; subcultures; aikido; storms; design; SF TV; odd cars (he owns many, and a few even run); his hawks, cockatoos and owls; history; comic books; architecture; costume; road trips; woodworking; studio scale and hobby scale modelmaking; International Rally and American LeMans Series racing; dirty jokes; club/trance/electronica, synth, experimental, and ambient music; and just plain making people feel good about themselves. Additionally, Larry sponsors substance abuse rehab patients and he seems to be the "go to guy" for emotional, relationship, and life-direction advice. He is a survivor of many serious illnesses and refuses to be stopped by his health circumstances. Over the years, his rescue work has led to all sorts of injuries (when a paramedic calls a man "hard to kill," you know a guy's been around). He's licensed as a bodyguard and trained in executive protection & extraction and combat driving. As of this writing, he is also just a few months short of his private investigator license. Larry's work is in a dozen languages and millions of copies in print, and he's been a Guest at over 200 conventions worldwide over the last 25 years. BUT---he's available for work, don't be bashful about asking. He isn't ALWAYS off on some adventure. Be bold! Reach him at gryphonking@gmail.com anytime. His ongoing, everchanging decades-long romance with Mercedes Lackey is legendary. Larry feels equally comfortable around generals, rock stars, fans, firefighters, victims, cops, media and movie makers because, hey, he's an Okie. Definitely chat with him or ask questions at panels about approaches to your work---nothing makes him happier than helping someone with their avocations, and bringing more beauty into the world. At Hallet 600 x 376 Larry in a Spec Racer Ahhh! Helmet Hair! Treehawking! 750 x 1558 Mighty Wife Mercedes, and Larry, out treehawking in Oklahoma Muggin' in Vegas! 1576 x 1184 Over at the folks' place Onto His Feet! 1050 x 999 Coming out of a shoulder roll in aikido class a couple years ago. 57 Chevy & Pantera 512 x 384 The 57 Chevy and the P-Car Rescue Vehicles 512 x 384 My Rescue Truck when I was a firefighter The Pantera Mill 576 x 432 This is what's ten inches behind your back in a Pantera Beloved Cimun 551 x 729 Hawk of my Heart, for too short a time The Young One 600 x 403 Me in the 1980s with a juvie Bald Eagle << 1 2 >>  Log In