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We have two more Boskone Mini Interviews for you. This time we’re featuring the much loved Ginjer Buchanan and the very talented Myke Cole. Like Ginjer and Myke, we are looking forward to seeing all of our friends, new and old, who are coming to Boston this year for Boskone 52. To keep up with all of Boskone’s activities, you can friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @boskonenews. Now, back to Ginjer and Myke. Enjoy!
While a student at Carnegie Mellon University, Ginjer Buchanan helped start the Western Pennsylvania Science Fiction Association. In the early 1970s, she moved from Pittsburgh to New York City where she made her living as a social worker, while doing free-lance editorial work. In 1984, she took a job as an editor at Ace Books. She now works as an acquisitions editor for Penguin USA, which now incudes Putnam, Berkley and Ace Books.
What are you looking forward to at Boskone?
Ginjer Buchanan (GB): I always look forward to Boskone because it’s an opportunity for me to see some of my fan and pro friends from all over the world who attend regularly.
What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?
GB: I’d been a long-time reader of science fiction and fantasy, but hadn’t really shared my interest with anyone. Then in 1967, I went to a meeting of the newly-formed Western Pennsylvania Science Fiction Association (WOOPSFA) and “officially joined” science-fiction fandom. That changed my life completely. Through fandom, I made life-long friends, met my husband, and eventually, found my second career as a sf/f editor.
If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?
GB: Hmmm–the books I would recommend to my teen-age self didn’t exist when I was a teen-ager, of course. YA as a separate category, in fact, didn’t exist then. However, I would have devoured both the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series because girl characters like Hermione and Katniss were, in actuality, few and far between in the sf/fantasy I was reading.
Myke Cole is the author of the military fantasy Shadow Ops series (Control Point, Fortress Frontier, Breach Zone). As a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Coun­tert­er­rorism to Cyber War­fare to Fed­eral Law Enforce­ment. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep­water Horizon oil spill. For more information, visit Myke’s website, follow him on Twitter @MykeCole, and friend him on Facebook.
What are you looking forward to at Boskone?
Myke Cole (MC): Fandom faces a dynamic challenges. The renewed focus on making cons safe for all audiences, the transition to eReading, the rise of new media, just to name a few. Traditional, fan-run cons are largely losing ground to well-funded for-profit cons, and those that survive and thrive will need to do so by developing programming and amenities that speak to newer, younger populations of fans. I know that Boskone has been doing their best to meet this challenge, and look forward to seeing how they move into the future.
What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?
MC: By the time this is printed, my newest novel, Gemini Cell will have just hit shelves, and I’ll be a month away from turning in its sequel, Javelin Rain. These books tell the story of James Schweitzer, a US Navy SEAL who’s killed and brought back to life by the Gemini Cell, the earliest incarnation of the Supernatural Operations Corps fans will be familiar with from my Shadow Ops trilogy. The goal is to write something that new readers can enjoy without ever having read anything else of mine, and that Shadow Ops fans can feel at home with.
I’ve also just wrapped up the 5th draft of a “grimdark” fantasy novel that should be out to market for publishers.
How would you describe your work to people who might be unfamiliar with you?
MC: If Harry Potter joined Delta Force instead of going off to Hogworts, you’d get my work. Peter V. Brett also described it as “Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men.”
Our next set of Mini Interviews is coming soon! Sign up to follow the Boskone Blog via email to avoid missing the interview with your favorite author. If you’re on Twitter, look for us using #Boskone.