Lasers Dragons And Keyboards: Recent Episodes
Aaron DeMott, Joshua Hardt, Liberty Speidel
Brings you up-and-coming and establish authors of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction in fun, two-part episodes. For both fans of the genre as well as writers
Today we interview Heidi Lynn Burke about her latest super hero book, Game On, and the anthology DOSA Files: Tales from the Supervillain Rehabilitation Files.
You can learn more about Heidi's work at: Heidi's Website
Today we interview Janeen Ippolito about her latest book release, Nobody's Hero, and Author Elevate author services.
Learn more about Janeen at: jiauthor.com
Today we interview Laura VanArendonk Baugh about her Japanese history/fantasy book Only the Dead Face North, and other works.
Learn more about Laura and her books at: LauraVAB.com
I write with dogs wrapped around my feet. I get to wear sandals or bedroom slippers to work, and old, comfortable clothes. When the weather is fine I get to write on my back porch. I love summer.
I write mysteries and fantasies because life is too short to be limited to one genre.
I started getting published when I was 12, studied journalism at Northern Illinois University, then went to work as a news reporter…eventually for Scripps Howard, where I managed their Western Kentucky bureau. Getting itchy feet, I moved to Wisconsin and went to work for TSR, Inc., the then-producers of the Dungeons & Dragons game. I dipped my itchy feet into the fiction pool and wrote Dragonlance novels for several years. Now I’m back in Illinois, my land surrounded by train tracks that offer music to write by. And there are plenty of dogs in the neighborhood to provide an accompaniment.
I am a recipient of the Faust, the grand master award of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and the Illinois Author Project’s Soon-to-be Famous Award.
I’ve been on the USA Today’s Bestseller list a few times … ah, I’ve never hit the Times.
I’ve written more than forty SF, fantasy, mystery, and adventure novels (including a couple of ghosted projects), more short stories than I care to count, and I’ve edited magazines and anthologies.
When I’m writing I listen to classical guitar and 60s rock … depending on my subject matter. And at every good opportunity I toss tennis balls for my cadre of dogs.
- Always hire a copy editor to make sure everything is caught. - How can you not afford an editor? - Read the manuscript backwards for editing purposes. - Buy ads - compare and contrast where is going to be best per novel. - Once a month newsletter for Jean!
THIS EPISODE WAS ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON FEBRUARY 17, 2024 ON TWITCH.TV/LDK_PODCAST
In this episode, we talked with J.J. Johnson, Jason Joyner, and Merrie Destafano about getting your Author Kickstarter going. Quick points:
- Kickstarter for Authors FB group
- $500 is a good, solid number to shoot for
- Keep holidays in mind when planning when to run your campaign
- Backer update swaps w/other KS authors.
- Make sure you have your book and graphics complete before launching the campaign.
Find out more about the authors at their websites:
Merrie Destafano JJ Johnson Jason Joyner
THIS EPISODE ORIGINALLY AIRED ON JANUARY 27, 2024 ON TWITCH.TV/LDK_PODCAST
Pam Halter was a home-schooling mom for nine years, has been a children’s book author since 1995, a freelance children’s book editor since 2006, and was the children’s book editor for Fruitbearer Publishing until January 2023 when the publishing house closed. She’s the author of Fairyeater, a YA fantasy novel published by Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing, and Willoughby and Friends, a picture book series about friendship featuring Willoughby, who is a dragon.
Pam lives in Southern New Jersey with her husband, Daryl, special needs adult daughter, Anna, and four cats. When she’s not writing, Pam enjoys reading, quilting, gardening, cooking, playing the piano, Bible study, and walking long country roads where she discovers fairy homes, emerging dragons, and trees eating wood gnomes.
You can find out more about Pam and Willoughby at PamHalter.com
Thomas Doscher is an author and retired Air Force journalist with a degree in history from the University of Maryland University College. During his Air Force career, Thomas wrote news and feature stories for the Air Force and joint military publications across 20 years and three deployments. Thomas retired from the Air Force in 2021 and now spends his time writing and being with his wife and two sons in Illinois. We had a delightful chat with author Thomas Doscher, primarily discussing his upcoming book in the Vixen War Bride series. Highlights included: Reading 'Blossoms in the Wind', cultural mixing, being a history nerd Having an epic troll in the book, matching tone of the book with the subplots. Upcoming projects! American Isakai Getting punched by wife for editing. 20 Books to 50K Don't sweat the marketing!
Be sure to check out Thomas's books on Amazon and Facebook.
THIS EPISODE WAS LIVESTREAMED ON TWITCH.TV/LDK_PODCAST ON AUGUST 12, 2023.
Paul Regnier is a speculative fiction author. He believes one of the closest things to magic on this earth is imagination. His favorite type of story is filled with adventure, humor, and heartfelt moments between characters. He likes to dream up worlds of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, and the supernatural. Sometimes they end up in a book.
Paul is the writer of a new fantasy book called Bard Tidings, as well as the Luke and Bandit cozy mystery series, the Paranormia series, and the Space Drifters series.
Paul lives in Treasure Valley, Idaho, with his wife and two children.
You can learn more about Paul and his books at PaulJRegnier.com
THIS EPISODE WAS LIVESTREAMED ON TWITCH.TV/LDK_PODCAST ON JULY 22, 2023.
We had the incomparable John Otte on the show this week!
John W. Otte is a husband, a father, a Lutheran pastor, and a big ol’ geek. He graduated from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a theatre major, and then from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. By night, he writes unusual stories of geeky grace. He lives in the Kansas City area with his wife and two boys.
On today's show, we discussed his recent forays into Kickstarter campaigns, both for his Drawn in Ash novel and forthcoming sequel, Drawn Through Blood. His influence to try the Kickstarter method? Novel Marketing Podcast (which is a great podcast for novelists! Check out this podcast about Kickstarting with Chris Fox, which we think is the episode John refers to in the episode.)
We also hear about balancing his life as full-time Lutheran pastor and writing novels, and the challenges there.
Many shout outs today! John W. Otte Novel Marketing Podcast John's editor, Megan Gerig One Year Adventure Novel
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For the second time, we had Cindy Koepp on, author of LitRPG novels and graphic novels, among other things! We had a blast learning about the process of turning a novel into a comic book, what it takes to do in-person events at comic-cons, and even a little bit about hooking. (Get your head out of the gutter! It's a legit thing!) Originally from Michigan, Cindy Koepp combined a love of pedagogy and ecology into a 14-year career as an elementary science specialist. After teaching four-footers -- that's height, not leg count, she pursued a Master's in Adult Learning with a specialization in Performance Improvement. Her published works include science fiction novels, fantasy novels, a passel of short stories, and educator resources. When she isn't reading or writing, Cindy is currently working as a tech writer, hat collector, quilter, crafter, and weird joke teller. Find out where Cindy's going to be via her website and sign up for her newsletter at CKoepp.com. Cindy's books can be purchased on Amazon too.
We got to hear quite a bit about how Heidi has jumped from many different genres to focus on Superhero Romance. It's a niche that she greatly enjoys and hasn't been able to find many clean examples of.
From there, we moved on to favorite characters, what it's like to put yourself in the mind of who started out as a side character and suddenly needing to write a tale about them specifically, and how she researches.
To the latter point: ex-marine husband! Snails were mentioned, of course.
We love having Heidi on! She's an absolute blast in person and on the show! Follow Heidi at: https://www.hlburkeauthor.com/ On Amazon: https://amzn.to/3J7cz93
Today we had Kara Swanson, author of the Heirs of Neverland books, on the show! This SoCal native enjoys running the Authors Conservatory, the writers school she co-founded, and is hard at work at a new series focusing on the phoenix.
www.authorconservatory.com www.theyoungwriter.com www.instagram.com/karaswansonauthor www.karaswanson.com
We are absolutely delighted to have back on our show Becky Dean! Becky, also known as B.L. Dean, is the author of her debut space opera novel, Rogue Pursuit, which released in March. In today's podcast, we discuss writing for two different major publishing houses, the differences between them, as well as how she came up with the ideas for Rogue Pursuit and its sequels (all coming out by June 2023.)
We last had Becky on for S4 E2 discussing her contemporary YA romance which is laced with tons of geeky references.
Becky Dean is a fan of adventures both real and fictional. When she’s not writing or traveling, she can be found drinking tea, watching science fiction shows or Jane Austen adaptations, or quoting The Lord of the Rings. Though she’s a proud Baylor grad and lives in Texas with her husband, she remains a Southern California girl at heart. You can find out more about her books at www.BeckyDeanWrites.com .
Under the guise of testing some borked settings, we reinterviewed our very own Aaron DeMott who just released his third novel, "Etherno 2: Catgirl Overload". We discuss everything from needing to do rants (look forward to updates from Patreon!) to the inspiration of his books to finding time to write while working full-time and raising four kids. As one third of the LDK group, Aaron is hugely busy, and the fact he still wants to do the podcast is amazing in and of itself, so it was fun to just sit down and discuss his books for a change. Also in the episode: some personal updates from all three of us. (Hint: two of us are married to each other now!) Check out Aaron's books at www.aarondemott.com .
We have with us Josh's aunt this episode, the amazing Dawn Shipman! Dawn Shipman is an award-winning author whose fantasy stories bristle with believable characters fighting fierce battles in strange worlds. Teens of all ages will love these tales of soaring wonder, ferocious loyalty, and heart-stopping romance. Kingdom Lost, the first book in the Lost Stones of Argonia series, is her debut novel. We had a blast talking to Dawn and we know you'll love her too! For more information about Dawn's books, check out her website at: https://dawnshipmanfiction.com/
This is a lost episode! The producer has no idea what we discussed, but it's with Josh Chadd. He's awesome. Listen, buy his books, you know the deal.
Joshua C Chadd's Website
Find Joshua C. Chadd's books here
Today, we talk to Becky Dean, author of debut YA Romance novel Love and Other Great Expectations. Not our normal fare, but Becky is completely awesome and also about to release a series of Space Opera books in 2023!
Becky Dean is a fan of adventures both real and fictional. When she’s not writing or traveling, she can be found drinking tea, watching science fiction shows or Jane Austen adaptations, or quoting The Lord of the Rings. Though she’s a proud Baylor grad and lives in Texas with her husband, she remains a Southern California girl at heart.
https://beckydeanwrites.com
https://www.instagram.com/beckydeanwrites/
(Please note there was some technical issues with our recording for Becky's feed. Producer was unable to fix in post.)
-- Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/ldk_podcast
We're BACK! And we've got Travis W. Inman with us, discussing his newest book, Chrome World.
Travis W. Inman grew up in the ranch country of West Texas and worked as a cowboy for his first 20 years. Travis graduated from seminary in Dallas, Texas, and later served a year in the mission field in Mexico and South America. Upon his return home, he married Sarah, his wife of more than 25 years. They have two children whom they successfully home schooled.
Over the years, Travis has applied his skills to a variety of fields, ranging from marketing and real estate to criminal justice and law enforcement. Travis served in the United States Army where he overcame a devastating hip injury and was able to walk again despite the odds.
Writing is a life-long passion for Travis. His short stories and poems have been selected for publication in a variety of newspapers and on Internet sites. Travis’ writing includes children’s literature, action adventure, short stories, one act plays, love stories, westerns, sci-fi, thrillers, and drama.
Travis and Sarah Inman currently reside in Northern Virginia.
Visit Travis online:
https://www.traviswinman.com/
Travis's Amazon page
We're back in the saddle again with award winning author Steve Rzasa! Check out our chat as we discuss the life a librarian, cool cover designs, and working with a collaborator.
In our "lost episodes" files, we interview UF and Paranormal Romance author, Amy Brock McNew.
Due to a Midwestern snowstorm, Liberty was unable to join Aaron & Josh in this spectacular interview with sci-fi legend, Nick Cole. A former soldier and actor, Nick shares insights into his writing process, tabletop gaming, indie publishing, and who you should pay attention to in this world where everybody is a guru in the indie-sphere.
We sat down and discussed Jason Joyner's debut novel, Launch. As well as what led to the creation of the Realm Makers Consortium in 2015, and how great it is to be a part of a writing community that shares bonds in areas of both spiritual and fandom. Be sure to check out the stream on Twitch.tv/LDK_Podcast for great interaction on the chat!
Where to Find Jason + other links:
Jason Joyner
Launch
LDK on Twitch
LDK on Patreon
We sat down with J.J. Johnson, author of Iggy & Oz: The Plastic Dinos of Doom this week on LDK! We discussed the challenges of writing for middle grade, giant snot blobs, and insights into marketing from a marketing professional. Oh, and there was laughter. A. Lot. Of. Laughter. (But what else do you expect from us?)
Links:
J.J. Johnson
Iggy & Oz on Amazon
LDK on Twitch.tv
LDK on Patreon
After Atlantis Gaming on Twitch.tv
Josh's book on Amazon
Aaron's books on Amazon
Liberty's latest book on Amazon
We're excited to be re-launching the podcast! And today, we did a test run of our new recording setup. Be sure to join us on Twitch.tv/LDK_Podcast for future episodes!
We were delighted to have with us NYT bestselling author, Ed Greenwood, on this week's episode of the show! For those not in the know, Mr. Greenwood is the creator of The Forgotten Realms.
Note to listeners: we had not only our producer missing, but the guys had to jury-rig a setup to record. Mr. Greenwood joined us over the phone, which was not what we had planned—but we were delighted to have him despite our technical difficulties. (Liberty's hair may or may not be more grey after editing...) Also, for our listeners with sensitive ears, there is some mild swearing in this episode.
The guys mostly let Mr. Greenwood talk, and as such, we think this is an episode best listened to rather than trying to sum it up. But we do get a history lesson on publishing and research. My word, do we have it easy nowadays.
Everything in a home exists to support bookshelves. ~ Ed Greenwood
Links:
- Ed Greenwood
- The Edverse
- Ed on Twitter
We've got some great insight into intellectual property law with attorney Steve Fairchild. It may sound boring, but as authors, it's important we understand at least a little bit about the law.
We start things out with an overview of what's encompassed in intellectual property, and then it really gets fun!
In Episode 76:
- How biology degrees relates to intellectual property
- How Steve gets his clients
- Can you use the term "lightsaber™" in your book?
- Does I.P. law translate to other countries?
- Finding an I.P. attorney...and do you need one?
- What's the difference between an I.P. attorney and an agent?
- When does copyright exist?
- Do you need to file your copyright with the copyright office?
- What happens when your work has been pirated?
- Can I.P. law be funny?
- How Steven actually informed an episode of Suits--and how they got it wrong!
- What Steven finds frustrating in fiction about the law
- Bunny trails!
- Do I need to copyright my idea formally with the copyright office?
- Fair use law
- Steve's advice on courtroom scenes
- Steve's favorite movies about legal stuff
Links:
- Steven R Fairchild author
- Steven R Fairchild, attorney
- Living Ashes
- Turkish Star Wars
- Redshirts by John Scalzi
- Godzilla scene from Austin Powers: Goldmember
- Erin Brokovich
- Joy
We sit down with physics teacher by day, thriller author by night, Kayla--K.M.--Dailey this episode. K.M. is the winner of our flash short story contest with Laura VanArendonk Baugh to write a short story featuring Samwise Gamgee (LOTR) and River Song (Doctor Who.) K.M.'s story had us in stitches, and we're sure you'll see why we picked the story as our winner.
We talk about our Harry Potter houses, Kayla's inspiration for the short story, Christmas trees out of books, Liberty admits to having lower standards in her reading, the ever-present need for more bookcases, Harry Dresden, the new doctor on Doctor Who and Kayla's and Liberty's concerns about the direction, Doctor Who indoctrination (no pun intended!), Kayla's goal of 100 rejections in 2018 (!!!), Captain America...or Captain Jack Sparrow?
Find out more about Kayla on her YouTube channel.
Kayla's book recommendations:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
The Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu
For a transcript of K.M. Dailey's short story, visit our website at: LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
This week we have hopeless romantic, H.L. (Heidi) Burke on the show. She's totally obsessed with dragons, but we know a few people who also are, so we won't hold it against her.
In episode 74:
- The evolution of a pantser to a plotter
- Guess which of Heidi's offspring might be a future Bond villain!
- Lyrics in music? Yes or no?
- The adventures of being a military wife
- Why Heidi doesn't think she's a very deep person.
- Working with an editor when you've been self-published first
- How Sarah picks her release dates
- Aaron warns new authors about vanity presses
- Who is Theodore??
As always, check our website for full show notes! LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
This week we have hopeless romantic, H.L. (Heidi) Burke on the show. She's totally obsessed with dragons, but we know a few people who also are, so we won't hold it against her.
In episode 73:
- We discuss the Eros & Psyche myth again (see Laura VAB's recent episode for more E&P!) as H.L.'s book, Coiled, is based on the myth.
- Heidi's desire to go "aww" while writing.
- How we have to release our books to the world and they become a part of the world instead of ours.
- Myths are out of copyright—we can plagiarize them!
- Can snakes get sea sick?
- Star Trek rants!
- Re-reading on Goodreads
- Myers Briggs analysis of characters
For more notes and links to other shows, please visit LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
We have Andrew Winch on this week, who is the executive editor with Splickety Publishing group where he's worked with a whole host of authors including Jerry B. Jenkins, Tosca Lee, and Robert Liparulo. He's a full time physical therapist when he's not running around with Ben Wolf.
In this episode:
- Google is a wonderful thing. ;)
- Who is Ben Wolflichman?
- Wrangling flaming pigs
- Gothic horror / steampunk
- Weird stuff submitted to Splickety (hint: did you guess frog erotica?)
- Andrew's love of creepy stuff
- Don't edit your voice out of your story!!!
- Is writing flash fiction a perfectionist's game?
- What 3 tips would Andrew give to improve your writing?
- Why you should read women's fiction.
- You have to write a great story.
- Supporting characters Andrew wants to know more about!
For additional show notes, visit LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
In this episode, we sit down with E. Stephen Burnett, who, along with Ben Wolf (see episodes 10 & 11), is the co-founder of the forthcoming e-magazine, Lorehaven.
Stephen is a former print journalist who now helps run SpeculativeFaith.com and other faith-based websites that focus on fiction--including Lorehaven. He hails from Texas.
In this episode:
- What Lorehaven is--and what it won't be.
- What is a flash review?
- Stephen's favorite version of Star Trek.
- Lorehaven's goal to create book clubs.
- The broader content goals of Lorehaven.
- Who should everyone be reading?
- What is Stephen watching? Wonder Woman? Anime?
Find all our show notes, links to previous episodes, and links to books discussed on our website: LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
On this episode, we have Paul Smith, friend of previous guests, CW Briar and Jon Brhel. He's author of Jason and the Draconauts!
Paul Smith lives in upstate New York with his wife and two sons, where he works with emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children. He earned a master’s degree in social sciences from Binghamton University in 1999. A lifelong love of science fiction, fantasy, and superhero stories influences Paul’s writing. His most recent work was a popular weekly online series that generated over 20,000 views. Jason and the Draconauts is his first novel.
In Episode 70:
- The pitfalls of pantsing
- The guys give Liberty a hard time for ditching her outline
- Liberty keeps bringing up Scrivener...
- Bluetooth keyboards!
- Why reading out loud is an important editing tool.
- Paul's techniques for battling writer's block and why he hates frustration.
- Paul's thoughts on conventions and selling books on them.
- Whether FB ads are worth the paper they're printed on...
- Including fandom quotes in our books!
- What do your books teach you in the course of the writing?
- Get words on paper
Links!
- Paul D Smith (on Goodreads)
- Jason and the Draconauts
- The Council of Ancients
- Ready Player One (audiobook link)
- Brandon Sanderson
- Redshirts by John Scalzi (on audiobook!)
- Scrivener (again!)
- The Hobbit
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code
- Angels & Demons
As always, you can find complete show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com.
On this episode, we have Paul Smith, friend of previous guests, CW Briar and Jon Brhel. He's author of Jason and the Draconauts!
Paul Smith lives in upstate New York with his wife and two sons, where he works with emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children. He earned a master’s degree in social sciences from Binghamton University in 1999. A lifelong love of science fiction, fantasy, and superhero stories influences Paul’s writing. His most recent work was a popular weekly online series that generated over 20,000 views. Jason and the Draconauts is his first novel.
In Episode 69:
- Writing for your kids
- Creating dragons! Who's going to argue with a dragon?
- D&D's influence in Paul's writing
- How to NOT plagiarise
- Aaron wants to read a story about Captain America riding a dragon
- Does the TARDIS have a loading bay?
- Black Ops Helicopters
- Sean Connery
- thoughts on conventions and selling books on them.
-
Whether FB ads are worth the paper they're printed on...
-
Including fandom quotes in our books!
- What do your books teach you in the course of the writing?
- Get words on paper
Links!
- Paul D Smith (on Goodreads)
- Jason and the Draconauts
- The Council of Ancients
- Ready Player One (audiobook link)
- Brandon Sanderson
- Redshirts by John Scalzi (on audiobook!)
- Scrivener (again!)
- The Hobbit
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code
- Angels & Demons
This week, we have Kristen Stieffel, author of the debut novel, Alara's Call.
Kristen Stieffel is a freelance writer and editor specializing in science fiction and fantasy. She’s the associate editor of Havok, a flash fiction magazine focused on the speculative genres. Kristen provides author mentoring and a full range of editorial services in multiple genres for both the general market and the Christian submarket. Kristen is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Christian Editor Connection and is a Word Weavers International mentor.
In Episode 68:
- Plotting! Pantsing! Who knows?! Start with the end in mind.
- He said WHAT?!
- Writing out of order.
- How do you K.O. a piece of paper?
- All hail the wonders of Scrivener!
- How MCs can change in the course of the book.
- Hurricane brain
- Write through the crap!
- Snacking! Tea!
- Bollywood!
- Classical Crossover music
- Kristen's longest trip for a writer's conference.
- Why do people complain about book prices?
- Gotta have the big parts in your novel first.
Kristen's Facebook Party (9/21/2017)
You can find all our episodes & show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com.
This week, we have Kristen Stieffel, author of the debut novel, Alara's Call.
Kristen Stieffel is a freelance writer and editor specializing in science fiction and fantasy. She’s the associate editor of Havok, a flash fiction magazine focused on the speculative genres. Kristen provides author mentoring and a full range of editorial services in multiple genres for both the general market and the Christian submarket. Kristen is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Christian Editor Connection and is a Word Weavers International mentor.
In Episode 67:
- Kristen's impetus for writing Alara's Call.
- How President Dwight Eisenhower factors in to Kristen's book.
- Kristen admits how long it took to write the book.
- How her setting was designed to fit the story.
- Mentor characters yelling at the main character's father!
- How long does it take to cremate a horse? (Aaron isn't telling PETA.)
- We get into an argument about Kristen's favorite spec fic quote.
- Aaron refrains from going full über-nerd! (We're all grateful.)
Kristen's Facebook Party (9/21/2017)
You can find all our show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com.
We sat down with the delightful Sarah White, author of Halayda, but Josh couldn't join us. So it was up to Liberty to rein in Aaron! Or does he have to rein her in? Hmmm...
Sarah Delena White writes epic fantasy, steampunk, and reworkings of mythology with complex characters, rich world-building, and a fine balance of poetry and snark. When she’s not writing or editing, she can be found making jewelry, singing Irish ballads, drinking tea, and working a variety of odd jobs. She occasionally remembers to eat and sleep, because those things are apparently important. She can be bribed with dark chocolate. Halayda is her debut novel.
In Episode 66:
- Normally, we have rabbit trails. But this week, we have rabbit AND chicken trails! (That sounds worse than it is...)
- Plotting v pantsing ... and having a point she's working toward
- Deleted/bonus scenes!
- Sarah's use of a certain social media platform in her research
- The necessity of the right brand of Earl Grey tea.
- Twitter Hashtag Games!
- Irish folklore & ARROW
For links to discussed topics, please be sure to visit our website: LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
We sat down with the delightful Sarah White, author of Halayda, but Josh couldn't join us. So it was up to Liberty to rein in Aaron! Or does he have to rein her in? Hmmm...
Sarah Delena White writes epic fantasy, steampunk, and reworkings of mythology with complex characters, rich world-building, and a fine balance of poetry and snark. When she’s not writing or editing, she can be found making jewelry, singing Irish ballads, drinking tea, and working a variety of odd jobs. She occasionally remembers to eat and sleep, because those things are apparently important. She can be bribed with dark chocolate. Halayda is her debut novel.
In Episode 65:
- Sarah keeps very busy!
- Halayda's unique blend of subgenres and unique beginnings
- Yes, this is a kissing book!
- Sarah's research into Scottish & Irish faeries
- More questionable search histories!
- Aaron's rabbit trail about the difference between the Russian space program and NASA
- Liberty's rabbit trail about Apollo 13
- Short word counts vs. long word counts!
For additional links and notes, be sure to visit: LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
This week, we talk with Deanna Fugett (not to be confused with Deanna Troi). We get right into it with a discussion about oddly named characters, and where some of these names come from (don't ask...)
Next, because this is a speculative fiction show, we talk at length about Little House on the Prairie (Of course...) Liberty wasn't around this week to steer us back on track... (because she spontaneously combusted... well, that's our story, anyway...)
We eventually got back on track (kind of...), and learned that Josh loves depressing endings (Aaron can't stand them...)
Who's Deanna's favorite super hero? Is it Green Arrow? Super Grover? You'll have to listen to find out.
Does Deanna prefer Scrivener? Word? Pen? Crayon?
We also take a quick break to provide a public service announcement of things computers don't like (such as hammers and crumbs...)
Lingo 101... We're thinking of making this a regular feature...
And last, but not least, being eaten alive (metaphorically...)
Some of Deanna's favorite authors:
- Liberty
- Aaron
- Josh (he's almost done...)
- Lynn Austin, who writes historical fiction/romance. She has a really good series set in the Civil War (U.S. History, not Marvel, sadly) that does a good job of showing the conflict and motivation from both sides. (Also, if you like history, check out "Across Five Aprils")
Deanna thinks critique groups are pretty darn important. We think so too!
Extrovert shadowing!
As always, get full show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com.
After a way-too-long hiatus from publishing, we're finally getting back into the swing of things! On this episode of the show, recorded WAAAAAY back in the spring (we won't bring up Liberty's scheduling/production issues), we have with us the one and only Avily Jerome. We know Avily from the Realm Maker's conference, where she sometimes body-doubles President Donald Trump. But she's also an amazingly talented author who wrote The Heir. As you'll find out, Avily likes to laugh as much as we do, and her snarky brand of humor was a great fit with your hosts' funny bones.
In Episode 64:
- Plotting or pantsing...and how her research affects this.
- Steve Irwin...Mermaid Hunter...
- Crazy NaNo+ word counts
- Avily and her organizational methods
- My Evil Mermaid
- How Avily deals with writer's block
- Dealing with people who don't like what you write.
- Develop a thick skin.
- Darkside Cookies
As always, visit LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com for our full show notes and access to our back episodes!
After a way-too-long hiatus from publishing, we're finally getting back into the swing of things! On this episode of the show, recorded WAAAAAY back in the spring (we won't bring up Liberty's scheduling/production issues), we have with us the one and only Avily Jerome. We know Avily from the Realm Maker's conference, where she sometimes body-doubles President Donald Trump. But she's also an amazingly talented author who wrote The Heir. As you'll find out, Avily likes to laugh as much as we do, and her snarky brand of humor was a great fit with your hosts' funny bones.
In Episode 63:
- Avily's book, The Heir, and her serial The Amulet Saga.
- Avily's favorite character, and that character's role.
- Josh's TBR list grows to over 2,000.
- How people in Avily's life have responded to her art.
- Christians don't have to write strictly Christian characters.
- Changing settings and how they change the story.
- Avily's favorite scenes in books.
As always, find more detailed show notes as well as links to things discussed at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com .
This week, we hang out with second-time guest, Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that one three times fast!) We last visited with Laura in episodes 39 & 40 (which you can find here). Last time we spoke, we discussed her Japanese culture books. But this time, she takes us to a different culture altogether with The Songweaver's Vow, which is a retelling of Ares and Psyche, but in the Norwegian culture rather than Greek.
In this episode:
-
- Laura's unique view on fiction
- Laura's upcoming trilogy...that she may or may not be working on...an epic fantasy. (Angst porn!)
- Laura's research in Denmark. Nine months of winter and mead!
- Laura's take on Greek and Norse mythology.
- Having a reader warning on her books.
- On writing Loki.
- Who would Laura go on a quest with?
Greek mythology is all about people having sex. Norse mythology is all about people on LSD. ~ Laura VAB
Links
Laura VanArendonk Baugh
The Songweaver's Vow
Details on our contest!
Our first ever contest!
Write a 1,000 or less fan fiction featuring Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings fame) and River Song (Doctor Who with David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi). PG-13 rating max. You can put them in whatever scenario or world you want and whatever other characters you want as long as you feature them.
Prizes:
E-book of The Songweaver's Vow.
E-book or Audible of Liberty Speidel's Omission.
E-book of Aaron DeMott's A New Threat.
An opportunity to come on the show and talk about whatever you want to talk about, plus read your winning short story.
Deadlines and contact:
E-mail your polished story in standard manuscript format (12-point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, double-spaced) to LasersDragonsKeyboards@gmail.com no later than August 1, 2017. Winner will be announced on an upcoming episode of the show and selected by the hosts and Laura VanArendonk Baugh. Timeframe on when winner will be selected depends on number of entries. We will e-mail you back to confirm receipt of your story. Please put "Sam & River" in the subject line.
Author Amy Brock McNew Our guest tonight is Amy Brock McNew, who apparently can't stay away. Our hosts, though, I'm not sure about. We apparently have two Liberties, and one Josh... I think...
Tonight's topic... Venison, and how delicious it is! ...uh, I mean, we're talking about Amy's second book, Reconciliation.
SPOILER WARNING
You might not want to listen to this podcast (Episodes 22 & 23) if you haven't read the first book in the series. Go read, then come back and listen to this episode.
Go on... we'll wait...
Wow, it's a little mushy in here as we talk about putting yourself back in old situations, re-living old hurts and fears as we put our characters in similar situations... and the healing that can come with dealing with those emotions.
Enough of that, let's go hunt moose and squirrel!
In this episode:
- Differences in writing Rebirth versus Reconciliation
- The catharsis of writing
- Prayer & forgiveness
- Russian Ninja Barbie!
- Amy's passion for helping women get out of human trafficking.
- Fighting with your husband (as story research)
- Casting the Reluctant Warriors
- We are Groot!
- Reading our own books for pleasure
- Rebirth NOT on sale now
- Amy's combat demo videos!
For more links to books and organizations discussed, visit our website:
https://www.lasersdragonsandkeyboards.com/2017/05/23/amy-mcnew-take-two/
We were delighted to have on the show with us horror authors Janeen Ippolito and Julia Busko this week, authors of Blood Mercy.
In this episode...
- Characters and their quirks and how they may or may not resemble actual people.
- Favorite vampires!
- Being horror junkies
- Favorite scenes
- Dream actor casting!
- Questing!
- Doctor Who and our favorite doctors
- Gaming!
- Upcoming release (October 2017) Blood Mercy: The Darkest Stain
Links!
Janeen Ippolito
Julia Busko
Blood Mercy
The Dresden Files
Mike Duran
Christian Horror
Uncommon Universes Press
We have a special mother-daughter show for you this week! Our guests are Donita K. Paul and her daughter, Evangeline Denmark.
In this week's episode...
- Donita learns something new about her daughter right off the bat.
- We talk WIPs that sound really cool.
- Growing up with an author for a mom.
- Minigames!
- How Donita raised Evangeline with a love for words.
- Donita & Evangeline's collaborations, including their children's books.
- Living up to your mom's standards.
- Legacies.
- Catching Didactics.
- Other creative endeavors
- Favorite parts of the creative process.
(We have some technical difficulties with Donita's feed--we apologize!) - How to balance family & writing
- Having gifts you need to use as a wife and mother.
- How you need other writers to give you feedback.
- And, we explore some fun new questions!
Links
Donita K. Paul
Donita's Facebook
Evangeline Denmark
Evangeline on Facebook
The Dragon and the Turtle
The Dragon and the Turtle go on Safari
This week we have with us Lauren Brandenburg, author of Orlo the Created! This sounds like an awesome middle grade steampunk book series, and we can't wait to get it to share with our kids...yeah, that's the reason. ;)
Episode 58 (Be Excited!):
- Plotting/pantsing
- Scrivener!
- Some of the cool features of Scrivener!
- Maps!
- Liberty continues having technical issues...
- Lauren's self-editing process & her editor -- and incorporating her editing into her homeschooling.
- Writer's block and a funny story
- How writing "Orlo" changed Lauren
- Lauren's unique approach to marketing (which probably not for everyone because of her market)
- Lauren's love of Harry Potter, and her recommendations for how a kid should read the books.
- Awesome rabbit trails!
Links!
Lauren Brandenburg
Orlo the Created
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antsylabs/fidget-cube-a-vinyl-desk-toy
Nadine Brandes
Rachelle Dekker
Suzanne Collins (Overlander)
Tarzan of the Apes (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
Wicked Bible
This week we have with us Lauren Brandenburg, author of Orlo the Created! This sounds like an awesome middle grade steampunk book series, and we can't wait to get it to share with our kids...yeah, that's the reason. ;)
In Episode 57:
- Orlo!
- We talk about the earlier books in the series, focusing on Boone.
- How much does Lauren love world-building?
- CS Lewis quotes!
- Having favorite characters.
- Lauren, Aaron, and Josh's aversion to coffee
- Lauren's mad ninja skills
- What Lauren avoided talking about in Orlo.
- Aaron's obsession with finding a Doctor Strange figurine.
- What Muppet is most like Lauren? And her main character?
- What's up for Lauren next?
- Liberty's got some technical issues (what else is new?)
Be sure to check out our website for additional shows and more extensive show notes! www.LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
We finally sat down to do our anniversary episode, and since we hadn't chatted lately, added in short discussions of the two best movies of 2016: Doctor Strange and Rogue One.
It didn't take long for hilarity to ensue (really, so you expect any different from us?) as we had some frank discussion over the movies and our desire to see both again (pre-order anyone?) 18 stars for Doctor Strange from the three of us and 8.5 - 9 stars for Rogue One (since Aaron hadn't seen it yet!)
After talking movies & books, we get into a recap of the last year and hint at what's coming up in 2017. Aaron hits his sugar high for the day, and turns into the LDK version of Twitchy from Hoodwinked. Liberty tries to be serious, but this is LDK. It doesn't last long!
We have to be serious for a moment and thank our listeners for tuning in, and our guests for being willing guinea pigs, err, victims, err, to come on the show and hang out. We love doing the show and love sharing a bit of ourselves with you. We can't wait to see what 2017 has in store!
This week, we talk with Deanna Fugett (not to be confused with Deanna Troi). We get right into it with a discussion about oddly named characters, and where some of these names come from (don't ask...)
Next, because this is a speculative fiction show, we talk at length about Little House on the Prairie (Of course...) Liberty wasn't around this week to steer us back on track... (because she spontaneously combusted... well, that's our story, anyway...)
We eventually got back on track (kind of...), and learned that Josh loves depressing endings (Aaron can't stand them...)
Who's Deanna's favorite super hero? Is it Green Arrow? Super Grover? You'll have to listen to find out.
As always, check out LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com for full show notes and links to things we discussed!
Our guest this week was the Most Interesting Accountant in the World! He also goes by Chris Morris. Chris is a CPA who caters to artists and authors, using easy to understand terms.
In Episode 53:
Chris Morris, CPA * Laughter immediately ensues when we get into a discussion about colors.
- Authors and other artists all need help with accounting and tax services. Chris' goal is to build his business to serve the author-entrepreneur community.
- Discussion on the special challenges that authors face.
- Rabbit trails on the most expensive pens!
- How to determine if expenses are business-related.
- How to treat your writing like a business.
- ID 10T errors
- Deductions that people miss
- Crazy things people have asked if they can deduct.
- Ben Wolf's marketing practices (Ep. 10 & Ep. 11)
- We get into a lot of the nitty-gritty of setting up businesses and funding your business when you're not making money yet.
- Should you hire a bookkeeper?
- Google & Taxes are not a good combination. ;)
- Oh $@!*# I'm Making Money, Now What?
Links:
Chris Morris
Chris's book (as above)
Cam Scanner app
Lindsay Franklin & Wombatman
Failbook
This week we have with us CW Briar, author of Wrath & Ruin, an anthology filled with spec fic ranging from horror to humorous sci-fi. We discuss gnomes--eep!
In Episode 52:
- CW & Liberty agree it's very difficult to write a mystery without an outline.
- How CW works around his career and his kids and using his commute to maximize his time.
- CW's preference for Word over Scrivener, and how he organizes it.
- How CW's job as an engineer informs his writing and outlining process.
- Stealing from your beta readers.
- Canadian mining practices in the 19th Century
- Cthulu!
- Learn to Love Editing
Links!
CW Briar
Wrath and Ruin
Brandon Sanderson
Algernon Blackwood
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterston
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Dragon Speaks!
Epic Music from YouTube
As always, check out our show notes on LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com
This week we have with us CW Briar, author of Wrath & Ruin, an anthology filled with spec fic ranging from horror to humorous sci-fi. We discuss gnomes--eep!
In Episode 51:
- Why he wrote an anthology rather than starting with a full-length novel.
- Accomplishments and interesting experiences as a first-time author.
- CW's favorite characters from the anthology.
- How CW's desires for a certain effect shaped some of his stories.
- Interesting juxtapositions of CW's research.
- CW can't pick one captain. :)
- We get off on a bit of Doctor Who riff.
- How writing Wrath & Ruin has changed CW.
As always, see complete show notes at LasersDragonsandKeyboards.com
This episode brought us the joy of interviewing co-host and producer Liberty in regards to her latest book, Omission (Now available in e-format!)
In Episode 49:
We discuss who makes the better Liberty.
Liberty tells us what it's like to be a series writer.
We get to hear who'd make the best cast for a TV version of the Darby Shaw Chronicles
In Episode 50:
We hear what the perfect music for writing mysteries is.
Gluten-free snacks are discussed.
We get profound as Liberty tells us how writing has changed her!
Be sure to check out our site, LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com, for more detailed show notes and links!
Liberty Speidel
Omission (Book #4 of the Darby Shaw Chronicles)
This episode brought us the joy of interviewing co-host and producer Liberty in regards to her latest book, Omission (Now available in e-format!)
In Episode 49:
We discuss who makes the better Liberty.
Liberty tells us what it's like to be a series writer.
We get to hear who'd make the best cast for a TV version of the Darby Shaw Chronicles
In Episode 50:
We hear what the perfect music for writing mysteries is.
Gluten-free snacks are discussed.
We get profound as Liberty tells us how writing has changed her!
Be sure to check out our site, LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com, for more detailed show notes and links!
Liberty Speidel
Omission (Book #4 of the Darby Shaw Chronicles)
This week, we have Keven Newsome again to talk writing!
- Plotting/pantsing theory.
- Keven's modified Snowflake method (shoutout to Randy Ingermanson).
- Writing and editing tips in Scrivener from Keven & Liberty.
- How Keven uses One Note to track his notes and research.
- Keven's editing process and tips.
- Joss Whedon advice on writer's block.
- Keven's Musicality in his writing.
- Marketing tips that DON'T work.
- Writing a series.
- Liberty has to roll solo when Aaron's router drops out.
- We talk classic Doctor Who, which is always a fun topic.
Links:
Keven Newsome
The Winter Series
P.A. Baines - Alpha Redemption
Robin McKinley - Hero and the Crown
The 5 Stage plot (from Keven's blog)
One Note
Keven's Epic Radio on Spotify
Doctor Who
Be sure to check out website: www.LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.com for more detailed show notes!
This week on this (late) show, we have with us Keven Newsome! Keven is a pastor, and the author of the Winter Series.
In today's episode, Liberty gets her geek card revoked by Keven as we discuss the Chronicles of Narnia. We have a lively discussion in general--as per usual--without Josh.
Be sure to check our show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.wordpress.com for more detail on the show, as well as links to things we discuss!
Also, apologies for some poor audio quality in parts of the show. We think we know why the glitches happened and are working to rectify it.
We were totally delighted to hang out with one of the forefathers of the awesome Realm Makers conference in these episodes, Kerry Nietz! Kerry, as he says, is a refugee from software engineering, and is the author of Amish Vampires in Space (as seen on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!)
In Episode 46:
- How Kerry structures his writing time so he can end his session in the middle of a scene.
- Oh, Scrivner, do we love thee? Let us count the ways...
- Kerry's really good first drafts, and how he handles editing.
- Developing a thick skin! (Metaphorically...)
- Developing habits to overcome writer's block (literally...)
- Mayans, mythology, and vampire gods - Oh My!
- Never stop writing-never surrender!
- The differences in traditional publishing versus self-publishing, at least from Kerry's perspective.
Too lazy to type out the links while you're listening? We've got you covered! (If they don't work, it's Liberty's fault....)
Kerry Nietz
Frayed
Amish Vampires in Space
Mike Duran
Tosca Lee
Nadine Brandes (editing services)
Jeff Gerke (editing services)
Ray Bradbury (Hey, he won a Pulitzer! But not for what you'd think...)
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Michael Crighton
We were totally delighted to hang out with one of the forefathers of the awesome Realm Makers conference in these episodes, Kerry Nietz! Kerry, as he says, is a refugee from software engineering, and is the author of Amish Vampires in Space (as seen on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!)
In Episode 45:
- Revisiting story worlds by writing Frayed.
- Threadbare, the main character, and why Kerry loves him.
- Throwing characters curve balls (No, not literally...)
- Liberty's cold leads to a misinterpretation of one of our questions, and an interesting answer.
- Research into boxing!
- Kerry's favorite superhero and the version he prefers!
- Usually, one's superhero and one's Captain have similar traits... Mr. Nietz is an exception...
Too lazy to type out the links while you're listening? We've got you covered! (If they don't work, it's Liberty's fault....)
Kerry Nietz
Frayed
Amish Vampires in Space
Mike Duran
Tosca Lee
Nadine Brandes (editing services)
Jeff Gerke (editing services)
Ray Bradbury (Hey, he won a Pulitzer! But not for what you'd think...)
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Michael Crighton
Find LDK online!
We had John Brhel on with us in these episodes. He was a bit of an unknown to us, but we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and talking about Marvelry's Curiosity Shop. He's part of a writing duo with Joseph Sullivan and they tend to write horror. Marvelry's Curiosity Shop definitely has a horror vibe to it even though it's more paranormal fantasy, but also a lot of human interest.
- Not getting boxed in by outlines.
- Working with a co-writer.
- Knocking out drafts in a day or two.
- Writing with infants (and how that affects writing software choice!)
- On the fly research.
- Real-time editing with a co-writer.
- Various techniques to overcome writer's block
- Liberty learns that there's such a thing as video game soundtracks!
- How John's day job influences his marketing, and some of his tips and tricks to market his books.
- Things you shouldn't be doing as authors when you're marketing.
Links:
John Brhel
John on Twitter
John & Joe's Website (Cemetery Gates Media)
Marvelry's Curiosity Shop At the Cemetery Gates
Stephen King's Needful Things
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Nickelodeon Show)
M.R. James (Early 20th century ghost stories)
King Solomon's Mine (H. Rider Haggard)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Christopher Walken's reading of "The Raven"
Edgar Allen Poe
Stephen King
John Steinbeck
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Brandon Sanderson
LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.Wordpress.com
We had John Brhel on with us in these episodes. He was a bit of an unknown to us, but we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and talking about Marvelry's Curiosity Shop. He's part of a writing duo with Joseph Sullivan and they tend to write horror. Marvelry's Curiosity Shop definitely has a horror vibe to it even though it's more paranormal fantasy, but also a lot of human interest.
Episode 43:
- The influences that helped create Doctor Marvelry and Marvelry's Curiosity Shop.
- Some of the history that helps color the stories.
- Fun things John and Joe had to research!
- Does Indiana Jones qualify as a superhero?
- Read free books by the dead guys, but buy indie author's books!
- Liberty somehow makes a connection between one of John's upcoming books and the Village People (listen to see if you can follow her logic!)
Links:
John Brhel
John on Twitter
John & Joe's Website (Cemetery Gates Media)
Marvelry's Curiosity Shop At the Cemetery Gates
Stephen King's Needful Things
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Nickelodeon Show)
M.R. James (Early 20th century ghost stories)
King Solomon's Mine (H. Rider Haggard)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Christopher Walken's reading of "The Raven"
Edgar Allen Poe
Stephen King
John Steinbeck
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Brandon Sanderson
This week on the show, we have Celesta Thiessen, the author of the Super Seven series. She hails from Manitoba (I think she's our first Canadian author!), and had a lot to share about her series and writing.
In Episode 42:
- Celesta's pantsing process. (We all agree it's brave!)
- Aaron is amazed at the earliness at which Celesta writes.
- And Aaron also is really quick on puns and quips in this episode!
- We talk strange place names where we all live.
- Celesta's unusual research methods.
- Self-editing and Celesta's lengthy process (which includes her husband!)
- We get into a bit of a Mac vs. PC debate.
- Celesta's long term goals!
Links!
Celesta Thiessen
The Super Seven
Salt Eden (Celeste's new book for adults!)
The Physics of Superheroes
Kathy Tyers
Kerry NietzA Star Curiously Singing
This week on the show, we have Celesta Thiessen, the author of the Super Seven series. She hails from Manitoba (I think she's our first Canadian author!), and had a lot to share about her series and writing.
In Episode 41:
- Celesta's favorite parts of writing the series.
- An impromptu author reading of her favorite scene from Two of a Kind!
- The science behind her superhero powers in her books.
- Celesta's favorite superhero...and how he figures into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We spend some time analyzing the movie.
- Many bunny trails on the parts of the hosts...
Links!
Celesta Thiessen
The Super Seven
Salt Eden (Celeste's new book for adults!)
The Physics of Superheroes
Kathy Tyers
Kerry Nietz
This week on LDK, we have a wonderful time talking with Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that three times fast!) We managed to get a few details about ancient Japanese culture, of which, Laura seems to be a near-expert on.
In Episode 40
- We nearly kill Aaron with Laura's response to plotting problems. Laura definitely had us in stitches with this one.
- We talk Scrivener, which we're delighted to find she makes use of it, though not 100% of the time.
- Laura's winning editing process.
- Laura's reasons for eating chocolate!
- Training your subconscious.
- The non-coffee-drinking writers!
- Crazy research--and how it's paid off in Laura's life! (And don't Google search the one thing she mentions!)
- Some of Laura's marketing techniques (hint: a lot of it has to do with personality!)
Links!
Laura VanArendonk Baugh
Buy her books!
Dave Duncan (The Gilded Chain)
Susan Spann (Shenobi Mysteries)
This week on LDK, we have a wonderful time talking with Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that three times fast!) We managed to get a few details about ancient Japanese culture, of which, Laura seems to be a near-expert on.
In Episode 39
- Kitsune is a fox spirit, hence the foxes on the covers of her books.
- The folklore roots within her books, including some loose relation to Pokemon.
- Laura thinks our favorite character question is a mean question to ask!
- Kitsune-Tsuki was written in one sitting (!!!).
- Laura defines our superhero question in an interesting way.
- We introduce a new question!
- Aaron gives his opinion on what the best of the Star Trek movies is. (May or may not be what you expect!)
Links!
Laura VanArendonk Baugh
Buy her books!
Dave Duncan (The Gilded Chain)
Susan Spann (Shenobi Mysteries)
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Jill Williamson, Nadine Brandes, Lauren Brandenburg, and Katie Grace to discuss writing from a young author point of view.
You'll notice that we have fewer laugh tracks because we all had our microphones muted!
Also, we had 7 people on a chat, so some of us had some technical issues. :( Sorry about that!)
Some of the topics we discussed were:
- Challenges that young writers face, from their own perspective.
- Challenges for mentors to young writers.
- Who mentors the mentors?
- Creative people versus non-creative people.
- Making time for writing and editing.
- Different writing software--and tools and apps!
- Character arcs of favorite superheroes.
There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting. -- Robert Graves
Books you have to read (besides our own):
The Lunar Chronicles
This week on the show, we have Randy Streu, who is the producer of Beyond the Rim, a sci-fi and horror audio drama/podcast.
In Episode 36
- Randy discusses how he got into radio drama, with its roots coming from college.
- We discuss PEG...and how she ties to one of our hosts.
- Why writing for radio is good for lazy writers!
- Social commentary in writing.
- The gruesome research for Shoo, Fly, the first production for Beyond the Rim. Aaron & Randy Streu
Listen to Episode 1 of Beyond the Rim Here!
In Episode 37
- Too lazy to plot.
- Music selections for the horror writer.
- Ommwriter.
- Writing flash fiction.
- Staying fully immersed and how it can be difficult.
- How to adapt a story for audio.
- Randy's unique way of dealing with writer's block. "Books I Didn't Write."
- The differences and similarities between marketing an audio drama versus a book.
- The problems of not being able to pick a favorite movie (or book).
- Write it anyway, even if you think no one wants to hear what you have to say.
Links!
Randy Streu
A Flame in the Dark Productions
The Tick (TV show)
Master & Commander (books by Patrick O'Brian & movie)
J-Pod (Douglass Coupland)
Ted Dekker
Frank Peretti
Stephen Lawhead
The Audio Drama Podcast
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (with John Gielgud)
The Thing on the Fourble Board - Episode from "Quiet, Please!"
The Death Robbery (with Boris Karloff) - Episode from "Lights Out"
The Peoria Plague
We're Alive by Kc Wayland
Campfire Radio Theater
Tales from the Museum ( DarkerProjects.com )
This week on the show, we have Randy Streu, who is the producer of Beyond the Rim, a sci-fi and horror audio drama/podcast.
In Episode 36
- Randy discusses how he got into radio drama, with its roots coming from college.
- We discuss PEG...and how she ties to one of our hosts.
- Why writing for radio is good for lazy writers!
- Social commentary in writing.
- The gruesome research for Shoo, Fly, the first production for Beyond the Rim. Aaron & Randy Streu
Listen to Episode 1 of Beyond the Rim Here!
Links!
Randy Streu
A Flame in the Dark Productions
The Tick (TV show)
Master & Commander (books by Patrick O'Brian & movie)
J-Pod (Douglass Coupland)
Ted Dekker
Frank Peretti
Stephen Lawhead
In this week's (bonus!) episode of the show, Josh and Liberty pick Aaron's brain on what happened in Philadelphia at Realm Makers 2016. For anyone who hasn't been, the camaraderie is amazing, and you immediately feel like you've found your tribe.
This year, Aaron got to hear sessions from Thomas Locke, Tosca Lee, and Kathy Tyers, among others. Aaron shares some of his notes from Tosca's sessions on characterization (these are really good!) Josh and Liberty wished we were in this session alongside him!
We decide that for 2017, we need a cloning machine. There's too many sessions that we want to go to! (But we're pretty sure that's part of the plan since the founders do sell recordings!)
Creativity is one of the rarest gifts. We have our creativity to honor God with, and that's who we are, no matter what our day job is. Love it and know you're meant to do that. -- Tom Black
Realm Makers 2017 is at the Atlantis Casino & Resort in Reno, NV July 27 - 29. You need to be there! Registration opens in the spring (usually in late March or April 1.)
This week on the show, we're lacking Josh, but we have the wonderful Mary Ruth Pursselley on with us! Aaron and Liberty have trouble getting into a good rhythm without Josh, so there's a bit of back and forth as those two try to get going.
Mary Ruth is the author of epic fantasy novel, Song of the Wren Falcon, and a lover of hot tea.
In Episode 34:
- Confessions of a full-on pantser!
- Chaotic first drafts and how they inform you in the future when you look back.
- Binge-watching My Little Pony.
- Having friends to help with problems in your book.
- The benefits of having neighbors far away when you're a fantasy novelist.
- Useful ideas on how to overcome writer's block.
- Mary Ruth's Earl Grey snobbery. ;)
- The crazy things Mary Ruth has Googled and her new favorite word.
- Mary Ruth's profound advice to new authors (not what you'd expect!)
Links:
Mary Ruth Pursselley
Song of the Wren Falcon
Raphael Sabitini (Captain Blood, The Seahawk, Scar Moonshade)
Patrick W. Carr (listen to his interviews: Part 1 & Part 2)
J.R.R. Tolkien
L.M. Montgomery (Emily of New Moon)
Mary Ruth on Instagram
Mary Ruth on Facebook
As always, you can find us at our website.
This week on the show, we're lacking Josh, but we have the wonderful Mary Ruth Pursselley on with us! Aaron and Liberty have trouble getting into a good rhythm without Josh, so there's a bit of back and forth as those two try to get going.
Mary Ruth is the author of epic fantasy novel, Song of the Wren Falcon, and a lover of hot tea.
In Episode 33:
- Mastering subtext--or at least faking it when your readers pick up on something you didn't necessarily intend.
- Rewriting and redrafting multiple times on your first novel.
- Doing a redemption theme well. (Aaron kinda geeks out about this!)
- Embarrassing ways to be discovered while figuring out choreography for a sword fight by ones brother.
- Interesting medical stuff researched.
- Aaron talks Mary Ruth out of her favorite superhero, then proceeds to tease both the women about Tom Hiddleston.
- Early childhood crushes.
- Mary Ruth's boyfriend had to twist her arm to be in a relationship by watching a particular movie.
- Mary Ruth shares some bitterness towards the hosts for forcing her to join Facebook. ;)
Links:
Mary Ruth Pursselley
Song of the Wren Falcon
Raphael Sabitini (Captain Blood, The Seahawk, Scar Moonshade)
Patrick W. Carr (listen to his interviews: Part 1 & Part 2)
J.R.R. Tolkien
L.M. Montgomery (Emily of New Moon)
We're delighted to have contemporary fantasy author K.M. (aka Kessie) Carroll on our show this week! After we discuss the heat in Arizona (where Kessie lives), and Aaron gives Liberty a really hard time, we actually get down to the business of the day.
- Overly suggestive book titles for outlining (Take Off Your Pants)
- Dealing with writer's block, and why it may be happening.
- Kessie's ideal Chai latte, as well as hot chocolate
- How a city might respond to a zombie apocalypse.
- E-Reader News Today & Pixel of Ink going belly up. :(
- A very unusual answer to our fandom question. :)
- When readers read into your books deeper than you intended. Lots of funnies.
- You're allowed to write crap, just keep writing.
Links:
- K.M. Carroll
- The Spacetime Legacy
- Magic Weaver (latest in her series)
- Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle)
- Sara Prineas
- Elizabeth Goudge
- Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)
- Larry Correia (Monster Hunter's International)
- Domino Finn (Black Magic Outlaw)
- Heartstriker Series by Rachel Aaron
- Take Off Your Pants by Libbie Hawker
- Bookzio
- Story Cartel
- Mark Dawson's Self-Publishing Formula
- The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
We're delighted to have contemporary fantasy author K.M. (aka Kessie) Carroll on our show this week! After we discuss the heat in Arizona (where Kessie lives), and Aaron gives Liberty a really hard time, we actually get down to the business of the day.
In this episode...
- The Spacetime Legacy, Kessie's contemporary fantasy series, and her wish to see it in a Manga form.
- The origins of her series
- Sacrificial cars
- Superstition Mountains (super creepy stories!)
- Arizona Vortexes
- Classic Batman show from the 1960s...and her kids' likely reaction to watching the show. (Hilarity ensues.)
- Kessie's Doctor (Who)
- Writing with 5 kids (great advice for ALL of us parents.)
- Scrivener for iOS
- Discussing Jim Butcher (some of it got cut...if our listeners could be flies on the walls during our intermissions!)
Links:
- K.M. Carroll
- The Spacetime Legacy
- Magic Weaver (latest in her series)
- Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle)
- Sara Prineas
- Elizabeth Goudge
- Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)
- Larry Correia (Monster Hunter's International)
- Domino Finn (Black Magic Outlaw)
- Heartstriker Series by Rachel Aaron
- Take Off Your Pants by Libbie Hawker
- Bookzio
- Story Cartel
- Mark Dawson's Self-Publishing Formula
- The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
On this episode we spoke with Patrick Carr, author of the Staff and Sword Series, about his venture into the Darkwater Saga and the Shock of Night.
A trilogy of trilogies awaits!
In these episodes, Patrick keeps us laughing. Also, you'll never believe how accident prone Patrick is!
All of us wax nostalgic at some point...you'd think we're old or something!
In Episode 30
- Character-driven fantasy, and how he accomplishes this in his plotting process.
- Patrick and his disagreeable muse.
- Planning for a series long-term + happy circumstance
- Re-doing books from scratch...under deadline
- Carrying around your books and your characters in your head all the time.
- Patrick's advice: be a merciless critic where your writing is concerned.
- Patrick's methods for attacking writer's block
- Candy bar in a cup drinks at Starbucks at Christmas
- Patrick shares some of his techniques for making perfect fudge (yes, seriously)
- Patrick and Liberty discuss rigor mortis...and gross Aaron out
- Traditional marketing advice from Patrick's agent, Steve Laube. The phrase "literary Amway guy" comes into play.
- Patrick's funny experiences of being an author
Links:
Patrick Carr
The Darkwater Saga
The Shock of Night
Home Improvement
Steve Laube (Patrick's agent!)
David Eddings (The Belgariad)
Steven R. Donaldson (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Robert Ludlum
Brandon Sanderson
C. S. Lewis (Screwtape Letters; The Space Trilogy)
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series
The Magician by Raymond Feist
On this episode we spoke with Patrick Carr, author of the Staff and Sword Series, about his venture into the Darkwater Saga and the Shock of Night.
A trilogy of trilogies awaits!
In these episodes, Patrick keeps us laughing. Also, you'll never believe how accident prone Patrick is!
All of us wax nostalgic at some point...you'd think we're old or something!
In Episode 29
- Odd character traits with Patrick's main character. (How does sleep walking and murders correlate?)
- Writing with an unreliable protagonist.
- Hating your writing while you're writing.
- Juggling. Emergency room visits! We manage to gross Aaron out. How Patrick uses his own accidents to inform his books.
- How to recast your books from one setting to another when your editor and agent tell you to.
- Fencing stories! Some engineering talk, which is totally fascinating.
- Googling has some interesting answers...including how dogs see.
- We get off into old time radio and radio broadcasts in general because of Patrick's answer to the superhero question.
- You will NEVER guess Patrick's answer to his Captain. Never, never, never!
- Patrick's looking forward to teaching a class at Realm Makers!
Links:
Patrick Carr
The Darkwater Saga
The Shock of Night
Home Improvement.
Steve Laube (Patrick's agent!)
David Eddings (The Belgariad)
Steven R. Donaldson (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Robert Ludlum
Brandon Sanderson
C. S. Lewis (Screwtape Letters; The Space Trilogy)
Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series
The Magician by Raymond Feist
Mike Duran, author of The Ghost Box and Saint Death, novels in the Reagan Moon para-noir series, joins us in Episodes 27 & 28 this week. We had a blast talking to him. Sometimes funny, sometimes very serious, Mike is a former pastor and he definitely keeps us on our toes throughout both episodes.
As Christian writers...hope has to be a pretty big factor in our writing. ~Mike Duran
In Episode 28, Stand On Your Head:
Our Plotting vs Pantsing question sends us down a hilarious rabbit trail, before Mike helps us get back on track. Then he talks about his own paranoia as a writer. Mike shares how he figures out what book to write next.
We discuss the learning curve of Scrivener, but also the benefits, too. (Hint: we all use Scrivener and LOVE it.)
Mike compares the editing process to a visit to a dentist, and while it's a gross comparison in a way, it has a lot of merit. Had us in stitches! :)
Writer's block, or the lack thereof. Mike's solutions for feeling inspirationally dry are tremendously helpful (and is a technique I've used myself!) Mike starts waxing philosophical about writer's inspirational...and it gets deep (in a good way.)
Mike recommends not eating or drinking during writing, and also uses a standing desk. He believes he writes better when he's standing.
What characteristic does Mike share with his son? (Hint: it kind of grosses Aaron out!) And yeah, we went there. Mike compares his marketing practices to corpses about to be autopsied. (He's kidding.)
Through giggles, we manage to get in some deep theological discussion. Which, if you've read Mike's blog, shouldn't surprise you at all. When we start discussing theology in tandem with physics and the reality of time, it gets deep. Truly a fascinating discussion.
Listen to Episode 27
Links:
Mike Duran
The Ghost Box
Saint Death
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)
Moby Dick
Dante
Twilight Zone
Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas Series
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein
Tosca Lee's Demon
Realm Makers
Ex Machina (motion picture)
Drawing On the Right Side of Your Brain
Eternity in Their Heart
The Creator and the Cosmos
Mike Duran, author of The Ghost Box and Saint Death, novels in the Reagan Moon para-noir series, joins us in Episodes 27 & 28 this week. We had a blast talking to him. Sometimes funny, sometimes very serious, Mike is a former pastor and he definitely keeps us on our toes throughout both episodes.
As Christian writers...hope has to be a pretty big factor in our writing. ~Mike Duran
In Episode 27:
Mike shares about his unlikely background, which includes going from dabbling in the occult to being a pastor. We're pretty sure it informs Reagan Moon's stories, which are definitely fun reads, but they may not be for all our listeners. Mike describes Reagan in a bit of a...colorful...manner. ;)
We discuss paranormal stuff...and Mike suggests that a lot of that may exist more than people realize. You may or may not agree, but it's still a fascinating discussion.
So, what you're saying is that life is a little more like Hot Topic than we want to admit? ~Aaron DeMott
Why Los Angeles needed to be the setting for the Reagan Moon books...I think when you hear his reasoning, it'll make perfect sense.
The background for Saint Death is really a fascinating discussion, and some of it has been in the news in the last few months (I vaguely remember hearing about it.) Mike describes a research trip he and his wife did in the process of writing this book. It's interesting, to say the least.
Mike's answer to our superhero question raises a few eyebrows. But given his background, it makes perfect sense.
Gremlins! (And not the movie!) The true origins of ghost boxes (who knew?)! Some moderately gross stuff (that may make some of our listeners squeamish!)
Mike's "what's up next" is definitely something to look forward to if you're a writer interested in horror and/or writing from a faith perspective and what the parameters are for that.
Links:
Mike Duran
The Ghost Box
Saint Death
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)
Moby Dick
Dante
Twilight Zone
Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas Series
Dean Koontz's Frankenstein
Tosca Lee's Demon
Realm Makers
Due to some last minute circumstances, we had our guest for our normal recording session reschedule on us, so what's a podcast to do? Well, we filled it with discussing some aspects of the writing life! Sorry to our reader-only listeners, this one is mostly focused on writing. But we do take a few bunny trails that our readers may enjoy!
Aaron & Josh have some helpful marriage advice for all the guys out there, some of it coming from The Red Green Show.
Then we get into the meat of the podcast. All three of us share what our "normal" lives look like, and then how we balance in our writing time.
We were taking listener questions during this episode, and someone asked us how long it takes for us to WRITE our first drafts. I (Liberty) kind of took over the show at that point for a while before giving the guys a chance to share.
First draft: Say it.
Second draft: Say what you mean.
Third draft: Say it well.
~Sean Platt
We do talk editing at length (and I think we need to do an editing episode--any freelance editors want to come on and talk editing exclusively?) And we also talk about goals with our careers.
Some of our favorite resources come up (see our short links list below!) Fight scenes are a lengthy part of the discussion.
And we cover some of the quirky questions we ask our guests. :) Aaron and Liberty disagree about the quality of Star Trek: Voyager (which we're pretty sure is going to be a topic that comes up again...and again...and again...) Discussion about the merit of time-travel episodes may or may not happen.
Tune in to hear which books we think should be turned into movies and/or TV shows.
Links
Writing Fight Scenes by Rayne Hall
Anne McCafferey's Pern Series
Codex Alera by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files (TV series)
Wheel of Time
J.D. Robb's In Death series
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
The Martian by Andy Weir (book)
The Martian (movie)
We had the pleasure of having Tosca join us on this episode of LD&K. In between ramblings by the hosts we got to hear how much Tosca loves car chases. And fashion. A donkey race may have been spoken of as well. Believe it or not, that all ties in to her latest book Progeny, due to drop in stores on May 24th!
Stick through the whole thing to hear Tosca's views on naming favorite authors - and to get some good Audible recommendations!
In Episode 25 (AKA the FOOD episode):
- Plotsing, and how Tosca handles plotting. Hint: she references looking at her plot from 30,000 feet is way different than when you're "boots on the ground".
- Tosca discusses techniques to overcome writer's block, even though she doesn't get it very often.
- Tosca imparts a ton of wisdom.
Tosca Lee
MYST
Call of Duty
Shazam/Isis Power Hour
Thundarr the Barbarian
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Thomas Locke
Ronie Kendig
Ted Dekker
Frank Peretti
Ben Wolf
Robert Lipaluro
The 5th Wave
Six of Crows
Red Rising
Legend
Big Magic
We had the pleasure of having Tosca join us on this episode of LD&K. In between ramblings by the hosts we got to hear how much Tosca loves car chases. And fashion. A donkey race may have been spoken of as well. Believe it or not, that all ties in to her latest book Progeny, due to drop in stores on May 24th!
Stick through the whole thing to hear Tosca's views on naming favorite authors - and to get some good Audible recommendations!
In Episode 24:
We discuss Tosca's hidden love of fashion, her past as a gamer, and how Biblical fiction doesn't have car chases.
There is some 'fun' discussion about Count & Countess Bathoroy and their torture techniques.
Liberty and Tosca come to an agreement on who the best Star Trek Captain is.
Tosca Lee
The Progeny
MYST
Call of Duty
Shazam/Isis Power Hour
Thundarr the Barbarian
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Thomas Locke
Ronie Kendig
Ted Dekker
Frank Peretti
Ben Wolf
Robert Lipaluro
The 5th Wave
Six of Crows
Red Rising
Legend
Big Magic
Supernatural gifts, demons, and martial arts - oh my!
In our two segments with Amy Brock McNew, Aaron manages to break Amy before we barely even get started. Which is totally epic.
Amy, for those of you not in the know, is the author of REBIRTH, which debuts May 24th. She is an interesting character (and one you may be hearing more from in the near future!)
In Episode 23: * We are Josh-less in this part! * The myriad of places that Amy's notes end up during her plotsing process. * Her unbelievable production rate during NaNoWriMo * Her crazy Scrivener/note card hybrid organizing process. * Paydays, yellow Starbursts, Jelly Bellies, and all the other goodies in Amy's desk. * Vampiric blood (you have to listen to hear how this figures in). * How Pinterest figures in to her relating to her readers. * How her background in journalism led to her being surprised by the author culture. * Where her heart is and what she wants to do in the future where that is concerned.
Supernatural gifts, demons, and martial arts - oh my!
In our two segments with Amy Brock McNew, Aaron manages to break Amy before we barely even get started. Which is totally epic.
Amy, for those of you not in the know, is the author of REBIRTH, which debuts May 24th. She is an interesting character (and one you may be hearing more from in the near future!)
In Episode 22:
- Why Amy wrote REBIRTH, which sounds a lot like many other authors' reasons for writing their books.
- The cathartic background of REBIRTH for Amy.
- Amy teases the sequel, RECONCILIATION, in her description of her favorite character in the book. (There's popcorn involved!) And it makes all of us want to read Rebirth.
- Crazy looks from the neighbors (this story is totally worth the entire interview)
- Some of the freaky things that Amy ran across in the course of research, and how off so much of it was.
We were delighted to have Kat Heckenbach on the podcast this week! Kat is the author of Finding Angel & Seeking Unseen, both entries in the Toch Island Chronicles. With origins in biology, math, and art, her journey to become an author took a bit of circuitous route.
We had a bit of technical difficulties with this podcast, so we apologize for a few blips here and there. I think Aaron suggests juggling a couple rabbits and/or tin foil for the next time. ;)
Happenings In Part 1:
With Kat’s background in biology, she shares how that informs the Toch Island Chronicles. The flora and fauna are very important details in her books! The Lord of the Rings is also discussed and how it figures into Kat’s favorite character in her books. There’s magically-powered electric guitars involved! (This, I gotta see!) With the biology background, it really feeds into how adamant Kat is about the setting of her books. I can’t recall if we’ve seen any of our guests so far be so firm about a story location! Reasons for writing fantasy abound, and there be sheep involved! And as we get into Kat’s answer to our superhero question, Aaron brings up some trivia about the making of The Avengers.
Goings On In Part 2:
As we shift into writing mode, we of course ask our plotting versus pantsing question. Kat’s answer involves a lot of notecards. Can you guess her answer? Because Aaron has an irreverent solution to her notecard “problem.” About that point in the show, we start plotting against Aaron’s neighbor’s tree….which continues to cause connectivity issues for the podcast. Getting back on track (is this a possibility with this bunch?), we talk about a lack of snacks and drinks with Kat and why that is.
We hates research, Precious! That is why we writes fantasy!
Every writer’s favorite part of the episode: Kat offers some of her favorite tips for marketing, and some are pretty off beat options, but definitely viable for most every author.
Even though Kat’s is a well-known Harry Potter fan, her answer to our new fandom question may surprise you. But her favorite book is the Harry Potter series. Can you guess which one? And as we wrap things up with Kat for this time, her most surprising thing about being a writer may just surprise you as well.
This and a whole lot more—with lots of laughing!—in this week’s episode.
Links to topics we discussed:
Kat Heckenbach
Finding Angel
Seeking Unseen
J.K. Rowling
Brandon Sanderson (Y.A. stuff)
Brandon Mull (Fable Haven series)
Cornelia Funke
Sage Blackwood
We were delighted to have Kat Heckenbach on the podcast this week! Kat is the author of Finding Angel & Seeking Unseen, both entries in the Toch Island Chronicles. With origins in biology, math, and art, her journey to become an author took a bit of circuitous route.
We had a bit of technical difficulties with this podcast, so we apologize for a few blips here and there. I think Aaron suggests juggling a couple rabbits and/or tin foil for the next time. ;)
Happenings In Part 1:
With Kat’s background in biology, she shares how that informs the Toch Island Chronicles. The flora and fauna are very important details in her books! The Lord of the Rings is also discussed and how it figures into Kat’s favorite character in her books. There’s magically-powered electric guitars involved! (This, I gotta see!) With the biology background, it really feeds into how adamant Kat is about the setting of her books. I can’t recall if we’ve seen any of our guests so far be so firm about a story location! Reasons for writing fantasy abound, and there be sheep involved! And as we get into Kat’s answer to our superhero question, Aaron brings up some trivia about the making of The Avengers.
Goings On In Part 2:
As we shift into writing mode, we of course ask our plotting versus pantsing question. Kat’s answer involves a lot of notecards. Can you guess her answer? Because Aaron has an irreverent solution to her notecard “problem.” About that point in the show, we start plotting against Aaron’s neighbor’s tree….which continues to cause connectivity issues for the podcast. Getting back on track (is this a possibility with this bunch?), we talk about a lack of snacks and drinks with Kat and why that is.
We hates research, Precious! That is why we writes fantasy!
Every writer’s favorite part of the episode: Kat offers some of her favorite tips for marketing, and some are pretty off beat options, but definitely viable for most every author.
Even though Kat’s is a well-known Harry Potter fan, her answer to our new fandom question may surprise you. But her favorite book is the Harry Potter series. Can you guess which one? And as we wrap things up with Kat for this time, her most surprising thing about being a writer may just surprise you as well.
This and a whole lot more—with lots of laughing!—in this week’s episode.
Links to topics we discussed:
Kat Heckenbach
Finding Angel
Seeking Unseen
J.K. Rowling
Brandon Sanderson (Y.A. stuff)
Brandon Mull (Fable Haven series)
Cornelia Funke
Sage Blackwood
This week with Cindy Koepp...
Hi ho, Silver, away! We learn about the strange inspiration for "Like Herding the Wind"... Also, this book was apparently set in every location known to man (and some that weren't) before the final draft.
We also learn that Cindy loves to write fight scenes... hmm....
What does a 1925 Ford have to do with Like Herding the Wind? You'll have to listen to find out. Also, we get a new answer to "What's your favorite superhero?"!!
This and so much more this week on Lasers, Dragons, and Keyboards!
Things we talked about:
- Cindy Koepp
- Like Herding the Wind
- Bruce Hale's Chet Gheko series
- Gordon R. Dixon's Dorsai's series
- Janet Kagen's Hellspark
- Space 1999 (BBC)
- Travis Perry's Medieval Mars
Dead bodies - and their viewing - were liberally sprinkled through our time with Morgan Busse. Morgan is a writer of epic fantasy. She's recently branched out into Steampunk with the soon-to-be-released Tainted. The idea for Tainted? A discussion on necromancy!
When we weren't discussing the history behind morgues and what rain did to Victorian-era graveyards (you won't want to miss the answer!), we had fun talking about tea. Though Morgan did admit that she'd like nothing more than to enjoy a Raktijino.
Her path to becoming an author is actually a bit unique, and Morgan didn't always want to be a writer. You'll have to tune in to find out how she came to be an author!
Her odd Google searches are truly odd, even for this crowd. You'll want to tune in for that.
How Morgan writes with four kids and as a pastor's wife. If you have a crazy house, you'll want to hear how she deals with writing in that environment.
And her marketing practices are very helpful...but you'll have to listen to hear what those consist of. One tip she has is that she sees an uptick in her sales when she finishes writing a series. (So maybe that's a hint to all of us authors to produce more books more quickly!)
Enter to win TAINTED through a Rafflecopter giveaway
Links:
Morgan Busse
Tainted
Enclave Publishing
Star Trek: DS9
Captain America
Enclave Publishing
Evangeline Denmark
Terry Brooks (Shannara series & Sometimes the Magic Works)
Dead bodies - and their viewing - were liberally sprinkled through our time with Morgan Busse. Morgan is a writer of epic fantasy. She's recently branched out into Steampunk with the soon-to-be-released Tainted. The idea for Tainted? A discussion on necromancy!
When we weren't discussing the history behind morgues and what rain did to Victorian-era graveyards (you won't want to miss the answer!), we had fun talking about tea. Though Morgan did admit that she'd like nothing more than to enjoy a Raktijino.
Her path to becoming an author is actually a bit unique, and Morgan didn't always want to be a writer. You'll have to tune in to find out how she came to be an author!
Her odd Google searches are truly odd, even for this crowd. You'll want to tune in for that.
How Morgan writes with four kids and as a pastor's wife. If you have a crazy house, you'll want to hear how she deals with writing in that environment.
And her marketing practices are very helpful...but you'll have to listen to hear what those consist of. One tip she has is that she sees an uptick in her sales when she finishes writing a series. (So maybe that's a hint to all of us authors to produce more books more quickly!)
Enter to win TAINTED through a Rafflecopter giveaway
Links:
Morgan Busse
Tainted
Enclave Publishing
Star Trek: DS9
Captain America
Enclave Publishing
Evangeline Denmark
Terry Brooks (Shannara series & Sometimes the Magic Works)
As the founder of the first--and only, to the best of our knowledge--conference for writers of faith with a sci-fi and fantasy bent, one may think Rebecca "Becky" Minor might be a bit too busy to sit down with us lowly podcasters. However, Becky is a wonderful person to chat with, and we're delighted that she took time out of her schedule to have a lively discussion with us this week!
Writing as Rebecca P. Minor, Becky authors the Windrider Saga (the only one out right now is Divine Summons), which I am definitely going to have to put on my TBR ~~pile~~...~~err, mountain...err,~~ okay, well it's a library at this stage. The description of her protagonist alone is enough to make someone say, "Uh, yeah, I need to read that!"
Episode 16 features more discussion on her writing, as well as Realm Makers, the world's most AWESOME writing conference for nerds and geeks of faith!
- Becky's writing process, since she's a full-on pantser. We have a lengthy discussion about how Scrivener can be used by the pantser...even though Becky isn't an adopter.
- Becky's odd item that she's Googled is quite unusual.
- We discuss Becky's favorite book (you probably won't be surprised) and the version she has on her bookshelves.
- Costco is one of our famous bunny-trails...and you'll find the diversion quite hilarious. (One word: Pickles.)
- Realm Makers! What is it, how did it get started, and what's coming up for it in 2016! (Awesome writer's conference for us geeks--you really should come!)
- And much, much more! https://wordpress.com/post/lasersdragonsandkeyboards.wordpress.com/564
Links to Things and People we discussed:
- Rebecca "Becky" P. Minor
- Divine Summons
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Ray Bradbury
- Madeline L'Engle (Tilting Planet)
- Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain / Black Cauldron)
- Almond Thins (for the gluten-free listener!)
- Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings)
- Robert Liparulo
- Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind)
Episode 15 Audio Link
As the founder of the first--and only, to the best of our knowledge--conference for writers of faith with a sci-fi and fantasy bent, one may think Rebecca "Becky" Minor might be a bit too busy to sit down with us lowly podcasters. However, Becky is a wonderful person to chat with, and we're delighted that she took time out of her schedule to have a lively discussion with us this week!
Writing as Rebecca P. Minor, Becky authors the Windrider Saga (the only one out right now is Divine Summons), which I am definitely going to have to put on my TBR ~~pile~~...~~err, mountain...err,~~ okay, well it's a library at this stage. The description of her protagonist alone is enough to make someone say, "Uh, yeah, I need to read that!"
In Episode 15, you'll learn the following:
- How Becky's interesting history informs her writing.
- What drives Becky crazy in other author's books?
- Some of her favorite authors--there's a few names on the list who are familiar, and some others who may not be.
- How her art--and she is an amazing artist!--informs her writing.
- AMA-ZOMBIES!
- Plus a lot more, including her plans to do something special with her existing books...
Links to Things and People we discussed:
- Rebecca "Becky" P. Minor
- Divine Summons
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Ray Bradbury
- Madeline L'Engle (Tilting Planet)
- Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain / Black Cauldron)
http://LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.Wordpress.com/
Also known as the one with the Tartan!
This week we had Robert Treskillard as our guest. He's a swordsmithing writer of Merlinean and Arthurian fantasy. His latest book is Merlin's Nightmare.
When we weren't fighting with squeals, snarls, and bad connections we discussed how to give characters authentic names. The mythology of Merlin was discussed and theories about Stonehenge flew! (And on the bad connections issue, you will not notice it as our guest graciously re-recorded all of our bad patches--and trust me, if you'd heard the raw file, it was BAD. We wouldn't have been comfortable putting that out for public consumption, so thank you so much, Robert!)
Robert's answer to our superhero question broke a trend, and drew some oohs and aahs from your dedicated hosts.
Due to the above mentioned snarls, we were only able to record one half of our normal podcast. We hope to catch up with Robert again in the near future to discuss his writing process. So stay tuned for that!
Links:
Robert Treskillard
Merlin's Nightmare
Stephen Lawhead
Andrew Peterson
L.B. Graham
Douglass BondStarship Troopers
In part two, we start things off right. That's right, we're immediately sidetracked talking about tea. (And Aaron manages to insult Liberty's favorite--Earl Grey--while she's drinking it.)
Grace next mentions here favorite book, and we follow that up with a discussion of the metric system. (No, the two are not related... at all...)
We manage to ask a few relevant questions, before we get sidetracked by cats (which Liberty may or may not have edited out.) Then we talk about marketing, which Grace does know something about. You'll have to listen to figure out how to get more people to open your e-mails...
Links to Things of No Interest That We May Have Blathered On About For A Bit:
- Grace Bridges (and perhaps even her book, Mariah's Dream)
- Grace as Captain Janeway (1) & Video 2
- Splashdown Books
- Book ~~Dispository~~ Depository
- What's Earth Star Voyager??
- For both of you that have never heard the Jeopardy theme...
- Reading For Authors (book, find it, fix the title, and link to it. THIS MEANS YOU! It's "Reading Like a Writer", by Francine Prose. ...and you don't have to yell -Aaron)
- Grace's favorite Irish tea
- The world's greatest writing software: Scrivener
- Stephen Lawhead's Empyrion
- Stephen Lawhead's Taliesen
- Alexander McCall Smith
- Jill Domschot
- Kathy Tyers
- Terry Pratchett
- Jeremy Robinson
- Chris Well
- Buffer
- IFTTT (If This, Then That)
This week we interview the Space Kiwi, Grace Bridges. (10 nerd points for everyone who knows why she has that nickname!)
We start off with Aaron knowing who he is for once... sort of...
The Week Of Firsts continues, as we don't ~~emediently~~ ~~imediently~~ ~~imediantly~~ right away start off down a rabbit trail! (I know, I can't believe it either! - Aaron)
Ah, that's better, a side discussion on philosophy. Much better...
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: The question "Is there an author who's favorite superhero ISN'T Batman?" has been answered! (You'll have to listen to the podcast to find out who...)
We talk about favorite movies, and Aaron brings up Earth Star Voyager... and no one else has ever heard of it. Sigh. Grace's favorite captain is no surprise to any of us. Aaron opines about Voyager, but does state that Season 3, Episode 7, "Sacred Ground" is one of the best hours of sci-fi ever, except for one tiny flaw...
Links to Things of No Interest That We May Have Blathered On About For A Bit:
- Grace Bridges (and perhaps even her book, Mariah's Dream)
- Grace as Captain Janeway (1) & Video 2
- Splashdown Books
- Book ~~Dispository~~ Depository
- What's Earth Star Voyager??
- For both of you that have never heard the Jeopardy theme...
- Reading For Authors (book, find it, fix the title, and link to it. THIS MEANS YOU! It's "Reading Like a Writer", by Francine Prose. ...and you don't have to yell -Aaron)
- Grace's favorite Irish tea
- The world's greatest writing software: Scrivener
- Stephen Lawhead's Empyrion
- Stephen Lawhead's Taliesen
- Alexander McCall Smith
- Jill Domschot
- Kathy Tyers
- Terry Pratchett
- Jeremy Robinson
- Jeffrey Overstreet
- Chris Well
- Buffer
- IFTTT (If This, Then That)
In the second part, we have a rare moment of lucidity and discuss the differences between plotters and pantsers, and why all four of us are hybrid writers. Ben then gave some details on his unique outlining/writing method.
Thankfully, the lucid moment passed, and we got kinda off-track again when talking about snacks, and why Ben is now sadly caffeine-free :( (on that note, I've just run out of Skittles while typing these notes - Aaron) We then shift into familiar rabbit trial territory and Ben talks about making bets with his future fiancee (Aaron, Josh, and Liberty are all married, and caution Ben never to mention this in public... oops...)
Next, we, ah, well, it's probably a good thing Ben's not on with us on every episode, or we'd never make any sense...
Ben talks about his experiences using Kickstarter to fund IPAL, and what he's learned from that. And, to wrap things up, we talk about why authors should never do their own book covers. (Well, unless you're a graphic designer or something...)
Things we talked about:
Ben Wolf
I'd Punch a Lion In the Eye For You
Blood For Blood
ACFW Conferences
Ben Powell (author and illustrator for Ben's children's book)
Frank Peretti (The Oath)
Robert Liparulo
Tosca Lee
Ted Dekker
Randy Ingermanson (Writing Fiction for Dummies)
Chris Morris, CPA.
This week we interview Ben Wolf (who is, sadly, not an actual wolf). Ben doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up, as he has authored vampire novels, children's novels, and, of course, westerns. He's also a flash-fiction magazine publisher, and a freelance editor.
We got off on a rabbit trail faster then ever before (but hey, you interview a Wolf, you gotta expect them to chase rabbits.)
After that, we did eventually get around to discussing I'd Punch a Lion in His Eye for You (or, for short, IPAL (not to be confused with an Apple product.)) We also discuss his Christian Horror book, Blood for Blood. This naturally lead to a discussion of the differences between writing children books and novels.
We also learn that Ben is terrified of sharks (makes sense, Wolves are land animals, and sharks live in the water...) and how that ties into IPAL (see pages 17 and 18.)
At some point here, Ben calls Aaron fabulously immature. (What? So I like kids books...) ... and then you'll never guess who Ben's favorite superhero is...
Speaking of immature, who might wear a tutu??
Things we talked about:
Ben Wolf
I'd Punch a Lion In the Eye For You
Blood For Blood
ACFW Conferences
Ben Powell (author and illustrator for Ben's children's book)
Frank Peretti (The Oath)
Robert Liparulo
Tosca Lee
Ted Dekker
Randy Ingermanson (Writing Fiction for Dummies)
Chris Morris, CPA.
This week we welcome novelist, publisher, and editor; the one and only Jeff Gerke.
In part one, we make a LOT of Star Wars references (is Jeff or Aaron the bigger fan?) We also come really close to getting Liberty to enter a giggle feedback loop. (Remember: breath in, giggle out. Without this advice, Liberty might have passed out!)
We even discuss some matters of actual importance, such as the frustrating and contradictory "Rules of Writing", and more importantly, how, when, and why to ignore them. There's even neuroscience behind it, not kidding! Yes, you too can use this technique to make your books as addictive as crack for the low monthly price of... free?? Yes, FREE! Check out the giveaway farther down on this post...
And Jeff continues our trend for authors who love Batman as their favorite superhero. Will we find someone who prefers another hero? You'll have to come back for future episodes to find out...
In part the second, Jeff talks about writers that are either plot first (typically plotting writers) and character first (pantser writers.)
We also talk more about freeing yourself from the rules of fiction (Aaron does interrupt with a rule that can't be broken...) Jeff talks about his writing process, how it has evolved over the past 20 years, and how he keeps his writing flow going.
And, to the surprise of absolutely no one, we get off track and talk about Star Wars again! (and Lord of the Rings, and a few others...) But, to the surprise of all of us, there is a point to it! (Really, not kidding!) These stories, and chances are, a lot of other ones you love, all use the Hero's Journey. Don't know what that is? Want to know how it influenced Jeff as a writer? Listen to the podcast...
Still confused, want more? Don't worry, Jeff is available as a freelance editor and typesetter. Check out his website for details and pricing... do it... you know you want to...
Wait, you're wanting the giveaway, right? Well click this handy-dandy link and all of the ways to enter will be displayed for you! Enter early, enter often, and share with your friends. :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to check out our website for additional links to items we discussed!
This week we welcome novelist, publisher, and editor; the one and only Jeff Gerke.
In part one, we make a LOT of Star Wars references (is Jeff or Aaron the bigger fan?) We also come really close to getting Liberty to enter a giggle feedback loop. (Remember: breath in, giggle out. Without this advice, Liberty might have passed out!)
We even discuss some matters of actual importance, such as the frustrating and contradictory "Rules of Writing", and more importantly, how, when, and why to ignore them. There's even neuroscience behind it, not kidding! Yes, you too can use this technique to make your books as addictive as crack for the low monthly price of... free?? Yes, FREE! Check out the giveaway farther down on this post...
And Jeff continues our trend for authors who love Batman as their favorite superhero. Will we find someone who prefers another hero? You'll have to come back for future episodes to find out...
In part the second, Jeff talks about writers that are either plot first (typically plotting writers) and character first (pantser writers.)
We also talk more about freeing yourself from the rules of fiction (Aaron does interrupt with a rule that can't be broken...) Jeff talks about his writing process, how it has evolved over the past 20 years, and how he keeps his writing flow going.
And, to the surprise of absolutely no one, we get off track and talk about Star Wars again! (and Lord of the Rings, and a few others...) But, to the surprise of all of us, there is a point to it! (Really, not kidding!) These stories, and chances are, a lot of other ones you love, all use the Hero's Journey. Don't know what that is? Want to know how it influenced Jeff as a writer? Listen to the podcast...
Still confused, want more? Don't worry, Jeff is available as a freelance editor and typesetter. Check out his website for details and pricing... do it... you know you want to...
Wait, you're wanting the giveaway, right? Well click this handy-dandy link and all of the ways to enter will be displayed for you! Enter early, enter often, and share with your friends. :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to visit Lasers Dragons And Keyboards at their website for additional links!
So we decided that we couldn't ignore Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens, (Read: "Liberty FINALLY saw it...") and it deserved its own episode. Ironically--and we didn't plan this--it coincided as our 7th episode!
We got off to a rip-roaring start, launching immediately into what we didn't like about the movie, but that quickly shifted into analysis of the story, what we loved, and what we hope to see in Episodes 8 & 9.
But beware of the rants! Each of us launch into at least a couple, although I'm pretty sure Aaron is the rant-master as he occupied the floor much of the time. But he made a lot of good points, and I think you'll find his insight into the movies valuable. He's our resident Star Wars expert, having read much more in the expanded universe than Josh and I combined. I mean, look at how he made an impression on both Josh and I when we met in August 2015:
If you aren't laughing uproariously with us by the end of both of the episodes, you may want to check if you have a pulse. We sure enjoyed doing this episode, and are contemplating doing analysis of future movies...although both the guys won't be going to see Deadpool, so don't get your hopes up about that one. (I'm still weighing it, but I won't do a podcast without Josh and Aaron.) Isn't Guardians of the Galaxy 2 coming out this summer...?
For convenience sake, we did break this up into two parts, however if you leap from 1 to 2 immediately, it will make a lot more sense. We don't recommend listening to 7.5 before you listen to 7.
Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments or send us an e-mail!
Links to things we discussed:
Star Wars: Aftermath (book that takes place between ROTJ and TFA)
The novelization of the movie
Huffington Post 40 Plot holes article
Star Wars fan "debunks" 40 Plot holes article - and calls everyone who doesn't agree with him an idiot
Pre-order Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Emo Kylo Ren on Twitter
Very Lonely Luke on Twitter
Darth Jar Jar Theory
Star Wars: Rebels (Animated TV Series)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (Animated TV Series)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (Animated Movie)
So we decided that we couldn't ignore Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens, (Read: "Liberty FINALLY saw it...") and it deserved its own episode. Ironically--and we didn't plan this--it coincided as our 7th episode!
We got off to a rip-roaring start, launching immediately into what we didn't like about the movie, but that quickly shifted into analysis of the story, what we loved, and what we hope to see in Episodes 8 & 9.
But beware of the rants! Each of us launch into at least a couple, although I'm pretty sure Aaron is the rant-master as he occupied the floor much of the time. But he made a lot of good points, and I think you'll find his insight into the movies valuable. He's our resident Star Wars expert, having read much more in the expanded universe than Josh and I combined. I mean, look at how he made an impression on both Josh and I when we met in August 2015:
If you aren't laughing uproariously with us by the end of both of the episodes, you may want to check if you have a pulse. We sure enjoyed doing this episode, and are contemplating doing analysis of future movies...although both the guys won't be going to see Deadpool, so don't get your hopes up about that one. (I'm still weighing it, but I won't do a podcast without Josh and Aaron.) Isn't Guardians of the Galaxy 2 coming out this summer...?
For convenience sake, we did break this up into two parts, however if you leap from 1 to 2 immediately, it will make a lot more sense. We don't recommend listening to 7.5 before you listen to 7.
Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments or send us an e-mail!
Links to things we discussed:
Star Wars: Aftermath (book that takes place between ROTJ and TFA)
The novelization of the movie
Huffington Post 40 Plot holes article
Star Wars fan "debunks" 40 Plot holes article - and calls everyone who doesn't agree with him an idiot
Pre-order Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Emo Kylo Ren on Twitter
Very Lonely Luke on Twitter
Darth Jar Jar Theory
Star Wars: Rebels (Animated TV Series)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (Animated TV Series)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (Animated Movie)
This week on the podcast we're thrilled to have historical/speculative author and all-around writing guru, K.M. Weiland. We covered a lot of ground in both episodes, so it's well worth a listen!
A good deal of our first podcast revolves around Katie's new book, Storming, which I (Liberty) highly recommend. It's a great introduction to the dieselpunk subgenre, and besides that, a very enjoyable read. Katie discusses why she set the story in her hometown, and how fun it was to dig into her town's history. She also talks about some of her story research, which revolves heavily around barnstorming and the absolutely insane stunts people pulled back in the day when barnstorming was popular. She gives some examples, which I think stunned all three of us. Perhaps it will surprise you as well.
In the second podcast, we discuss Katie's extensive outlining and editing processes. If you've never had a chance to read Outlining Your Novel or Structuring Your Novel, you're in for an eye-opening interview. When we say it's extensive...well, let's just say that we were only able to hit the highlights of her process. There's a reason why it takes three years for her to put out a new novel!
Katie also shares a bit about her overall marketing strategy, and how to set your writing as a priority. Both pieces are very informative and thought-provoking.
As always, we have a lot of laughs, talk about fandoms and superheroes, and wander off-topic a bit.
Thanks so much to K.M. Weiland for joining us! We hope she'll be back in the future.
Links to things discussed:
K.M. Weiland
Helping Writers Become Authors
Storming
Outlining Your Novel
Timothy Zahn - Thrawn Trilogy
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
Orson Scott Card
Charles Dickens
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin Series
ChristianWriters.com
Realm Makers
NaNoWriMo
The Creative Penn
This week on the podcast we're thrilled to have historical/speculative author and all-around writing guru, K.M. Weiland. We covered a lot of ground in both episodes, so it's well worth a listen!
A good deal of our first podcast revolves around Katie's new book, Storming, which I (Liberty) highly recommend. It's a great introduction to the dieselpunk subgenre, and besides that, a very enjoyable read. Katie discusses why she set the story in her hometown, and how fun it was to dig into her town's history. She also talks about some of her story research, which revolves heavily around barnstorming and the absolutely insane stunts people pulled back in the day when barnstorming was popular. She gives some examples, which I think stunned all three of us. Perhaps it will surprise you as well.
In the second podcast, we discuss Katie's extensive outlining and editing processes. If you've never had a chance to read Outlining Your Novel or Structuring Your Novel, you're in for an eye-opening interview. When we say it's extensive...well, let's just say that we were only able to hit the highlights of her process. There's a reason why it takes three years for her to put out a new novel!
Katie also shares a bit about her overall marketing strategy, and how to set your writing as a priority. Both pieces are very informative and thought-provoking.
As always, we have a lot of laughs, talk about fandoms and superheroes, and wander off-topic a bit.
Thanks so much to K.M. Weiland for joining us! We hope she'll be back in the future.
Links to things discussed:
K.M. Weiland
Helping Writers Become Authors
Storming
Outlining Your Novel
Timothy Zahn - Thrawn Trilogy
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
Orson Scott Card
Charles Dickens
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin Series
ChristianWriters.com
Realm Makers
NaNoWriMo
The Creative Penn
After quite a bit of technical difficulties, we were thrilled to finally have H.A. "Heather" Titus on with us! She's the Celtic Urban Fantasy Author of Forged Steel, which came out in summer 2015.
In addition to talking about her book and her writing process, Aaron gave Heather a hard time about being from "da U.P." (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). DC's Arrow came up, as did Aaron's theory that the rebooted Star Trek movies aren't "true" Star Trek.
The idea of "plotsing" comes up, and you'll have to listen to hear how that word came into being. Heather also discusses some of the weird facts she had to Google, and one of them has to do with werewolves and the Mark of Cain. Kinda interesting stuff!
Oh, and Aaron's trying to get us our first hate mail. ;)
After quite a bit of technical difficulties, we were thrilled to finally have H.A. "Heather" Titus on with us! She's the Celtic Urban Fantasy Author of Forged Steel, which came out in summer 2015.
In addition to talking about her book and her writing process, Aaron gave Heather a hard time about being from "da U.P." (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). DC's Arrow came up, as did Aaron's theory that the rebooted Star Trek movies aren't "true" Star Trek.
The idea of "plotsing" comes up, and you'll have to listen to hear how that word came into being. Heather also discusses some of the weird facts she had to Google, and one of them has to do with werewolves and the Mark of Cain. Kinda interesting stuff!
Oh, and Aaron's trying to get us our first hate mail. ;)
Our first ever guest for the Podcast was the fabulous Lindsay Franklin. After the inevitable technical difficulties we took time out to discuss the merits of homeschooling.
We got to learn the awesome origins of the name of her current work-in-progress, The Story Peddler. Believe us – it’s worth the listen just for that!
We got to hear some interesting facts about farming near salt water, cocaine addiction, and more in our ‘Weird Google-Fu’ segment.
Lindsay shared a bit about how Real Life stuff caused this book to take longer than her typical process…and why that’s not a bad thing.
We also had the chance to hear Lindsay wax eloquent on the plotter/pantser debate. Her editing process was also discussed.
Aaron couldn’t resist teasing our guest. A trend that we are all sure will continue for years to come.
We also all geeked out over Scrivener, the world's most awesome writing software. You'd have thought we were sponsored by them or something.
Our first ever guest for the Podcast was the fabulous Lindsay Franklin. After the inevitable technical difficulties we took time out to discuss the merits of homeschooling.
We got to learn the awesome origins of the name of her current work-in-progress, The Story Peddler. Believe us – it’s worth the listen just for that!
We got to hear some interesting facts about farming near salt water, cocaine addiction, and more in our ‘Weird Google-Fu’ segment.
Lindsay shared a bit about how Real Life stuff caused this book to take longer than her typical process…and why that’s not a bad thing.
We also had the chance to hear Lindsay wax eloquent on the plotter/pantser debate. Her editing process was also discussed.
Aaron couldn’t resist teasing our guest. A trend that we are all sure will continue for years to come.
We also all geeked out over Scrivener, the world's most awesome writing software. You'd have thought we were sponsored by them or something.
You don't know us yet, but we hope you'll like what you hear. Aaron DeMott, Joshua Hardt, and Liberty Speidel are the masterminds behind the brand new Lasers, Dragons, and Keyboards Podcast. We'll be talking to up-and-coming and established speculative, science fiction, and fantasy authors every couple of weeks. We're taking a unique approach to our podcast. Each interview is typically broken into two parts: a reader-centric part, where we talk to an author about their books. The second part of the interview, we'll be talking to them about their process, and writing in general.
So whether you're a reader or a writer, we think you'll get something out of our podcast.
If you're into science fiction & fantasy, there's a strong possibility that we're into the same fandoms you are. We're nerds just like you.
Where you can find us:
Lasers, Dragons, & KeyboardsAaron DeMott
Liberty SpeidelJoshua Hardt