INTERVIEW
Deborah Palacia
This
New Jersey native and resident has been collecting Pac-Man
related items since the early eighties. She recently published
the book
'Pac-Man Collectables',
the ultimate resource for Pac-Man fanatics!
MT>
Obviously you are quite a Pac-Man fanatic. How did the fad start
for you?
DP> I began collecting Pac-Man items in 1980 without even knowing
that I was a "budding" Pac-Man fanatic. It was 1980 and I walked
into a local arcade and I spotted this bright yellow game that
I had never seen there before. Upon inspection of the game it
appeared to be "cute" and the maze concept was new. I had never
seen anything like it before. So, I reached in my pocket and pulled
out a quarter. I inserted it into the machine and the rest is
history...
MT>
Pac-Man fans come from all angles of life. Your career in the
criminal justice system serves as another confirmation. Over the
years acquiring Pac-Man collectables, what other diverse individuals
with colorful backgrounds and careers have you encountered?
DP>
As you can imagine, I have seen a cast of colorful characters
over the years in my criminal justice career and my collecting.
It is amazing to see how so many people from such diverse backgrounds
have all been taken in by this little yellow dot. In my years
of collecting I have come across Pac-Man fans who are students,
computer programers, video game enthusiasts, retirees, writers,
fire fighters, and stay-at-home moms to mention a few. The colorful
characters can best be described by the many people who I have
met with red, green, blue, and purple hair. I have yet to meet
any with Pac-Man yellow, though.
MT>
When did the idea to bring your hobby to print begin?
DP>
It was approximately three years ago. I have been collecting since
1980 and was always checking out the collectibles book section
at the local Barnes & Nobles books store. With all the thousands
of collectible books on the market, I could never find one specifically
on Pac-Man. I was disappointed and thought; "Hey, wouldn't it
be great if Pac-Man had his own book?" Now he does.
MT>
Explain the procedures, challenges, and demands required to create
Pac-Man Collectibles
DP>
I never really thought about the procedure before, but it all
started with the contract. The publisher was nice enough to give
me a two year contract. I new when I signed it that I had enough
items to fill the pages, but the text, lay out, photos, and other
items were mind boggling. My first thought after I signed it was
"I am not an author, I hope I can pull this off." Meeting my deadline
was a challenge. It seemed like the two years flew by and before
I knew it, my editor was calling to tell me that he needed the
material earlier than the actual deadline date on the contract.
As always, nothing goes according to plan. I really had to put
my nose to the grind stone. I wrote all the text myself and was
given a guide on how to make it readible for the typesetters.
This took me forever! I became bleary eyed and was hoping that
this would all be worth it in the end. The biggest demand was
the time and my insistance on professional photographs. After
all, who wants to buy a collectibles book to see a collection
with photos that are not perfect. Not any Pac-Man collector I
know. I think if you asked my editor what my biggest concern was,
he would tell you the photos. I called him several times about
colors on particular items that I did not think were up to par
and of course the cropping. I did the most complaining about the
red on the cover. Thankfully, they got the color exactly as I
imagined it to be.
