Who Gets to Be the Hero? Sebastian Grey on Merry Band of Misfits and the Fight to Center Disabled Characters

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DoefSSe9QW0 Hosts Keith and Jodi interview the married writing team behind the pen name Sebastian Grey about their debut novel, "Merry Band of Misfits," a heist story centering disabled characters as protagonists, including Vinnie, a man with Down syndrome, and his chosen family planning a bank heist to protect their home. They discuss their film/TV background, their goal to counter "inspirational side character" tropes, and why the heist genre highlights capability, moral ambiguity, and agency. The authors describe barriers in Hollywood and why they created their indie press, Bastion House, to control the message. They detail a Kirkus Review they call an "erasure" for centering the non-disabled brother Nicholas and mislabeling or omitting key disabilities, prompting them to speak publicly. In the "Deep Cut" segment, the hosts analyze the book's themes of autonomy, caregiving, ableism, community living, humor, and low expectations. Sebastian Grey: https://sebastiangreytheauthor.substack.com/ Bastian House Publishing: https://bastianhousepublishing.com/ Purchase "Merry Band of Misfits": https://books2read.com/merry-band-of-misfits