The Wrath of the iOtians

Just like Emperor Palpatine....somehow, Jake and Ron returned— and they've got a lot to catch up on! This episode, the iOtians dive deep into two binge-worthy shows: Widow's Bay , the darkly funny horror-comedy on Apple TV+ that's got serious Stephen King vibes, and From , the slow-burn mystery thriller on MGM+ that somehow keeps pulling them back in despite their Season 4 frustrati...

Jake and Ron are honored and thrilled to have author Catriona Ward on the podcast! Her latest novel is Looking Glass Sound published by Tor Nightfire. https://tornightfire.com/catalog/looking-glass-sound-catriona-ward/ https://us.macmillan.com/author/catrionaward I recently caught Catriona Ward at the Brookline Booksmith in Massachusetts, where she sat on a panel with former Wrath of the iOtians g...

We are so happy to have author C.S Humble kick off Season 4! C. S. Humble is on a mission. He wants to help us be better people.  The author of the now completed The Light Sublime Trilogy, two of a projected five books in the Blackwell series, and Minotaur , a collection of short stories, this award winning horror writer has a flair for placing morally complex characters in harrowing situations to...

Happy holidays everyone! Or should we say Happy Life Day! :) For Generation X the 1978 Star Wars Holiday special is remembered as something that "just wasn't Star Wars". Delving into the creation of this unique event is the new documentary, A Disturbance in the Force . Directed by Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak the documentary offers fresh insights. Your perspective might shift after i...

Jake and Ron celebrate Halloween 2023 by chatting with Nat Segaloff about his remarkable new book The Exorcist Legacy 50 Years Of Fear! It was too much fun listening to Nat and all of his stories. And Nat is an authority of The Exorcist ; He was friends with both William Peter Blatty and William Friedkin! If you are a true fan of The Exorcist you're going to love The Exorcist Legacy 50 Years...

Happy Halloween from the iOtians! We're celebrating by replaying our most downloaded episode ever! All Hallows takes place on Halloween Night in 1984. Do yourself a favor and read this book after all the trick-or-treaters are done taking your precious candy! Jake and Ron chat with the New York Times bestseller and two-time Bram Stoker Award winner about his latest novel, All Hallows ! The boo...

Ron and Jake welcome Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey to the podcast! They chat about their collaboration, the urban horror novel, The Dead Take The A Train . You'd be hard-pressed to find a more impressive horror co-writing team than Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. A British Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, and Locus Award finalist, Cassandra won a Stoker last year for Superior Achievem...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to receive press credentials and had the opportunity to check out several short films and a few features.  Ron met with Director Peter Collins Campbell to chat about his extraordinary short horror film Variations On A Theme. Peter cites David Lynch and David Cronenberg as influences. September 2023 updates from Peter:...

Ron chats with author Scott Leeds about his remarkable debut novel, Schrader's Chord ! It's a visceral story about cursed vinyl records that open a gateway to the land of the dead. After his estranged father’s mysterious death, Charlie Remick returns to Seattle to help with the funeral. There, he discovers his father left him two parting gifts: the keys to the family record store and a s...

Happy Labor Day weekend! Put on the glasses and see the iOtians as they truly are: hideous skeleton-aliens with formaldehyde faces tricking you to go to sleep , obey, and consume! It's the 35th anniversary of John Carpenter's They Live! Jake and Ron reflect back on their memories of the fabled cult film. They Live (1988) IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Fathom...

I had a wonderful time chatting with Leopoldo Gout! Leopoldo has written several books, including Ghost Radio . Check out the audiobook. It's actually narrated by Pedro Pascal of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian ! His latest horror novel, Piñata , published by Tor Nightfire and is now avaialable on audiobook, e-book, hardcover and paperback. It's the tale of a young family that went to...

Ron welcomes Director Zach Kashkett about his new documentary, The Mad Writer. Zach is an accomplished editor. His documentaries include House of Secrets, Shawn Mendes in Wonder, and Sins of a Mother (due September 14th). All of which  can be found on Netflix. The Mad Writer is Zach's first time in the director's seat. It debuted at this year's Slamdance Festival and received much a...

Jake and Ron welcome  Pura Belpré Award Winner and Bram Stoker Nominee Vincent Tirado, author of the fantastic horror novel We Don't Swim Here ! Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they're all meant to make some final memories together.  Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmot...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to receive press credentials and had the opportunity to check out several short films and a few features.  One of my favorite films at SIFF was the short horror film Let It Kill You directed by David Cornue and starring Adam Bucci and Adam Hess. The film tells the story of a disaffected American soldier asserts to his...

Jake and Ron are honored to have the legendary Lucy A. Snyder as a guest for the podcast! We chat with her about her latest novel. Sister, Maiden, Monster published by Tor Nightfire. L ucy A. Snyder Lucy A. Snyder is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of 15 books and over 100 published short stories. Her most recent books are the collection Halloween...

Emma Mieko Candon (she/they) is a bestselling queer author and escaped academic drawn to tales of devouring ghosts, cursed linguistics, and mediocre robots. Her work includes Star Wars: Ronin (2021), a Japanese reimagining of the Star Wars mythos, and the forthcoming The Archive Undying (2023), an original speculative novel about divine AIs, giant robots made of bone, and fraught queer romance in...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to meet with Director Sarah Kambe Holland. Her debut  feature film, Egghead & Twinkie, received much accolades at SIFF. It was one of the few films that were nominated for the prestigious New Cinema Competition Award and the Golden Space Needle Award (best film at SIFF). That's quite an achievement when you c...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to receive press credentials and had the opportunity to check out several short films and a few features. One short film that received much attention was Get Away directed by Michael Gabriele. Get Away ended up winning Top Five Best Short Films at the Seattle International Film Festival by Audience Choice. Congrats to...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to receive press credentials and had the opportunity to check out several short films and a few features. One of favorites was the short film From The Depths (directed by Justin Robert Vinall, and starring Giovanni Accettola, Allegra Sweeney, Rebecca Rose). It's about a couple seeking to rebuild their troubled re...

The 2023 Seattle International Film Festival was held on May 11-21. Ron was able to receive press credentials and had the opportunity to check out several short films and a few features. One of the films that was a stand-out was The Unusualist directed by Mike Simses and starring Matt Gourley. Mike not only directed the film, but was also the cinematographer, editor and composer of the score! Matt...

The Dark Descent episode was originally published in April, 2021. Recently, Tor.com published an article on The Dark Descent (link below). It reminded Ron that he always wanted to revisit the episode to remaster the sound (vocal presence and clarity) and edit it down.  We hope you enjoy this remastered version! Jake and Ron discuss the seminal horror anthology The Dark Descent, edited by David G....

The iOtians chat about From Season 2 on MGM+ formerly EPIX! Also, they watched Rachel Weisz in the new Dead Ringers mini-series, created and developed by the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated writer Alice Birch, on Prime. Jake and Ron also offer their thoughts on Silo on Apple TV+. From Season 2 on MGM+ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9813792/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Dead Ringers on Prime (2023) https://www.imdb.com/...

Jake and Ron welcome legendary author Christopher Paolini! Even if you don't read genre fiction, you're likely to remember the story of the young man who at the age of nineteen became a New York Times bestselling author when his first book Eragon was republished by Knopf in 2003, after a self-published debut and a grassroots marketing campaign the previous year. Paolini would go on to pr...

Jake and Ron are so thrilled to have New York Times bestselling author Kayla Cottingham on the Wrath of the iOtians! Her first book, My Dearest Darkest , became a New York Times and Publisher's Weekly bestseller. Her latest, This Delicious Death (Sourcebooks Fire) is a story about four best friends with a hunger for human flesh attend a music festival in the desert they discover a murderous p...

Jake and Ron are honored and thrilled to have author Fonda Lee on the podcast! Fonda Lee is the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the epic fantasy Green Bone Saga, consisting of Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy. She is also the author of the acclaimed young adult science fiction novels Zeroboxer , Exo and Cross Fire . Fonda is a winner of the Locus Award, a four-time winner of the Aurora A...