Our next Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight features David Levine, who is displayed on card number 177 from the Science Fiction Collection.  David is a multi-winning author with over 60 science fiction stories to his name.  Numerous awards such as the 2006 Hugo Award for best short story and the 2017 Andre Norton award for his book Arabella of Mars. He is also a member of Book View Café, a writer-owned publishing cooperative.  He is working on his third novel which will be coming out soon.  You can find more information on David at his website,  www.daviddlevine.com.

How early in your life did you know you would be a writer?

I started writing science fiction at a very young age. I wrote a whole SF novel in fourth grade. But I stopped writing fiction after I graduated from college and didn't start again until I was 37. I think it was at age 40 or so that I seriously started to identify myself as "an SF writer."

Our next Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight features Tammy Coxen, who is displayed on card number 199 from the Science Fiction Collection.  Tammy is what they call a SMOF (Secret Master of Fandom). She started working on fan-run conventions in 1997, eventually becoming chair of her local convention, ConFusion.  After attending her first Worldcon in 2000, she became active in Worldcon fandom and has held a variety of area and division head roles.  In 2014 she was the chair of Detcon1, the 11th North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC).  She continues to work on conventions near and far, large and small.

Are you still involved with science fiction today, and what role do you play?

I am still an active convention runner. I’m currently the Division Head for Member and Staff Services for Dublin 2019, An Irish Worldcon. I’m also active with Worldcon 76 coming up this year in San Jose, California, where I’m helping with the Retro Hugo presentation. On a more local level, I’m head of programming for Capricon, a regional convention in Chicago, IL.

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Natalie Rossetti who is displayed on card number 2078, from the Superstars of 2015 Collection.   Natalie has been in the television and media world for many years now.   She has worked on a variety of TV shows such as Fly Girls on the CW network.  In 2012, she joined forces with Dave Danzara and was the videographer and editor of the documentary, “The Video Craze”.  She is currently in the process of another gaming documentary called “No Princess in the Castle”, a film about women in the gaming industry.  Natalie also owns her own film company called White Willow Films.  

Do you remember your first video game / arcade you played and what do you remember about it?

I might be aging myself here, but my older brother had an ATARI 2600 in the early 80’s and I had to ask him for weeks if I could try it out.  When he finally said yes, I just remember staring at the screen not really knowing what a video game was exactly. I have no idea what game I played, but I’m guessing it was Asteroids. 

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features David Kaelin, who is displayed on card number 448, from the Superstars of 2013.   David is the CEO/President of Game Over Videogames & organizer of Classic Game Fest.  Game Over Video Games was started in 2005 and continues today as a leading Retro game shop.  The mission was simple, to create a huge place to find and get the best retro game and system experience in the United States.  David also helps run one of the biggest retro game conventions in Texas called “Classic Game Fest”. This year it falls on July 28th and 29th.  His dedication to the industry helps keep the classic gaming world alive and well and fund for all generations.  

Do you believe some Video Games are too violent and lead to violence in America today? 

No way!  There is no game, movie, or TV show that forces anyone to kill another person or commit mass violence.  People that do that already have that pre-disposition to be that way in my opinion.  Saying it’s the fault of music, movies, or videogames is simply passing the blame to something besides the parents, friends, and family life that most often are the real cause of such issues.