Today we’d like to introduce you to Gideon Marcus.
Gideon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
There once was a lady named Laurel “Frankie” Van Der Waal. She ran the Biomedicine division at Space Technology Laboratories and sent three mice to the edge of space in 1958. She went on to be on the LAX Board of Directors.
Before that, she had a Masters in Aeronautics, she was a high school graduate at 15, a deputy sheriff, a model, an airplane mechanic, a showgirl…
As for me, I currently teach at California State University San Marcos (among many venues), I run the publishing house Journey Press, I’ve been time traveling at Galactic Journey for a decade, I write science fiction YA, I edit anthologies of class science fiction by women. I am (just barely) a multi-millionaire.
Before that…
I was an astrophysics major, a music major, a Japanese major, a tutor, a journalist, a law clerk, a corporate executive (where I made my millions).
In other words, the road to success is not necessarily a linear one.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are two maxims I live by:
1) Take opportunities; don’t make them
2) Network, Network, Network
Astrophysics didn’t work out because I’m much better at talking and writing about science than doing it. Law didn’t work out because I’m collaborative by nature, not antagonistic. I left the corporate ‘C’ suite because I chafe in someone else’s structure.
But people are always doing amazing things, and as long as you keep your ears open for opportunities that match your passion and skill set, you will find them. And if you toss out ideas you have and someone else wants to put them into effect with you, that partnership is an opportunity to make them reality.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do a lot of things. What I am perhaps best known for is Galactic Journey, or as Olav Rockne calls it:
“The most ambitious, immersive, and extensive project in modern science fiction.”
It’s nothing less than a comprehensive time machine to exactly 55 years ago, day by day. In other words, when it’s May 20, 2024, on the Journey, it’s May 20, 1969.
The Journey started in 2013 (1958 in Journey time) as a science fiction blog covering the monthly magazines that published SF stories—authors like Heinlein and Asimov—as well as the space shots. Over time, it has evolved into a massive undertaking. For one thing, we discovered that behind the big (and male) names everyone knows, there was a solid corps of women SF writers who were just terrific. Most people know Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey’s names, but how about Katherine Maclean? Miriam Allen deFord? Carol Emshwiller? Rosel George Brown? Zenna Henderson? Margaret St. Clair?
We found so many great stories by women that we compiled the best of them into our Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women series, which now numbers three volumes.
When I started the Journey, it was just me. Now, there are 30+ regular and irregular contributors across the world, from all walks of life and demographics, contributing pieces on movies, fashion, counterculture, iconic properties like Star Trek and Doctor Who, and so much more.
Nothing like the Journey has ever existed. And the best thing about it is it never ends!
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m actually a pretty good baritone. I once opened the San Diego County Fair with the national anthem, and I sing a mean karaoke…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gideonmarcus.com
- Other: https://galacticjourney.org
