San Antonio-based author/critic Damien Broderick and his fellow author/critic Paul DiFilippo recently took on the daunting task of deciding on the best science fiction novels released from 1985 to 2010. The resulting book, Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010, will [Read it all...]]]>

Broderick and DiFilippo's new book catalogs the best SF novels of recent years.

San Antonio-based author/critic Damien Broderick and his fellow author/critic Paul DiFilippo recently took on the daunting task of deciding on the best science fiction novels released from 1985 to 2010. The resulting book, Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010, will be released May 18 by NonStop Press.

Some of the novels selected by the pair likely will come as no surprise (China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, for example). Others, however, may be unknown to all but the most voracious genre readers (Pamela Sargent’s The Shore of Women and Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief) Others still, such as Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer-winning The Road, walk the narrow line between SF and literary or mainstream fiction.

We asked Broderick and DiFilippo to justify their choices — both the surprising and unsurprising ones — and tell us how they managed to narrow down the avalanche of SF released between 1985 and 2010 to a list of just 101 choices.

There’s no shortage of lists proclaiming to catalog the best and most important works of any number of genres. What sets this book apart? 

DAMIEN: We kicked off from the 1985 classic, David Pringle’s Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984. His subtitle was a sly reference to George Orwell’s great dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was published in 1949. Was Orwell writing science fiction or literature? Both, arguably. Other books in Pringle’s list were far more recognizably “generic”: Asimov’s The End of Eternity, Bester’s The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination, Clarke’s Childhood’s End and The City and the Stars. (To my amazement and delight, one of my own novels was included.) But Pringle didn’t stop with Orwell in noting the crossover between SF and mainstream writing: there’s Burroughs’ Nova Express, and Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and Kingsley Amis’s The Alteration and Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker. We decided to cast our net equally wide, snaring great representative novels written in English in the period following David’s closing year of 1984 when Gibson’s Neuromancer came out, and marked the emergence of a new kind of SF, cyberpunk.

Why do the years 1985-2010 bear exploring? How does that period stack up against other eras of SF in terms on the ambition and quality of work produced?

DAMIEN: In those 26 years, it’s arguable that more mature science fiction was published than in all the preceding century. It isn’t as utterly groundbreaking as the work of the 1940s and 1950s, when most of the iconography of SF as a form of imaginative creation gelled, but the skill and depth of the genre are now so enriched that almost every new writer starts at a higher level of competence than was ever achieved by most of the classic Golden Age writers. Even though fat fantasy trilogies and sparkly vampires and shambling zombies have overwhelmed the market, this last quarter century is still the true Golden Age of SF.

There’s been much debate about what science fiction is and isn’t. Margaret Atwood, for example, maintains that The Handmaid’s Tale — one of your choices for this list – is not an SF novel. What’s more, a handful of novels on your list have more often been categorized as fantasy than SF. How did you determine where to draw the line when it came to what is and isn’t an SF novel?

DAMIEN: We’ve chosen novels that in a 101 different ways are as wily and inventive as the best speculative writing and as well-wrought and insightful into the nature of human consciousness and society as anything by, well, Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing or Philip Roth or Margaret Atwood or Michael Chabon or Cormac McCarthy—some of whom, marvelously, are here as well, with their own distinctive contributions to the canon of recent speculative fiction. As we say in the Introduction, “What we can promise you is that the novels we discuss are among the most significant works of science fiction from the last quarter century, books that reward careful reading while providing pleasure, amusement, novelty, wonderment.” As for Atwood, we note: “it’s no accident that, as well as being shortlisted for the mainstream Booker Prize, [The Handmaid’s Tale] won the Arthur C. Clarke, Locus, and James Tiptree, Jr. Awards for best SF novel, while selling more than a million copies to readers who always supposed they disliked SF.”

As you examined SF novels of this era, what themes emerged? Why do you think these themes have been so prevalent? 

PAUL: In a way, as Damien alluded to earlier, these novels of the past two-point-six decades have used pre-established tropes and tools that the great SF pioneers created to deal with recent technological and cultural changes that were both more and less dramatic and deracinating than what came in the first half of the twentieth century. Many social commentators have remarked that the advances from 1900-1960 were so radical—air travel, global highway systems, antibiotics, radio, television, etc—that they put the advances of 1960-2010—computers, internet, nascent genetic engineering—in the shade. Consequently, the SF of our period—dealing as good SF does with the zeitgeist—was less widescreen baroque, to use Aldiss’s term, than what came before it. Late-period Gibson is more low-key than Bester, that’s for sure! On the other hand, the bubbling-under revolutions (all the stuff trending toward the Singularity) as well as some truly unprecedented social-media technology, do presage enormous changes in what it means to be human. So, long story short, I’d say the dominant theme of much of this SF is “What does it mean to be human?” Now, this has been a longstanding concern of SF since the genre began. But I find it dominant above many other motifs at the moment.

Looking over the list, I see books by a Japanese-born author (Kazuo Ishiguro), a Russian-born author (Ekaterina Sedia), a Finnish author (Hannu Rajaniemi) and a South African writer (Lauren Beukes). Is one of the most notable things about the ’85-’10 era of SF its more global nature? 

PAUL: It truly is a smallish, more interconnected world these days than ever before. Butterfly Twitter flutterings in one part of the globe almost instantly translate to hurricanes in the ideosphere at the antipodes. Therefore, any reader with his or her radar turned on is currently realizing that voices from around the planet must funnel into the speculative conversation. I think this attitude derives in large part from cyberpunk’s avowed mission to channel a multinational perspective on the future. In my opinion, cyberpunk has never been given quite enough credit for nurturing that shift in the parochial stance of SF. Of course, what’s interesting is not for the American/Anglo SF voice to be precisely replicated, but for it to be mutated and then fed back into the “mainstream” of SF to enhance our visions. We should also note the presence of savvy expatriates, such as Richard Calder, who spent many years in Southeast Asia and came away with some unique stylings and insights. SF has always benefitted from such explorers, such as Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree.

Are there some works on this list that are relatively obscure but deserve more attention? What are they and why should readers seek them out?

PAUL: I think that our more “mainstream” selections, such as Michel Faber’s Under the Skin or Liz Jensen’s My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time, are too little known by genre readers, who would really appreciate them and get a kick from their handling of unique speculative elements. Maybe this book will help promote that kind of détente. Within our genre selections, we definitely have a few titles that have not received their due accolades. Carol Emshwiller, for instance, should have her SFWA Grandmaster Award by now. Maybe at the back of our minds in composing this book was the rule that if we faced a choice between, say, a great John Scalzi novel and an equally great Carol Emshwiller novel, we’d go with the Emshwiller because Scalzi had had his share of the spotlight already.

What’s likely to be the most controversial choice on the list? Why? 

DAMIEN: Some readers might doubt that Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is really SF; after all, there’s no explanation for his global catastrophe. Others might quibble at J. G. Ballard’s Super-Cannes or Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. But we have our reasons, and we’re happy to entertain controversy.

PAUL: The most controversial choice on the list is going to be whatever book any random reader considers the weakest, and yet which managed to edge out his or her own favorite!

As you compiled your list, were there works beloved by fans and critics that simply didn’t stand the test of time? 

PAUL: That stage of triage occurred so far back in the process, I’ve kinda forgotten how it worked! But basically, we started with such a massive list of super-great books that we had to mercilessly winnow down, that we never even brought up the second-tier stuff.

During the collaboration, did the two of you have any major differences on work that should or shouldn’t have been included? How did you iron those out? 

DAMIEN: Even with 101 choices, there’s such a tremendous amount of great stuff available that we had no trouble at all reaching a consensus, even though our tastes are inevitably somewhat different. And that adds flavor and richness to the stew!

PAUL: I did have to talk Damien out of making the book be 100% Aussie authors, but aside from that—!

DAMIEN: You do know he’s kidding, right? Obvious it couldn’t be more than 74% Aussie…

Based on the evolution in SF we saw during this era, what do you see as the probable trends in SF writing over the next 26 years?

DAMIEN: It might merge into the great ocean of story, as seems to be happening with the movies. It never ceases to astonish me that so many people who scoffed at SF for years contentedly watch SF films and TV shows without even noticing the genre cooties. On the other hand, mass media SF (or “sci fi”) is almost always watered down. It takes devotion to get the best out of complex SF novels, which have built their special vernacular during the last century or more. Still, people are absorbing those narrative moves just because the future we move through is literally an SF landscape. Even as the unexpected dimensions of this real future reshape and enrich the stories we tell about the futures yet to come…

PAUL: I don’t think SF can ever afford to feature a predominance of novels such as The Quantum Thief. Great as that book is—as attested to by our inclusion of it, ha!—it is a work that requires an intense familiarity with 75 years of past SF and the multiplex parsing protocols of the genre in order to be fully appreciated. We need to feature SF that walks the tightrope between simplicity and multiplexity, between newness and canon-referentiality, between adventure and deep thinking. It’s a hard row to hoe, to write something that will please both newbies and old pros, and which also advances the genre, but I think it can and must be done, if SF is to survive and even broaden its appeal.

San Antonio horror writer Joe McKinney recently won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel for his zombie book Flesh Eaters. It’s the third nomination and first win for McKinney, a 15-year veteran of the San [Read it all...]]]>

San Antonio author Joe McKinney recently won a Bram Stoker Award for his novel "Flesh Eaters".

San Antonio horror writer Joe McKinney recently won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel for his zombie book Flesh Eaters. It’s the third nomination and first win for McKinney, a 15-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department and a rising star in the horror field. The Horror Writers Association presents the Stokers annually to recognize the year’s best horror literature.

Missions Unknown has visited with Joe a few times to discuss his ongoing zombie series, which mashes up police procedural thrillers and gut-munching zombies. With the Stoker win under his belt and a whole spate of new projects in the works — some not involving the walking dead — we thought it was time to catch up once again and… well… chew the fat.

This is your third nomination, is it not? Did you have a feeling that the third time would be the charm?

I was hoping, of course, but I also had some serious doubts. There were six of us on the final ballot, and I’m friends with four of those writers, so of course I had read their books. Greg Lamberson, Lee Thomas, Ronald Malfi, and Gene O’Neill all brought their A-game this year, turning out some incredible novels. Lee especially, with his novel THE GERMAN. Then I read Chris Conlon’s A MATRIX OF ANGELS and I got really worried. That man can really write! This was a fantastic year for horror novels, and I fell really lucky to have been a part of it, much less honored like this.

Zombies are enjoying quite a bit of mainstream exposure right now, and Flesh Eaters, of course, is a zombie novel. Were you concerned that voters might suffering from undead overexposure?

Yeah, I was actually. I keep hearing that on nearly every review site out there, and while the zombie reading community is going stronger than ever, I thought some of the industry pros who vote for the award might have reached the saturation point. Lucky for me there’s still a little shamble left to do for the zombie.

As a zombie author, how do you keep the genre from growing stale? (Rotten, apparently, is OK, but stale is a deal breaker…)

Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Novel: "Flesh Eaters" by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle Books)

Well, like all good fiction, there fun is in the characters. They make the story, regardless of the genre. You would have thought that the ghost story would be dead by now, for example. The Victorians did it so well (and so often, one might also point out) that you’d like the blush would be off the rose by now. Yet we still gobble up ghost stories, movies and TV shows much in the same way zombies gobble up victims. As I said, the characters are the important part of any story. Compelling personalities faced with difficult situations will sell every time, so really, the zombies are just window dressing for the characters. That’s how it stays fresh for me, and I hope that’s the experience readers take away from my zombie stories.

What does it mean for your life and career now that you can say you’re a Stoker Award winner?

Well, personally, it’s huge. I have a huge respect for the Stoker Award, and for the HWA that awards it, so to be honored with it is both humbling and empowering. Now, from a professional standpoint, it’s what I make of it. Will it be a career high point, or will it lead to a renewed commitment to my craft, which in turn will lead to better novels and better stories? Obviously, I want it to be the latter.

You’ve got some new projects coming up. Tell us about them.

You bet! Let’s see, next thing out of the gate is a short coming-of-age horror novel called LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE, co-written with Michael McCarty. It takes place in the Piney Woods above Lake Livingston, and revolves around an abandoned village, a dark family secret, and lots and lots of snakes. After that I’m releasing a collection of all my zombie stories to date. I’m assembling that collection now, and it’s been a lot of fun revisiting some of these earlier stories. That one should be out sometime late this summer. Then, in September, I’m releasing MUTATED, the fourth and (perhaps) final book in my Dead World series. I’m also working on two different novels right now, a haunted house story called CROOKED HOUSE and a standalone zombie novel called MIDNIGHT BUFFET. In between I have half dozen or so short stories and novellas coming out in various publications and anthologies.

You work full time and raise two young children. How do you balance those with such an ambitious publishing schedule?

Because my wife is freaking awesome! I’ve been far luckier than I deserve when it comes to a supporting family. There’s no way I could do half of what I do without them in my corner. But beyond that, time to write is short. My remedy is to go at it in an organized, disciplined fashion. I almost always do extensive outlines of what I’m what I’m writing. That way, when it’s time to sit down and start writing, I know exactly what I’m going to be doing.

In addition to zombies, you’re also quite interested in ghosts. Tell us why ghost stories have captured your imagination.

Like a lot of contemporary horror writers, I came to the genre through both fiction and film, and I remember watching George C. Scott in THE CHANGELING back when I was a kid. That movie is one of the only horror movies that ever really scared me, and I guess the idea of ghosts caught hold of me then. Shortly after that I read THE SHINING, and that cinched the deal. Since then I’ve read widely in the ghost story genre and have found it continually exciting.

Do you find it harder to write novels or short stories? Which do you enjoy more?

Actually, I don’t think it matters much as to the length of the tale. I’ve had both short stories and novels come quite easily, and I’ve had the opposite experience as well. It really depends on the story. Some tales just have a harder birthing process than others, and I don’t know if there’s any rhyme or reason to it, nor does the difficulty of the creative process seem to translate into a better or worse story. It’s a mystery to me and I just can’t give you a good answer.

Any advice for aspiring horror writers?

Definitely. As I mentioned, I outline in detail before I write. This doesn’t work for everybody, but if you’re having trouble finishing pieces, or if editors are telling you that your stories lack cohesion or aren’t “tight enough,” then maybe you ought to consider outlining first. Again, it works for me. Your mileage may vary. Beyond that, though, my advice is to treat writing like it’s a job, because that’s exactly what it is. Yes, it’s a creative process. I realize that. But it is still a job, like any other. You have to show up to work everyday. You have to turn out a quality product every time. You have to treat clients (editors, publishers, professional contacts, readers, etc.) professionally. You have to make sure your professional reputation is solid. These are the kinds of things you have to do to survive in the business world, and they’re the same kinds of things you have to do to survive as a professional writer. Oh, and one last thing…never forget the value of a handwritten thank you note. That will open doors that might otherwise remain forever closed.

What have been your favorite horror books, movies, comics, etc. of the past year or so?

Well, this past year I read more short story collections than I’ve ever done in my life. I absolutely LOVED Christopher Fowler’s RED GLOVES: THE LONDON HORRORS. It was smart, spooky as hell, and hit all the right notes with me. I felt the same way about Reggie Oliver’s MRS. MIDNIGHT AND OTHER STORIES and Caitlin R. Kiernan’s OTHER WORLDS AND IN-BETWEEN. I liked John Horner Jacob’s SOUTHERN GODS a lot. That was a fresh, well-told horror story of the highest order. And I’m still loving The Walking Dead and Joe Hill’s Locke & Key series of graphic novels. I’ve heard it said this is horror’s golden age, and it’s easy to see why.

Elizabeth Griego will be wrangling volunteers and goodie bags at this year's ChimaeraCon.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, rearing its head (or should that be heads?) this weekend, Missions Unknown is running the last in a series of [Read it all...]]]>

Game creator and ChimaeraCon organizer Daniel Griego shows off his creation Shadow Fist.

Elizabeth Griego will be wrangling volunteers and goodie bags at this year's ChimaeraCon.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, rearing its head (or should that be heads?) this weekend, Missions Unknown is running the last in a series of interviews with the event’s organizers and guests. This week’s conversation is with brother and sister Daniel and Elizabeth Griego, both longtime fixtures of the con.

Daniel is serving as event coordinator, among other positions, and he’s running several games during the con. His locally based game company, Inner Kingdom, is also one of the event’s sponsors. Elizabeth is the convention’s secretary and volunteer coordinator.

ChimaeraCon 2012 takes place April 6-8 at the La Quinta San Antonio Convention Center.

What will be your role at ChimaeraCon this year?

DANIEL: My roles in the convention preparation include guest liaison, event coordinator and public affairs officer. I’m also a convention sponsor on behalf of my game company, Inner Kingdom Games. During the actual weekend of the event, I will work as a game master running about 20 hours worth of events for the attendees.

ELIZABETH: My roles for ChimaeraCon this year include secretary and volunteer coordinator. I attend every preparatory meeting, taking notes and helping with minor tasks like helping with the hundreds of swag bags needed for the con. As the volunteer coordinator, I arrange meetings with volunteers and make the volunteer schedule for the con. If anyone needs a lackey, I’m their gal!

How many ChimaeraCons have you attended?

DANIEL: I have attended every ChimaeraCon since 2004. It’s been a great time every year and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the convention grow in attendance, scope and entertainment value.

ELIZABETH: I have attended ChimaeraCon since 2007 and this is my third year as Secretary. I absolutely loved it as a regular attendee, and I am looking to do more with each passing year.

Tell me about your life as a gamer: How did you get involved in the gaming
community and in conventions?

DANIEL: I’ve been playing games for as long as I can remember. My father was definitely my biggest influence in getting an early start in the gaming community. I remember when I was 10 years old at my very first gaming convention. He came in to check on my friends and me, only to discover me there playing Classic Dungeon with a slice of pizza in one hand and dice in the other. He still jokes that it was one of his proudest moments as a father. Since then, I’ve been soaking up role-playing games, card games, board games and everything in between like a sponge.

ELIZABETH: I started gaming before I can remember. I believe I started when I was six at various conventions. My father is the greatest influence in my gamer life. Our entire family has been notorious for playing hard and backstabbing at every possible opportunity. My father takes every chance he can to tell people about a time I was playing Circus Maximus. After ramming another chariot, I wanted my father to join in my glory, so I yelled at him from across the room, “Daaad! I just killed a horse!” The room sent silent, then an applause came rolling across the room. My brothers and I all have moments like that from some point in our gamer lives. I thank my father for taking me to that first convention.

How do you see this convention growing and evolving?

DANIEL: The last few years have been good to ChimaeraCon. We’re really doing a better job getting the best use out of our available resources and getting the biggest bang for our buck. We’re reaching out more to the central Texas gaming community and doing more to bring together some of the fractured gaming groups in the area. We’d really love to see ChimaeraCon become the place where all San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin gamers can come together for a great weekend of fun and camaraderie.

ELIZABETH: I have been volunteer coordinator for 4 years now. I can see a direct correlation between the size of our con and the demand for more hands to help out. My first year, we had 4 lonely volunteers. This year we have almost 30. I have seen ChimaeraCon evolve in such a short time. I see this convention becoming an event the gamers in the city and the surrounding area look forward to every year.

What sort of attendance do you expect — and from how far do some people travel to attend?

DANIEL: Each year, we try to set our goals higher than the previous year. For 2012, ChimaeraCon is looking to bring in 400 gamers from San Antonio, Austin and Houston. Houston is usually the farthest most attendees will drive, but we’ve had players come down from as far north as Dallas before.

ELIZABETH: This year I’m looking forward to an attendance of more than 400. Our registered games are tapped out. We couldn’t fit any more events in if we tried. There is even a waiting list for vendors. Most of our attendees reside in San Antonio, but many come from Austin as well. There are a few outliers that come from as far as Dallas though. I like having the convention at a hotel to better accommodate those coming from out of town.

What should attendees look for this year that will really blow them away?

DANIEL: We’ve really stepped our dealer’s room up this year with more vendors and a greater diversity of product available. We’re also hoping for a really big draw with our massive, 12-hour long Magic: The Gathering tournament with a grand prize of three sealed booster boxes. It should really be quite the event!

ELIZABETH: I am jazzed about the plethora of events! Every table is jam-packed with games. I even had to make a new position on the volunteer schedule to help the GMs. We also still have a few tables for open gaming. So grab a few friends and hit up some games!

Are you noticing any interesting trends in San Antonio’s gaming community?

DANIEL: San Antonio is a great city with some of the most dynamic gamers you’ll ever meet. Although the area has so much to offer this diverse collection of players, individual game groups will sometimes get very comfortable with their core members and meet weekly or monthly for their specific, favorite games. ChimaeraCon wants to invite those players out to try new games, meet new players and go outside their comfort zones. It’s a great opportunity to introduce new players to your favorite diversion, too!

ELIZABETH: Right now, I am starting to see people get out of their gamer shell. I used to see everyone on their respective game night playing with the same people. But with the increase in attendance of cons, I see more overlap. I spoke with a group of Anime enthusiasts from Northeast Lakeview who were just as excited to go to ChimaeraCon as they are to go to Mizuumi-Con or San Japan. I want to get to a point that any gamer type can go to ChimaeraCon and have a blast.

What are some of your favorite games right now?

DANIEL: My favorite games right now are Shadowfist, produced by my company Inner Kingdom Games, “Are You a Werewolf?”, the great mob-mentality live-action role-playing game, and The Settlers of Catan, the classic Klaus Teuber game of discovery, settlement and trade.

ELIZABETH: My favorite game right now is Shadowfist from Inner Kingdom Games. It is a fantastic Hong Kong movie fighting card game that I can’t get enough of! I also like Munchkin and The Stars Are Right from Steve Jackson Games.

As a gamer (and presumably a sf/fantasy/horror fan), what would you like to see more of in San Antonio?

DANIEL: I would love to see more large-scale gaming events in San Antonio that really bring gamers together. Game stores have their Friday-night Magic and regular D&D sessions, et al, but those are the same players every week playing the same game. I love events that feature many, many concurrent games where passers-by can watch and learn while new players try something they’ve never seen before. That really only happens when there’s a lot going on with lots of time to do everything.

ELIZABETH: I would like to see more well-rounded cons in the city. A lot of the conventions are tailored to specific gamer needs – which is great, but I want to be able to play more games at an anime convention and see more cosplay at gaming con. I like getting that mix of people branch out into other fields of gamerness and have a great time.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, closing in fast, Missions Unknown is running interviews with the event’s organizers and guests. This week’s conversation is with local game designer Vince Guzman, ChimaeraCon 2012′s president.

Vince’s homespun Pinché Games evolved out THE Organization, an espionage role-playing [Read it all...]]]>

ChimaeraCon president Vince Guzman meets a new convention buddy.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, closing in fast, Missions Unknown is running interviews with the event’s organizers and guests. This week’s conversation is with local game designer Vince Guzman, ChimaeraCon 2012′s president.

Vince’s homespun Pinché Games evolved out THE Organization, an espionage role-playing game he and a friend created in high school. Since then, the company has rolled out more tabletop games, including Roaches and the dice game Pinchess. This is Vince’s second year serving as president of ChimaeraCon.

ChimaeraCon 2012 takes place April 6-8 at the La Quinta San Antonio Convention Center.

Tell me about your role at this year’s ChimaeraCon.

This year I am wearing many hats at ChimaeraCon. The first hat I wear is the hat of the ChimaeraCon president. I have been the ChimaeraCon president for the past two years and I am proud to see how great ChimaeraCon is becoming. My next hat is that of a sponsor/vendor. I am the owner of Pinché Games, a local indie game company. Pinché Games produces tabletop role-playing games, such as THE Organization and dice games such as Shootout and Pinchess. This will be the first time Pinché Games will be a vendor at Chimaeracon. My team and I are excited.

What sort of attendance do you expect — and from how far do some people travel
to attend?

Our initial projections are for 500-700 attendees all weekend. We are hoping to be closer to 700 but we will definitely be happy with 500. So far, we have people coming in from cities throughout Texas. We will conquer Texas first, and then we will go after the rest of the nation.

How many ChimaeraCons have you attended?

I have attended six ChimaeraCons and they get better every year.

How do you see this convention growing and evolving?

We have been on a great course lately and I do see ChimaeraCon evolving into a multi-genre convention. We have been including our friends from the Anime, Steampunk and Sci-fi communities from here in San Antonio and the surrounding areas. Gaming really brings us all together. Of course, gaming will always be at our core. We have grown quite a bit in the past two years. This year will be our first year downtown, which brings a unique opportunity to allow tourists to experience ChimaeraCon, while being a central location for everyone in San Antonio.

What should attendees look for this year that will really blow them away?

We are having a World Record Dice Stacking Challenge. The first 300 attendees will get a free chance to beat the world record. GameScience will be providing used dice to beat this record, and we will be working all weekend to be sure that we beat it. We will also have the ChimaeraCon card game “Faces of the Chimaera.” We will be giving these away at the Pinché Games booth. The winner of this game will get an ultimate prize, so “There can only be one.” (There is my “Highlander” reference.) There is also going to be a ChimaeraCon Book Box Game Challenge throughout the weekend. In this challenge, we will allow participants to create a game that will be played on Sunday. Participants will use an empty book box, a pulp book cover, and their wits to create a game. The book cover will be the inspiration, and game pieces can be made or scrounged from the convention vendors or participants in order to develop a game that fits in the box. The games will be demoed on Sunday Morning.

Tell me about your life as a gamer: How did you get involved in the gaming
community and in conventions?

Gaming came at an early age for me. As a kid I was always into board games like Monopoly and Clue, then I got into Atari games. I never dabbled in tabletop role-playing games until a friend of mine introduced me to “Macho Women with Guns” and “Marvel Superheroes” in high school. During this time, we developed our own role-playing game and titled it IMF. As teens we did not really know about copyright infringement, but we were not selling it, we were only playing it with our friends. My friend and I parted ways for a while. Life got in the way and we reconnected later as adults. We began playing IMF once again. We decided wow we should really market this game and sell it. We could not call it IMF so we renamed it THE Organization. We wrote the book and six years ago contacted April, the founder of ChimaeraCon, and she happily entered us as GMs to demo our game. This was the first convention I had ever been to. I met plenty of gamers, made several new friends and contacts and realized that the world of gaming was much larger than I had realized. I kept going to ChimaeraCon after that, and I decided I would help out with the convention. After a few years, I decided to share some of my ideas with the group. They decided I was looking in the right direction, so they made me president and we have all been moving forward since then. We hope to bring more and more events to San Antonio every year and really help showcase some indie companies. We also want to provide chances to play some old favorites as well, so we can remember where our love of gaming came from.

Are you noticing 
any interesting trends in San Antonio’s gaming community?

There has been a trend in tabletop gaming in the recent years. Board games, card games, and dice games are more of an interest to younger gamers. These games are usually faster and keep younger gamers interested.

What are some of your favorite games right now?

Everything that Pinché Games develops, of course. I really actually prefer to stick to indie games such as: Inner Kingdom Games’ “Zombie Dash,” Black Rabbit Games’ “OmniQuest,” and Cracked Monocle’s “Tephra.”

As a gamer (and presumably a sf/fantasy/horror fan), what would you like to see
more of in San Antonio?

WE NEED MORE SCI-FI! I can’t wait for Worldcon here in San Antonio 2013. I am very excited about this convention. I hoping that as we progress we will bring more sci-fi to Chimaeracon. We always have the Dalek there so that is a start.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, just a month away, Missions Unknown is running a series of interviews highlighting some of the event’s key players. This week we speak with Texas-based comic book artist Matt Frank, one of ChimaeraCon 2012′s guests.

ChimaeraCon guest and pineapple juice [Read it all...]]]>

Some of Matt Frank's Godzilla art.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, just a month away, Missions Unknown is running a series of interviews highlighting some of the event’s key players. This week we speak with Texas-based comic book artist Matt Frank, one of ChimaeraCon 2012′s guests.

ChimaeraCon guest and pineapple juice enthusiast Matt Frank.

Matt began working in the art industry while attending the University of Texas in Austin. He got his start working with Bluewater Productions, providing covers for the Ray Harryhausen Presents series, culminating with his first one-shot, Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops. His work will be featured again in the upcoming first issue of Godzilla: Legends, which he both illustrated and co-wrote.

ChimaeraCon 2012 takes place April 6-8 at the La Quinta San Antonio Convention Center.

Is this your first ChimaeraCon?

Yes it is! I’m quite excited.

Where in Texas do you reside?

I hail from Austin, although I call San Antonio my place of origin.

You seem to do more illustrations of dinosaurs, dragons and monsters than
people. Why is that?

Ah yes. That’s a big one. Honestly? Growing up, monsters were just more fun to draw than people. And I simply stuck with that. As a result, however, it’s taken a LONG time for my capabilities drawing people to catch up with the monsters. They’ve gotten closer recently, which is a good thing. Drawing people is one of the most important skills for an illustrator.

Tell me about Godzilla. It seems like you have a soft spot for the big green guy.

Indeed! Godzilla’s been with me all my life, practically. I’ve either followed him or he’s followed me. Some people like Star Wars, some people like Doctor Who. I likes me some Godzilla. It’s a mix of things – the franchise (and kaiju genre as a whole) satisfies that primal impulse for action, excitement and childhood elation. But Godzilla, he’s special. It started out of a genuine desire of the director and crew to make a film about a walking nuclear bomb – atomic horror given physical form. We’ve never been hit by a nuke, so we don’t know what it’s like. From there the franchise, like “Goji” himself, has evolved, had its ups and downs, and somewhere along the line, I popped in.

You got your start doing covers for Ray Harryhausen Presents. Did you grow having your mind blown by Ray’s stop-motion creations?

I definitely had a fondness for Harryhausen’s work as a kid. I liked it all – crazy, fantastical beasts just rocked my socks…still do, of course. I’d have to say my favorite of his films is ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., a guilty pleasure, if anything.

One of Matt Frank's beasts spreads its wings.

Who are some of the artists that have major influences on your life and work?

Bill Stout and Art Adams have had a profound effect on my core illustration habits. Joe Mad has definitely inspired my use of action and my design sense. And Bob Eggleton is just an all-around inspiration because he’s awesome.

Are you working on any new and exciting projects people should know about?

Godzilla is still hanging around, as I’m sure he’ll always be. I’m working on the covers for the new ongoing series, simply titled Godzilla, although I’m just now wrapping up work on the Transformers Collectors Club story, Flash Forward. I’m hoping to have a new mini-series under my belt by year’s end, and perhaps even a new, original product soon…ish.

What do you see as the next step in your growth as an artist?

I want…rather, I need to continue working on my human characters. It would also be nice to become more acquainted with traditional tools again.

And what’s this thing on your website about being obsessed with pineapple juice?

Shhh, don’t tell anybody, but it’s the secret elixir of eternal youth and unbridled romantic prowess. Actually, I just like the stuff. It’s all I drink when I find myself in Costa Rica on occasion. Also, “pineapple” is a fun word to say. Try saying it, especially while over-enunciating the “p’s.”

Author Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of iconic fantasy heroes Tarzan and John Carter (namesake of the mega-budget flick that opens today), almost took a different career path.

Until, that is, he got a rejection letter postmarked from San Antonio.

In 1898, Burroughs [Read it all...]]]>

Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins star in Disney's big-budget John Carter film.

Author Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of iconic fantasy heroes Tarzan and John Carter (namesake of the mega-budget flick that opens today), almost took a different career path.

Until, that is, he got a rejection letter postmarked from San Antonio.

In 1898, Burroughs —— recently discharged from the U.S. Cavalry and living in Idaho —— heard that Theodore Roosevelt was assembling his famed Rough Riders in the Alamo City to fight in the newly declared war between Spain and the United States.

Burroughs sent a letter asking to join up, but Roosevelt turned down the request. In a terse, one-sentence reply, the future president wrote that the “chances of our being over-enlisted forbid my bringing a man from such a distance.”

Military career over, Burroughs wandered for more than a dozen years, working a variety of jobs. In 1912, he wrote his first successful story, “Tarzan of the Apes,” and many more followed —— including “John Carter and a Princess of Mars.”

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, just a month away, Missions Unknown is kicking off a series of Friday interviews highlighting some of the movers and shakers behind the event. We start the series with Tiffany Franzoni, owner of Dallas-based [Read it all...]]]>

Roll2Play owner Tiffany Franzoni and game designer Keith Parker show off their badges.

With ChimaeraCon, San Antonio’s annual gaming convention, just a month away, Missions Unknown is kicking off a series of Friday interviews highlighting some of the movers and shakers behind the event. We start the series with Tiffany Franzoni, owner of Dallas-based online games store Roll2Play.com, one of the ChimaeraCon 2012′s vendors and sponsors.

Tiffany started Roll2Play in 2009 and has grown her inventory to include hundreds of board, miniatures and dice games. In addition, she features a wealth of game reviews and stocks gaming supplies ranging from brushed brass 20-sided dice to Cthulhu-shaped dice bags.

ChimaeraCon 2012 takes place April 6-8 at the La Quinta San Antonio Convention Center.

What will be your role at ChimaeraCon this year?

I will be a vendor again with Allison Gabby, my store manager and friend. I love being there for the gamers. Of course, I hope to get in some game time, learn what’s new, talk to game developers and basically relax and enjoy time with friends.

So, it sounds like this isn’t your first ChimaeraCon. How many have you attended?

This will be my second time going to ChimaeraCon. I first learned about it through April at AKon almost two years ago, then through a few other folks asking me if I was going. It was Al that convinced me to go. I am very glad we finally made the trip. I have met a lot of really neat folks that are genuine about growing the gaming community in Texas in a very positive and welcoming manner.

How do you see the convention growing and evolving?

It’s hard for me to tell how it’s evolving since I am fairly new coming to the group. Over the last year alone, I have seen ChimaeraCon make their presence known at other venues. They are promoting themselves in a big way. It’s great to see them in the different cities of Texas. Everyone has become like family. They are very engaging. They get out there and talk to people, shake hands, introduce games and get into conversations.

Tell me a little bit about Roll2Play.

Roll2Play has expanded a lot over the last three years! It was almost three years ago I had a contest to just name the company, let alone even place my very first game order. Charles Poynter won that contest. He got a game of his choice — I think it was the Last Night on Earth. Becky Taylor helped me create the logo and overall feel of the company’s website and marketing style. Many of my friends have helped me from going to the conventions as volunteers to promoting the name and helping me work. Long Le has been at just about all the conventions locally, talking up that 30 sided die and much more. I had a vision that most of my sales would be online, however, it is roughly 1 percent. I am not a low-cost provider, which results in people researching the game on my site and buying the game somewhere else online at a heavy discounted. I had to change my approach and get more involved with the community. I don’t want to cheapen these awesome games that I offer, so I won’t. Instead, Roll2Play has become more service oriented. It’s time to bring in more mainstream folks and grow the gaming community with respect and a good neighborhood vibe. I now teach games at schools, daycares and libraries, for examples. Sarah Childs and Crane Billingsley are my two gals that have been taking on all the teaching that happens at the daycares now. They are awesome! I know that this side of Roll2Play will grow in leaps and bounds this next year. It already has. I have increased conventions and events that Roll2Play participates in and supports. I have even hosted fund raisers for other organizations like PEO and schools. With all the support from local community, gaming groups, schools and libraries, I am confident that a store front is the logical next step. Soft open date is June 15th with the big grand opening July 15th. The biggest challenge I thought was going to make sure that other game stores don’t see me as a threat. But as I talked with other game store owners, I found that they loved the idea of having area tournaments where our store champions compete and help stir up lots of hype. This is growing the community, not tearing it apart or being destructive. Other stores have been very generous and willing to give me advice as I explored leasing space. Of course, there are some owners that aren’t supportive and just don’t get involved. But, overall, the phrase, I think we can bring a ‘Seattle Feel’ to Texas gaming by working together, not against each other.

How do you see having an actually store front changing your business.

With the store front, many new opportunities and events can be tried out. I even want to explore more of the game developers’ world. This has expanded my business plan a great deal. We (I say we now, because I am not doing this by myself. I have a wonderful staff and many awesome supporters), will be assessing what worked, what didn’t work and why. Then of course, what’s next. This is where I get to make up my own rules of running a business. This is the fun stuff for sure! A full event calendar, blogs, podcasts, Youtube game reviews are on the horizon.

In May of 2011, you introduced a program called Games4Grunts that allows 
customers to purchase discounted games to donate to U.S. troops. What was the 
genesis of that program and how is it going?

This program was the creation of Allison Gabby. She is also known as the ‘Go-To Gaming Girl’ for Roll2Play. She’s been there with me since the beginning. Games4Grunts is still evolving. It hasn’t grown as quickly as I had hoped, but I think having the storefront will change this. The challenge is conventions (most of my sales come from these events right now). There are so many things going on it’s hard to talk up just one program, especially is we are involved with the gaming events at the con as well. We have almost a huge bin that is almost full of games and some cash donations. Once the bin is full, we will make the trip to a drop off point to deliver the goods. I love all the quick notes that folks have made for the troops that will receive the games.

What’s hot in gaming right now? What are people ordering?

There is so much to share here, so, I’ll just run through highlights quickly and spout off what first comes to mind. As for the actual games that are selling very well, Steve Jackson Games is always a big mover, especially Munchkin — even after all these years! Looney Labs is another popular line of games. Anything that has expansions or several themes of the same type of game sells well. The new releases from just about any game maker are always big hits. People are curious. Award-winning, highly ranked games are selling too. Deck Building games, however, seem to be on the decline. They were really big just a little over a year ago, with Dominion being the leader. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next year with this area.

Are you noticing 
any interesting trends?

The most interesting trend I see is happening with mainstream folks. People are looking for things to do together instead of spending time on computers, PDA’s and so on. Libraries and schools are heavily promoting family game nights. More gaming companies are expanding their marketing to the mainstream as well. You can see it in commercials. Pokemon is coming back when most folks thought it was dying out. I am finding more and more garage conventions getting big enough that they need to find a location that can support larger groups. I am also seeing more cross-promoting of conventions and events that focus on tournament-style play more than ever before. Conventions that don’t have a gaming theme have picked up hosting gaming events now. This helps to grow the participation numbers and offers even more over the weekend. I think a lot of this has to do with the cost of traveling for vacation. People are staying close to home or within state. Board Games Geeks is here in Texas and they now run an annual gaming convention that continues to grow. There is more mentoring in RPG’s. It’s not shunned like it has been in the past. Libraries are encouraging more one-day conventions, game nights and so on just to increase patronage numbers. And it’s working! For this area, the Children Courtyards, one of the biggest daycares in DWF, are adopting more family game nights and have dramatically increased their scheduled events with Roll2Play. This is telling me that the community has a need to get unplugged and back to socializing over activities like games. We find we end up teaching more social etiquette than we expected, like taking turns and how to win/loose graciously. Now, for the schools and family-focused events, games from companies like Calliope, Playroom, Out of the Box Games, Fireside Games or Mindware are huge hits. Games that all ages within a family group can play together and enjoy are sure to sell quickly and are rising in popularity. But it’s the dice that fly off the tables at conventions. Gamers love the variety we offer, from the beautiful resin colors to the metals to the stones. Our dice line has grown a lot since we first started. We have had many seasoned gamers bring someone new over to our table to get their very first set.

What are some of your favorite games right now? What are some of your 
all-time classics?

I love changing up the game play. My favorites constantly change. I tend to always pull out Carcassonne, Catan, Puerto Rico, Red Dragon Inn, Munchkin, Risk and the Fluxx games. There are tons of games I want to learn, of course. Really, I’ll play just about anything with a good group. Gaming is a social interaction that I love!

Redbeard Comics honcho Austin Rogers shows off his goods.

By our count, nearly a dozen writers, artists and organizations will represent the Alamo City at the Wizard World Austin Comic Con, which runs today through Sunday at the Austin [Read it all...]]]>

Redbeard Comics honcho Austin Rogers shows off his goods.

By our count, nearly a dozen writers, artists and organizations will represent the Alamo City at the Wizard World Austin Comic Con, which runs today through Sunday at the Austin Convention Center. They range from novelist and Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive writer David Liss to the folks behind booming manga publisher Antarctic Press.

Among the other attendees with San Antonio ties:

• Matt Frank, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters cover artist;

• Austin Rogers, Redbeard Comics owner and artist/writer of Bouncer the Destroyer and Bad Dreams;

• C.S. Moore Studio, the sculpture company headed by San Antonio’s Clayburn Moore.

• A.J. Moore, artist, writer and animator of Super Newts;

• Sam de la Rosa, freelance artist and former inker for Marvel Comics;

• Sherry “Sherlock” Watson, Hugo-nominated sf and fantasy artist;

• Chris Elizardo, freelance model sculptor and E. Studios owner;

• Sith Shadow Council of Texas, San Antonio-based Star Wars fan club;

And while you’re there, you might as well bask in the non-S.A. star power, which includes Aliens star Michael Biehn, numerous award-winning comics creators and cast members from programs including Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Walking Dead and Firefly.

Rhiannon Frater's Fighting to Survive brings the zombie horde to small-town Texas.

Austin-based author Rhiannon Frater will be signing there from 2-4 p.m. to celebrate the release of Fighting to Survive (Tor Books), the second book [Read it all...]]]>

Rhiannon Frater's Fighting to Survive brings the zombie horde to small-town Texas.

Austin-based author Rhiannon Frater will be signing there from 2-4 p.m. to celebrate the release of Fighting to Survive (Tor Books), the second book in her “As the World Dies” zombie trilogy. Copies of the first book, The First Days, also will be on hand.

Frater’s trilogy follows a pair of ass-kicking female protagonists as they join other survivors of the zombie plague inside the walled-off center of a Texas small town. Together, the group must forage for food, build shelter and set up a new social order — all while battling flesh-eating undead and ruthless bandits.

Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award for Best Novel from website Mail Order Zombie. The First Days also won the Dead Letter Award and was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner.

Frater is author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters.

The La Cantera Barnes & Noble is located at 15900 La Cantera Parkway.

Bet that stings: The Bad Moon Books edition of Joe McKinney's The Red Empire.

Now he’s unleashing fire ants on them.

A new trade paperback edition of McKinney’s The Red Empire — a novella about inch-long, super-intelligent fire ants [Read it all...]]]>

Bet that stings: The Bad Moon Books edition of Joe McKinney's The Red Empire.

Now he’s unleashing fire ants on them.

A new trade paperback edition of McKinney’s The Red Empire — a novella about inch-long, super-intelligent fire ants loosed on an unsuspecting South Texas — will hit the shelves January 2012 from fledgling publisher Redrum Horror.

The book also will include seven McKinney short stories, including two specifically penned for this edition. But don’t expect any of the shambling undead creatures McKinney built the early part of his career on.

“There won’t be any zombies, so folks are going to get a taste of my other interests in the horror genre,” he says. “I’m doing this new version of the book because I was eager to branch out to other kinds of horror. Readers will find stories merging science fiction and horror, Lovecraftian horror and of course some psychological horror.”

The limited first edition of The Red Empire came out earlier this year from Bad Moon Books. Most, if not all, of those 1,000 books have sold out, McKinney adds.

And just in case you just can’t get enough of Joe, head on over to author Kealan Patrick Burke’s blog, where he does a guest shot writing about the virtues of creepy old buildings.