The show where you join me, Oliver Brackenbury, on the journey of writing my next novel, from first ideas all the way to publication & promotion. In this unique, one-man-reality show I'll share you with you my ever evolving thoughts and feelings on how I write, being a writer, and everything that entails at each stage of the process. I'll also answer listener questions and, sometimes, interview people who write fiction. If you're the kind of person who likes to learn how things are made, and ...
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In Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection, host Oliver Brackenbury interviews special guests about notable history and new frontiers in the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror as found in Toronto's Merril Collection, the Western Hemisphere's largest publicly accessible archive of genre materials. Produced by Chris Dickie. Interviews have been edited for length and content. Opinions are solely those of the speakers, representing neither the Toronto Public Library System nor the Mer ...
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A podcast dedicated to the works of horror/fantasy writer, editor, and publisher Karl Edward Wagner.
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Ep 72 – Oliver & Jay Discuss Editing
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Oliver Brackenbury and the editor of Beating Hearts & Battle-Axes, Jay Wolf, discuss the art of editing short fiction. This was originally a livestream as part of the crowdfund for Beating Hearts! PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter…
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Oliver sits down with Matt Holder, author of the first book in the Keen Blades line - "HURLED HEADLONG FLAMING or, the Bishop's Tale". PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obracken…
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Ep 70 – Crossover Episode: Two Books, Two Bros
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Please enjoy this dual interview by a pair of pals, each with new books to share! Oliver's Book: THE BEATING HEARTS & BATTLE-AXES CROWDFUND IS LIVE NOW! Matt's Book: TO WALK ON WORLDS - Oliver designed the cover!By Oliver Brackenbury
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Ep 69 – The Return of Jirel! An interview with Molly Tanzer
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As part of the successful New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2024 crowdfund, Oliver sat down with Molly Tanzer in a livestream interview focused on C.L. Moore's most famous creation, Jirel of Joiry!By Oliver Brackenbury
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Short Story Chat #7 – "Cock and Bull" by Kirk A. Johnson
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Recorded Feb 27, 2024 New Edge Sword and Sorcery Editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by NESS Copy Editor Valerie Valdes, Editor Jay Wolf, and special guests to discuss "Cock and Bull" by Kirk A. Johnson. This was part of the ongoing crowdfund for issues #3&4 of NESS, which ends at 8am EST, on March 16th: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/bracken…
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New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2024 Crowdfund is Live!
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As I type this we're at 98% funding! WILL YOU BE OUR HERO? https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/new-edge-sword-sorcery-2024?ref=SIWANBy Oliver Brackenbury
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Short Story Chat #6 – Elric 1961 and 2023
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Recorded Jan 9, 2024, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf, New Edge social media coordinator Kevin Beckett, and author Christopher Rowe, to compare & contrast Elric's first appearance ("The Dreaming City" in Science Fantasy issue 47, June 1961) with his latest ("The Folk of the Forest", in New Edge…
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Short Story Chat #5 - Dara’s Tale by Mark Rigney
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Recorded Dec 13, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "Dara's Tale" by author Mark Rigney for the Sword & Sorcery magazine Tales From The Magician's Skull, a publication from Goodman Games which was released on August 1, 2…
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Short Story Chat #4 - Evil Honey by James Enge
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Recorded Nov 22, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guests Matt John of The Rogues in the House podcast, and Old Moon Quarterly editor Graham T. Wilcox to discuss "Evil Honey" by author James Enge for magazine Old Moon Quarterly #3 a magazine that is currently running a Kickstart…
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FROM THE VAULT: Episode 3.6 ‘Mirage’ — “It’s Not About Vampires”
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“Mirage”First Appearance: Death Angel’s Shadow, Warner Paperback Library, 1973Translations: “Miraggio” (1992) Italian (EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS!) I am back with another sampling FROM THE VAULT! This is an episode Jonathan and I recorded around two years ago that never saw the light of day. It is old and unpolished, but it is about Wagner. We hope …
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Short Story Chat #3 - The Wolves of Winter Road by author T.A. Markitan
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Recorded Oct 18, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "The Wolves of Winter Road" by author T.A. Markitan for the Sword & Sorcery anthology A Book of Blades Volume II, a publication from the Rogue In The House Podcast whic…
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Short Story Chat #2 - Dog in The Corner by Stephen Graham Jones
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Recorded Sep 19, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "Dog in the Corner" by horror author Stephen Graham Jones for the Cullen Bunn edited Sword & Sorcery anthology Swords in the Shadows, being released to the public by Ou…
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Short Story Chat #1 - The Second Death of Hanuvar by Howard Andrew Jones
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https://newedgeswordandsorcery.com/ Recorded Aug 23, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editors Graham Wilcox (Old Moon Quarterly) and Jay Wolf to discuss the sword & sorcery short story "The Second Death of Hanuvar" a modern classic in the making from Howard Andrew Jones. Find out more about the author dis…
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Ep 68 – Hanuvar with Howard Andrew Jones
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Returning guest of the show, Howard Andrew Jones, is kicking off an amazing Sword & Sorcery book series starring his most excellent character - Hanuvar! Join us for a craft-centric discussion of Howard's writing techniques & development, as seen through the lens of his exciting new series. Check out the book! www.howardandrewjones.com PATREON: www.…
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In which Oliver discusses the status of the novel, the revamp of our Patreon, how publishing New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine has benefitted his writing, and more! Check out the first ever published Voe story, "Something Oath-like" over in a Book of Blades Vol. 2! PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbra…
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Ep 66 – Queen of Swords Press, with Catherine Lundoff
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When most of us think about publishing we tend to think of one of the Big Five (Four? How many are we down to now?), but there is a whole world of smaller, independent publishers to explore! Wanting to learn more about that world, Oliver spoke with Catherine Lundoff about her own experiences launching and running Queen of Swords Press. https://quee…
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Ep 65 – Interview with Oliver Brackenbury
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Oliver was recently approached by a 5th grader looking to interview an author as part of a school project. The results were pretty fun, and perhaps even helpful for those looking to write themselves! PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twit…
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Ep 64 – Interview with Charles E. Gannon
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As an author and a reader, Oliver's interests include science fiction, alternate history, fantasy, game design…author Charles E. Gannon has written them all, so you better believe when we got the opportunity to speak with him, we leapt on it. His most recent publication is “Into the Vortex”, the second in his first ever fantasy serial, the Vortex o…
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"Sometimes the protest comes in the form of literature." Oliver speaks with Abriana Tuller from Solarpunk Magazine about this social issue driven, solution-focused scifi subgenre, the magazine named after it, and more. https://solarpunkmagazine.com www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.…
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Ep 62 – Interview with Jonathan Maberry
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Oliver recently talked with author Jonathan Maberry, discussing his duties as editor of the birthplace of Sword & Sorcery - Weird Tales Magazine, how he manages an incredibly full & productive writing schedule, writing techniques he uses in his epic fantasy Kagen series, and a whole lot more. Jonathan's Website (FB, TWITTER, IG) Weird Tales magazin…
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Ep 61 – Swords in the Shadows with Cullen Bunn
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Oliver sits down with comic book superstar Cullen Bunn to discuss his putting on his editor hat for the prose Sword & Sorcery & Horror anthology "Swords in the Shadows"! Swords in the Shadows Kickstarter www.cullenbunn.com www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/stor…
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BONUS EPISODE - Sword & Soul Roundtable with Milton J. Davis, Kirk A. Johnson and Sarah Macklin
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oliverbrackenbury/new-edge-sword-and-sorcery-magazineBy Oliver Brackenbury
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Magazine Month (tm) continues here at SIWAN as we speak with Matthew Gomez of Broadswords & Blasters about the life, death, and rebirth of the SFF magazine he co-edits. Broadswords & Blasters (Facebook) Matthew Gomez's author site (Twitter) www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbr…
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BONUS EPISODE - Gemma Files on Horror, Sword & Sorcery, The Weird Tales 100th Anniversary, and more!
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oliverbrackenbury/new-edge-sword-and-sorcery-magazineBy Oliver Brackenbury
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It's "Magazine Month" on SIWAN this February, which we're kicking off by interviewing Graham and Caitlyn, two thirds of the people behind a new Sword & Sorcery magazine which debuted in the summer of 2022 - OLD MOON QUARTERLY! Their Website (Twitter and Instagram) www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOO…
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New Edge Sword & Sorcery Kickstarter is LIVE!
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Click these magic words to go to the Kickstarter! We made a very cool video and campaign page with all the details...By Oliver Brackenbury
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Oliver’s Other Podcast ”Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection”
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In which I discuss Climate Fiction with scifi luminary Kim Stanley Robinson. Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection (Also available everywhere people find podcasts) The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy The Friends of Merril New Edge Sword & Sorcery (that magazine Oliver mentions he's making)…
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In his final episode as host of the podcast, Oliver chats with author Kim Stanley Robinson about Climate Fiction. KimStanleyRobinson.info Merril Links The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)By The Friends of Merril
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Worldbuilding is one of the most enjoyable aspects of genre writing, but it can also be quite daunting. Luckily J.M. Frey, author and giver of nearly ten years worth of talks on the subject, is releasing a new book to help! Check out the book on Jess' author site Architect Breaks Down “Bridgerton” Mansions | Architectural Digest New Edge Sword & So…
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Ep 57 – Publishing and Promotion with Sean CW Korsgaard
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How do publishers promote their author's books, and what kind of decision-making goes into that? Why don't they just press the big red button marked "Instant Best Seller"? Wanting answers, we recorded Oliver's conversation about all this with Sean CW Korsgaard, who works on the promotion side of Baen Books in his roles as Assistant Editor and Media…
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Oliver sat down with author Scott Oden to discuss the challenges of writing in another person's voice, especially one as well known as Robert E. Howard, and spiraled off into a wide variety of topics related to the life of a writer. Scott's Author Page (FB, Twitter) www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S B…
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Ep 55 – Writing Workshops with Christopher Rowe
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Oliver talks with author and writing teacher Christopher Rowe about writing workshops, such as The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, where he recently taught. What exactly does a workshop involve? How do you get into one, and what can you expect to get out of it? How, if at all, are they changing with the times? They discuss al…
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Ep54 Weird Fiction & Sword & Sorcery with Scott Dorward
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Weird Fiction is a term from the days which birthed Sword &Sorcery, arguably a key ingredient in the genre, but what is it exactly? To discuss this curious intersection of horror, science fiction, and S&S, Oliver sits down with Scott Dorward, an experienced horror TTRPG author, podcaster, and scholar of fiction both weird & Weird... The Good Friend…
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Oliver talks with the authors behind all six original Sword & Sorcery short stories featured in New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine in a round-robin of mini-interviews! Did....did we mention he's the editor of a brand new magazine, who's first issue just came out? Get the magazine... FREE ePub/PDF on Payhip Softcover ($4usd) & Hardcover ($12usd) on A…
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Voe hits rock bottom, hung high in an iron cage hanging from a post by a major road! How will she get out of this, and what will be left of her? Among other things, Oliver discusses how to tell when there's enough "there" there, the difficulties of keeping a story interesting in a "bottle episode" , the difficulties of knowing you want to evoke an …
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In this story Voe is faced with an important choice similar to one from a previous story, and the decision she makes will echo throughout the entire rest of the novel! Among other things, Oliver discusses how to tell what's good or maybe not so good to kick down the road for Future You to deal with, the challenge of avoiding creating bad pastiche, …
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Oh ho! And thus we enter the third quarter of Oliver outlining Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel with this novella-length love letter to his favorite Robert E. Howard tale of Conan the Cimmerian, People of the Black Circle. Read People of the Black Circle for free. Read THE LEGEND OF GWÂSHBRÂRI, THE GLACIER-HEARTED QUEEN, the myth Oliver mentions in t…
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Alasdair Stuart is a professional enthusiast, pop culture analyst, and writer behind the award-nominated weekly newsletter, The Full Lid, as well as a multiple Hugo finalist and co-owner of the Escape Artists podcast network. He's also a really kind and fascinating man, whom Oliver greatly enjoyed chatting with about building your own podcast empir…
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Ep48 Interview with Steve Babb of Glass Hammer
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Oliver finally dives into the musical side of sword & sorcery by speaking with author & composer Steve Babb, of the band Glass Hammer! https://stephenrbabb.com (FB) www.glasshammer.com (Twitter, Youtube) Buy Skallagrim – In The Vales of Pagarna The Lay of Lirazel www.soimwritinganovel.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel BUY OLIVER'S BOOK…
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Folklore and the Four Winds Storytellers Library
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Oliver talks with Norman Perrin about folklore in general, and Norman's unique, privately owned, publicly accessible archive of folklore knowledge he’s run from his Toronto apartment since 1990. The Four Winds Storytellers Library on Facebook Merril Links The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)…
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Ep47 Interview with Kirk A. Johnson
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Oliver has a great time talking with Kirk A. Johnson about his new sword & soul story collection, The Obanaax and Other Tales of Heroes and Horrors. We cover the afternoon movies which helped form Kirk's idea of what heroes should be, his own first collision with Conan and Frazetta, why martial arts films were such a big thing in the black communit…
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Oliver talks with Scott Dorward about H.P. Lovecraft, how his legacy has been built on, and how writers might take things even further. The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, a Lovecraft & gaming podcast Scott co-hosts (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Discord) Scott’s Twitter Merril Links The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)…
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Ep46 Fresh Blood and New Thunder! Bringing New Readers to Sword & Sorcery, with Sof Magliano
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Oliver experimented with sending six S&S tales to a younger, contemporary fantasy fan, then got her reactions, and discussed promoting sword & sorcery to younger, more diverse audiences. Among other things, we discuss the work of Robin Hobb, the dilution of the term "sword & sorcery" and other branding issues, living in a character's head, struggli…
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Oliver talks with the man behind Beguiling Comics, Peter Birkemoe, about graphic novels. The Beguiling (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) Little Island Comics Merril Links The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)By The Friends of Merril
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Ep45 Interview with David C. Smith (Part Two)
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David C. Smith remains a lovely and talented author with whom Oliver spoke for so long we decided to split the interview into two parts. Here's that second part! In this half we discuss the 80's sword & sorcery publishing implosion, the importance of adapting to changing tastes and not just telling the same limited range of stories ad infinitum, ho…
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Ep44 Interview with David C. Smith (Part One)
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David C. Smith is an author whose career began in the 1970’s during the second wave of sword & sorcery, he still writes to this very day, and Oliver felt very lucky to get the chance to have this epic, first-ever two-part interview with him! In this first part we cover David's original aspirations to work in film, the incredible role having the rig…
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Oliver talks with author Gideon Marcus about alternate history speculative fiction. Gideon Marcus (Twitter) Galactic Journey (Twitter, Facebook) Merril Links The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)By The Friends of Merril
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Ep43 So I’ve Been Doing this Podcast for a Year...
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It's the one year anniversary show! What have I learned? How have I benefited? What's coming up next? Feat. Behind the scenes stuff on my launching this podcast/novel project, and how it's been this past year, including details on the technical stuff, promotion, the Patreon, a listener question about liking your antagonist more than your protagonis…
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Oliver discusses Norse mythology, and its influence on speculative fiction, with Senior Department Head of both the Merril and Osborne Collections, Sephora Henderson. The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)By The Friends of Merril
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Ep42 Writing Anxiety with Mike Harrington
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Oliver discusses with Mike the ways anxiety has affected them when trying to write, and how Mike overcame a thirty year block to end up making his first ever short story submission! Subjects they cover include playing Dungeons & Dragons leading to creative writing, the potential long-term impact of complimenting your child's creativity, the validat…
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