Breaking the Glass Slipper: Women in science fiction, fantasy, and horror

Charlotte interviews horror writer Tim Lebbon on his writing process, his character inspirations, and what scares him.

Bonus episode: Megan Leigh, Charlotte Bond, Lucy Hounsom, and Kieron Gillen discuss the power of playlists in writing and inspirate at Nine Worlds Geekfest 2017.

All three of us were flying the Breaking the Glass Slipper flag at Nine Worlds Geekfest 2017. Each of us were on numerous panels. Being the ‘tech geek’ of the three of us, however, I managed to record the two panels I was on outside of our live podcast episode. Of course, my very limited tech […] The post Bonus content: Live at Nine Worlds first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .

Bonus episode: Megan Leigh interviews Chris Wooding at Nine Worlds Geekfest.

In literary criticism, you often hear critiques of characters based on whether or not the character was realistic. But what does a realistic character look like when it comes to speculative fiction and why is it so important that a character feels realistic in worlds that are so wholly fantastic? Is it easier to create […] The post Realistic characters with RJ Barker and Anna Smith Spark first app...

Recorded live at Nine Worlds Geekfest 2017. RJ Barker and Anna Smith Spark discuss what realistic characters are, why they are important, and how to write them.

Charlotte interviews the prolific writer Seanan McGuire (also known as Mira Grant) about her writing process, inclusive characters, Maine Coons, filk, and more.

In this episode, Charlotte interviews the prolific writer Seanan McGuire (also known as Mira Grant) about her writing process, inclusive characters, Maine Coons, filk (folk music of science fiction and fantasy), and more. Focusing on three recent publications that Charlotte has particularly enjoyed – Every Heart a Doorway (winner of the 2017 Nebula for best novella), Dusk or Dark or […] The post I...

Speculative fiction is not confined to prose stories or even TV and film. Video games have long focused on science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. As such, this week, I interview master games writer (official title!), Rhianna Pratchett. Writing a novel or short story can be hard enough, but writing for games is on another level. […] The post Writing video games with Rhianna Pratchett first a...

Megan interviews writer Rhianna Pratchett on writing for games, updating an iconic series, and her favourite games.

It is common for feminist writers to feel the need to focus only on stories that preoccupy themselves with the marginalisation of women. Other writers don’t necessarily dwell on the representation of their own demographic, so why should women (and other marginalised groups) feel the need to? Feminists, like us here at Breaking the Glass Slipper, […] The post The feminist obligation first appeared...

As responsible feminists, we attempt to further feminism in all that we do. But is that actually limiting us?

One of my earliest loves and the series that prompted my eternal love for the science fiction genre was Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was hopeful while exploring deep philosophical questions. I was absolutely thrilled to speak to Melinda Snodgrass, who wrote some of my favourite episodes of the series (‘Measure of a Man’ and ‘The […] The post Melinda Snodgrass on optimism in science fiction f...

Screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and editor Melinda Snodgrass chats to Megan about Star Trek, optimism in SF, and gender issues in the industry.

Today is a big day in the UK: the general election. After we mark our ballots (because, of course, all BtGS listeners will get out there and vote today, right?!) and while we all bite our nails in nervous anticipation of the result, we have the perfect distraction… an interview with comics writer Kieron Gillen. […] The post Kieron Gillen on gender and diversity in comics first appeared on Breaking...

Megan talks to comic writer Kieron Gillen about diversity within the comics industry as well as the comics themselves.

This week, Charlotte interviews Victorian steampunk/alternate history/comedy/gothic/romance/surrealist/urban fantasy writer Gail Carriger. This is one writer you cannot easily slot into a neat classification. Her writing defies genre so much she has practically invented her own! Gail talks about writing across a wide variety of genres and how she came to write such unique stories. From […] The pos...

Charlotte interviews Gail Carriger about her disregard for genre constraints, the joys of making readers laugh, and whether you should put the milk or the tea in the cup first!

Genre fiction explores different possibilities of all kinds – what life might be like with the invention of new technologies, other worlds completely divorced from what we know, and more. But why, then, do we still find so many minority voices erased from these ‘other’ worlds where anything is possible. The only limit to science […] The post Ytasha Womack on Afrofuturism first appeared on Breaking...

Megan talks to Ytasha Womack, author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-fi and Fantasy Culture about the origins, values, and art of the movement.

Wanting to see equal representation in genre fiction doesn’t stop at gender. We want to see all kinds of people represented across gender, creed, sexuality, race, age, physical ability, taste in films, dog lovers, cat lovers, tea drinkers, and even those coffee drinkers… You get the point. This week, we ask why only young folk […] The post Maiden, mother, and crone: Ageism in genre fiction first a...

Wanting to see equal representation in genre fiction doesn't stop at gender. We discuss the lack of 'older' protagonists in genre fiction and the problematic tropes and assumptions about older characters we see.

As Kameron Hurley discusses in her Hugo Award-winning article, ‘We Have Always Fought‘, women have always fought. So why don’t we see more women warriors in science fiction and fantasy novels? History is full of women on battlefields and in brawls, even if the history books might gloss over it. Remember: much of the history […] The post Fight scenes and women warriors with Juliet McKenna first app...

Writing fight scenes is a tricky business, there are a lot of factors to keep in mind and elements you must get right or risk alienating the reader, so we talk to writer and martial artist Juliet McKenna on insights into writing better fight scenes and what some of the most common problems are.

It isn’t possible to be too old for Disney films. You might go through that contrary teenage phase of claiming to have outgrown them, but we all know that’s a lie. Whether you are 6 or 66, no matter your gender, nationality, or creed, Disney films have a special place in all our hearts. While […] The post Disney Princesses first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper .