Lasers Dragons And Keyboards

This week, we hang out with second-time guest, Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that one three times fast!) We last visited with Laura in episodes 39 & 40 (which you can find here) . Last time we spoke, we discussed her Japanese culture books. But this time, she takes us to a different culture altogether with The Songweaver's Vow, which is a retelling of Ares and Psyche, but in the Norwegian cu...

Author Amy Brock McNew Our guest tonight is Amy Brock McNew, who apparently can't stay away. Our hosts, though, I'm not sure about. We apparently have two Liberties, and one Josh... I think... Tonight's topic... Venison, and how delicious it is! ...uh, I mean, we're talking about Amy's second book, Reconciliation. *** SPOILER WARNING*** You might not want to listen to this podcast (Episodes 22 & 2...

We were delighted to have on the show with us horror authors Janeen Ippolito and Julia Busko this week, authors of Blood Mercy. In this episode... Characters and their quirks and how they may or may not resemble actual people. Favorite vampires! Being horror junkies Favorite scenes Dream actor casting! Questing! Doctor Who and our favorite doctors Gaming! Upcoming release (October 2017) Blood Merc...

We have a special mother-daughter show for you this week! Our guests are Donita K. Paul and her daughter, Evangeline Denmark. In this week's episode... Donita learns something new about her daughter right off the bat. We talk WIPs that sound really cool. Growing up with an author for a mom. Minigames! How Donita raised Evangeline with a love for words. Donita & Evangeline's collaborations, includi...

This week we have with us Lauren Brandenburg, author of Orlo the Created ! This sounds like an awesome middle grade steampunk book series, and we can't wait to get it to share with our kids...yeah, that's the reason. ;)   Episode 58 (Be Excited!): Plotting/pantsing Scrivener! Some of the cool features of Scrivener! Maps! Liberty continues having technical issues... Lauren's self-editing process &...

This week we have with us Lauren Brandenburg, author of Orlo the Created ! This sounds like an awesome middle grade steampunk book series, and we can't wait to get it to share with our kids...yeah, that's the reason. ;) In Episode 57: Orlo! We talk about the earlier books in the series, focusing on Boone. How much does Lauren love world-building? CS Lewis quotes! Having favorite characters. Lauren...

We finally sat down to do our anniversary episode, and since we hadn't chatted lately, added in short discussions of the two best movies of 2016: Doctor Strange and Rogue One. It didn't take long for hilarity to ensue (really, so you expect any different from us?) as we had some frank discussion over the movies and our desire to see both again (pre-order anyone?) 18 stars for Doctor Strange  from...

This week, we talk with Deanna Fugett (not to be confused with Deanna Troi). We get right into it with a discussion about oddly named characters, and where some of these names come from (don't ask...) Next, because this is a speculative fiction show, we talk at length about Little House on the Prairie (Of course...) Liberty wasn't around this week to steer us back on track... (because she spontane...

Our guest this week was the Most Interesting Accountant in the World! He also goes by Chris Morris. Chris is a CPA who caters to artists and authors, using easy to understand terms. In Episode 53: Chris Morris, CPA Laughter immediately ensues when we get into a discussion about colors. Authors and other artists all need help with accounting and tax services. Chris' goal is to build his business to...

This week we have with us CW Briar, author of Wrath & Ruin , an anthology filled with spec fic ranging from horror to humorous sci-fi. We discuss gnomes--eep!   In Episode 52 : CW & Liberty agree it's very difficult to write a mystery without an outline. How CW works around his career and his kids and using his commute to maximize his time. CW's preference for Word over Scrivener, and how he organ...

This week we have with us CW Briar, author of Wrath & Ruin , an anthology filled with spec fic ranging from horror to humorous sci-fi. We discuss gnomes--eep! In Episode 51: Why he wrote an anthology rather than starting with a full-length novel. Accomplishments and interesting experiences as a first-time author. CW's favorite characters from the anthology. How CW's desires for a certain effect sh...

This episode brought us the joy of interviewing co-host and producer Liberty in regards to her latest book,  Omission (Now available in e-format!) In Episode 49: We discuss who makes the better Liberty. Liberty tells us what it's like to be a series writer. We get to hear who'd make the best cast for a TV version of the Darby Shaw Chronicles In Episode 50: We hear what the perfect music for writin...

This episode brought us the joy of interviewing co-host and producer Liberty in regards to her latest book,  Omission (Now available in e-format!) In Episode 49: We discuss who makes the better Liberty. Liberty tells us what it's like to be a series writer. We get to hear who'd make the best cast for a TV version of the Darby Shaw Chronicles In Episode 50: We hear what the perfect music for writin...

This week, we have Keven Newsome again to talk writing! Plotting/pantsing theory. Keven's modified Snowflake method (shoutout to Randy Ingermanson). Writing and editing tips in Scrivener from Keven & Liberty. How Keven uses One Note to track his notes and research. Keven's editing process and tips. Joss Whedon advice on writer's block. Keven's Musicality in his writing. Marketing tips that DON'T w...

This week on this (late) show, we have with us Keven Newsome! Keven is a pastor, and the author of the Winter Series. In today's episode, Liberty gets her geek card revoked by Keven as we discuss the Chronicles of Narnia. We have a lively discussion in general--as per usual--without Josh.  Be sure to check our show notes at LasersDragonsAndKeyboards.wordpress.com for more detail on the show, as we...

We were totally delighted to hang out with one of the forefathers of the awesome Realm Makers conference in these episodes, Kerry Nietz! Kerry, as he says, is a refugee from software engineering, and is the author of Amish Vampires in Space (as seen on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!) In Episode 46: How Kerry structures his writing time so he can end his session in the middle of a scene. Oh, S...

We were totally delighted to hang out with one of the forefathers of the awesome Realm Makers conference in these episodes, Kerry Nietz! Kerry, as he says, is a refugee from software engineering, and is the author of Amish Vampires in Space (as seen on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!)   In Episode 45: Revisiting story worlds by writing Frayed . Threadbare, the main character, and why Kerry lov...

We had John Brhel on with us in these episodes. He was a bit of an unknown to us, but we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and talking about Marvelry's Curiosity Shop . He's part of a writing duo with Joseph Sullivan and they tend to write horror. Marvelry's Curiosity Shop definitely has a horror vibe to it even though it's more paranormal fantasy, but also a lot of human interest. Not getting...

We had John Brhel on with us in these episodes. He was a bit of an unknown to us, but we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and talking about Marvelry's Curiosity Shop . He's part of a writing duo with Joseph Sullivan and they tend to write horror. Marvelry's Curiosity Shop definitely has a horror vibe to it even though it's more paranormal fantasy, but also a lot of human interest. Episode 43:...

This week on the show, we have Celesta Thiessen, the author of the Super Seven series. She hails from Manitoba (I think she's our first Canadian author!), and had a lot to share about her series and writing.   In Episode 42: Celesta's pantsing process. (We all agree it's brave!) Aaron is amazed at the earliness at which Celesta writes. And Aaron also is really quick on puns and quips in this episo...

This week on the show, we have Celesta Thiessen, the author of the Super Seven series. She hails from Manitoba (I think she's our first Canadian author!), and had a lot to share about her series and writing. In Episode 41: Celesta's favorite parts of writing the series. An impromptu author reading of her favorite scene from Two of a Kind! The science behind her superhero powers in her books. Celes...

This week on LDK, we have a wonderful time talking with Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that three times fast!) We managed to get a few details about ancient Japanese culture, of which, Laura seems to be a near-expert on. In Episode 40 We nearly kill Aaron with Laura's response to plotting  problems. Laura definitely had us in stitches with this one. We talk Scrivener, which we're delighted to...

This week on LDK, we have a wonderful time talking with Laura VanArendonk Baugh (try saying that three times fast!) We managed to get a few details about ancient Japanese culture, of which, Laura seems to be a near-expert on. In Episode 39 Kitsune is a fox spirit, hence the foxes on the covers of her books. The folklore roots within her books, including some loose relation to Pokemon. Laura thinks...

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Jill Williamson, Nadine Brandes, Lauren Brandenburg, and Katie Grace to discuss writing from a young author point of view.  You'll notice that we have fewer laugh tracks because we all had our microphones muted! Also, we had 7 people on a chat, so some of us had some technical issues. :( Sorry about that!) Some of the topics we discussed were: Challenges th...

This week on the show, we have Randy Streu, who is the producer of Beyond the Rim , a sci-fi and horror audio drama/podcast. In Episode 36 Randy discusses how he got into radio drama, with its roots coming from college. We discuss PEG...and how she ties to one of our hosts. Why writing for radio is good for lazy writers! Social commentary in writing. The gruesome research for Shoo, Fly , the first...