By Melissa Jones McGinnis
How did you get into the nerdy realms? What were some of your earliest nerdy memories? In truth, I think I was born a nerd and/or geek. I’ve always been a bit bookish, prone to reading things about history, geography and a host of other subjects from a very young age. Born disabled, I learned to read at age 3, probably out of necessity. But this fed my imagination and allowed me a very real (to me anyway) escape from the bonds of a body that wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do. I wrote my first short story when I was 9 years old. Honestly, that’s one of my first nerdy memories. That or the Superman lunchbox I had in Kindergarten. I remember seeing Superman II in theaters. I remember seeing the original Star Wars in theaters (I was barely 3 when it came out, yet I can remember it clear as day. One of the last real memories I have of that period of my life.) I eat, sleep and breathe geekdom. From G1 Transformers and GI Joe to the Syndicated Star Trek Original Series, these shows were my escape. I turned 46 March of 2020 and I still enjoy those shows… What genre(s) do you write? What is/are the title(s) of your book(s)? I’m known for my fiction. I somewhat “created” my genre. I refer to them collectively as “Detective Thrillers”. My Mendez Series is an ongoing series of detective books, set in and around my native East Texas area. Each book is a bit different, combining elements of a true “Whodunit?”, a Suspense tale, the conventional Thriller and a good old fashioned Mystery at time. Each book is different. In one book, you don’t know who the killer is until right at the very end. In another, not only do you know, you actually spend half the book in the killer’s POV. So, given the way the series varies, I lump them together as “Detective Thrillers.” I also have a YA Suspense story called Sutter’s Cave. Most recently, I compiled a collection of letters my grandfather wrote when he was in WW2 and released them in a book. I added a bit of history in the beginning for context but the focus of the book is the collection of thoughts written by my grandfather from the European theater. What did you get into first, cosplay or vending at events? What are some of the different bits of satisfaction you get from these? I attended my first Con in 2014. It was just as an attendee. Just wandering around, looking at everything, star struck by all the celebrities. That kind of thing. But I immediately knew it would be a good place to sell my books. I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. I love books. As I looked around at what they were buying, I noticed books were among the top things they were buying. Sure, they bought swords, t-shirts, comics, prints, and took the obligatory photo op. But there was a market for books, so I jumped on it in 2015. As of 2020, I’ve become somewhat of a regular on the scene. I have an established (if growing) following and that’s a nice thing. It’s always wonderful to see the same faces eager to see what I’ve been up to since the last event. It’s a very humbling feeling, if I’m being honest. What is your favorite con story? I have so many wonderful con stories, but my favorite one is somewhat negative in a way. I can look back on it and laugh now, but it was a learning experience. Long story short, I started going to the cons in 2014, as I said above. By 2016, I had decided I wanted to try cosplay. I am not a builder. Not “crafty” so I knew I was going to buy something rather than try to make it. Being a lover of MANY “fandoms”, It was difficult, but I finally decided to go in Star Trek TNG cosplay. I bought an Admiral’s coat, Fleet Admiral Rank Pips, the whole thing. I looked pretty good, all things considered. I wound up getting my friends to go with me, also in cosplay. At one point, they were waiting in line for a picture with someone from one of the rare fandoms I know nothing about. So, I was off to the side, in my wheelchair, just holding everyone’s stuff while they waited in line. Suddenly, this tall, gangly, young guy walked up to me, scowling like I’d just kicked his mother in the head or something. The closer he got, the more pursed his lips became. As he reached me, he looked me up and down and scoffed, “Admiral?” Even though I admit I was a tad nervous, I tried to diffuse the situation. I smiled, pointed to my collar and said, “Fleet Admiral!” Still agitated, he said, “Bit presumptuous ain’t it?” Still smiling, I said, “Well, no.” I pointed to my wheelchair and said, “Here’s my ship.” Then I pointed to my friends and said, “There’s my crew.” Still mad, he paused for a minute and finally walked away. My entire countenance fell. My day had been ruined. Or had it? Because, you see, before the kid was even out of earshot, a young girl walked up to me. She was maybe 17. Wearing a Star Trek TNG uniform and Lieutenant pips. And a battery operated tribble that shook and giggled when you squeezed it. Smiling, she saluted and said, “Hi Admiral!” I saluted back and said, “Nice to see you, Lieutenant!” We talked for a few seconds and she asked me if she could take a picture with me. I told her she could if she let me hold the tribble. She agreed. In a moment, what WAS the worst day of my con experience became one of my favorite days even years later. Within seconds, I found the lowest of the low and the highest of the high. And it’s all due to the perceptions of others. But I did learn a great lesson that day. Not everyone is nice. And that’s okay. For every person like that guy there are three like the young girl that made my day so great. What are some of your favorite events? Kilgore Geekend is my home. I look forward to it every year. I schedule my year around it. If anything else is scheduled on that weekend, it won’t happen. My people are there. Another great one is Tyler Comic Con. I’ve been going to both of them since the beginning. I’ve only missed one or two years, due to health problems. And only when I absolutely could not go. Who are some of your favorite local authors? What are other local authors doing that you really appreciate and/or admire? CJ Peterson and LM Mann are kind of my road buddies. My fellow Sabine ISD Alum Sandra Biersdorfer too. We go a lot of places together. Also, Mike Clifton and Mike Wigington. We’ve done a lot of the same events recently. They are constant faces in my world. I must also mention Anne Belle and Paul Petty. CL Parks and Patty Wiseman are each a literary force to be reckoned with in their respective genres. Honestly, I’ve been around this business for a long time. I’ve seen authors come and go. But if I were to try and list every author that I enjoy or every author that is talented or gifted or really good at XYZ, we’d be here a very long time. With the crossover of Cosplay and Modeling with the increased focus of Body Positivity, who do view how Cosplay has dealt with this subject? I don’t really know if I have a thought on it, to be honest. I’m not a cosplay person per se. I’m an author who has done cosplay once or twice. There are people some might think do cosplay an injustice by doing this or that. Others might think I’m a disservice to cosplay because I’m in a wheelchair and cosplayed a Star Trek TNG Admiral. I think people need to be able to express themselves. My books are not for everyone. The same could be said for certain cosplayers. Some go more risqué than others for example. Some events might cater to a more risqué audience and not want persons more tamed in their costuming. You’re always going to be “Too” something for some people. Whether you’re a writer, artist, cosplayer or any other creative person, just remember these words…. “Those aren’t your people.” What is your opinion on the aggressive growth of all the nerd conventions and events in North and East Texas? For me personally, I’d go to a new one every week if they were near to me. That being said, I worried for a while about the saturation in the Ark-La-Tex area. Unfortunately, cons have come and gone and new cons have started in their place and died after just a year or two. The reality is there’s only so much money in a person’s pocket at any given event. If we had more opportunities locally, there’d be more opportunities to get our various products in the hands of people. But, in order to accomplish that, you’d just about have to be a millionaire. The reality is smaller cons are rarely profitable, in the sense of making enough money to put another one on next month. Still. I see all these small East Texas Towns around here and I just feel like we need to bring these small communities together by having vendor fairs and cons in areas where they don’t have to drive an hour or three. Who are some of your favorite local non-author vendors? What are some clever vendors out there local that you think, “I wish I thought of that!”? I can’t name anyone by name, but I enjoy these events tremendously. I tend to migrate toward the t-shirt vendors myself, but I have met a tone of artists out there. I learn something new at each event. Whether it’s taking payments via paypal (something I had not done before) or having author merch available to support my books. Like I said, I’ve been around a while, so I’ve tried a lot, but the biggest thing I’ve learned is that there’s always something to learn. If we ever get back to a level of public safety where these events can continue, I promise you I will learn something new each time. I believe Bruce Lee said it best, when discussing his martial arts philosophy. “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is uniquely your own.” I’ve built my career on that philosophy and the great advice of others over the years. Any final thoughts? Whether we are authors, cosplayers, artists, voice actors or any other participant in events, we are family. Without regard for race, religion, creed, color, birth gender, gender identity or level of ability, we are one family. In a world that chastises people who CHOOSE to be one way or the other, we are uniquely positioned to be the leaders of tomorrow by respecting the differences of others. Find somebody different from you. And make them your friend. One pebble may be miniscule, but even the tiniest pebble can create ripples in the largest ocean. Here’s to the waves we will make in years to come. Love you al |
AuthorNorth Texas Nerd is a site for news, reviews, interviews, and opinions about all pop culture and geeky things happening and being made in North Texas. Archives
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