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:
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- 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.
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- 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
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!