This time around, I'm joined by multiply-Hugo-nominated podcaster and author of the forthcoming novel, A Marvellous Light, Freya Marske (@freyamarske), thus completing the prophecy. Freya reads an excerpt of her story, "One Version of Yourself, at the Speed of Light," which leads us into a great discussion about using our day-job-expertise in our writing, the end of Be the Serpent, a hot take about historical fiction, and of course a lot of talk about fanfic.   Things we mention in this episode: Be the Serpent  Alexandra Rowland  Jennifer "Macey" Mace  Hurt/comfort  The Kingston Cycle, by C. L. Polk Edwardian England  World War One  The Hugo Awards  Worldcon  My episode being interviewed by Sharon Hsu  The Archive of Our Own (AO3)  Kudos (AO3) Goodreads  Crack fic  AUs  Five things fic  Brooklyn Nine-Nine  Ninefox Gambit, the first book of The Machineries of Empire series, by Yoon Ha Lee A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine Battlestar Galactica  Tumblr  Ted Lasso  Summer Sons, by Lee Mandello Dark academia  Friends at the Table (specifically Sangfielle, their current season) Hellboy  Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer Seducing the Sorcerer, by Lee Welch Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones The works of T. Kingfisher  Freya's insta and website  The Marvel Cinematic Universe  Infinity Stones    Join us again next month, when my guests will be Merc Fenn Wolfmoor and Nina Niskanen!

Tales from the Trunk

Episode 32: Freya Marske - ”One Version of Yourself, at the Speed of Light”

This time around, to open out our unintentional Oceana month, I'm joined by the delightful Rem Wigmore (@faewriter), whose novel, Foxhunt, is available now, wherever you get your books, from Queen of Swords Press. They read us a slightly-spoiler-y excerpt of the book (you can skip ahead 11:40 from the start of the reading if you'd rather not be spoiled) that leads us into some great conversation about banter, taking the piss, and how mythology might survive into the future.   Things we mention in this episode: Hades (game) Orpheus and Eurydice  The Realm of the Elderlings series, by Robin Hobb These Violent Delights, by Chloe Gong Butcherbird, by Cassie Hart Riverwitch, by Rem Wigmore The Contemporary Witchy Fiction project The Waikato River  Rem's website    Join us again on the 15th of October, when my guest will be Freya Marske!

Shelter in Place 19: Rem Wigmore - Foxhunt

This time around, I had the pleasure of talking to Hugo-award-winning author and editor Elsa Sjunneson (@snarkbat)! Elsa reads an excerpt from her terrific currently-trunked novel, The Livelong Night, which launches us into a conversation about representation, trunking (the bad kind), disability, and her forthcoming memoir, Being Seen, which releases this October!   Things we mentioned this episode: Worldcon 76 Burying your gays (trope)  Mad-Eye Moody  Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir The Book of Eli  Daredevil  The ghost of Peter Stuyvesant  Reviews of Being Seen from Kirkus and Booklist  Scream (TV show) “I Belong Where the People Are: Disability & The Shape of Water," by Elsa Sjunneson Children of a Lesser God  Me Before You  "The Home Front," my 9/11 essay "Blind Women Get Married Too," by Elsa Sjunneson RSD - Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Ready or Not  The Invisible Man (2020) The Chair  The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver Exvangelicals  Beowulf, audiobook, translated by Seamus Heaney   Join us again next month, when my guests will be Rem Wigmore and Freya Marske!

Episode 31: Elsa Sjunneson - The Livelong Night

This time around, we're joined once again by Sarah Hollowell (@sarahhollowell) whose debut, A Dark and Starless Forest comes out September 14th! Sarah reads an excerpt of her book that leads us into a fun conversation about the terrible faces that cats make, natural disasters, and probably some stuff about the book, too.   Things we mention in this episode: The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett Tangled  The 12 Dancing Princesses  "Crow's Eye," by Sarah Hollowell The geology of Indiana  The Airborne Toxic Event  Duck and cover  This Poison Heart, by Kalynn Bayron The Ones We're Meant to Find, by Joan He Each of Us a Desert, by Mark Oshiro Beneath the Rising, A Broken Darkness, and And What Can We Offer You Tonight, by Premee Mohamed Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer Sarah's insta and website  Sarah Gailey  R. K. Duncan  Kate Lechler    Join us again in two weeks with my guest, Elsa Sjunneson!

Shelter in Place 18: Sarah Hollowell - A Dark and Starless Forest

This time around we're joined by Leigh Harlen (@leighharlen) to talk about the new printing of their collection, Blood Like Garnets! Leigh reads to us from their pissed off, queer response to that wizard series, which leads us into a discussion on new and exciting forms of self-rejection, and why community is so important to us as writers.   Things we mention in this episode: Studio Ghibli  Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea  "Blood Makes the Fruit Grow Sweet," by Leigh Harlen in Dark Moon Digest  The Dark  TKO (publisher) Worldcon 76  Norwescon  Neon Hemlock  Fireside Magazine  Fiyah Literary Magazine  Premee's book launch event  Yellow Jessamine, by Caitlin Starling Stephen King  V O I D J U N K  The Silence of the Lambs  "Prey," by Richard Matheson The Babadook as a queer icon  This year's World Fantasy Awards finalists  Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark Lovecraft Country  Train to Busan  Night of the Living Dead  Pseudopod  The Submission Grinder  SFWA pro rates  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6, Episode 13 - "Far Beyond the Stars" Weird Tales  A guide to Twitter Lists  Victories Greater Than Death, by Charlie Jane Anders Elatsoe, by Darcie Littlebadger Leigh's website    Join us again in September, when our guests will be Sarah Hollowell and Elsa Sjunneson!

Episode 30: Leigh Harlen - "Snakes and Snails and Big Ol’ Rat Tails"

This time around, I'm rejoined by Premee Mohamed (@premeesaurus) to talk about her amazing new novella, And What Can We Offer You Tonight, out now from Neon Hemlock! After hearing the first chapter of the book, straight from the mouth of the author, we get into all the stories that Premee still wants to tell in the world of the book, and we talk fondly of a viscerally-uncomfortable scene from the book that we both love to bits. We also take a bit of time to talk about the other three (3) books that Premee has or will have out this year, all of which are well worth your time.   Things we mention in this episode: My very on-brand outfit for this audio recording Neon Hemlock Press  The And What Can We Offer You Tonight launch party  Leigh Harlen  Mad Max  The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway L. D. Lewis' appearance on this very show dave ring  These Lifeless Things, by Premee Mohamed The Annual Migration of Clouds, by Premee Mohamed Beneath the Rising, A Broken Darkness, and The Void Ascendant, by Premee Mohamed Premee on We Make Books  Premee's website    Join us again later this month, when I'll be talking with Leigh Harlen!

Shelter in Place 17: Premee Mohamed - And What Can We Offer You Tonight

After some trials and tribulations with our audio, L. D. Lewis (@Ellethevillain) joins us on this episode with her amazing climatepunk story, "The Last Stand of the E 12th St Pirates." Following the reading, we talk about how that story came about before taking some time to talk about Fiyah Literary Magazine and Fiyahcon (September 16-19, 2021).   Things we mention in this episode: Cyberpunk  And What Can We Offer You Tonight, by Premee Mohamed "For Every Jack," by R. K. Duncan Geneva Bowers, nee Benton  Fiyah on Twitter  Fireside Magazine  Fire!!  Langston Hughes  Zora Neale Hurston  Fiyahcon  Breonna Taylor  George Floyd  Vida Cruz  Iori Kusano  Ignyte Awards  Airmeet  Norwescon  Monterey Bay Aquarium  L's Website  Slack  TikTok  LeVar Burton Reads Writing Contest  Tor.com  Diana M. Pho  Realm  Reading Rainbow  Geordi La Forge    Join us again next month, when Premee Mohamed and Leigh Harlen will be my guests!

Episode 29: L. D. Lewis - "Last Stand of the E 12th St Pirates"

Shelter in Place 16: John Appel - Assassin's Orbit

Episode 28: dave ring - "Checks and Balances"

To open pride month this year, we're joined by Jen Karner (@articulatedream), whose sapphic debut, Cinders of Yesterday, releases later this month! Jen reads us a delicious excerpt of their book, and we chat about some of her favorite bits, the chaos energy of their drafting process, and why we shouldn't treat her as any kind of example for how publishing usually goes.   Things we mention in this episode: NaNoWriMo  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power  Mobile Suit Gundam Wing  fanfiction.net  GeoCities  Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi Baltimore Pride  Boffer weapons  LARPing  Buffy the Vampire Slayer  Supernatural  Teen Wolf  Pitch Wars  RevPit  Jen's insta, website, and facebook fan page    Join us again on June 18th, when our guest will be dave ring!

Shelter in Place 15: Jen Karner - Cinders of Yesterday

This time around, my guest is friend and co-host of the podcast, We Make Books, R. J. Theodore (@bittybittyzap)! Rekka reads an excerpt from the third book of her Peridot Shift series, Cast Off, which leads us into a great conversation about what can happen when your publisher closes its doors, murderboarding for fun and profit, and the things that we love so dearly about steampunk.   Things we mention in this episode: Parvus Press  Master and Commander, by Patrick O'Brian Steampunk  Space elves discourse (I believe the discourse came from this) Ever Given  Sarah Pinsker  Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir Jennifer "Macey" Mace's Murderboard Method, on We Make Books C. J. Cherryh  Mistborn series, by Brandon Sanderson Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin Scrivener (software) Epistolary fiction  Gail Carriger  The Brass Goggles forum  Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly Jules Verne  The Kingston Cycle, by C. L. Polk Guillotine  The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien Star Trek Pocket Books  Wesley Crusher  Livejournal  "The Coven of Taos-9," by R. J. Theodore, in Unfettered Hexes  Episodes 48 and 51 of We Make Books, featuring Hilary B. Bisenieks   Join us next month, when Jen Karner and dave ring will be our guests!

Episode 27: R. J. Theodore - Cast Off

This time around, we're joined by my friend, Sarah Loch (@sloch), whose new book, Blue Line, written as Ariel Bishop, just released! After hearing an excerpt from the book, we talk about about fake dating, representation, and self-publishing. Also, Sarah took a moment to tell us about her friend, F. A. Ray's new m/m soccer (football, to our listeners outside of North America) romance, Yellow Card, which is also available in early access on Gumroad.   Things we mention in this episode: The Tripping series, by Ariel Bishop BDSM (link contains NSFW content) Switch (link contains NSFW content) Demiromantic  Aromantic  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power  Haikyu!!    Join us next episode, when I'll be talking with R. J. Theodore!

Shelter In Place 14: Sarah Loch - Blue Line

This time around, we're joined by Nino Cipri (@ninocipri) to talk about their forthcoming Defekt, sequel to the amazing, Hugo-finalist novella, Finna. Nino reads their trunked story, "Presque Vu" (no, not that one, the trunked one), and we talk about their thoughts on composting stories, writing workshops, and why capitalism is bad, actually. Things we mention in this episode: Homesick, by Nino Cipri The Clarion (and Clarion West) Workshop "Presque Vu," by Nino Cipri IKEA  420 (nice) The Nebula Conference  AWP  N. K. Jemisin  John Scalzi  Jim C. Hines  Nino's website, insta, and newsletter    Join us again in May when our guests will be Sarah Loch and R. J. Theodore!

Episode 26: Nino Cipri - "Presque Vu"

This time around on book tour, we're joined by Steve Toase (@stevetoase), whose collection, To Drown in Dark Water, releases on April 27th, 2021! After Steve reads a selection of flash stories from the collection, we talk about cosmic horror, organic servers, and the Munich art scene. Things we mention in the episode: Jordan Kurella's appearance on the show The Best Horror of the Year, volumes 6 and 11, edited by Ellen Datlow Stefan Koidl  Hazel Ang  Short Story Day "Terminus Post Quem," by Steve Toase Mad Scientist Journal  Analog  Dendrochronology  RFC (Request for Comments) April Fool's RFCs  Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol  IP over Avian Carriers  Whale fall  "The Silent Brush of Wings," by Steve Toase, in Three-Lobed Burning Eye Franz Marc  Der Blaue Reiter  Atelier  "Simplicity," by Wassily Kandinsky Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann Gladius Dei, by Thomas Mann Robert W. Chambers  M.R. James  our awful, racist uncle, Howard (Phillips Lovecraft)  Paul Klee  Cosmic horror  The King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers The Yellow Sign, by Robert W. Chambers Fortean Times Magazine  Harrogate, north Yorkshire Flint knapping  Silicosis  Asbestosis WARNING: some gross images on that wikipedia page Embodied Geographies, edited by Elizabeth Kenworthy Teather Steve's blog  Steve's newsletter  Steve's patreon    Join us again on April 16th, when our guest will be Nino Cipri!

Shelter in Place 13: Steve Toase - To Drown in Dark Water

Hello, and welcome to season 3! This time around, we're joined by Kelly Robson (@kellyoyo), whose new collection, Alias Space, comes out April 30th, 2021, from Subterranean Press! Kelly reads her story, "Deadfall," which she wrote as a futurist-in-residence during a conference, and we dive right into talking about what being a futurist is all about.   Things we mentioned in this episode: A. M. Dellamonica  Stan Rogers  The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan The Newsflesh series, by Mira Grant Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow Shaw Broadcasting  Stantec Engineering  Nakoda (Stoney) Tribe Lenape (Delaware) Tribe Karl Schroeder  IBM  Madeline Ashby  Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity  Futurescapes  Oculus VR  Animal Crossing: New Horizons  Codex Writer's Group  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power  Nanowrimo  Moby Dick, by Herman Melville Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon Subterranean Press  Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood   Join us again on April 16th, when our guest will be Nino Cipri!

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Tales from the Trunk

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