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:
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:
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 Bond
Starship 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
DispositoryDepository - 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
DispositoryDepository - 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. :)
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. :)
Be sure to visit Lasers Dragons And Keyboards at their website for additional links!