We're lying, but that's ok

Get ready for a dose of nostalgia. JS and Ludlow talk gaming history, the evolution of game narrative, and the benefits of gaming on mental and physical wellness.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS discuss their favorite characters from TV, film, and literature and what about those characters make them so appealing. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Recommendation: Incarnations of Immortality by Piers AnthonyLudlow’s List:Benedic; Much Ado About NothingMarian Alston; Nantucket BooksWhiskeyjack and Anomander Rake; The Malazan Book of the FallenHonorable mention: John Bates, Downton AbbeyFavorite Antagonist:Simon Heap; Septimus HeapFlagg; The Eyes of the DragonJanai’s list:Kvoth; Name of the WindDream; The SandmanShalon; Stormlight ArchiveHonorable mention: Klaus; Umbrella AcademyFavorite Antagonist: Dodge; Locke & Key

Is AI going to take over creatives’ jobs? Ludlow and JS discuss Chat GPT and share their opinions and predictions.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow shares a piece of his childhood: playing D&D during the Satanic Panic of the 80’s. In this episode, JS and Ludlow dive into the history of D&D from the first edition to what’s coming next.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

How did live action role play begin? JS digs into the history of LARP while Ludlow offers insights from his personal experience in LARPing. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes Production: Maxwell Gariety Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS explore the history of fanfiction and its role in the larger ecosystem of publishing. Should fanfiction be considered legitimate? Is it stealing? Listen for a discussion of these questions and more. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes Production: Maxwell Gariety Music: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Ludlow and JS have completed their MFA programs. Things were a little rough there with the monumental task of the thesis novel--but they have lived to tell the tale!Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0A Note: Publishing episodes has been on hold while we were finishing our MFA programs. We have decided to take the month of July to get ahead on recording, and will resume publishing episodes in mid-August. We are so grateful for our listeners' patience and for everyone who has been downloading and listening to episodes even during our hiatus! You're all amazing.

What and when was the very first scifi convention? How did conventions start? What are conventions like now? Ludlow and JS discuss the history of conventions and their current culture. Ludlow also give his tips for first-timers based on his convention experience. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

How it all began.We finished off season 1 last week with the final part of our writing mini-series and 25th episode! We will resume with season 2 the first week of June.Thank you all for listening through season 1 while we figured out what the heck we're doing. We look forward to having you with us as we continue to learn in season 2. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

How do you include diversity in your writing in respectful ways? How do you write characters who are different from yourself and do it properly and accurately? In the final part of the writing mini-series, Ludlow and JS discuss "Writing the Other," a term coined by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes Production: Maxwell Gariety Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree Licensed under Attribution 4.0 Show Notes: Visit the writing the other website for additional resources and to find the guidebook: https://writingtheother.com/

In part two of the three part writing mini-series, Ludlow and JS discuss the process of revision. Next week: Writing the OtherExplicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

In part one of a three part writing mini-series, Ludlow and JS discuss their writing processes and how they have evolved. Part 2 coming next week: RevisingExplicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

No, not the sexy kind of role playing.--this isn't a spicy podcast. We're talking about Role Playing Games (RPG) and Live Action Role Playing (LARP). If you don't know much about these, are interested in dipping your toe in, or have ever wondered why grown adults play make-believe, this episode is for you. If you're already a fan, settle in, because we have more in-depth episodes about this topic coming down the pipeline! Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

It's a question I come across every so often: are libraries still relevant? Does anyone even go anymore? Yes they are. And yes they do. In this episode, JS and Ludlow discuss the benefits of libraries and how simply using your library's resources can benefit your community. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Why did we decide to become writers? Ludlow and JS discuss who they are as storytellers. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

What's involved in getting a finished manuscript into the hands of readers? Today, JS and Ludlow talk about publishing paths and the behind the scenes in getting a novel reading for reading. There may be more involved than you think! Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

JS Gariety reads a chapter from her newly released novel "The Weight of Gold." She and Ludlow Adams discuss some of the book's themes. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Buy The Weight of Gold now!

The Witcher, Superman, and now head of Amazon's Warhammer 40k universe--Henry Cavill has had a lot going on lately. Today we chat a bit about this king of nerds. Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

What's the purpose of genre? Does it mean something different to authors than it does to readers?Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety discuss genre as a tool and how they each are using genre in their own projects.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:The Sign of the Seven trilogy by Nora Roberts (horror romance)

*Since recording this, the Hogwarts Legacy game has come out. Please see the show notes.Warning: this is a painful topic. Yep, we're talking about JK Rowling. The idea of separating an artist from their contribution get's a lot more complicated when that artist is still alive and profiting. Is it even possible?Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety open a dialogue about this difficult and uncomfortable question.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:NY Times article from 2020 Should You Play Hogwarts Legacy If You Care About Your Trans Friends? By Stacey Henley*Notes post-release:There was some "we'll have to wait and see how bad it really is" in this podcast. Well, since recording, the game has come out, and the unfortunate update (if you haven't heard) is that it's pretty bad. Actually worse than early reports seemed to reveal.This response to the trans character, Sirona Ryan.A review that suggests the game isn't that great, anyway. And the antisemitism? It's proving to be A LOT more overt than initial reports suggested.And here's a quote from Charlie Jane Anders's email newsletter that hit my inbox last week (this, for me, sums up pretty well the struggle with separating JK Rowling from her work that we discussed in this episode): "...she's gone to great lengths to make her art inseparable from herself. Other authors seem to fade into the background a little bit more, especially as their books and adaptations get more and more prominence. I know tons of people who obsess about Murderbot, but who don't know that much about Martha Wells, for example. JK Rowling made a choice to center herself in the discussion of her work, starting with how her "rags to riches" story was used to market her novels..."We really need to stop turning authors into celebrities, y'all. It's toxic and shitty, and leads to bad behavior at least some of the time. One of the many problems besetting the publishing industry is this star system, which turns a handful of authors into supergods, and keeps everyone else, even pretty successful authors, in a lesser category. Even if someone wrote books that are really, really good and they're selling like hotcakes, let's reserve resist the impulse to turn this person into the One True Author To Rule Them All. Especially when there are so many authors — including marginalized authors — who deserve even a tiny fraction of that level of hype."

Percy Shelley, George Orwell, Jack London, Roald Dahl...there's no shortage of writers with questionable values who made significant contributions to the literary world. But today we focus on two of the most severe and influential: HP Lovecraft and Robert E, Howard.Can an author be separated from their work? Can you acknowledge a contribution without honoring the artist who made it, or without inadvertently condoning their harmful beliefs? Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety open a dialogue about these difficult and uncomfortable questions.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Quotes fromJason Sanford: Robert E. Howard was a racist. Deal with it.Leeman Kessler: On Portraying a White Supremacist

RPG, miniatures, video...Today we discuss film and tv adaptations of games with a particular focus on the possible Warhammer40k TV series.Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themesProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Are TV series just a trend, or are they better than film for adapting print? Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety discuss film and TV adaptations, and possible reasons why TV adaptations have become so popular in recent years.Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have been used to fund publishing projects for years now. But Brandon Sanderson's record breaking Kickstarter may have made crowdfunding books an even more viable option. Today we discuss why authors might choose to crowdfund and why readers should bother funding publishing projects. We also go into how Sanderson's Kickstarter may have helped self-publishing authors in general. In addition, JS Gariety announces her own Kickstarter for her debut novel coming out this March.Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:JS Gariety's Kickstarter (Funded! Closes February 8)Black indie authors to check out:Milton DavisGerald L Coleman

Do cheap/deeply discounted ebooks devalue literature as a whole? Ever since the Kindle was released, authors and publishers have been asking this question. Today, Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety discuss the impact ebooks have had other the years, how things are changing with subscription models, and how authors can take advantage of the changes (because they're happening, whether we like it or not).Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

What are the benefits of reading regularly?Plus a couple tips for successful goal-setting.Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Book Recommendations for your New Year book listYear of the Witching by Alexis HendersenThe Dawn of the Coven by Alexis HendersenHouse of Hunger by Alexis HendersenAll the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane AndersEyes of the Dragon by Stephen KingFairytale by Stephen KingNormal People by Sally RooneyBeautiful World, Where are you? by Sally RooneyConversations with Friends by Sally RooneySign of Seven trilogy by Nora RobertsOcean at the End of the Lane by Neil GaimonThe Graveyard Book by Neil GaimonThe Sandman comics by Neil GaimonElfquest comics by Wendy and Richard PiniArtesia comics by Mark SmylieBeasts of Burden comics by Evan Dorkin and artists Jill Thompson and Benjamin DeweyThe Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy by Patricia A. McKillipThe Stormlight Archive by Brandon SandersonElantris by Brandon Sanderson

Do fans have a responsibility to be good fandom citizens? Today we discuss if the concept of literary citizenship extends to fans.Fandom communities are prevalent especially in fantasy, and just like every other community experience, there are people who are kind and welcoming, and people who want to gatekeep. And then the majority of us who are trying to be good citizens, but because we're human, slip up sometimes.Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Today we'll discuss the purpose of stories in societies and why genres like fantasy and science fiction are so good at drawing people in and creating hard-core fans. Could it really just be escapism? Story "experts" like Jonathon Gottschall and Lisa Cron believe stories are more than that.Can a story literally change lives?Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Jonathon Gottschall TEDx talk

Today we'll discuss the purpose of stories in societies and why genres like fantasy and science fiction are so good at drawing people in and creating hard-core fans. Could it really just be escapism? Story "experts" like Jonathon Gottschall and Lisa Cron believe stories are more than that.Can a story literally change lives?Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:Jonathon Gottschall TEDx talk

Today we peek just for a moment behind the scenes in our lives as authors.Is higher education worth it anymore? Is an MFA necessary or even valuable? We will discuss the current world of higher education, what it means for artists, and our personal decisions to purusue our MFAs.Explicit Content: May contain strong languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

Representation, realism, and catharsis. We'll discuss why these themes are important to us and how well mental illnesses have been represented in media. We'll also briefly discuss pop culture fascination with severe mental illnesses and how that influences how they're predicted, including the serial killer obsession.Explicit content: May contain explicit languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0Show Notes:https://writingtheother.com/

Is fiction getting darker? Why do people want to consume dark stories? Where's the line, and does grimdark cross it? In the wake of Halloween, we're discussing dark fantasy and the grimdark movement--its controversy and lack of definition as a genre. We'll discuss the broader darkening of fiction and whether it's really that new. Explicit content: Dark themes; may have explicit languageProduction: Maxwell GarietyMusic: The Silent Grove by AxletreeLicensed under Attribution 4.0

How closely should an adaptation follow the original material? Is there such thing as a perfect adaptation? Is that even possible when adapting novel to film?We'll explore these questions and more as we discuss The Wheel of Time Season One and what we know so far about the recently wrapped Season Two (season one in part one, season two in part two).We'll focus on some of showrunner Rafe Judkin's most controversial decisions for the show, including the final two episodes.This week we predict what season two of WoT will include. Possible Spoilers (but nothing huge)May contain strong language Production: Maxwell Gariety*Disclaimer from JS: Before you scream at me, I know I put a "d" at the end of Amyrlin throughout this episode. Atypical neurology strikes again! As mentioned, I'm listening to the books, and I have a difficult time with names/language when I haven't read them. I appreciate your patience with this and any other words I mispronounce. Show Notes:Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells on "Intentionally Blank," episode 27 and 34 The Wheel of Time Season Two teaser trailer

How closely should an adaptation follow the original material? Is there such thing as a perfect adaptation? Is that even possible when adapting novel to film?We'll explore these questions and more as we discuss The Wheel of Time Season One and what we know so far about the recently wrapped Season Two (season one in part one, season two in part two).We'll focus on some of showrunner Rafe Judkin's most controversial decisions for the show, including the final two episodes.Show Notes: Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells on "Intentionally Blank," episode 27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnbmku3lFmg&t=3s&ab_channel=BrandonSanderson and 34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8QOjNSD0a8&ab_channel=BrandonSanderson