The NoNaMe StoryTeller Podcast

Host Aki is joined by co-hosts Al , Anto , and Brian for a conversation with horror writer Chris Marrs about the creative path that led her from acting, dancing, painting, and writing to a lifelong love of horror. Chris shares the pivotal moment that focused her creative ambitions, why horror captured her imagination as a teenager, and how she discovered that the genre's greatest stories often car...

Aki is joined by co-hosts Charlie and Anto for a fascinating conversation with award-winning horror author, editor, comic book writer, and anthology editor James Chambers . Before becoming a Bram Stoker Award-winning author and editor, James pursued his dream of writing comics for major publishers, a path that led him to work on Leonard Nimoy's The Primortals and Gene Roddenberry's Lost Un...

On this episode of The NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast , Aki is joined by co-hosts Anto and Charlie for a conversation with fantasy author Daniel W. Cochran about his journey into storytelling, worldbuilding, and developing his craft outside traditional writing programs. Daniel shares how his love of fantasy began at an early age, inspired by Bilbo Baggins writing his adventures down in The Hobbit . En...

Hosts Aki welcomes back Amanda and Jonah Strassler to the NoNaMe Storytellers podcast to discuss the continuing evolution of their indie comic series Star Interns . The Strassler siblings dive into their efforts to expand the audience for their epic space opera by converting their physical graphic novel into a webtoon format using Clip Studio Paint . The conversation explores the realities of mark...

On this episode of the NoNaMe Storytellers Podcast , host Aki is joined by co-hosts Anto and Charlie as they welcome horror master Craig DiLouie back to the show to talk about the craft, business, and discipline behind building a successful career in modern horror fiction. Known for balancing literary depth with commercial storytelling, Craig discusses what publishers like Hachette are looking for...

A script is just the beginning—what happens when actors bring it to life is where the story really begins. In this episode of The NoNaMe Storytellers Podcast , Aki is joined by co-host Celeste Cuilla and guest co-host Claude Choukrane for a collaborative deep dive with writer-director Seyi River . At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea: the story changes in the room . From screenplay to...

On this next episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, Aki is joined by co-hosts Al and Brian for a conversation with novelist Cooper Levey-Baker, whose debut Dead Fish Wind offers a haunting, near-future, cli-fi portrait of everyday lives shaped by an unsettling climate phenomenon. Cooper traces the novel’s origin back to an unexpected spark—a sensory deprivation exercise during his MFA program...

Did you know the iconic multiplayer voice from Halo is forged from over 50 years of theater? In this episode of The NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast , Aki is joined by co-hosts Celeste and Joshua for the return of Jeff Steitzer , as they dive deep into the craft of acting—from stage to studio. Jeff shares hard-earned insights from decades in theater and directing over 180 productions, exploring the idea...

The pop culture enthusiasts are back at it. In this episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, hosts Aki and Joshua are joined by returning favorite Patrick and new friend of the podcast, Ray , for another deep dive into all things sci-fi. What starts as a casual conversation quickly turns into a full-blown exchange of must-watch recommendations—from classic hidden gems to the latest Hollywood blo...

In this episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast , guest co-host Nicole Caron joins us for a conversation with author Martha Conway about her new novel, We Meet Apart, her writing process, and the importance of community in a writer’s life. Martha, who grew up surrounded by sisterly relationships as one of six sisters, discusses how those formative experiences shape her fiction, often centered on...

In the Series 5 premiere of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, sci-fi author Macaulay Christian joins host Aki and co-host Al to explore the origins of his space opera. Inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation , Macaulay dives into themes of politics, identity, and what it means to be a people, culture, and civilization. He shares his approach to worldbuilding, discovering the story as he writes, a...

Hello fellow NoNamers! Series 5 of The NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast launches May 1, marking an exciting new chapter after more than 60 episodes dedicated to storytelling, writing, and the creative process. This new series features the return of familiar voices alongside new guest storytellers, authors, and creatives. Listeners can expect in-depth conversations about writing craft, works in progress,...

For this episode of NoNaMe Storyteller , Aki is joined by co-hosts Brian Petkash and Joshua Scott for a wide-ranging and deeply reflective conversation with Nicole Caron about her manuscript, The King of Oranges . Nicole traces her earliest forays into mystery writing and the inciting incident that transformed the project into a sweeping, multi-generational family saga. After more than fifteen yea...

On this episode of NoNaMe Storyteller , host Aki is joined by The Strassler Siblings (Star Interns) and Alex Shiekman (Star Breach) to welcome Sean Wang , creator of Runners . Sean reflects on working on a story he’s carried for decades—one that began as a fun, Star Wars -inspired tale of alien smugglers and slowly evolved into a sweeping, accidental war. The conversation explores perseverance, tr...

In this episode of NoNaMe Storyteller , Aki is joined by guest co-host Juli Booze-Jervis and cozy mystery author Wendy Kendall for a candid, inspiring conversation about finally giving yourself permission to write — even when life is already full. When her youngest was about to graduate high school, Wendy hit a now-or-never moment that pushed her to finally start writing. What followed is a growin...

On the next episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, Aki is joined by guest co-host Charlie Brown and guest commentators David Charlton and Erik Miller to explore what tabletop roleplaying games can teach writers about storytelling. From building compelling characters and shaping story structure to handling players (or characters) who refuse to follow the plot, the conversation digs into chaos,...

In this supersized episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast , host Aki is joined by co-host Celeste Cuilla to welcome her longtime friend and fellow New York–based actor Jodie Lynne McClintock , whose career spans theater, film, television, and gaming! The conversation begins with how Jodie and Celeste first met years ago, performing Twelfth Night , before retracing Jodie’s early creative path as...

This week on the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, Aki and co-host Al McDermid ( Frank Keegan Pulp Noir Series ) sit down with acclaimed fantasy and weird-horror author John R. Fultz —creator of the Scaleborn Saga and the classic Shaper Trilogy . They're joined by guest co-hosts C.D. Brown ( Midnight Brew , Vamp City ) and Brian Petkash ( Mistakes by the Lake ) for a high-energy, deep-craft conversa...

On the latest NoNaMe Storyteller Episode, author Ellen Rockmore joins Aki and co-host Brian Petkash to share the incredible, years-long journey behind her debut novel, The Given-Up Girl , from Sibylline Press. Ellen reveals how she wrote the book while raising three children, working full-time, and nearly giving up more than once—and why, when it came time for beta readers, her “curse” of having a...

Hosts Aki and Anto sit down with writer and Legal Project Manager Jason Pyrz , whose out-of-print cult novel Renaissance Spook began as therapy and accidentally turned into a bucket-list publishing moment. Jason unpacks the book’s wild mix of deadly squirrels, British absurdist humor, ghostly fatherhood, and high-level stakes, and shares how writing helped him through a difficult chapter. He also...

Host Aki Liao ( Frank Keegan Pulp Noir Series ) reunites with Mark Smylie ( Artesia ), David Petersen ( MouseGuard ), and David Rodriguez ( BattleMex , Blizzard Entertainment), joined by co-host Brian Petkash ( Mistakes by the Lake ), for an Archaia alumni roundtable, taking a deep dive into expanding creative IPs across comics and games. They discuss worldbuilding, tabletop RPGs versus video game...

This episode of The NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast brings together two generations of indie comic creators — where new voices meet seasoned veterans in a galaxy of collaboration, creativity, and laughter. Host Aki is joined by: 🌟 Jonah and Amanda Strassler , the sibling duo behind the indie graphic novel Star Interns — rising stars in the comics scene 🚀 Alex Sheikman and Those Turners (Hal & Ren...

It started as a quick chat about what’s Nerd Popping … and turned into a full-blown pop culture free-for-all. Aki, Patrick, Sean, and guest Erik lurch joyfully from Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica to Godzilla Minus One , Omniscient Reader , and Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters. Along the way, they detour through superhero universes, sci-fi deep cuts, nostalgic throwbacks, and new obsessions they c...

What does it take to turn half a century of journaling into a single, unforgettable story? In this episode, NoNaMe Storytellers welcomes Ken Inadomi , author of The Pen & The Mirror , to share how he transformed 50 years, 146 journals, and nearly 6 million words into a deeply personal memoir about wisdom, vulnerability, and legacy. What began as a conversation with his daughter Molly evolved i...

What happens when a writing group sparks something extraordinary? For Gloria Muñoz, it was the creative crucible where This Is the Year came to life—a dazzling YA cli-fi written in prose and verse that blends the urgency of climate change with the intimacy of family, loss, and resilience. In this episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, Aki, along with co-host Brian Petkash, discusses Gloria’s c...