Elaine Cunningham

Elaine Cunningham is a New York Times best-selling fantasy author whose publications include 20 novels, four dozen short stories, and a graphic novel. She is best known for her work in licensed settings such as the Forgotten Realms, Star Wars, EverQuest, and Pathfinder Tales. Visit her website, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @e_cunningham.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I have lived in Rhode Island for nearly twenty years but have never attended Boskone. It’s long overdue! And speaking of overdue, I have been writing fantasy for over 25 years but have never explored the filk aspect of fandom. As a former music teacher–a mezzo-soprano who plays several instruments–I’ve often thought about getting involved with filk. So I’m looking forward to observing my first sessions with an eye toward participating next year. I’m not a dancer, but the Regency Dance on Friday evening sounds like great fun, if only to observe!

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Danilo Thann, a bard who appears in several of my Forgotten Realms books and short stories. He was inspired by two favorites from my adolescence: The Scarlet Pimpernel and everything written by Oscar Wilde. As you probably gathered from that description, he is much more than he appears to be. His foppish persona amuses me, as does his fondness for swords that belt out bawdy songs during combat.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m working on a novel set in a fantasy version of Elizabethan England. It spans about a year, from midsummer of 1566 until May 26, 1567. The end date was the revival of the Eisteddfod, an ancient Welsh bard competition. According to history, its purpose was to grant licenses to qualified bards, making traveling musicians dependant upon royal favor, and, theoretically, less likely to spread rumors. This theme–the political and social impact of disinformation–is one of the challenges of this story, as it hits a little too close to home. But the story has many of my favorite things: music, history, intrigue, betrayal, mythology, folklore, and properly malicious faeries.

Kevin McLaughlin

Kevin McLaughlin is the USA Today bestselling author of over thirty science fiction and fantasy novels and more short fiction than he can easily count. He owns Role of the Hero Publishing, and produces the monthly science fiction and fantasy magazine by the same name. Kevin began writing at age seven on an old manual typewriter. That first short story was enough to give him the bug, and he’s been at it ever since in one form or another. A professional member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America and the Romance Writers of America, Kevin likes to pass along the help he once received, so that newer writers can achieve their dreams, too. Visit his website, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @KOMcLaughlin.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

With Boskone, it’s a home town advantage thing, since I live in downtown Boston! Plus, when I moved here back in 2012, the New England Science Fiction Association folks were some of the nicest, most welcoming people I met shortly after arrival. Glad to be a part of this convention. This will actually be my first Boskone, though! Until last May I was working as a nurse, and Boskone has always landed on a work weekend for me. Now that I write full time, I can finally take the weekend off and come to this event – at last!

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

This is an easy question. My mother took me to New York City to view a special premier opening for the first Star Trek film. I was six years old at the time. I’d never been in the middle of a group of people with such excited, positive energy before. There was a full-theater standing ovation when the credits opened, when the Enterprise first appeared on screen, and at the end. It was one of those experiences you NEVER forget!

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Interestingly for a novelist, it was an essay, not a story. When I was in college, I had an English teacher named Professor Kloeckner. We had to write an essay on Catch-22” I wrote mine quickly, spun it out with little care, and turned it in knowing it would get an A like every other paper I wrote. But it didn’t; I was given a D. I was furious, since I knew the paper was better than most of the class, and some people had As and Bs. I asked why. He told me I could write better than that, and he wasn’t putting up with me giving him half efforts. If I wanted a better grade, I was welcome to rewrite it and turn it in again.

No one had ever challenged me like that before. English had always been an easy A. So I rewrote the paper and got a C. Still frustrated, I did it again, revising my thesis, re-reading the book, looking deeper into other analysis which had been done of the work. In short, I worked my tail off through multiple deep revisions of that stupid little essay. I finally got an A-.

I still have a printout of that paper in a box of my old writing.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m writing the fourth book in a series about what it means to be alive in a blended science fiction and fantasy setting. If a human consciousness is uploaded to a game world as the body dies, and that person’s memories and thoughts are intact inside a game world but they can never again impact the outside world, are they still alive? Does life matter, if the only thing you can impact are the lives of the other people locked into the virtual afterlife with you? When does human consciousness and AI blur? That’s the underlying premise of the Valhalla Online series, the fourth book of which is my current project.

But that will be released long before Boskone. By then I expect I will be working in a shared world with other authors, contributing my books to expand that universe. Which will be *really* fascinating, since I’ve never done that before. The opportunity to work closely with other writers in such a universe will be interesting and fun.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes.  Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Galactus.

Just him.

Really don’t need anyone else. One burp, and the problems are largely solved. To borrow Ripley’s line from Aliens – “nuke the site from orbit; only way to be sure.” Or eat the planet. Either way works.

Gillian Daniels

Gillian Daniels writes, works, and haunts the streets in Boston, MA. Since attending the 2011 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, her poetry and short fiction have appeared in Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and Flash Fiction Online, among others. She currently reviews for The New England Theatre Geek. Visit her website, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @gilldaniels.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I live in Boston and enjoy connecting with local fans, authors, and readers. It makes me feel more a part of the community.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

During my first Boskone, bonding with Clarkesworld narrator Kate Baker over Doctor Who was enormously fun and a very sweet experience.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

I would want to read the The Princess Bride without seeing the film, first. They’re very similar, but I think my experience of the movie colored too much of my thoughts on the book. I would want to read it again without preconceptions.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

My short story “The Oracle Sings a Torch Song” in Not One of Us, April 2016. It was my favorite story I wrote at Clarion UCSD when I attended in 2011. It proved to me that I could ascend to new levels of fiction writing and didn’t have to stay confined to one writing style or set of themes. It was a story that genuinely surprised me while I wrote it. On some level, I feel the same way about my story, “His Wife and Serpent Mistress” in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, October 2017. I don’t know where it came from; it just came out when I sat down to write.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

2017, I was female Captain America. I want to dress up for as many years as I can.

 

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m currently editing/revising my first official space opera short story/potential novella. It’s been something I’ve wanted to write for a very long time. I didn’t realize how much I loved the genre.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Iron Man, because he’s a gifted engineer apart from the billions of dollars and selfishness; Miles Vorkosigan from Lois McMaster Bujold’s books, because he’s deeply clever, endlessly energetic, and has impressive knowledge of future technology; the elf warrior, Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, from Sarah Rees Brennan’s In Other Lands, a young female warrior from a matriarchal society who believes men are gentle souls who must be protected. They’re all fantastic characters at tactics in their own way, which would be needed to fight these antagonists. Also, I would love to see their banter together.

Tom Easton

Tom Easton is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a well-known science fiction critic (he wrote the science fiction magazine, Analog‘s,  book review column for 30 years), and a retired college professor. He holds a doctorate in theoretical biology from the University of Chicago. He writes textbooks for McGraw-Hill on Science, Technology, & Society and Environmental Science. Over the years he has published about fifty science fiction and fantasy short stories, ten science fiction novels, and several anthologies, of which the latest two, co-edited with Judith K. Dial, are Conspiracy! (NESFA Press, 2016) and Science Fiction for the Throne: One-Sitting Reads (Fantastic Books, 2017).

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

Scaring a roomful of fans with a presentation on violet wands. (I love antique technology!)

In the realm of “truth is stranger than fiction,” what experience from your past would people never believe if it were written into a story?

For over a decade, I was a “source” for the National Enquirer. They would call when they wanted thoughts on futuristic topics (they paid too). I’m not sure people would never believe it, though, since I have given talks on the experience–at Boskone, of course!

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Jeff Hecht and I had lunch recently, and we realized that when security agencies start building databases of voice samples taken from cell phone conversations and home assistant intercepts, there will be serious privacy issues. When I got home, I found that China is already doing this. So we’re working on a story.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Granny Weatherwax, Cohen the Barbarian, and Tiffany Aching. Because Terry Pratchett.

The Boskone Mini Interview series is going strong with four participants covering science fiction and fantasy through novels, games and even filk (fan folk songs). Read on to find out more!

Christopher Paniccia

Christopher Paniccia was born in Providence, RI. He grew up in East Providence, RI and Rehoboth, MA. For over twenty years he has been an educator at the elementary and college levels in the Boston area. As an author and illustrator his goal continues to be one of inspiring others to follow their dreams. His student’s remain a huge inspiration to him and directly inspired his first book, Gridiron Conspiracy. The Gridiron Conspiracy Trilogy continues to expand its reach to all types and ages of readers. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where he was a Combat Medic. He lives with his family in the Boston area. Visit his website, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @CPaniccia15.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I spend a great deal of time at conventions selling both my novels and my illustrations. As an author and illustrator, it is extremely important for me to network with others in the business. Attending Boskone allows me the best of both worlds. The multiple-panel platform allows me to spend lots of time talking to fans of fantasy and science-fiction. I love to share what I do with others and hope to inspire others to do what I love to do.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Chris Strong from my first novel, The Gridiron Conspiracy, is my pride and joy. Chris is modeled after my own life and being very autobiographical it is amazing for me to read about him and share with others his story. Although many of Chris’s experiences mirror my own, he continues to grow as his own character and build with each passing book. He really stands out as an unwilling hero who in the end stands up for his beliefs and others.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

My current project is an epic saga about an ancient alien aivilization right under our noses here on earth. When the two civilizations meet the earth will never be the same. If you are a fan of the Ancient Alien Theory then you will love this terrific series, The Haven Series, Book One being Heavens Gate will have you begging for more. The exciting part of this project is the actual research needed to put the two civilizations together into one believable world. For me the challenges are to expand the original story out into a ten book series. Creating an epic saga that readers will follow for years to come is my focus on this project as I do not want the story to become stale and I want my readers to look forward to each installment.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

I would choose Wonder Woman as she always amazes me with her wit, power, and understanding. As a hero she uses all these skills to thwart her enemies. Next I would choose, The Wolverine as he is a no nonsense hero that fights for what is right no matter what without asking for permission. Lastly I would choose Captain America because as a veteran myself he stands for everything I stand for and he will never leave a fallen man behind.

Heather Albano

Heather Albano is a storyteller and game designer – the author of the steampunk time travel trilogy Keeping Time, the creator of the steampunk Sherlock-Holmes-themed interactive novel A Study In Steampunk, the co-creator of five Choice of Games titles, and a contributing writer to the Amazon Alexa game Codename Cygnus. She’s always looking for new ways to tell stories and is currently excited to bring her live action design experience to augmented reality games. Visit her website, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @heatheralbano.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

In 2013, David Olsen and I attended James Patrick Kelly’s and Steven Popkes’s  singularity panel. David and I walked out of the room arguing over a philosophical point raised by the panel, and continued to argue over lunch in M.J. O’Connor’s, and before the end of the meal, had mapped out a novella-length story contrasting our two viewpoints – and even figured out an ending that did not explicitly endorse either. You know. Like you do. Especially at Boskone. Fascinating scientific panels trigger interesting intellectual ideas that cascade into “I have to write that story.”

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

“What is the golden age of science fiction? Age twelve.” It applies to non-science fictiontoo.

When I was eleven, I discovered Sherlock Holmes. By the time I was twelve, I had gone through all of Conan Doyle, every episode of the Jeremy Brett series then available from PBS and A&E (in the days before boxed DVD sets were a thing and you had to wait for the networks to dish them out, then beg your parents to let you stay up late on a school night), and every pastiche available in a three-library radius (in the days before ordering stuff from the internet was a thing either). And then one day over eighth-grade winter vacation, I discovered The Seven-Percent Solution by Nicholas Meyer – for 99 cents, in a used bookstore that has long since gone out of business.

I read it in a day, in two huge gulps broken only by my mother’s insistence that I come downstairs for dinner. I had never read a re-imagining of a cultural myth before. I had never read an adaptation of *anything* that took a story element latent in the original and teased it into a plot entirely of its own, and one that moreover turned on its head the universe’s original rules of engagement. I didn’t know you could *do* that.

Is that where I learned that stories change their shapes, depending on the perspective they are viewed from? Maybe. I certainly learned that lesson more thoroughly in classrooms, later. Was the seed of A Study In Steampunk planted there? Almost certainly. In The Seven-Percent Solution, the villainous Professor Moriarty is in fact the mild-mannered elderly professor of mathematics he appears to be. In A Study In Steampunk, my heavily-Sherlock-Holmes influenced interactive steampunk novel, heroes and villains change places depending on the perspective of the player. The whole story is painted in shades of gray, appearing differently depending on the path you choose to walk through the world.

I have a degree in English literature; I create stories for a living; I know how stories are put together. And so I’m harder to surprise, these days. It’s been many years since I read something that *broke my brain* the way The Seven-Percent Solution did at age thirteen. I’d definitely relive that feeling if I could.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

It wasn’t exactly for Halloween, but my favorite costume is the one I put together a few years ago to go to Dawn Metcalf’s steampunk-themed birthday party. Geek that I am, I decided to go as one of my own Keeping Time characters! Katarina Rasmirovna and I both had a wonderful time.

Steven Popkes

Steve Popkes is best known for his short to medium fiction, much of which has been collected in various “Best ofs”. He has three novels: Caliban Landing, Slow Lightning and Welcome to Witchlandia. He is an embedded systems software engineer, a private pilot and studies judo. He lives in Massachusetts where he enjoys gardening, aquaculture and raising turtles. Visit his website at www.stevenpopkes.com.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

When I managed to convince Tom Easton to buy James Cambias’ story on the dealer floor.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

Firefly. There was an excitement about it. I felt like this had never been done before and I was watching something new unfold.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Bishop 24 from Future Boston “The Egg” and Slow Lightning. He came from an invertebrate evolutionary history and was completely different from human beings in root and branch. But managed to appreciate them over time because of his mistakes.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m working on House of Birds. It’s the answer to the question: “What does violent child abuse, moral decisions and the terraforming of Venus have in common?” The answer is this novel.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller and Leslie Groves. With those three a hydrogen bomb is secure. Who needs super heroes?

Roberta Rogow

Roberta Rogow, writes historical mysteries, although she often twists the history, Her most recent book, Malice in Manatas, continues the adventures of Halvar Danske, the Hireling of the Calif of Al-Andalus, as he chases murderers in an Alternate Colonial Manhattan (think The Last of the Mohicans meets Arabian Nights, with a Spanish accent). Roberta is also known as a filker and was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2013.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

It’s writer- and book-oriented, as opposed to visual media, such as film, anime, etc. And there is really great filking as well. (That’s science fiction folk songs, for those who don’t know.)

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

I think my best song is “Fact/Fiction”, which I wrote many years ago, when the Voyager and other space probes were proving that everything we thought we knew about the solar system was wrong! But we loved the books written about swamps on Venus and canals on Mars anyway, because the characters were so compelling and writers like Robert Heinlein and C.L. Moore made the scenes so real. Science fiction was “why we went to space, after all.”

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m writing the sixth book in my Saga of Halvar the Hireling, the mystery series set in an Alternate Colonial Manhattan. I love working out how Manahttan would be if it had been settled by Spanish Moors and how the Moorish influence could have been extended to the Age of Exploration (in actuality, 1492 marked the end of Moorish dominance in Spain, and the beginning of Spanish influence in the New World). It’s world-building, and mystery plotting combined, and I get to play with historical characters… but the Manhattan geography hasn’t changed, so I can still walk where my characters walk. And I get to work in two different genres as well.

Our latest batch of mini interviews touches on the importance of having science fiction and fantasy characters who represent us, reliving childhood fascination with the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a participant who’s been coming to Boskone since she was a kid-in-tow.

 

Gerald L. Coleman

Gerald L. Coleman is a philosopher, theologian, poet, and author residing in Atlanta. Born in Lexington, he did his undergraduate work in Philosophy and English at the University of Kentucky. He followed that by completing a degree in Religious Studies and concluding with a Master’s degree in Theology at Trevecca Nazarene University. He is the author of the Epic Fantasy novel saga, The Three Gifts, which currently includes When Night Falls (Book One) and A Plague of Shadows (Book Two). He has appeared on panels at DragonCon, SOBSFCon, Atlanta Science Fiction & Fantasy Expo, the Outer Dark Symposium, and has been a Guest Author and panelist at JordonCon and Imaginarium. He is a co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets and has recently released three collections of poetry entitled the road is long, falling to earth, and microphone check. Visit his website, find him on Facebook or follow him on @Iconiclast.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I’m interested in Boskone for its history, its focus, its reputation among fellow authors, and its new interest in being more inclusive and diverse.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

The main character, Bantu, in my epic fantasy series, The Three Gifts. He stands out as the embodiment of what I was always looking for when I perused the shelves in the science fiction and fantasy section of bookstores. He’s a hero that looks like me, that represents me, in my favorite genre. Over the years I read all kinds of interesting and exciting stories: The Faded Sun, Elric of Melnibone’, The Black Company, The Dragon Riders Of Pern, Guardians of the Flame, The Wheel of Time, but none of them included main characters who looked anything like me. Bantu is the realization of that desire and dream, for me and for readers who want a more diverse landscape in science fiction and fantasy.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

In between working on book two of The Three Gifts, which I finished this summer, and book three, I’ve written some short stories for upcoming anthologies. Those are exciting for me, because I get to create more characters and tell their stories in different sub-genres of speculative fiction. But I’m most excited about a pure science fiction novella I’m working on about a seventeen year old black girl with certain gifts who might have to save the galaxy. It’s not dystopian – I think, honestly, we’ve had enough of that. But I think it’s fresh and interesting and exciting. I know there’s a vast, untapped hunger for Speculative Fiction, especially Science Fiction that centers around black characters and people of color. The Three Gifts is pure epic fantasy, so writing this pure science fiction story is exhilarating.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Wow, what an interesting question. Ok, I’ll refrain from picking characters from my own stories. Let me see, I think to fair we should try to stay in the same genre of the villains, right? So, I’d go with Rand from The Wheel Of Time to stop the Night King. He seems to have the powers necessary to defeat him. Q from the continuum (Star Trek: The Next Generation) to stop the Emperor, though convincing him to do it would be the hardest part. And Doctor Manhattan (Watchmen) to take down the Master/Missy. Can a Time Lord regenerate if they’ve been atomized?

James Cambias

James L. Cambias writes science fiction and designs games. Originally from New Orleans, he was educated at the University of Chicago and lives in western Massachusetts. His first novel, A Darkling Sea, was published by Tor Books in 2014, followed by Corsair in 2015. His short stories have appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Shimme, Nature, and several original anthologies — including the collection Hieroglyph, edited by Kathryn Cramer and Ed Finn. Most recently, his story “Treatment Option” was featured on the X-Prize foundation’s Seat 14C website. Mr. Cambias has written for Steve Jackson Games, Hero Games, and other roleplaying publishers, and is a partner in Zygote Games, a small company specializing in science and nature-based games. His most recent game title is Weird War I, from Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Visit his blog or find him on Facebook.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I like Boskone’s literary focus, and the strong awareness and emphasis of science fiction’s history. It’s also a good size: small enough to be informal and intimate, with no “velvet ropes” between participants and attendees; but big enough to have an interesting variety of activities. It’s a great old-fashioned science fiction convention, and I like that.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

I’m tempted to say the opening of Star Wars, but that’s like talking about how much I enjoy oxygen. So instead I’ll cite my childhood experience with the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. When I was six or so that was the greatest movie ever made. I saw it again a few years later as a worldly-wise eight-year-old and hated it. That was my first experience of changing tastes and perspectives. Still, I wish I could see the movie I saw when I was six. That one was great.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

The last time I really made a Halloween costume for myself was back around 1995 when I dressed as Jean-Paul Sartre. I still have no idea what Sartre looked like, so I got a beret and a striped shirt and went as a comic-strip Frenchman with a copy of No Exit.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Okay, so to stop an evil undead wizard, a space wizard with a Galactic Empire, and a time-traveling psychopath, there’s really only one hero who can save us.

Dorothy Gale. Dorothy eats Wicked Witches for breakfast, snacks on Nome Kings, and has Yookoohoos for dessert. Those three won’t even get a smudge on her gingham dress.

If we actually think Dorothy needs backup, I’d pick Flash Gordon and The Spectre, but really they’re just window-dressing.

Deirdre Crimmins

Deirdre is a Cleveland-based film critic. She regularly contributes to Rue Morgue Magazine, Birth.Movies.Death., and Film Thrills. Her specialty is contemporary horror film, though she grew up going to cons. Follow her on @dedecrim.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I’ve been attending since I was a kid-in-tow!

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

I’d reread Slaughterhouse Five. I read it in high school and adored it, but I wonder how I would have related to it differently as an adult.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

In 2015 my sister and I dressed up as the Grady twins from The Shining.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

There are always new films to review.

Boskone has a literary vibe, but we’re still fans of quality science fiction and fantasy across all media. Find out which of today’s mini interview participants love Star Trek (enough to dress up for Halloween), who’s had their own TV series and who’s stories include worlds with live action role play (LARP). They also share their thoughts on the lasting friendships they’ve made at Boskone.

Flourish Klink

Flourish Klink is half of Fansplaining (“the podcast by, for, and about fandom”), co-founder of the Harry Potter fanfiction site FictionAlley, on the board of the Interactive Fiction Technology Association, and Chief Research Officer of Chaotic Good Studios. Visit her website or follow her on Twitter @flourish.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I spend a lot of time engaged with internet fandom, with media fandom, and with newer styles of cons. Boskone reminds me of an earlier style of fannish engagement. I don’t get to go to filksings at San Diego Comic-Con, and even at some larger science fiction and fantasy cons, I don’t always see the same sort of long-term community that’s developed over the course of decades. Boskone is a delightful space that reminds me that fandom is all about community, individuals getting together to celebrate things they love.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

Most things I like, I don’t really want to experience again for the first time. For example, the Harry Potter books are a central part of my fannish life, but I don’t think that I’d like them if I experienced them for the first time now: my love for them has more to do with the community that grew up around them and my own growth process than it does the books themselves. Other things I love because of how big and repetitious they are: what would it even mean to experience Star Trek for the first time? I could hardly appreciate Star Trek until I got through huge chunks of it; going back to the first Star Trek episode I ever saw would have nothing interesting for me.

So that pretty much leaves monumental individual works of fiction. There’s lots of those I’d love to read or watch for the first time – Connie Willis’s Blackout/All Clear, for example – but most of them it’s just that I’d like to experience discovering it again. But there’s one that’s more complex than that: when I first read The Lord of the Rings, I was too young to really appreciate all of its elements. (I still may be too young to appreciate all its elements!) I just wanted to skip over the slow bits and get to the fighting. Today, the fighting still makes me weep (the Ride of the Rohirrim!) but the slow bits are infinitely meaningful. But what would it have been like to experience it all as an adult? So that’s my choice – I’d like to see what it would be like to experience LOTR for the first time, but with a fuller life experience, and see if that changed my reaction to it.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Right now, I’m thinking a lot about the ethics of people lifting ideas from fan culture. I’m not sure what form this project will take yet; I’ve agreed to give a talk about it in the spring at Babycastles Gallery in NYC, but I’m not sure what else will come of it. I’m thinking especially of things like computational projects that lift fan fiction titles, or skim from forums, or similar. These issues have been dealt with more broadly many times, of course, but fandom is a peculiar space—a subculture that’s become more than subcultural; a space full of people marginalized in some ways but finding power in others; a space that makes its output freely available online, and encourages mashups and playful engagement, yet maybe doesn’t want people to come in and break tacit rules about how we interact with each other’s art… Who knows where it’s going, but I think it’s a necessary line of inquiry and wider discussion.

Robert J. Sawyer

Robert J. Sawyer has won the best-novel Hugo Award (for Hominids), best-novel Nebula Award (for The Terminal Experiment), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (for Mindscan), plus the Aurora, AnLab, Galaxy, Seiun, Robert A. Heinlein, and Audie Awards, among others. He was the 2014 recipient of The New England Science Fiction Association’s  (NESFA) Edward E. Smith Memorial Award (commonly referred to as the Skylark), and that year was also one of the initial nine inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. His 23 novels include Calculating God, Rollback, Wake, Triggers, Red Planet Blues, and Quantum Night. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name, and he was one of the scriptwriters for that series. Rob — who holds two honorary doctorates — has published in both the world’s top scientific journals, Science (guest editorial) and Nature (fiction), and he is a member of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Canadian government, and the only person ever so honored for science-fiction writing. He lives just outside Toronto. Visit his website, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @RobertJSawyer.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

Honestly? The number of professional writers: so many of my dear old friends and colleagues come every year, and this is one of my best chances to catch up with them over a meal or a drink. Writing is a lonely profession; many cons have a few writers in attendance but Boskone attracts a large number from all over eastern North America. It’s like a family reunion.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s, in large measure, the reason I’m a science-fiction writer today. My father took me to see it in first-run in a great old Cinerama theater. I was born in 1960, and I was eight years old. The math was easy, even for a kid: by 2001, I’d be 41 — and my father, sitting next to me, was already 44: before I’d be his age, according to this film, the world would be full of talking computers, lunar cities, and interplanetary travel.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Honestly, my most recent novel, Quantum Night. It was the culmination of everything I’d been saying philosophically for the 27 years I’ve been a novelist and the 37 years that I’ve been a published short-story writer. Indeed, I’m not sure how I could ever top it; it was intended to be the capstone, and I may in fact not write any more novels — although only time will tell.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I had so much fun working on the FlashForward TV series on ABC, based on my novel of the same name, that I’ve been devoting a lot of time lately to other TV projects. Everything in TV is a long shot, but FlashForward is very fondly remembered as a great concept in Hollywood, and so I have no trouble getting any meetings I want. I’ve got my fingers crossed!

Victoria Sandbrook

Victoria Sandbrook is a writer, freelance editor, member of the Boston Speculative Fiction Writing Group (BSpec), and Viable Paradise graduate. Her short fiction has appeared in Shimmer, Cast of Wonders, and Swords & Steam Short Stories. She is an avid hiker, sometimes knitter, long-form talker, and initiate baker. She often loiters around libraries, checking out anything from picture books to monographs. She spends most of her days attempting to wrangle a ferocious, destructive, jubilant tiny human. Victoria, her husband, and their daughter live in Brockton, Massachusetts. She reviews books and shares writerly nonsense at on her website and Twitter @vsandbrook.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

Boskone is one of the places I get to be my many selves all at once. I can speak as a writer with a few published stories to my name; as a critique partner whose networks converge in one geographic location for that short weekend; as a friend who gets to see everybody I haven’t seen since last year; as a fan who wants to hear from writers and editors I admire; and even as a mom who has had to nurse a fussy kid while attending (or presenting on) panels. The conversations–on and off the program–have always recharged me and left me ready to write. And with everything going on in life, I need that kind of space and encouragement!

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

In 2015, I was a Star Trek: The Next Generation science officer and my daughter was a little chubby Jean- Picard. The intervening Halloweens with a toddler (who was Stitch and then a dragon, for reasons I’ll let you surmise on your own) have been a little too crazy to dress up. But I have a feeling I’ll find a way to do something fun again next year!

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Between querying a novel with agents and playing “submissions tetris” with my shorter work, I’ve got a new novel on the drafting board. It’s big and fantastic and industrial and entirely second-world, which feels equally exciting and challenging after tackling several historical fantasy projects of varying sizes in the last few years. I finally have the creative license to make everything up! But, wait, that means I actually have to make everything up! So far I’d pitch it as part sword-and-sorcery, part court drama in an aging, industrializing empire, with a magical arms race, religious conflict, and a squad of assassins that would so be besties with Dorne’s Sand Snakes.

Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder is a Canadian science fiction writer and futurist. His ten novels explore ideas such augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and exotic worldbuilding. As a futurist, he has consulted with many government and private organizations and gives talks and workshops all over the world. He has several upcoming publications including a novella set in his Lockstep universe, and a new near-future novel about augmented reality-LARP-based alternative economics (and burglary). Visit his website or follow him on Twitter @KarlSchroeder.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

Over the years I’ve made many friendships with authors, editors, artists and fans on the east coast. A special treat for me in attending Boskone is spending with cover artists whose work I’ve admired since before I was published.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

I have an inexplicable love for my character Gennady Malianov, a pathologically shy Ukrainian arms inspector whom I’ve written about a number of times. Gennady embodies every sense of awkwardness I have about myself; he prefers toxic nuclear accident sites to cities because at least in such places he knows he won’t have to talk to anybody. He’s my anti-James Bond–neither dashing nor brave, not a killer, manipulator or even particularly clever, Gennady is nonetheless more important than Bond: he’s the world’s janitor, cleaning up after the messes of the Cold War. I’ve loved writing every story I’ve told about him.

In the realm of “truth is stranger than fiction,” what experience from your past would people never believe if it were written into a story?

There are no such incidents. My life has been utterly ordinary and includes no moments anyone would be surprised to hear about. My apologies for that, but it’s true. Everything about me that is interesting is on paper.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m just finishing a near-future thriller about blockchain technologies, next-generation governance, and larp-based alternate-reality post-market participatory economics. The hero’s a young woman who used to be a burglar; she goes on the run as her past catches up to her, only to find that in mid-21st century America, it’s impossible to disappear anymore–unless she takes a leap of faith into the gamified virtual economies that are replacing traditional markets…

At Boskone, science fiction and fantasy writers, aspiring writers and fans come together. Today’s mini interview participants write about gay paranormal, flight fantasy and near-future AI romance or represent some of today’s best writers. They also share fond memories of Boskone Kaffeeklatsches (small group / informal round-table discussions).  If you’re new to Boskone or haven’t yet tried a Kaffeeklatsch, be sure to sign up at the convention!

Christian Baines

Christian Baines is an awkward Australian nerd turned slightly less awkward author of dark fantasy, horror, and weird fiction. His novels include gay paranormal series The Arcadia Trust, and Puppet Boy, a finalist for the 2016 Saints and Sinners Emerging Writer Award. His first novella, “Skin”, was released as an e-book in 2017. He now travels the world whenever possible, living, writing, and shivering in Toronto, Canada on those odd occasions he can’t find his passport. Visit his website, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @XtianBaines.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I’ve always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, and growing up in a religious household, horror was always forbidden fruit, so of course, I stuffed myself with as much of it as I could as soon as I could. More than that though, I love taking these elements and using them in stories to explore a diverse range of characters and ideas and needs that are very human, but often not given a voice. I’m looking forward to Boskone because it explores and welcomes such a wide range of ideas and topics and arts on that imaginative canvas.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

This is a weird question for me because I often have to watch my favorite movies more than once to understand them, or at least form my own theories about them. There are two TV shows I’d love to ‘discover’ for the first time again. Carnivale because that was the first time I felt totally immersed in a long-form, TV story that didn’t care if I understood everything, and wasn’t trying to explain its mythology. You had to pay attention, extrapolate, and fill in the gaps for yourself (I didn’t discover Twin Peaks until a few years later). The other was Penny Dreadful which was the first time I’d seen the classic Victorian horror stories brought together as an effective whole, played completely straight, in a context where I could take them seriously. It’s achingly beautiful, sincere, and even scary, and I felt utterly transported.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

My favorite character of my own is probably Eric in Puppet Boy, which is more of a psych thriller. He’s probably the most personal character I’ve written. He’s born to a lot of privilege and yet he rejects it in so many ways, or at least he thinks he does. All he really wants to do is tell stories, but he’s so independent and self-reliant, he’s willing to go to extraordinary lengths to reach that goal, including keeping a burglar captive and tied up in his basement. I don’t think of him as moral or amoral, just determined. Yet he’s also conflicted because of course he is, he’s 17. I’d worry about him, but I also understand him and, maybe envy, his determination a bit. I wish I’d had that at 17. I just hope I’d manifest it in healthier ways.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m currently working on the third book in The Arcadia Trust series, which is called Sins of the Son. It’s a challenge keeping the various subplots straight, and also not overloading the reader with them, because whenever you’re writing a new book in a continuing series, you can’t assume everyone’s read, or remembers everything from the previous books. So it’s a balance of building a self-contained story that’s exciting and satisfying and continuing the broader story to satisfy returning readers. I’m really excited that this one lets me expand a lot on the mythology of the series. It’s been kept very much in the dark up until now. It also brings in a character I’ve been wanting to include for years. Now’s finally the time.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes. Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard to take care of the Emperor because that should settle that debate once and for all. Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat universe to deal with The Night King, since he has experience with that sort of thing. As for Missy… Wait, why wouldn’t you let Missy take over everything?

Joshua Bilmes

Joshua Bilmes is President of JABberwocky Literary Agency, which he founded in 1994, and has been a leading literary agent for science fiction and fantasy for over 35 years. The agency’s clients include #1 The New York Times bestselling authors Brandon Sanderson and Charlaine Harris, and other notable best-selling and award-winning authors such as Peter V. Brett, Jack Campbell, Elizabeth Moon, Tanya Huff, Simon R. Green, Daniel José Older, Walter Jon Williams and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Dan Moren, Greg Katsoulis, and Auston Habershaw are among the agency clients in the Boston area. Bilmes is an avid moviegoer and tennis fan. Visit his website or follow him on Twitter @jabbermaster.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for accidentally finding myself at the Boskone hotel in 1979. We were allowed into the Dealer’s Room without having a paid membership, which makes me very glad of Boskone’s current Friday Free Hours that can give people the same opportunity today that I had back then. There were free sample issues, of the then very new, OMNI magazine, which was what gave me an introduction to and very quickly got me hooked on science fiction and fantasy as something other than just having read Tolkien.

I’d also have sworn to you that there was a table promoting The Swarm. But, no. The Swarm came out in 1978, so it couldn’t have been. Further research suggests the table was for Meteor, a movie from the director of The Poseidon Adventure which sunk so completely that I swapped in my mind for a movie of similar vintage and slightly more renown from the producer of The Poseidon Adventure.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

Altered States. December 1980. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a movie in 70mm, not even the first time I’d seen a movie in 70mm on a really large screen. This would have been not too many months after I’d experienced Empire Strikes Back in 70mm. The use of sound in Altered States was a lot different than in the general special effects spectacular. The great sound was so integral to the jolts of Altered States. The totality of it blew me away like no other audio visual experience at a movie had done before.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

I’m not a writer myself, and I’ve been honored to represent as a literary agent many hundreds of really good books. But I’ll say that I’m proudest of The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. It’s probably the only book I’ve represented that pretty much everyone in my immediate family has read, including both my parents.

Fran Wilde

Fran Wilde’s trilogy, The Bone Universe Series, comes to a close this fall with Horizon joining the award-winning debut novel, Updraft (Tor 2015) and Cloudbound (2016). Her novels and short stories have been nominated for two Nebula awards and a Hugo, and appear in Asimov’s, Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Nature, and the 2017 Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror. She writes for publications including The Washington Post, Tor.com, Clarkesworld, iO9.com, and GeekMom.com. You can find her on Twitter @fran_wilde, Facebook, and at franwilde.net.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

I think my favorite memory is the Kaffeeklatsch (I never know how to spell that) where a table-full of readers and Cooking the Books fans helped me test-play a new gameshow called “Your Character Ate WHAT?” We had bonus edible crickets!

Generally, though, my favorite experience at Boskone is sitting — in the bar, in the halls, in panels — and discussing great things to read.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

Updraft, and Kirit, because it was the first book of mine I held in my hands while I gave a reading, and Kirit’s words were the ones I read. That was a really great feeling.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

A Halloween 5K years ago. I went as Chell.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I just finished a middle grade novel that means the world to me. I hope it will mean a lot to others as well.

If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes.  Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

River Song. Because, given her own full-time TARDIS and sonic screwdriver, I think she’d save the world a lot, with or without help.

Laurence Raphael Brothers

Laurence Raphael Brothers is a writer and technologist. He has worked in R&D at such firms as Bell Communications Research and Google, and he has five patents along with numerous industry publications. His areas of expertise include artificial intelligence and machine learning, Internet and cloud-based applications, telecom applications, and online games. Over the last three years he has published over a dozen short science fiction and fantasy stories in such markets as Nature Magazine, The Sockdolager, and PodCastle. He is seeking representation for two fantasy novels and has just completed a science fiction novel, Evolutionary Intelligence Enkidu, a near-future, alien-invasion, military aviation, AI romance. Visit his website or follow him on Twitter @lbrothers.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

I especially enjoy writer and editor Kaffeeklatsches and have attended quite a number of memorable ones at Boskone. At the snowed-in con a couple of years ago I went to Michael Swanwick’s and, at first, I was the only attendee, so we just chatted for a while until someone else showed up. A delightfully pleasant, easy way to be introduced to a writer I respect and admire.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

Probably Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light, but possibly the first book in his Amber series. I picked these books up as a young teenager at the ideal impressionable age, and both clicked perfectly. His style resonates so strongly with me I barely have any critical discernment when I read Zelazny’s stuff. The lush and poetic rhythms of Lord of Light‘s prose combined with its paean to the spirit of rebellion naturally inspired young me. While in Nine Princes in Amber, the dawning realization of who and what Corwin really was over the first part of the book was executed so skillfully, transitioning from a noir opening to a psychedelic portal fantasy, that it could hardly fail to move me. In both books it’s the combination of masterful technical execution with an awesome, almost explosive sense of wonder experienced for the first time.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m completing revision on a novel called Evolutionary Intelligence Enkidu. This is a near-future military-aviation alien-invasion AI romance. I like the idea of a meeting of hearts and minds and even bodies (via neural link rapport in the novel) that doesn’t necessarily include a conventional sexual relationship. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of artificial general intelligence, and so in this novel I’ve combined both these subjects. I want to give impressions of the first, early days of a line of evolutionary development that could eventually result in something like the great AI Minds described by Iain Banks. The challenges and difficulties experienced by a “first of his kind” AI personality (meant to pilot a plane in alien skies) and his somewhat fraught but profoundly affectionate relationship with his human copilot are at the center of the story. There’s some obvious inspiration here from Naomi Novik’s Temeraire, but also some influence from Chōhei Kambayashi’s novel, Battle Fairy Yukikaze, which was developed into a fun anime series.

The Boskone Mini Interviews, which first began in December 2014, continue as our way to introduce our members to Boskone’s guests and program participants as they share fun, interesting, and amusing thoughts about their lives and experiences. Our inaugural Mini Interviews for Boskone 55 feature E. Ardell, Dan Moren, Tamora Pierce, and Robert Finegold — all of whom we are very excited to see at Boskone this year! This is your chance to meet them before the convention begins in February. Enjoy the interviews, and get the pre-Boskone conversation started by leaving comments and sharing your thoughts!

We look forward to seeing you in February! Enjoy the first of this year’s Mini Interview Series.

E. Ardell

Award-winning author E. Ardell spent her childhood in Houston, Texas obsessed with anything science fiction, fantastic, paranormal or just plain weird. She loves to write stories that feature young people with extraordinary talents thrown into strange and dangerous situations. She took her obsession to the next level, earning a MFA from the University of Southern Maine where she specialized in young adult genre fiction. She’s a big kid at heart and loves her job as a teen librarian at Monterey Public Library in Monterey, CA, where she voluntarily shuts herself in rooms with hungry hordes of teenagers and runs crazy after-school programs for them. When she’s not working, she’s reading, writing, running writers critique groups, trying to keep up with a blog, and even writing fan fiction as her guilty pleasure. Her first YA science fiction novel, “The Fourth Piece”, was released by 48fourteen Publishing in July of 2016. Visit her website, like her on Facebook,  or follow her on Twitter @E_Ardell.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

This will be my very first Boskone 55. I was invited to attend last year’s event by a graduate school classmate of mine, and I wasn’t able to, and also did not know much about the convention. After researching the events, I wish I had known about this convention years ago and had been able to save up to attend. The attending author line-up and events were amazing, and this year’s will be even better. I couldn’t hide my excitement when I found out Catherine Asaro would be coming as the science speaker. I hope to make Boskone 55 my yearly “thing”.

When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween? What costume did you wear?

The last time I dressed up for Halloween was October 2017, I am a Halloweenie. I dress up every year. This year I actually had two costumes because I went to different costume events; one was specifically themed. The themed event was a Harry Potter meet-up and I represented my house: Slytherin. Yes, that’s right. I’m a proud Slytherin. There’s nothing wrong with having ambition, and if you have to be a little sneaky to reach your end goal, well–points to me for being clever :D. My other costume was actually a cosplay of one of my own book characters, Desiri Lilias. I wore this costume to a book convention earlier in October, and then wore it again for Halloween. The character is a mean warrior mage. I had an awesome time piecing together the outfit and choosing the wig.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

My current project is finishing up the sequel to my first book, The Fourth Piece. I’m excited, because the story behind this series is one that has been with me for a very long time. Anyone close to me has heard drafts of this story and knows how far it’s come since I was 12 years old. As I pen the ending to the second story, I realize I have never gone this far with my characters on their adventure. I’d never written beyond the initial book, though I know where the story needs to go. I’m discovering things about my characters I’d never known before as I let the story flow unscripted. I really like where this book is going. If the first book was climbing the peak, this book, The Third Gambit, is taking a look out at the world from that new height and jumping off.

So, yes, you can tell I’m excited, but this book has also been very hard to write for the reasons stated above. It has an important job to do: it has to push the story forward and be a bridge from the first book into the third. It has to build an entirely alien world from the vantage point of people who’ve been brought up on Earth. While doing that, it also has to launch the main plot, build tension, evoke empathy, and just be an enjoyable story that readers will want to continue. I feel like I can’t miss a beat, or I’ll end up with a “sophomore slump.”

BONUS QUESTION: If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes.  Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

After very careful deliberation, I decided on my heroes. I wanted a little eye candy on my team, but I also wanted to crush the opposition, so I did not choose Thor, Captain America, Nightwing, Quicksilver, or anyone else who looks great in spandex and leather, but the people I chose are awesome. To combat The Night King, I chose Rogue (from Uncanny X-Men). She’s got super strength, flight abilities, and not only does she borrow powers, but the person she takes from is rendered unconscious and/or very weak. Addio Night King. For the Emperor, we have Dr. Strange, deal with that Sith Lord, haha! For Master from Doctor Who, I unleash Raven (The New Teen Titans comics). Her mental capabilities and offensive powers will smoke him down. On the sidelines, cheering them on when they win (because they will), will be Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Quicksilver (from Quicksilver Mini-Series comics) and Nightwing in their leather cheer-leading bodysuits. Take that evil-doers!

Dan Moren

Dan Moren is a novelist, freelance writer, and prolific podcaster. His debut novel, the rollicking sci-fi adventure The Caledonian Gambit, was published by Talos Press in May 2017. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Macworld, Fast Company, Popular Science, and Yahoo Tech, among other places. He formerly served as a senior editor at Macworld. He also co-hosts tech podcasts Clockwise and The Rebound, writes and hosts nerdy quiz show Inconceivable!, co-hosts movie show Not Playing with Lex and Dan, and is a frequent panelist on the Parsec-award-winning podcast The Incomparable and its spin-offs, Total Party Kill and TeeVee. Dan lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, where he plays ultimate Frisbee, enjoys games (of the video and tabletop variety), and is generally working on a novel or two. When he’s not wasting time on Twitter, anyway. Visit Dan’s website or follow him on Twitter @dmoren.

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

Most of my best experiences at Boskone have been related to the people I’ve met there. Way back in 2006, at the first Boskone I attended, I went to a kaffeeklatsch with Cory Doctorow. It was an interesting discussion, I’m sure, but what I remember most is Cory’s predilection for making small origami swans during the entire thing. He was still engaged in everything we were talking about, but it was mostly just as though he needed to be doing something with his hands. At the end, when we got up to go, I snagged one of the swans from the table, and I’ve kept it to this day.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

There are way too many new books and films out there to want to revisit the same thing over and over again, but if I could experience one again for the first time, I would probably have to pick The Empire Strikes Back. It’s my favorite movie of all time, and so ingrained in my life and personality that I simply can’t imagine life not having seen it. As disappointed as I might be the lose all the nuance and trivia I’ve picked up about the film over the years, I would be even more fascinated to be able to wade into it as an adult and see how it pulled off being one of, if not the best sequel of all time. How do you take the phenomenal success of something like Star Wars and follow it with a story that not only continues where our beloved characters left off, but expands the entire universe to become so much more. And, come on, who hasn’t wanted to be on the edge of their seat and experience that most epic of plot revelations again for the first time?!

In the realm of “truth is stranger than fiction,” what experience from your past would people never believe if it were written into a story?

When I was 25, I quit my job and took a trip abroad. After I spent the first couple weeks traveling with friends throughout Ireland, I ended up taking the ferry over to the UK. I landed in the town of Holyhead in Wales and was prepared to hop on a bus and head to my next stop when I discovered that it was Sunday and the buses didn’t run at all. After some poking around, I found a B&B (in the days before smartphones or Airbnb) that would put me up for the night, run by an old man who was the spitting image of Edmund Gwenn (the actor who played Santa Claus in the original *Miracle on 34th Street*). My genial host offered to take me to see some of the local sights, including a memorial to a US bomber that crashed during WWII. But it turned out my host was also really into ley lines and dowsing—the latter of which he’d used in his career as a plumber to find water mains. He ended up taking me out to try my hand at it (I can’t say I found anything). The next day I headed off on the rest of my trip, but I never quite forgot that odd experience.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m working on a few different projects at present, but what I’m most excited about is an urban fantasy/mystery book that’s actually set in Boston. It involves ghosts, a software engineer, and a hefty helping of local flavor. It’s also one of my first attempts to step outside of my comfort zone of writing protagonists of my own race and gender, and while that’s definitely a little daunting, I’m hopeful that it will help me learn a lot.

BONUS QUESTION: If you were building a team of 3 (super)heroes to save the world from this trio of (super)villains: The Night King (GOT), the Emperor (Star Wars), and The Master/Missy (Doctor Who), who would you pick? The only catch is that you can’t pick characters from the GOT, Star Wars, or Doctor Who universes.  Share why you chose your 3 (super)heroes.

* Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) – She can fly, shoot laser blasts, and is generally pretty indestructible. Plus, she doesn’t take any guff and won’t back down from a fight.
* Miles Vorkosigan – To beat a powerful trio like this, you can’t just outfight them—you need to out *think* them. Miles is a master strategist, and he brings the brains to this fight.
* Korra – She’s the Avatar, man. She’s got the heart, and she can harness all of the elements, plus has a powerful connection to the spiritual realm. The whole package.

Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is a writer technically of fantasy for teenagers (her audience really ranges from 8 to 80), having published 28 fantasy novels in her Tortall and Circle of Magic universes. In addition she has contributed to Tortall: A Spy’s Guide, worked on two anthologies of short stories, and published an anthology of her own short stories. In the past she was head writer of a company that broadcast original radio comedy and drama, wrote comics with her spouse-creature Tim Liebe for Marvel Comics, and for Gail Simone at Dynamite Comics, and wrote a YA novel published originally as an audio book by Full Cast Audio. Tim and Tamora live in upstate New York, where they engage in the perilous pastime of feral and stray cat rescue and raccoon feeding while caring for their own herd of cats and two hyper parakeets. Her next book, to be published in February 2018, is a Tortall novel , Tempests and Slaughter. Visit Tamora’s website, like her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @TamoraPierce.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

I haven’t been to Boskone for several years, and I miss my friends. I have more friends there than at any other con. I also like the offerings in terms of panels, vendors, music, and guests.

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

It would be the afternoon and evening I first read The Fellowship of the Ring. It was a blustery San Francisco Bay Area day; the tree was battering my windows; I could look out over the foggy city when I took small breaks, which were few. Most of the time I huddled over the book, reading by flashlight after my supposed bedtime, immersed in a world I had never encountered before. I followed Frodo and his friends to that bitter ending, having fallen for Gandalf at his introduction. I would have done anything for that old man, and when I closed the book, I cried my heart out, because I thought it was over.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

There is nothing that stays in my own favorite spot for very long. Everything is my favorite to a point, or I wouldn’t come up with these stories and characters, and they return to my affections as my moods shift. Even minor characters and short stories can be favorites when my mood is right. At this moment I can say Squire and Shatterglass are my favorite books, one in each universe, Squire for the relationship between Kel and her Knight-Master, her fight with a centaur, her care of a wild baby griffin, and her first battles with a dread enemy; Shatterglass for the unending joke of an arrogant 21-year-old glassmaker being unable to master his craft without a cross-grained, impatient 14-year-old girl to teach him to grip his seed of lightning magic. Favorite characters revolve even faster than books, though Tris (the storm mage) often rises to the top, together with Nawat, the crow/man, and Envy, the young stone mage. Their personalities all contain a degree of perversity and a distinct tendency to think for themselves.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m working on the second book of a trilogy about Arram Draper, known in my second quartet as the great mage Numair Salmalin. This trilogy is about the years when he studied magic as Arram at the university of Carthak in the south, making friends who would be major figures in his adult life, acquiring magics great and small, meeting a variety of gods great and small, not to mention the strange magical creatures that share the universe with humanity. In the first book he begins to learn the basics of the kinds of magic that lift him past anyone his own age. In the second book, he will grow into his power as an adult, as well as be forced to make choices about his future, about his work, about what he stands for, and what constitute loyalty and betrayal. No stress.

Robert B. Finegold M.D.

Robert B Finegold, M.D. is a radiologist (recently retired) living in Maine. He has an undergraduate degree in English (Creative Writing and British Literature), has been a university newspaper cartoonist, and served as a Major in the U.S. Army during the first Gulf War. His stories have appeared in Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, GigaNotosaurus, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, and numerous anthologies — most recently Neil Clarke’s “More Human Than Human” (NOV 2017). He is the assistant editor for stories of “Myth Legends, and Fairy Tales” at CRES and the editor of the 3rd and Starlight anthology (NOV 2017). Visit Robert on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @DocHistory.

There are a number of conventions that you could attend. What is it about Boskone that makes you want to attend this convention?

Boskone 2017 was my first Boskone. As an old(er) doc and a new author, I humbly offered to the Program Committee that I was willing to join a panel or two . . . and was assigned five! And I was selected to moderate a panel as well. This was my first experience — well, non-medical experience — to serve as moderator. I’ve served in the military, and I’ve lectured and debated concerning my field of radiology before groups of three to three thousand, but to present and interact with science fiction and fantasy fans, and to sit among authors and editors so much more accomplished than me . . . THIS gave me pause.

“Shpilkes,” actually. That’s a Yiddish word. You have a phone or computer. Look it up. 🙂

But the Boskone organizers and my fellow panelists (and fellow fans-attendees in the audience all made me feel welcome. More than welcome. I felt like family. The shared enthusiasm and joy of being among fellow SF&F lovers who “get it” was infectious – but a good kind. There were no strangers. An eighty-year-old would stop and talk with me about Golden Age authors like Clarke, Heinlein, Asimov, Bester, and Bradbury. A 22-year old college student would stop me and say that she wished to both be a physician and a writer, and “How did you do it?” [Note: I didn’t, for the most part; only returning to my love of writing when tapering my career as a doc]. One attendee actually had a copy of Galaxy’s Edge #19 with a story of mine for me to autograph. All had these amazing joyous smiles in just being at Boskone. A shtik naches! Okay. Yiddish, again; but this time I’ll help: A great joy!

I came knowing no one. I left with many new friends. Nu? This is why I want to return – even if, unfortunately, this year, I can only do so for Friday and Saturday morning.”

What is your favorite Boskone memory or experience?

I loved talking and listening to my fellow fans. I nearly plotzed when I got to sit beside editor Neil Clarke of Clarkesword on a panel and later kibbitz with him (and now FINALLY sell him a story for his More Human Than Human SF anthology, which was just released by Night Shade books. Oy! What a TOC! Elizabeth Bear, Ian McDonald, Rachel Swirsky, Alastair Reynolds, Catherynne M. Valente … I cannot but kvell. But I digress. My apologies.

I’d say my favorite moment was during the Q&A at the end of my final panel of Boskone 2017, “Cutting-Edge Medical Advances.” This was my last few minutes of the convention and, I admit, I was feeling relaxed, even a bit giddy and plucky with how much fun I was having. Our gifted moderator asked for one last question. From the back of the room came, “What do you know about dental stem cell regeneration?” With my forearms resting on the table, I glanced at my two fine fellow panelists and saw them paused for thought. In the anticipatory silence, I turned back to our audience, leaned forward and said into the mic, “Damn it, Jim. I’m a doctor not a dentist!”
The shared amusement was gratifying. I’d NEVER make a Star Trek quip at a medical convention. 🙂

If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”

I doubt I am original here. As for books, It was my first complete reading of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

As a foolish pre-teen, I’d initially scoffed at the lauding of The Hobbit as a “modern fairy tale” when only hard science fiction was worthy of my time; and when I picked up my cousin’s copy of The Return of the King and flipped to the last words of the book: “Well, I’m back,” I tossed it back on the coffee table and thought, “Well, I’m back?’ How stupid.”

But then, unable to ignore all the acclaim the books were receiving, I read them. And I read them yearly for a decade. The sheer imaginative scope and depth of invented history and language, of struggle and loss and of gains at great cost and personal sacrifice, swept me up and awoke a love of fantasy – and what fantasy is capable of evoking in the hearts and minds (and souls) of the reader.

As for television and film, I’d say Joss Whedon’s Firefly (and later Serenity) have been the only other creative works to evoke similar passion – to thrill me and make me care about the characters, their struggles, and their ‘Verse.

Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. stands out as an all-time favorite? What is it about this piece that makes it stand out for you?

“That’s tough. Most of my characters are tortured by something, often the loss of a loved one (Astolpho the Master Artificer of Lirazel’s Heart; the augmented implant industrialist Nick Montgomery of Of Thine Impenetrable Spirit), loss of loved ones with guilt (the avatar of Gevurah in Shattered Vessels), such loss and guilt mixed with doubt in G-d (Rabbi Makal of And The Ends of the Earth For Thy Possession) — and all of them racked by their recognition of their sins of pride and arrogance.

Therefore, I’d say my favorite character is the near-blind crippled tailor of Laila Tov (Good Night) [free-to-read at Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores] who is kind, blind to hatred and bigotry, and never says an unkind word about anyone. His only desire is to love and be loved – and when he wins love, he cherishes his beloved every day, every moment. The belief that, above all our faults, we are capable of such goodness and love and that such love is lasting is a belief I must hold … somewhere … in some deep cobwebbed recess of my being. I like knowing I can take this little pearl of faith out and confirm it every once in a while between my tales of tortured souls. 🙂

Register for Boskone 55 today!

On behalf of NESFA and all of the volunteers who are helping to make Boskone a reality this year, we wish you a very Happy New Year. We hope that your 2018 is the best yet and is filled with friends, love, and fantastic fiction!

We look forward to seeing you February 16-18, 2018 for a wonderfilled convention!

This year’s Art Show is truly amazing, featuring a special exhibit curated by Joe Siclari and Edie Stern.

“What a piece of work is man. How noble in reason…”

Science fiction readers are familiar with other forms than man, some equally admirable. Some might appear nightmarish or cuddly or, er, ordinary like the creature next door (almost!). Some mirror our fears and aspirations; some are just shiny.

Join us at the next Boskone special art exhibit where we explore the creatures of the universe as imagined by some of the greatest artists of the field, past and present. See how genre illustrators have depicted intelligence within non-human beings, from aliens to underpeople.

For more than a hundred years, we have imagined aliens and robots, genetically engineered intelligences and cyborgs. Are sapients always readily identifiable? How do artists overcome the challenges of conveying intelligence?

Artists represented will include: Rick Berry, Hannes Bok, Jim Burns, Vincent Di Fate, Alex Ebel, Bob Eggleton, Ed Emsh, Virgil Finlay, Kelly Freas, Fred Freeman, Donato Giancola, Mel Hunter, Greg Manchess, Frank R. Paul, Bruce Pennington, Marianne Plumridge, John Schoenherr, Ed Valigursky, Ron Walotsky, Michael Whelan and more.

Join us as we see non-human intelligence through the eyes of accomplished illustrators of the science fiction genre. As always, the Boskone special art exhibit is sourced from the collections of artists and local enthusiasts.

To learn more about Boskone’s Art Show as well as how to exhibit your work, please visit Boskone’s website or contact us via email at artshow@boskone.org.

Exhibit Curator Bios:

A fan since 1965, Joe Siclari started reading science fiction a decade earlier with Murray Leinster’s Forgotten Planet. Joe has been active in almost every aspect of fandom: he published over 100 fanzines, plus many convention publications, started several SF clubs and founded conventions including SMOFcon, Tropicon and FanHistoricon. Joe chaired MagiCon, the 50th Worldcon in 1992, and has worked on over 250 other conventions. In 2005, Joe was elected as DUFF delegate, and in 2016, he & his wife, Edie Stern, were recipients of the fannish Big Heart Award. Joe has a long-time SF interest is fan history. He has written about fandom for S-F reference books; co-edited the Hugo nominated Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches with Mike Resnick and published Harry Warner’s A Wealth of Fable. Since 1994 he has chaired the FANAC Fan History Project which has put over 55,000 pages of photos, articles, fanzines and memorabilia online at FANAC.org and FANCYCLOPEDIA.org plus a Fan History Channel on YouTube. Joe has an enormous collection of fan publications and a museum of fannish memorabilia, parts of which have been exhibited at many Worldcons and other conventions since 1989. Joe and Edie also collect S-F illustration art, working on 15 special exhibits at Worldcons, World Fantasy Cons and regionals.

Edie Stern spent 40+ years in Information Technology, contributing in areas as diverse as: integrating the internet and the telephone network; putting touchscreen computers in 18 wheeler trucks; and leveraging technology to allow the elderly to stay in their homes longer. She has more than 180 issued US patents. Edie was the 2012 recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Kate Gleason Award for Lifetime Achievement. Edie is an avid and active science fiction fan, from writing and editing fanzines, to working dozens of conventions at the regional and worldcon level. For years, she and her husband have organized special art retrospective exhibits. In 2016, they received the Big Heart Award. During the last two years, Edie has also been the Webmaster for FANAC.ORG, the Fanhistory Project website, and started the Fanac YouTube channel (youtube.com/fanacfanhistory) with relevant audio and video. She loves and collects SF&F books and their cover art. She also enthusiastically engages in yoga, spinning and knitting.

Register for Boskone 55 today!

Come join the fun at Boskone 55’s Book Party, and meet the presses and authors who have new books coming out at Boskone! This is your chance to see what’s new from authors you already love as well as those you have yet to discover.

Boskone is once again holding a book party on Saturday night during the convention to give our authors and publishers the opportunity to show off their newly released titles.

The Boskone 55 Book Party

Day: Saturday, February 17th
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Con Suite, in the Galleria Level, Westin Waterfront Hotel

Authors & Publishers: If you have a new book that was (or will be) published within a few months of Boskone, we invite you to participate in the Boskone 55 Book Party. Bring your books and swag to share with readers who come to mix, mingle, and talk fiction with Boskone’s authors.

Authors and publishers (with a new book and a membership for Boskone 55) who would like to join the party, should email us at Program@boskone.org with your book’s information, including:

• Title:
• Author Name:
• Release Date:
• Publisher:
• Cover Image URL (if available):

Please note that space is limited. So, please be sure to contact us as soon as possible to let us know that you’re interested in joining the party. The more the merrier!

Register for Boskone 55 today!

Watch out Boskone! The Lego Robots are coming!!!

Okay, seriously, Boskone is safe. The Lego Robot of Doom is not really going to destroy the convention….we hope.

However, we are going to have some very cool Lego Robots for you to have fun with, courtesy of Hatch Makerspace on Sunday, February 18, 2018 when they bring their bots to Boskone.

Have you ever wanted to build a robotic arm? A remote controlled racer? A mechanical monster of doom? Here’s your chance!

The Boskone Robots need you!

Using Lego NXT kits, we will build the project of your dreams. Guaranteed to destroy Jupiter! (scale model of Jupiter not included). This event is designed for members from ages 10 to adult.

Hatch Makerspace operates out of the Watertown Free Public Library, where you can expand your robotics exploration.