S5-EP18: Neil Laird: Time-Traveling TV Producer Turns Ancient Worlds Queer, Wild & Wonderful

Join Doyle on this thrilling episode of Spirit Talk Show as he welcomes Neil Laird—a multi-Emmy‑nominated TV producer turned novelist whose real-world experience filming lost tombs, shipwrecks, and ruins morphs into wild, genre-defying fiction. Neil’s debut novel, Prime Time Travelers, sends a hapless TV director through a rainbow-colored time machine into ancient Egypt, where he must navigate the twelve gates of the underworld, dodge vengeful pharaohs, and film the “greatest documentary” ever—if the past doesn’t kill him first Facebook+13Neil Laird+13Neil Laird+13. Its follow-up, Prime Time Pompeii, hurls our time-traveling crew into the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, where they uncover an epic, forbidden love frozen beneath the ash—and one character risks everything by breaking fate’s prime directive NetGalley. As we explore Neil’s journey from producing for Discovery, BBC, PBS, and National Geographic to writing boldly queer historical fantasy, we dive into how his on-location storytelling shaped his novels—and how he channels humor, romance, and unorthodox time travel into worlds both ancient and richly reimagined. Listen in as he discusses: The wild genesis of Jared Plummer, narrator and reluctant action hero Blurring documentary realism with fantasy mischief Representing queer joy and visibility in periods that history often erases For fans of Neil Gaiman meets Outlander, with the gentle heart of The House in the Cerulean Sea, this is an episode packed with laughs, adventure, and cerebral delight. Discover more about Neil and his books at: https://www.neillaird.com/books Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups Hosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/ X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk  Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow  www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it. Sponsored by Incogni — they remove your personal data from broker sites automatically so strangers cannot buy your information. Get protected: https://deal.incogni.io/spirittalkshow