UpperPen Podcast

Seanan McGuire is a prolific author who has written in many genres, but by far my favorite have been her horror novels. Overgrowth released in April 2025 and feels simultaniously timeless and timely. Check out the October Daye books if you are into urban fairy tales!

Mystic Neptune talks cozy fantasy, LitRPG, and Hearth Con. You can find out more about Hearth Con at lazydragonbooks.com A reluctant heroine finds unexpected love when she's sent to assassinate a lonely dark lord in the first book of this cozy romantasy series. Henrietta Doryn has never enjoyed fighting. She'd rather be in the kitchen baking cookies. But it's her duty as Warrior Princess to face o...

Lauren Wiesebron is a fantasy author, writing adventures for characters who do not yet know they need them. She grew up in France and is now an itinerant academic studying sea creatures. When not writing, you can find her acquiring yarn and naming houseplants. She has also been known to pick up cats even when they don’t want to be picked up.

A. Zaykova   loves to explore the deepest corners of faraway galaxies and of the human psyche alike. As a second generation science fiction geek, she always liked to escape into imaginary worlds and has been writing for as long as she could hold a pen and storytelling since before then. Growing up as a global nomad, she spent most of her adult life in New Zealand, where she earned a bachelor’s deg...

Beth Revis is an internationally acclaimed, bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages, and has toured internationally to meet her fans. Five of her novels have been listed in the  NY Times. ​ Beth primarily writes science fiction and fantasy for both adults and young adults. She’s written three books for Star Wars, including the fan-beloved  The Princess and the Scoundrel ....

Jacquelyn Benson talks about researching for her books, support from fellow writers, and rewriting a previously published book. About Empire of Shadows, Raiders of the Arcana book 1 One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions. When Ellie stumbles across the map to a my...

Chris Tucci is an actor and narrator who performed Children of the Cold Moon by The Longwinded One (whom I've previously spoken with). This is one of my favorite LitRPGs of 2024!

Constance Fay is the author of Calamity, Fiasco, and coming March 11th Chaos. These are science fiction/romance. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of Chaos! I received an ARC from Netgalley and it was super fun! Don't forget to pick up copies of all The Uncharted Hearts books!

The Longwinded one sat down and chatted with me about his first ever novel: Children of the Cold Moon, book 1 of The Four Treasures Saga. You might know his voice from his podcast, The Longwinded One (https://longwinded.one/category/litrpg-gamelit/). He even has an interview with Max Heiliger of the CritRPG Podcast and myself. You can find that interview below. Let me know what you liked about the...

Lore of the Wilds is a wonderful entry into romantasy! Book two: Lore of the Tides is out July 8, 2025. I am very excited about this sequel! A library with a deadly enchantment. A Fae lord who wants in. A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power. In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape at...

Amiee Gibbs talks about her novel The Carnivale of Curiosities, victorian inspiration, and language, and we try to skirt around some fantastic twisty turns (aka spoilers!). I think we stayed well enough away, but let me know what you think! Get The Carnivale of Curiosities at your local bookstore or online!

You know Travis Baldree. If you don't, you've likely heard of Legends and Lattes by now at least. Bookshops and Bonedust is the prequel to L&L. Travis is a very interesting dude who does it all. I loved this fun book, check it out and let me know what you think of it.

I warn you now that there is a bit of spicy language at the beginning. Ember Holt writes spicy novels such as Brutal Rival and The Chimera Bounty! Check her out at emberholtwrites.com

Michael Mammay is the author of Generation Ship and Planetside. I am so excited to get into Planetside now that I've read Generation Ship.

Scott is not only a fantastic writer, he also has a fantastic online presence! Check him out at https://scottsigler.com .

Thea Guazon is a fantastic writer and extremely interesting. I loved hearing about her connection to history in the Philippines and how that history impacted her book. If you haven't seen it already there is a beautiful special edition put out by Waterstones in the UK. I've ordered my copy.

I saw this book and knew I needed to talk to Jeff. This is the first English translation of the Godzilla novels by Shigeru Kayama. I loved this book and need you to also love it, or at least like it. Mostly because I hella want a Mothra translation from Jeff.

Stephanie is one of my favorite indie authors. Her books have compelling characters, fun stories, and weird quirks! I love them. Good Neighbors is a great place to start, but so is Scales and Sensibility. I am part of her Patreon and its wonderful getting stories early and hearing what she is reading! https://patreon.com/stephanieburgis

KB Wagers has three books in the NeoG series: A Pale Light in the Black, Hold Fast Through the Fire, and The Ghosts of Trappist. They also have a wonderful series the Iridian War which begins with Behind the Throne! You can find their books online or through your local book store!

Roach is my favorite non-fiction author because she makes topics I have no experience in accessible, entertaining, and engaging. Fuzz is no different. Roach talked about getting started on the book and why understanding the interactions between animals and humans is so important.

Man, Tor Nightfire is putting out some hits. Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a short romp through the horror of being in space. Brown is an astrophysicist in training and the realism that comes from their work and education comes through in the futile and somewhat hopeless situations that the crew of the Calypso find themselves in.

If a book is horror sci-fi, I will pretty much buy it no questions asked. If a book is horror sci-fi set in space, I'll likely enjoy it. If a book is horror sci-fi set in space and is written by David Wellington, well shit, I'm gonna need to talk about it to everyone I know because the love I have for the book cannot be contained!

I was late to the game on Nova Terra but I am all in now. Seth talks about how he got started on Nova Terra and shares some interesting tidbits about self-publishing.

Chakraborty has written one of my favorite pirate novels. Amina is a fresh look at pirate life because she is retired. I cannot stress how fun this book was.

I was on a gothic literature bent and found One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. This novel was fantastic. I love the romance, the magic system, and the mystery that is hidden at the heart of the book.