Blog

February 15, 2024

It’s Hard Being Good in Wild Cards.

by Peter Newman Deep down, I’m a bit of a sap. I like stories where protagonists who initially annoy each other get together at the end. I like stories where the heroes get a happily ever after, the villain is … Continue reading "It’s Hard Being Good in Wild Cards." Continue Reading

Brown Notes and Sound Cannons: Surrender, or We’ll Hit You with Doris Day Again

     by Bradley Denton      Wild Cards has never shied away from examining ignoble motives or behavior.  Characters who misuse their abilities are at least as common in Wild Cards as those who use their powers for good – and sometimes, those who … Continue reading "Brown Notes and Sound Cannons: Surrender, or We’ll Hit You with Doris Day Again" Continue Reading

When The Big Bad Won’t Stand Still

by David D. Levine I hope it isn’t telling tales out of school to share with you the fact that the writing of Joker Moon was a bit more difficult than the other Wild Cards books I’ve worked on. There were some … Continue reading "When The Big Bad Won’t Stand Still" Continue Reading

To Reno, NV – with Love from the Wolf

By David Anthony Durham When writing for Wild Cards one never knows where the storylines might take their characters. When my first character, Marcus Morgan (the Infamous Black Tongue) appeared in Fort Freak, he’d fled his family for New York City. I … Continue reading "To Reno, NV – with Love from the Wolf" Continue Reading

The Convention Scene

By Carrie Vaughn One of my favorite things to do as a science fiction and fantasy author is go to conventions.  Most aspiring SF&F writers, me included, are told that conventions are good places to network. Whatever “networking” means. I … Continue reading "The Convention Scene" Continue Reading

Your Experiences Are Your Characters’ Experiences, Too

by Stephen Leigh I’ve already written in these posts for Wild Cards about how I consider “Write what you know” to be equally good advice and yet horribly, terribly wrong. But let me expand on that concept one more time, … Continue reading "Your Experiences Are Your Characters’ Experiences, Too" Continue Reading

Adventures in Words and Images

by Melinda M. Snodgrass So, I wrote a funny book… scratch that. A comic book. Nope, I wrote a graphic novel. Sounds so much more impressive. Bantam, our new publisher for Wild Cards, commissioned three graphic novels and I was honored … Continue reading "Adventures in Words and Images" Continue Reading

Dr. Physics And the Aces

by Mark Lawrence It’s me again. Batter up. Once more into the blog fray. Yes, I’m just nibbling away at the word count while thinking desperately about what to write. I write my blog posts like my books – as … Continue reading "Dr. Physics And the Aces" Continue Reading

The Gashleycrumb Wild Cards

by Kevin Andrew Murphy A’s for Astronomer who summoned the Swarm B is for Bagabond whose beasts keep her warm C is for Cameo who could channel the dead D’s for Demise, deadly eyes in his head E’s for The … Continue reading "The Gashleycrumb Wild Cards" Continue Reading

Why I Don’t Hate the Jumper Books

by Walton Simons      The Jumper books, as they were originally conceived, are now perhaps more appropriately known as the Rox triad, a trilogy of books comprising One-Eyed Jacks, Jokertown Shuffle, and Dealer’s Choice. Repercussions of the Jumper storyline were also included in the … Continue reading "Why I Don’t Hate the Jumper Books" Continue Reading

Big Ups for the Bad Guys

by Cherie Priest Whenever I’m asked about my favorite Wild Cards villain, I risk sounding like some kind of originalist weirdo – because the guy who always springs immediately to mind is the original baddie who was there at the … Continue reading "Big Ups for the Bad Guys" Continue Reading

WILD CARDS, AI AND THE DEEP DARK SECRETS OF ORIGINALITY

by Peadar O Guilin Lightning strikes, and everything catches fire. “Eureka, eureka!” You’ve just sat in the bath and sent water spilling over the side. The apple above finally lets go, knocking ideas loose as it bounces from your wig and rolls … Continue reading "WILD CARDS, AI AND THE DEEP DARK SECRETS OF ORIGINALITY" Continue Reading

The Closer You Look, The Weirder It Gets

by David D. Levine If you want to know what someone’s real priorities are, look at what they do — how they spend their time — rather than what they say. Applying this metric to myself, I’m clearly a researcher … Continue reading "The Closer You Look, The Weirder It Gets" Continue Reading

Some Entertaining Bullshit about Echoes Echoes Echoes

by Bradley Denton          The aphorism “I’ve suffered for my art – now it’s your turn,” when applied to science fiction writers, usually means that the writers have done so much research on the scientific or technical aspects of their stories … Continue reading "Some Entertaining Bullshit about Echoes Echoes Echoes" Continue Reading

One hell of a Trip!

When strongest power doesn’t mean strongest mind by Matteo Barbagallo Part 1 With the beginning of 2023, many of us must have heard or seen somewhere that sentence concentrated in the words “new year, new me”. It’s a powerful statement, … Continue reading "One hell of a Trip!" Continue Reading

Xavier Desmond High

by Max Gladstone Situated near the border of Jokertown, on Forsyth St across from the Houston Street Playground, Xavier Desmond High offers the finest in well-meaning (and under-resourced) public education to the youth of Jokertown and New York City at … Continue reading "Xavier Desmond High" Continue Reading

Sometimes even monsters mean well: a meditation on the profitability of Takis-A

by Charles Stross “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and . . . then retreated back into their money . . . and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” — F. Scott … Continue reading "Sometimes even monsters mean well: a meditation on the profitability of Takis-A" Continue Reading

Bit Players

by William F. Wu             When I think back to reading comic books when I was a kid and a teen, sometimes I recall supporting characters whose roles started rather small and later were expanded. I don’t mean significant sidekicks and … Continue reading "Bit Players" Continue Reading

How to Upcycle Previous Work

by Caroline Spector I’m lazy, ask anyone I know. In fact, I’m so lazy that now as my blog post is due (and maybe I’ve whipped past the deadline. I also tend to run a little late.), I have no … Continue reading "How to Upcycle Previous Work" Continue Reading

A Tale of a Tail

By David Anthony Durham A big part of writing for Wild Cards is character creation. Finding a person you connect with. A backstory that speaks to you. Dreams and aspirations. Flaws and virtues. And then… you upend all of that with the … Continue reading "A Tale of a Tail" Continue Reading

Turning Cards, Collapsing Waves, and Lagrangian Mechanics (Still More Thoughts on the Phenomenology of Takis-A Expression)

by Ian Tregillis  Well, here we are again. For the second time in a row, writing this blog post isn’t the carefree lark that I’d hoped (and assumed) it would be by the time my turn in the Wild-Cards-blog-barrel came … Continue reading "Turning Cards, Collapsing Waves, and Lagrangian Mechanics (Still More Thoughts on the Phenomenology of Takis-A Expression)" Continue Reading

“Guys guys guys I got this idea…”

By Carrie Vaughn My idea? Alternate Alternate History Okay, hear me out, just think about it.  In the Wild Cards world, someone’s written a book.  What the hell, let’s go all-in:  Philip K. Dick has written a book.  So in our … Continue reading "“Guys guys guys I got this idea…”" Continue Reading

THE JOY OF FURNITURE

 by Peadar Ó Guilín What are you looking for when you open a book? Escape? That’s OK, we all need a place to go where the day-job and the chores can’t find us. Or perhaps, it’s education you seek. Or … Continue reading "THE JOY OF FURNITURE" Continue Reading

Get in, Punks, We’re Collaborating

by Gwenda Bond While my introduction precedes me, in the form of my husband (co-author of our life together, and sometimes co-author of fiction too) Christopher Rowe’s post: Hello! This is my first post since joining the plucky band of misfits … Continue reading "Get in, Punks, We’re Collaborating" Continue Reading

The Man In the Middle

by Daniel Abraham          I came in in the middle.  Probably, I’ll go out in the middle too.          When I first became aware of Wild Cards, it was as a reader in the late 1980s.  I hadn’t published anything, and wouldn’t for years.  I’m … Continue reading "The Man In the Middle" Continue Reading

NO Fooling…

 In a time when delusions of conspiracy are driving humanity to new lows of incivility, lies, and greed; when a suicidal war in Eastern Europe threatens to engulf the world; when propaganda and anti-social media have trumped science and truth; … Continue reading "NO Fooling…" Continue Reading

CUT & SHUFFLE

by Mark Lawrence When, to my great surprise, George RR Martin’s email appeared in my inbox inviting me to join the Wild Cards universe, I hadn’t ever read any of the books. So, the first thing I did was go … Continue reading "CUT & SHUFFLE" Continue Reading

The Importance of Being a Deuce

by Caroline Spector      A lean man wearing a rumpled suit opened the door to Sal’s Place, letting a gust of air conditioning out into the Vegas night. He looked tired and dejected.  Sal’s Place wasn’t crowded. Sitting alone at one … Continue reading "The Importance of Being a Deuce" Continue Reading

A Pair of Aces

by Christopher Rowe Apparently, it happens in a different way for pretty much every Wild Cards writer. Some of us (a lot of us but not me), were there at the beginning, when a bunch of people in New Mexico decided they … Continue reading "A Pair of Aces" Continue Reading

Side Effects

by Emma Newman An unexpected side-effect of living through a pandemic I debated whether it was too soon to write anything about Covid-19, because for heaven’s sake, surely none of us ever want to hear that word or think about … Continue reading "Side Effects" Continue Reading

What the Golden Age of Science Fiction Film Might Have Looked Like

by Walton Simons      The 1950s, particularly in the US, were the decade when Hollywood discovered the science fiction film. There had been several sf movies prior to that time, mostly presented as horror films like The Invisible Man and Island of Lost Souls, … Continue reading "What the Golden Age of Science Fiction Film Might Have Looked Like" Continue Reading

My Top Five Unanswered Questions in the Wild Cards World

by Carrie Vaughn When a series has been going on for thirty-five years, it’s inevitable:  we have some questions. Just a few details left hanging here and there. Things I just can’t stop thinking about. Here are a few of them.  … Continue reading "My Top Five Unanswered Questions in the Wild Cards World" Continue Reading

WRITING RIGHT

by Stephen Leigh WILD CARDS was instrumental in allowing me to discover the writing software I’d always desired. Honest. Here’s the story, if you’ll forgive a bit of necessary background first. When I was first starting out (when dinosaurs still … Continue reading "WRITING RIGHT" Continue Reading

The Wild Cards Wishbook: An ACES! Magazine Exclusive

by Kevin Andrew Murphy             So, you’ve been to Jokertown and want to come home with a souvenir of the Wild Card world (but not the actual Wild Card virus, mind you) but even the cheapest masks at Holbrooks are a bit expensive—and … Continue reading "The Wild Cards Wishbook: An ACES! Magazine Exclusive" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character (That I Didn’t Create) The Great and Powerful Turtle

by David D. Levine Every superhero universe has its archetypal hero. For DC, it’s Superman. For Marvel, it’s Spider-Man. And for Wild Cards, in my opinion, it’s Tom Tudbury, The Great and Powerful Turtle. The Turtle has been a part … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character (That I Didn’t Create) The Great and Powerful Turtle" Continue Reading

It’s a Matter of Time

by Peter Newman I’ve been thinking about what makes Wild Cards different from other worlds populated by super powered characters. There’s less spandex for one thing. And everyone in Wild Cards knows that the underpants go, well, under the pants. But it’s … Continue reading "It’s a Matter of Time" Continue Reading

Using Music to Enhance Stories

by William F. Wu Recently Jason Powell wrote a great essay about rock ‘n’ roll in Wild Cards. It made me think about the ways I used popular music which we can see it here in two of my Wild … Continue reading "Using Music to Enhance Stories" Continue Reading

Sick Monsters

by Cherie Priest Now let us sing of the apocalypse, brought to you by an alien virus, conniving extraterrestrials, and colossally bad luck.  The good news: it didn’t kill everybody, and a few folks came out the other side with … Continue reading "Sick Monsters" Continue Reading

A Brief History of Loudness

by Bradley Denton      My primary Wild Cards character, Freddie “Amplifier” Fullerton, the World’s Loudest Boy, has starred in one Wild Cards story so far (“Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed,” Tor.com, October 16, 2019), and he’s slated to appear in the upcoming … Continue reading "A Brief History of Loudness" Continue Reading

STORIES, LARGE AND SMALL

by Melinda M. Snodgrass Confession time. I didn’t read comics growing up. My parents wouldn’t let me, so it wasn’t until that now famous Super World game that I became interested in all this superhero stuff. Even now most of my knowledge … Continue reading "STORIES, LARGE AND SMALL" Continue Reading

BUSTED

By Diana Rowland Mangle and his crew—two men and two women—gathered around a folding table in the basement of his mama’s dry cleaners. He’d borrowed a fancy black suit from the rack upstairs, dead set on impressing his new gang. … Continue reading "BUSTED" Continue Reading

The B List; One-offs, Supporting Players, and Those Awaiting the Spotlight

By Walter Jon Williams I’ve created my fair share of Wild Cards characters, and some, like Golden Boy, Modular Man, and Black Shadow, have achieved prominence in the series.   I’ve also created a fair number of characters who were intended to … Continue reading "The B List; One-offs, Supporting Players, and Those Awaiting the Spotlight" Continue Reading

What Makes a Plastic Man?

by Max Gladstone Why does The Sleeper sleep? Why does the Amazing Bubbles blow bubbles, why does Morpho Girl transform, why does Wally Gunderson have iron skin, why does the Understudy mimic other peoples’ powers? The most basic and irrefutable … Continue reading "What Makes a Plastic Man?" Continue Reading

TRUE CONVENTION TALES: MARCH

 by Bob Wayne Bob Wayne here. I’m back with another episode of my True Convention Tales. During my years as a comics reader and retailer, and into my time in comics publishing, I’ve had many opportunities to meet my heroes. … Continue reading "TRUE CONVENTION TALES: MARCH" Continue Reading

Family, Beta Readers, Music, and Werewolves: My Writing Essentials

By David Anthony Durham Writers get asked straightforward questions like: “What’s your writing routine like?” or “How do you research?” or “What’s a typical writing day like for you?” A lot of writers have correspondingly straightforward answers. I, on the … Continue reading "Family, Beta Readers, Music, and Werewolves: My Writing Essentials" Continue Reading

Economics, world-building, and the Merchant Princes/Empire Games series

by Charles Stross Charlie Stross here. When I’m not writing for Wild Cards (which is, I regret to say, most of the time) I’m writing other stuff – mostly set in two continuities, which my publishers named the Laundry Files … Continue reading "Economics, world-building, and the Merchant Princes/Empire Games series" Continue Reading

HOW FAILING AT WILD CARDS MADE ME A BETTER WRITER (AND NAT)

My name is Andrew Miller and I was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to adapt the Wild Cards book series into a television show. TWO SHOWS, actually. So… that’s like a half-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Or the opportunity of two lifetimes? Anyway, I … Continue reading "HOW FAILING AT WILD CARDS MADE ME A BETTER WRITER (AND NAT)" Continue Reading

Drawing the Sexy Queen

By Matteo Barbagallo When GRRM gave me the opportunity to write an article for this blog, three different moods appeared on my face in the span of 5 minutes: pride, panic, and pressure. I call them the three P’s of … Continue reading "Drawing the Sexy Queen" Continue Reading

Supers

by Mark Lawrence GRRM reminded me that this blog post was due in three weeks and immediately a low grade panic set in. Not that I couldn’t think of anything to say in the general area of superheroes and Wild … Continue reading "Supers" Continue Reading

DEAL YOURSELF IN

by Peadar O Guilin Pick a card.  Look, I’ll make it easy for you. I’ll fan them out across the table and all you have to do is choose. But you hesitate. I think you’re afraid. Anybody who has followed … Continue reading "DEAL YOURSELF IN" Continue Reading

The Spy Who Came Down from the Sky

by Christopher Rowe In the 1950s, newsstands were everywhere in New York City. There were over 3,000 of them registered, their proprietors hawking newspapers and magazines to busy passersby in every borough. Around 1953, a new one went up at … Continue reading "The Spy Who Came Down from the Sky" Continue Reading

Power…and all that stuff

by Caroline Spector Recently, I got an email from George.  He was reminding me that I had a blog post due.  I explained that, no, my post was due two weeks later.  I checked my emails, and dammit, he was right.  Now I’m late … Continue reading "Power…and all that stuff" Continue Reading

Alternate History: Threat or Menace?

by Mary Anne Mohanraj Do you read a lot of alternate history?   It’s not actually a genre I’d read a lot of, before I started writing for Wild Cards.  Oh, plenty of historical fiction, but that tended to hew pretty close … Continue reading "Alternate History: Threat or Menace?" Continue Reading

Remaking the Past: Research for Writing Alternate History

by Carrie Vaughn Wild Cards is about superpowers.  But it’s also about history.  The very first book is rooted in history, and a branching timeline where history went…differently. Since then, the writers have dipped back into that history over and over, … Continue reading "Remaking the Past: Research for Writing Alternate History" Continue Reading

The Fallacy of the Ninety Percent (Further Thoughts on the Statistics of Takis-A Expression)

by Ian Tregillis Well, writing this post isn’t quite as carefree as I might have hoped. In my previous blog post (which you can read here if you’d like a refresher), written in May of 2019, I presented some simple thought experiments … Continue reading "The Fallacy of the Ninety Percent (Further Thoughts on the Statistics of Takis-A Expression)" Continue Reading

The Rise and Fall of the Perrin Comic Co.

By Steve Perrin Getting Started At one point in my early active fan days, the 1960s, before internet and cellphones and the like, I was living in the Santa Barbara, California, hills. I was being totally amazed at the concept … Continue reading "The Rise and Fall of the Perrin Comic Co." Continue Reading

Wild Cards in Guatemala

by Leanne C. Harper New York to Guatemala, rather a long, strange trip, even in the Wild Cards universe. When we started talking about taking Wild Cards global, intertwining the ancient and new intrigued me. I wanted to go somewhere … Continue reading "Wild Cards in Guatemala" Continue Reading

Revising Your World

by Stephen Leigh “Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives.”  — James Joyce # I think many of us would revise our current world if we could. Personally, I’d love to … Continue reading "Revising Your World" Continue Reading

The Church of Jesus Christ, Joker

By Kevin Andrew Murphy Religion plays a significant role in the Wild Card series and nowhere more publicly and obviously than Our Lady of Perpetual Misery, the parish of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker, in the heart of Jokertown.  The … Continue reading "The Church of Jesus Christ, Joker" Continue Reading

Masks: But Make it Fashion

by Cherie Priest 2020 has been a hell of a year from any number of angles, and ordinarily I might say something like, “But it’s never boring!” Except, of course, that it’s been wildly tedious for months, as responsible people … Continue reading "Masks: But Make it Fashion" Continue Reading

I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting

by Abigail Baker as told to Paul Cornell So, this is to explain why they recast my character, Kaley Cater, in the new box set of the Aliens Among Us audio dramas.  It had nothing to do with the pandemic.  Well, okay, it had … Continue reading "I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting" Continue Reading

A Writer Prepares

by David D. Levine I’ve often said that working on the Wild Cards project is about as close as I’m ever likely to get to working in television. We have a bunch of existing characters and situations, and we are … Continue reading "A Writer Prepares" Continue Reading

DRAWING A ROYAL FLUSH

by John Picacio I don’t know much about playing online poker at sites like qarchive.org, but I do know a bit about breaking curses. They’re both tricky propositions. You’ve gotta keep your eyes on the details. And it always helps … Continue reading "DRAWING A ROYAL FLUSH" Continue Reading

The Annotated “A Long Night At The Palmer House”

by John Jos. Miller Note: the following annotations discuss various people, places, and things as they exist in the real world, not the Wild Cards universe.  At least as best as current knowledge provides. Pg 13: Palmer House: The longest … Continue reading "The Annotated “A Long Night At The Palmer House”" Continue Reading

PLAYING PRETEND

by Melinda M. Snodgrass So you might have heard that role playing games had a little something to do with how Wild Cards was born. That is true, and I won’t go into it all again. Instead I’m going to … Continue reading "PLAYING PRETEND" Continue Reading

How Not Writing Made Me a Better Writer

by Diana Rowland From the time I was a toddler, I dreamed of becoming a novelist. My parents nurtured that aspiration, and my education and extracurriculars were laser focused to support my heart’s desire. HAHAHAHAHA Seriously y’all, that couldn’t be … Continue reading "How Not Writing Made Me a Better Writer" Continue Reading

Sound Advice (Not Followed)

by David Anthony Durham As a university professor, I frequently I find myself standing before a new class of creative writing students, needing to explain who I am, what I write, and why I’m qualified to help them with their … Continue reading "Sound Advice (Not Followed)" Continue Reading

THE OTHER GAME

by Walter Jon Williams That an RPG run by George R.R. Martin became the stimulus for Wild Cards is well known.  George spent years obsessed by Chaosium’s Superworld, and his set of gamers— Victor Milán, Royce Wideman, John Jos. Miller, Melinda Snodgrass, Gail Gerstner-Miller, … Continue reading "THE OTHER GAME" Continue Reading

Fifty Questions for Making Up (Super) People

by Saladin Ahmed For me personally, creating new characters is the purest, most focused joy of writing stories. I get a thrill from worldbuilding, and have been told I’m good at it, but it’s work that’s dauntingly broad in its … Continue reading "Fifty Questions for Making Up (Super) People" Continue Reading

Pictures and Words

by Max Gladstone Picture if you will Action Comics #1: a man wearing blue tights under red undies lifts a green 1937 DeSoto over his head, and smashes it against a cliff. A red cape billows from his shoulders. Crooks flee. Though … Continue reading "Pictures and Words" Continue Reading

On what it’s like to discover superhero fiction in your thirties, as a Brit

by Charles Stross So, here’s a thing: not only is the past another country, but the past – in another country – is doubly-alien: and yet, weird equivalences abound. I was born in the UK in the mid-1960s and grew up during … Continue reading "On what it’s like to discover superhero fiction in your thirties, as a Brit" Continue Reading

John Jos. Miller (1954-2022)

CRAIG W. CHRISSINGERAuthor John Jos. Miller, 67, died January 5, 2022 at his home in Albuquerque NM. Miller was best known for his work in the long-running (since 1987) Wild Cards shared-universe series of original anthologies and novels, edited by … Continue reading "John Jos. Miller (1954-2022)" Continue Reading

The Secret Origins of Wild Cards – Part Two

by Paul Cornell Last time we explored the membership of the Santa Fe gaming group where Wild Cards was born, and how they formed the core of the Collective that went on to create the books.  This time round, we’re looking at the … Continue reading "The Secret Origins of Wild Cards – Part Two" Continue Reading

Inside the Writers Room

by Michael Cassutt We are living in an era sometimes called “Peak TV,” though when FX chair John Landgraf coined the phrase in 2015, he was pondering a universe of close to 400 scripted programs, most of them drama, being … Continue reading "Inside the Writers Room" Continue Reading

EC and Me

by Bob Wayne I’ve told my comics and sf anecdotes over the years to my friends at convention panels and meals. George suggested that the Wild Cards readership may also want to see a few of them. So let’s start … Continue reading "EC and Me" Continue Reading

A Secret Chord

by Cherie Priest At almost any given author Q&A, somebody will raise a hand to ask if I work in the silence of a hermetically sealed office, or if I have a preferred Spotify channel to manage my tunes. The … Continue reading "A Secret Chord" Continue Reading

BEING THERE

by Peadar O Guilin Continuity matters in a movie and it’s not hard to understand why. When a car appears in the background of The Lord of the Rings, or Dorothy’s hair changes length between one shot of The Wizard of Oz and … Continue reading "BEING THERE" Continue Reading

How many superheroes are enough?

by Mark Lawrence I’ve been reading about, and more recently watching, superheroes my whole life. In the 70s I was raised on Marvel & DC comics, and the UK’s 2000AD. I watched the original Batman show on TV and the first … Continue reading "How many superheroes are enough?" Continue Reading

Time Traveling with the Low Chicago Paperback

If you could travel to any time and place in 20th-century America, where would you go? How about 1920s Chicago? Picture it: Illicit alcohol, Capone and his cronies ruling the streets, thousands of underground gambling spots. The ’20s may have … Continue reading "Time Traveling with the Low Chicago Paperback" Continue Reading

My Favorite Villain (by another author): The Astronomer

By Kevin Andrew Murphy Wild Cards has had a lot of great villains over the years, from Puppetman to Baba Yaga to Babd.  Some are victims of circumstance like Bloat.  Others are almost alien in their amorality, like Ti Malice.  A few, like … Continue reading "My Favorite Villain (by another author): The Astronomer" Continue Reading

The Hardhat of Two Worlds

by Christopher Rowe There used to be a very exclusive annual party held in a very exclusive location. It was most often put on in an enormous high-tech satellite in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles in the sky, and to receive an invitation you had … Continue reading "The Hardhat of Two Worlds" Continue Reading

I’ll stop gaming when you pry this controller from my cold dead hands

by Caroline Spector I love to game.  I’m pretty slutty when it comes to games. Card, board, role-playing, video, computer, mobile free online bingo games – I do not care.  (Of course, nowadays, everyone is a gamer. Or at least enough people … Continue reading "I’ll stop gaming when you pry this controller from my cold dead hands" Continue Reading

The Knaves Over Queens Reviews Are In!

Praise Is Spreading Like a Virus for the New UK-Based Wild Cards Book As every Wild Cards reader knows, few events are as exciting as a new book release…okay, other than, say, running into George R. R. Martin when you’re … Continue reading "The Knaves Over Queens Reviews Are In!" Continue Reading

Real People, Alternate History

by Mary Anne Mohanraj Most of my characters for Wild Cards have been invented entirely from scratch – which isn’t easy, especially when I’m trying to come up with interesting superpowers in a landscape already populated with a host of … Continue reading "Real People, Alternate History" Continue Reading

SECRET ORIGINS

by Paul Cornell It’s widely known that the Wild Cards universe began with a circle of friends and a role-playing game, when George R.R. Martin ran Superworld for his local writer buddies in New Mexico, starting in late 1983.  There’s a good … Continue reading "SECRET ORIGINS" Continue Reading

Wild Cards: The Soundtrack

by Carrie Vaughn Really, I shouldn’t be the one writing about music in the Wild Cards universe. The consortium features a number of actual, performing musicians – Stephen Leigh on guitar, Caroline Spector on bass. I took piano lessons for … Continue reading "Wild Cards: The Soundtrack" Continue Reading

The First Time I Stopped Reading Comic Books

by Daniel Abraham             This would have been in the late 1980s.  I was just finishing high school and starting up as a freshman  in college. I was still living at my parents’ house, but I had my own car and my own door … Continue reading "The First Time I Stopped Reading Comic Books" Continue Reading

When Characters Take The Wheel

by Marko Kloos I don’t usually dispense advice about writing. That’s because I know that every writer’s process is different, and I have barely figured out what works for me. That said, the subject will come up on occasion on Twitter … Continue reading "When Characters Take The Wheel" Continue Reading

Confessions of a Lazy Writer

by Walton (Bud) Simons      I didn’t have a passion to write as a child or young adult. I loved reading books. Other than maybe listening to music, reading was what I enjoyed most. Fiction, non-fiction, encyclopedias, comic books, you name … Continue reading "Confessions of a Lazy Writer" Continue Reading

The Fallacy of the One Percent (A Thought Experiment)

by Ian Tregillis No, I’m not talking about capitalism or high-finance here. In the world of Wild Cards, the “one percent” can only mean one thing: aces! But what fallacy? Well, I’m a scientist (but with zero knowledge of biology, virology, … Continue reading "The Fallacy of the One Percent (A Thought Experiment)" Continue Reading

Weaving Her In

by Emma Newman As a new member of the Wild Cards consortium, I have only written for one volume so far, Knaves Over Queens, and that was an origin story for Stonemaiden. When Stonemaiden touches a living, organic creature, it turns … Continue reading "Weaving Her In" Continue Reading

6 Reasons Game of Thrones Fans Will Like Wild Cards

Sad Game of Thrones has ended? Never fear, Wild Cards may just have you covered! Continue Reading

Cyclone RIP RIP

By Steve Perrin Many long time Wild Carders remember Cyclone, the Ace’s Ace, the ace who wore a distinctive costume and flew magnificently over the heads of other aces and always managed to thrust himself to the fore whenever publicity … Continue reading "Cyclone RIP RIP" Continue Reading

Just Foolin’

Okay, it’s April 2, time to fess up. Yesterday’s Wild Cards post, the leaked footage and all, was our April Fools prank. I hope we fooled some of you, and gave you a few moments of fun… or horror. But … Continue reading "Just Foolin’" Continue Reading

Leaked Hulu Footage!

Seems that some footage of the upcoming Hulu Wildcards TV show has leaked so we get to see just where they’re at! Check out this video of all the action and a few words from Showrunner Andrew Miller: Everybody (well, … Continue reading "Leaked Hulu Footage!" Continue Reading

WORD-BUILDING IN WILD CARDS

by Michael Cassutt [Trigger warning: this post, allowing for some authorial meandering, will eventually deal with the subject of slurs and derogatory language.]          You read that correctly: the L is absent. We aren’t talking about the global complexities of creating … Continue reading "WORD-BUILDING IN WILD CARDS" Continue Reading

From Iron Fist to Wild Cards

By William F. Wu      When George first invited me to join Wild Cards so many years ago, I was especially excited by the idea because I had spent so many years reading comics. I had also studied a class on … Continue reading "From Iron Fist to Wild Cards" Continue Reading

Building a Joker Moon

by David D. Levine This doesn’t come up often, but my college degree is in architecture. I’ve never used it professionally (I graduated in the middle of a recession, couldn’t find work as an architect, and stumbled into high tech, … Continue reading "Building a Joker Moon" Continue Reading

How My Characters are Born

(Or How I Learned to Embrace the Dark Side) by Melinda M. Snodgrass Confession time — I play games like w88.com.  In particular role playing games —  and now that my RPG days seem to be sadly behind me (sniff) I … Continue reading "How My Characters are Born" Continue Reading

Killing (Spoiler)

by David Anthony Durham One of the many challenges about writing for Wild Cards is that you’re not only required to create and write about your own original characters, you’ve got to include other people’s characters in your stories as … Continue reading "Killing (Spoiler)" Continue Reading

Why Yeoman?

By John Jos. Miller Long-time readers of Wild Cards probably already know that Daniel Brennan (Yeoman) was my first point-of-view character in the series, and is also one of the few characters from the original role-playing game to make it … Continue reading "Why Yeoman?" Continue Reading

The World Outside Your Window

By Max Gladstone Superpowered universes rarely have much history. They have continuity, sure, tons of the stuff, but you can have an awful lot of continuity without adding up to history. And that, to my mind, is where the world … Continue reading "The World Outside Your Window" Continue Reading

Fireworks

By Laura J. Mixon Greetings, fellow Wildcardians! Last fall I appeared on these pages to dish on my own origin story as a Wild Cards writer. My post was about two stories I wrote for the Card Sharks trilogy, and … Continue reading "Fireworks" Continue Reading

THE SCARE

  by Walter Jon Williams Wild Cards is set in an alternative history, which means— pretty much by definition— that it exists as a kind of distorted reflection of our history.  So in Wild Cards we see episodes out of our … Continue reading "THE SCARE" Continue Reading

Leveling Up and Powering Through

  by Cherie Priest The other day, I was asked how working with the Wild Cards team has affected the way I write my other books and stories. You see, I’m not generally known to be a “collaborating” sort of … Continue reading "Leveling Up and Powering Through" Continue Reading

Excerpts from I WASN’T BORN WITH WINGS

A Memoir by Peregrine This book is dedicated to the men in my life Josh McCoy, my beloved husband And John Fortune, my amazing son Most of you know me.  I am pretty famous.  I have had a TV show, … Continue reading "Excerpts from I WASN’T BORN WITH WINGS" Continue Reading

Ask Miss Wild Cards

Dear Miss Wild Cards,   I’ve noticed lately that Mick Jagger’s muzzle is getting awfully grey when he’s in lycanthrope form.  Do you suppose the Stones might be looking for a younger singer sometime in the near future?  I can … Continue reading "Ask Miss Wild Cards" Continue Reading

STOLEN SPACE

by Michael Cassutt It’s said that you can find anything in the world somewhere on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, from vintage autos to clothing of every period – Elizabethan England, anyone? – from several movie studios to … Continue reading "STOLEN SPACE" Continue Reading

Me and My Understudy

by Paul Cornell I remember clearly the moment I was called upon to join the world of Wild Cards.  I was in the bar at a convention, and Melinda Snodgrass came to find me.  ‘George would like to talk to … Continue reading "Me and My Understudy" Continue Reading

COMING UP ACES

By Marko Kloos One of the best things about being a Wild Cards writer is that you get to make up your own characters from scratch. That is also one of the most difficult things about being a Wild Cards … Continue reading "COMING UP ACES" Continue Reading

The Terrible Five conquer the Bay Area

By Steve Perrin This is a spotty chronicle of how I and a select group of friends set out to become the fanzine masters of San Francisco Bay Area comics fandom. Our core group of myself, Paul Moslander, Johnny Chambers, … Continue reading "The Terrible Five conquer the Bay Area" Continue Reading

Comic Books I’ve Known and Loved

By Walton Simons Although I haven’t done a survey of my fellow Wild Card authors, I’m guessing many have been (perhaps still are) comic book fans. Wild Cards was technically birthed from a game, but its origins clearly arise from … Continue reading "Comic Books I’ve Known and Loved" Continue Reading

Disability Clichés in Wild Cards: An Introduction

by Mary Anne Mohanraj I’m honestly sort of surprised that there haven’t been entire academic books written about disability which also describes on appealing a denied claim as it presents in the Wild Cards universe, since it’s pretty much baked … Continue reading "Disability Clichés in Wild Cards: An Introduction" Continue Reading

 For Superheroes in Prose

by Carrie Vaughn Because I write about superheroes, both for Wild Cards and in my own Golden Age novels, I get asked a lot:  Have you always been into comic books? And the answer is no, I have not always … Continue reading " For Superheroes in Prose" Continue Reading

A Hero and an Origin Story

by Emma Newman We love telling stories about heroes, and as a writer, I see it as part of my job. I’m going to tell you a story about hero now, but not a superhero; a real life one. It’s … Continue reading "A Hero and an Origin Story" Continue Reading

Aces and Jokers and Nats, Oh My

By Daniel Abraham   One of the things I admire most about the whole Wild Cards project – and one of the things I’ve gotten to play with in my stories here – is taxonomy.  Okay, that sounds a little … Continue reading "Aces and Jokers and Nats, Oh My" Continue Reading

The True and Terrible Tale of American Hero

by George R.R. Martin ((Beware Spoilers Below)) All true Wild Card fans, and regular readers of these blog posts, know the not-so-secret origin of the reality series American Hero. Carrie Vaughn started all the trouble, when you come right down to … Continue reading "The True and Terrible Tale of American Hero" Continue Reading

The Ones That Get Away : Alternate Histories of an Alternate Universe

by Ian Tregillis There are stories we never get to tell.  Every ace in the consortium has a couple, or a dozen, up their sleeve. Even the ones who are no longer with us.   Sometimes we don’t get to … Continue reading "The Ones That Get Away : Alternate Histories of an Alternate Universe" Continue Reading

WRITING WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

by Stephen Leigh “Write what you know.”  That’s the advice that aspiring writers are often given in university creative writing courses.  And that’s fine if you’re writing mainstream fiction that’s set in the present time and in the same city … Continue reading "WRITING WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW" Continue Reading

Rosa Loteria & her loteria cards revealed thus far…

By Kevin Andrew Murphy I’ve created a great number of characters for the Wild Cards series, but one of my favorites is Rosa Loteria who first appeared in Inside Straight.  My inspiration for Rosa started with a young woman I … Continue reading "Rosa Loteria & her loteria cards revealed thus far…" Continue Reading

Coming In October

This is going to be an epic year for all you Wild Cards fans out there. Let’s see. In June we have LOW CHICAGO, coming out from Tor in the US, and KNAVES OVER QUEENS, scheduled for release from Voyager … Continue reading "Coming In October" Continue Reading

Wild Cards, Water Lily, and Me

by Pat Cadigan All y’all probably know the origin story behind Wild Cards—the game the writers were playing together, and George RR Martin selling a shared-world series of novels based on it. I wasn’t there. In the mid-1980s, when I … Continue reading "Wild Cards, Water Lily, and Me" Continue Reading

Gucci Gott’cha!

April FOOLS yah all!   As fun as a Wild Cards inspired line of clothing would be we were just having a bit of fun with you guys.  We hope you didn’t get too excited.  😉   Continue Reading

Wild Card Chic Returns

“Wild Card Chic,” dated June 1971, in the first eponymous volume, Wild Cards, is attributed to Tom Wolfe and written in his style. It details how, after the horror of the McCarthy years and the sadness of the sixties, Wild … Continue reading "Wild Card Chic Returns" Continue Reading

That Time My Brother and I Did Wild Cards Cosplay but Couldn’t Leave the House

by Carrie Vaughn So back before there was cosplay there was just costuming, and about the only place to show off your work was at science fiction convention masquerades. Flashback to 1997, when my brother Rob and I were just … Continue reading "That Time My Brother and I Did Wild Cards Cosplay but Couldn’t Leave the House" Continue Reading

Ask Miss Wildcards

    Dear Miss Wildcards, Now that I’m in Wild Cards what do I do?  I’m afraid. -Scared in Pittsburg   Dear Scared, Of course, you’re scared, dear.  Who wouldn’t be?  After all, you have some 300 named characters and … Continue reading "Ask Miss Wildcards" Continue Reading

The British are Coming!

The British are coming! The British are coming!! The British Wild Cards, that is. Aces, jokers, deuces, and a few knaves too. Oh, and an Irish guy as well. They will be here on June 28. That’s when HarperCollins Voyager … Continue reading "The British are Coming!" Continue Reading

Telling Stories

by Saladin Ahmed When I was a kid stories were the most important thing in the world to me. Like any kid my age I watched lots of TV, but unlike most of the kids around me I was also … Continue reading "Telling Stories" Continue Reading

House of Cards

by Max Gladstone I’m here because of Roger.   I don’t mean here-on-the-Wild Cards-blog-here, I mean, quite likely, here-writing-science-fiction here. When I was a kid, my uncle gave me a battered cardboard box of science fiction paperbacks from the1970s or … Continue reading "House of Cards" Continue Reading

My Character Would Never Say That! Actually, it’s Kinda Cool You Had Them Say That….

  by Melinda M. Snodgrass Apart from the obvious  — everybody is writing in the same universe— a good shared world has another feature: you get to use each other’s characters. Now, that can lead to a terrible outcome if … Continue reading "My Character Would Never Say That! Actually, it’s Kinda Cool You Had Them Say That…." Continue Reading

Another Ace Falls

Our writing community here in New Mexico, and the world of SF and fantasy in general, took a blow yesterday afternoon when our friend Victor Milan died after two months of suffering and struggle in a series of Albuquerque hospitals. … Continue reading "Another Ace Falls" Continue Reading

The Supporting Cast

By David Anthony Durham I’ve written a couple of blog posts about the process of creating my main Wild Cards characters, Infamous Black Tongue (IBT) and Bacho (who will debut in the forthcoming Texas Hold ‘Em). For this post, I … Continue reading "The Supporting Cast" Continue Reading

Wild Cards and Comics

by Bob Wayne My background is different from most of the Wild Cards contributors.  I’ve written some comics (including the Time Masters series with fellow Wild Cards writer Lewis Shiner), but most of my time has been spent on the … Continue reading "Wild Cards and Comics" Continue Reading

Triple Dualities

by William F. Wu Wild Cards is special in many ways. Looking back, I find that even the choices I’ve made for protagonists are unique among my work. I’ve written stories about two and a half protagonists for Wild Cards, … Continue reading "Triple Dualities" Continue Reading

Modular Man: Fresh Out of the Box

  by Walter Jon Williams Modular Man is probably the strongest character in the Wild Cards universe who isn’t actually a wild card.  He’s got superhuman reflexes, superhuman strength, superhuman perception.  He can fly.  He’s immune to mind control.  Depending … Continue reading "Modular Man: Fresh Out of the Box" Continue Reading

Sewer Jack and Bagabond: Collaborating with Edward Bryant  

By Leanne C. Harper It seemed like such a reasonable idea at the time.  George R. R. Martin had gotten in touch with Edward Bryant, Nebula Award-winning Denver author, about Wild Cards, his new shared world anthology.  Wild Cards was … Continue reading "Sewer Jack and Bagabond: Collaborating with Edward Bryant  " Continue Reading

Wild Cards Hollywood

by Kevin Andrew Murphy Most of the Wild Cards series takes place in New York, in Manhattan, in and about the environs of Jokertown, the former Bowery.  But the wild card virus touched more than just the city and in … Continue reading "Wild Cards Hollywood" Continue Reading

Submissions, Profiteroles, and Croyd

  by Sage Walker I was invited to lunch at El Nido in Santa Fe. Selling a few short stories had happened and I was sort of legit in the New Mexico science fiction community. A newbie, but I had … Continue reading "Submissions, Profiteroles, and Croyd" Continue Reading

Round Peg, Hexagonal Hole… No, Pentagonal. No, Heptagonal!

by David D. Levine I’ve often said that writing for Wild Cards is as close as I’m likely to get to working in television. As with a television series, in addition to your own creations you are working with characters … Continue reading "Round Peg, Hexagonal Hole… No, Pentagonal. No, Heptagonal!" Continue Reading

The Curious Persistence of Wild Cards: What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

by Victor Milán If you’d told me in 1983 that the present I was giving George RR Martin for Christmas would be, by a long shot, the best investment I ever made, I wouldn’t have thought you were crazy. I … Continue reading "The Curious Persistence of Wild Cards: What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been" Continue Reading

My Mother, the Cobra meets Evil Girl-Genius (Who Always Wanted a Pony) A reflection on my experiences with Wild Cards

by Laura J. Mixon Once upon a die-roll, my friends Melinda Snodgrass and Walter Jon Williams invited me to join a group of fellow New Mexican science fiction writers and fans, who got together on a regular basis to play … Continue reading "My Mother, the Cobra meets Evil Girl-Genius (Who Always Wanted a Pony) A reflection on my experiences with Wild Cards" Continue Reading

Wild Card and Sports

By John Jos. Miller One of the things that’s the most fun about writing in the  Wild Card universe, other than torturing other writers’ characters, is that sometimes you get to ride your favorite hobby horse. If not taken to … Continue reading "Wild Card and Sports" Continue Reading

Aces Over England

Aces! Jokers! Once more into the breach… or close the wall up with our English dead. Which is another way of saying that I’ve just finished editing and assembling our latest Wild Cards book, KNAVES OVER QUEENS, the twenty-seventh volume … Continue reading "Aces Over England" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character

(That I Didn’t Create) The Fan of a Thousand Faces: Mr. Nobody by Kevin Andrew Murphy Wild Cards has a bunch of characters who have a number of different faces, guises, ace names, alternate identities, secret and not, and sometimes … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character

(That I Didn’t Create) Jay Ackroyd By Walton (Bud) Simons “Might as well, can’t dance.” Unlike the comics that inspired Wild Cards, there are very few lines of dialogue that are specifically associated with one of our characters. Sure, Jetboy’s … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character" Continue Reading

My Two Favorite Wild Card Characters

(That I Didn’t Create) by Stephen Leigh I truly enjoy writing for the Wild Cards universe, as using characters other people have created (and using them in a manner that their creators intended) is part and parcel of the process, … Continue reading "My Two Favorite Wild Card Characters" Continue Reading

On the Trials and Tribulations of Werewolves

By David Anthony Durham About a year ago, I pitched a new character to George for an upcoming Wild Cards novel called Texas Hold Em’. I’m very pleased to say that he accepted the character, and I wrote a story … Continue reading "On the Trials and Tribulations of Werewolves" Continue Reading

How Do You Tell an Interlinked Story?

  by Mary Anne Mohanraj   This is only partly a blog post about Wild Cards; it’s as much about Ellen Kushner’s Tremontaine, which is the OTHER shared world series I write for.  The experiences of writing for both were … Continue reading "How Do You Tell an Interlinked Story?" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)

  Who’s Your Hoodoo Mama? by Caroline Spector I blame George. It’s important to have someone to blame, especially in Wild Cards.  There are always a lot of moving parts in any Wild Cards project and this means there are … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)

Rustbelt A Most Decent Fellow by Melinda M. Snodgrass Who somehow managed to get the cover of a novel all to himself (battling a crocodile while wearing a pith helmet no less) after he began life as a single thro … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)" Continue Reading

My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)

It’s All Dr. Tachyon’s Fault! by Carrie Vaughn It’s all Tachyon’s fault.  And he knows it.             That’s kind of why I love him. He’s like that one friend who tries to fix everything, fails (because no one can fix … Continue reading "My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create)" Continue Reading

Wild Cards: the Austin Connection

by Walton (Bud) Simons New Mexico — Albuquerque and Santa Fe in particular — is the center of the Wild Cards universe. The series grew from a group of New Mexico writers who invested an inordinate amount of time and … Continue reading "Wild Cards: the Austin Connection" Continue Reading

High Stakes NOW available in Paper Back!

Thats right kids if you were waiting to read the latest installment in the Wild Cards series till it hit the shelves in a more affordable format, now is your chance.  Click on the book cover to take you to … Continue reading "High Stakes NOW available in Paper Back!" Continue Reading

Worlds of Wild Cards

by Gregory Noveck I’ve always wanted superheroes to be real. Sometimes, in a more pragmatic frame of mind, I specifically wish super powers were real, the heroing bit not so much. My 70s and 80s childhood was replete with comic … Continue reading "Worlds of Wild Cards" Continue Reading

The Origins of Natya

by Mary Anne Mohanraj This isn’t going to be a normal superhero origin story.  It’s Wild Cards, so you already know how Natya got her powers – she was first Kavita Kandiah, a dancer who contracted the virus, and came … Continue reading "The Origins of Natya" Continue Reading

APRIL FOOLS!

Every April first, someone plunks my magic twanger and I can’t help myself. So, sadly, I must confess that Wild Cards is NOT coming to Broadway. (But wouldn’t it be swell if it did? After I finished writing that blog post, I … Continue reading "APRIL FOOLS!" Continue Reading

WILD CARDS Comes to Broadway!

It was 1987 when Bantam Books released Wild Cards, the first volume of what would turn out to be the longest-running and best-selling shared world anthology of all time (though no one ever dreamed of that back then).   The very … Continue reading "WILD CARDS Comes to Broadway!" Continue Reading

The Secret Origins of the Wild Card Universe

according to John Jos. Miller Where to begin?  That’s a good question.  About a gazillion events over a period of thirty-some years had to coalesce in the proper manner to produce the Wild Card Universe as it’s constituted today… but … Continue reading "The Secret Origins of the Wild Card Universe" Continue Reading

WILD CARDS Rocks On!

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY just broke the story here  http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/72958-book-deals-week-of-march-6-2017.html so now that we’ve gone public, I’m jazzed to be able to announce a huge new deal for WILD CARDS. Our uber-agent, Kay McCauley of Aurous, has just come to agreement with the good … Continue reading "WILD CARDS Rocks On!" Continue Reading

It’s a Long and Winding Road

(to the Small Screen) By Melinda M. Snodgrass So how did we get Wild Cards to television? Well, it wasn’t easy.  The development process in Hollywood has become even more Byzantine, like a fetch quest in a video game — … Continue reading "It’s a Long and Winding Road" Continue Reading

Publication Day

… for the long-awaited Tor reissue of ACE IN THE HOLE, volume six in the Wild Cards series. Look for it on the shelves of your friendly neighborhood bookstore, among the trade paperbacks, or from whichever online bookseller you prefer. … Continue reading "Publication Day" Continue Reading

The Sleeper

  My Favorite Wild Cards Character (that I didn’t create) The Sleeper By Walter Jon Williams When George R.R. Martin assembled the original nest of writers for the Wild Cards project, he cast a wide net.  Some were old friends, … Continue reading "The Sleeper" Continue Reading

One of Our Aces Has Fallen.

Very sad news out of Denver for all readers of science fiction and fantasy, and for Wild Cards fans in particular. We’ve just received word that Ed Bryant has died. Ed did reviews for LOCUS for years, and they’ve posted … Continue reading "One of Our Aces Has Fallen." Continue Reading

Good Thing I Had Kids

On Creating My First Wild Cards Character   By David Anthony Durham   In March of 2009 I got an email. The subject line was “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet?” It was from someone with an email that looked suspiciously … Continue reading "Good Thing I Had Kids" Continue Reading

Wild Cards Take Texas

We’re calling the latest Wild Cards volumes the America Triad. First one up was MISSISSIPPI ROLL, which we completed and turned in back in October. Then came LOW CHICAGO, which was delivered in December. And now comes the third and … Continue reading "Wild Cards Take Texas" Continue Reading

A Brief History of SUPERWORLD

-the game that gave birth to Wild Cards By Steve Perrin Baby Steps It started off camera, you could say, because I wasn’t present for the start. I was just starting to work full time at the Chaosium, a mid … Continue reading "A Brief History of SUPERWORLD" Continue Reading

BIG ebook deal from TOR

Haven’t tried Wild Cards yet? Here’s your chance. Tor is now offering an ebook bundle special on first five volumes of Wild Cards Available for only $39.99! Here’s your chance to find out who Gregg Hartmann is, meet Dr. Tachyon … Continue reading "BIG ebook deal from TOR" Continue Reading

Pulling Strings: The Saga of Gregg Hartmann, aka “Puppetman”

by Stephen Leigh Ultimately, it’s all George’s fault, so blame him.  I remember getting a phone call from George one evening in early 1986 (I think…), which went something like this:  “Hey, Steve, you like role-playing games, right?”  I told him … Continue reading "Pulling Strings: The Saga of Gregg Hartmann, aka “Puppetman”" Continue Reading

Wild Cards Take Chicago!

New York City has been the center of the Wild Cards universe since 1946, when Dr. Tod met Jetboy in the skies over Broadway, and the Takisian xerovirus was unleashed upon the world. It’s past time the Second City got … Continue reading "Wild Cards Take Chicago!" Continue Reading

A Wild Cards Fangirl Writes for Wildcards

This is a cartoon Carrie Vaughn drew after writing her first story for the Wild Cards universe. Continue Reading

Shuffling the Deck or, Book Four and the World Tour

{HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! You do not want to read what follows until after you’ve finished Aces Abroad and the three books before it} Wild Cards began with a three-book contract, but the series was always intended to be open-ended. … Continue reading "Shuffling the Deck or, Book Four and the World Tour" Continue Reading

So We Have This Plot Hiccup, And This Deadline…

(Or, “How Fast Can You Write, Kid?”) In my previous post as a guest blogger here at Tor.com, I touched on some of the brainstorming and planning that goes on behind the scenes when writing Wild Cards novels. I’ve written … Continue reading "So We Have This Plot Hiccup, And This Deadline…" Continue Reading

The First Wild Cards Day or, the Game That Ate My Life

In the books, Wild Cards Day is celebrated every September 15, in memory of September 15, 1946, the day that Jetboy spoke his immortal last words while Dr. Tod loosed an alien virus over Manhattan. In real life, September 15, … Continue reading "The First Wild Cards Day or, the Game That Ate My Life" Continue Reading

Neither Fish Nor Fowl, or, How Down Got Dirty

WARNING: excessive editorial honesty ahead. Proceed at your own risk. Editing Down & Dirty almost drove me mad. You’ve read the book by now (if not, shame on you for reading this part first—there’s a reason we call them Afterwords, … Continue reading "Neither Fish Nor Fowl, or, How Down Got Dirty" Continue Reading

Making a Mosaic, or, Third Time’s the Charm

The great boom in shared world anthologies began in 1979, when Ace Books published Robert Asprin’s Thieves World, the first volume in a long-running fantasy series about the imaginary city of Sanctuary and the motley cast of swordsmen, sorcerers, princes, … Continue reading "Making a Mosaic, or, Third Time’s the Charm" Continue Reading

From Game to Book or, the Birth of a Shared World

Once upon a time…— it was September 20, 1983, if you insist on being picky — Vic Milan gave me a role-playing game called SuperWorld for my birthday. A fateful gift indeed. It triggered a two-year-long role playing orgy that … Continue reading "From Game to Book or, the Birth of a Shared World" Continue Reading