The Greatest Podcast in the Mulitverse

How much dedication does it take to write your first novel? Steven Guglich fell in love with the world building process, and spent 15 years getting his first book to market. Worth it? Absolutely. Steven now has a fully developed world to play in and is enjoying having his book out in the world.  Piercing the Veil is Steven’s first fantasy novel, and we chat all about it and the world he’s created....

Most writers wish they could spend more of their time writing. With 7 kids, a full-time job, a farm, and a podcast, it’s safe to say that Dan Kenner is a busy guy. Yet, he has still found the time to write and publish nine novels over the course of the last 4 years. So what’s his secret? In his own words - he takes a casual approach.  We have a great conversation about how he manages his time, his...

What compels us to tell and listen to stories? As I discuss with USA Today Bestselling author R.R. Virdi - storytelling is likely as old as humanity itself.  We have an in-depth conversation about what storytelling has looked like, from its origins to how mythology and tales were shared along trade routes, with evidence that the tales we know in our western mythos actually originate in stories and...

What does overnight success look like? Many people have only recently discovered Rebecca Thorne and her USA Today Bestselling book — Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea. But that meteoric rise to bestseller status took her over a decade of learning and strategizing.  Rebecca and I have an incredible conversation about her journey, about her transitions between traditional and indie publishing, and how...

From LitRPG to Cozy Fantasy, S.L. Rowland has been making an impact on the self-publishing landscape ever since he decided to release his debut novel, Pangea Online. Now with nearly a dozen books under his belt, he’s perhaps best known for a cozy fantasy book titled Cursed Cocktails, a fun story about a Blood Elf who decides to retire open a pub in a cozy town. We chat about his writing journey as...

Jonathan Weiss was all in when he decided to pursue his dream of being an author. Now two years later, five books published and more on the way, he’s building a fantasy dystopian empire through a multi-series world. Jonathan was a great guest, and his passion for his writing and world building comes across loud and clear. We had a wonderful time. Come for the accent, stay for the riveting fantasy...

What do you do when Amazon shuts down your author account weeks before your debut novel is set to launch? That’s the question Scott Palmer, author of his fantasy debut,  A Memory of Song, found himself facing earlier this year. Instead of panicking, Scott pivoted, and took his book wide with an innovative strategy to ensure his readers weren’t left high and dry. I had a great time with Scott, I ho...

Debut Fantasy author Sam Paisley has spent the last decade perfecting his writing craft. In this week’s episode, I chated with him about how writing and revising seven drafts of the same book led him to refine his writing craft.  We also do a deep dive into his debut novel, Elements of Time, and we discuss the three different magic systems he’s created for his world. We also get some insights into...

RM Olson has a passion for diverse characters in science fiction. Over the last 4 years, they’ve written an astonishing 18 books.  In this interview, we talk about how RM left a full-time lawyer job to pursue their dream of writing full time, in addition to being a single parent. We discuss their writing journey and why diversity in sci-fi is so important.   Olson’s sci-fi is fun, but also meaning...

Have you ever wondered what it was like to finish a trilogy? This week, I chat with Z.S. Diamanti as he wraps up hsi Stone and Sky series with Stone & Ruin.  We chat about his journey to this point, how he’s handling finishing the trilogy,a nd his plans for what’s next.  Zac’s always a lot of fun - we have a great interview. I hope you’ll join us. Check out Z’s website - https://www.freefantas...

This week, I continue my series chatting about Cozy Fantasy. Marshall Moore is the author of Son of a Sailor and its sequel, Prisoner of a Pirate Queen. We chatted about his writing journey, and Marshall’s shift from writing high stakes fantasy to a cozier tale. We also chat about his decision to self-publish this book after traditionally publishing his previous works.  We also discussed why cozy...

This week in my continuing series on Cozy Fantasy, I speak with Jenetta Penner, author of The Fellowship Of Bakers and Magic, about her shift from writing dystopian into writing cozy fantasy. The conversation explores the shift from writing high-stakes narratives to cozy fantasy, the popularity of cozy fantasy, and the world she’s created. We chat about recipes, mental health and so much more. We...

The subgenre of cozy fantasy has been tossed around a lot lately, but what does it mean, and why is it suddenly so popular? In this week’s episode, I chat with Andrew D. Meredith, epic fantasy author, who just launched a cozier book, Quaint Creatures: Magical &Mundane. We dive deep into why cozy fantasy is having its day and discuss the different phases that fantasy books have taken over the p...

Have you ever thought about running a Kickstarter campaign for your books? Starr Z. Davies has run several, and she just launched another one for an 8-book box set of her Powers Universe.  In my second interview we chat about all things Kickstarter for Authors, and how to run a successful campaign. We also discuss the motivation behind Starr's writing, the themes and characters in her books, a...

How do we find empathy amidst political division? It’s the question AJ Pagan IV wanted to explore in his new release, Exoputians. AJ crafted a book about what our internal divisions might look to a group on the outside, and crafted an entire group of humans to do just that.  What he delivers is an allegory about discovering empathy and thinking outside the box.  I had a great chat with AJ about th...

Inspired by Greek Mythology from an early age, Rob Leigh started working on his novel Pathlighter when he was only 14 years old. Later in life he pulled the manuscript out of the desk drawer, dusted it off and revamped it into his debut novel. We chat about how mythology inspired his work, we chat about his writing process, his inspirations and a little bit about his love of music. I had a great t...

This week we have a very special episode where I chat with Daniel Coolbaugh, writer and host of The Fantasy and Sci-Fi Fanatics podcast.  Daniel and I met when I was a guest on his show back in 2022. We’ve kept in touch ever since, and he has been a great supporter of the show.  Daniel and I share stories about our time podcasting, what we’ve learned from our guests, as well as discuss each other’...

In this week’s episode, I am so excited to interview Amber Toro, data scientist, cyclist, mom, and recently a science fiction author with her debut book, Umbra. We cover a wide array of topics, and get a taste of what her book is about. She shares her writing process and how she finds time to write while balancing a busy schedule. Amber also talks about the themes explored in Umbra and the univers...

In this week’s episode, I have the great honor of interviewing Edward Ashton. We talk about his book Mickey 7 and its upcoming movie adaptation, Mickey 17. Ed reveals his reaction when he discovered Bong Joon-ho's interest in his manuscript and the process in turning it into a movie. We also discuss his latest book, Mal Goes to War.. Be sure to check out his novel - Mickey 7 -  https://books2read....

Most of us shove our first manuscript in a drawer and never look at it again. Bryan Wilson didn’t though, he took and refined his first manuscript over 20 years and turned it into his first published science fiction novel. He then turned around and wrote his second book in a year. Bryan Wilson and I discuss his first book, The Forsaken Planet, his upcoming follow-up, The Son of the Prophets, as we...

It’s easy to think that once you hit publish on your first book, that your trajectory is set. That’s not the case, and S.W. Millar is a great example of this. You may remember Shane from the very first episode of the podcast, where we talked about his Myth and Magic series, and another series which has now been pushed back. In this episode we talk about why Shane pivoted his career, why he’s shift...

Tattoo artist, podcaster, and now debut author. Adrian M. Gibson has led a life that’s taken him around the world and brought him into a tight-knit author community. He’s interviewed some of the top science fiction and fantasy authors of our day, and I’m so excited that I got a chance to sit down with him and chat about it all.  Along with being the co-host of the SFF Addicts podcast, Adrian is re...

Writing a novel can be like running a marathon. Just ask this week’s guest, Kaden Love. A runner of marathons, Kaden recently completed and released his first novel, Elegy of a Fragmented Vineyard, and he knows that the skills he developed training for a big race, translate into building an epic story. Stick around and discover the fascinating magic system Kaden came up with, alond with the inspir...

Do you have what it takes to build new worlds? Ericka Evren is looking to inspire hope, which is something you don’t always get in science fiction. Today I talk to Ericka about what drove her to write her first novel, Mission of the Ro’arck over COVID lockdown, how things changed as she wrote her second novel, Echoes of Destiny, and how she sought to inspire her readers through the journey of her...

What does it take to build an empire? Christopher Ruocchio has been working on his for his entire life—both his literal writing empire, and the Sollan Empire, which is featured in his Sun Eater series. I am so honored to have Christopher featured on the show today. We of course chat about his books, his writing journey until this point, what has influenced his worlds, and we have a bit of fun chat...