Podcasts about The Dresden Files

Send us a textHannah and Laura are finishing up the final third of Dead Beat by Jim Butcher and Laura is immensely proud to have finally guessed a plot point correctly, while Hannah's not convinced that Harry should aim to live to 500. They also chat about television that hits too close to home, a newly released novella, and a television series that doesn't leave its viewers hanging.**This episode contains SPOILERS for Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at: 37 min 55 secs. ***CW for the episode: discussions of violence, murder, capitalism, colonialism, death, blood, gore, vampires, slavery, zombies, necromancy, dog attacksMedia Mentions:Dead Beat by Jim Butcher The Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose Utomi Squid Game---Netflix Sinners---HBO Max The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler The Fall Is All There Is by C.M. CaplanMammoths at the Gate by Nghi Vo The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo The Bear---Hulu Stranger Things---NetflixThe Umbrella Academy---Netflix Petition by Delilah Waan Support the showBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter (updates only): @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsBlueSky: @myyypod

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 13 & 14 in which we draw parallels to real life slasher movies and briefly wish we had a host that was a Coroner.Proven Guilty Chapter 13 Summary:Harry is questioned by homicide detective Sergeant Green when Murphy comes to the rescue. Murphy joins the investigation and enlists Harry to consult. Proven Guilty Chapter 14 Summary:Murphy drives Harry home and they share an intimate conversation.More about our guest Shayla:Enjoying Shay's horror expertise? She has content of her own! Find her on Insta or TikTok!Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

Send us a textHannah and Laura are covering chapters 15 through 28 of Jim Butcher's Dead Beat and having a... [plot twist]...great time? This is a romp of a book that may or may not take place during the summer. Hannah and Laura also chat about a hilariously cringey TV show, a shark movie marathon, and some incredibly creative fantasy books they've been reading.**This episode contains SPOILERS for Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. Spoiler/plot section begins at: 50 min 45 secs. ****CW for the episode: discussions of sex, murder, death, gore, mental illness, zombies, blood, crime, shark attacks**Media Mentions: Dead Beat by Jim ButcherThe Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin The Righteous Gemstones---HBO Max The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson Iron Widow by Xiran Jay ZhaoTaskmaster---YouTube Jaws---Peacock Jaws 3D---PeacockJaws: The Revenge---PeacockDeep Blue Sea---AppleTV Support the showBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter (updates only): @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsBlueSky: @myyypod

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 11 in which we appreciate Rawlins, question stereotypes, and second guess our Harry facts without Maggie present.Proven Guilty Chapter 11 Summary:Harry investigates the site of the assault at the convention.More about our guest Shayla:Enjoying Shay's horror expertise? She has content of her own! Find her on Insta or TikTok!Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

Send us a textHannah and Laura are gluttons for punishment. They are back in "The Year of the Dresden," covering the seventh book in Jim Butcher's series, Dead Beat, which may or may not be a great book. To be determined. Laura also continues to gush about The Bloodsworn Saga, and Hannah shares about a teen show that she's bingeing and the current season of Taskmaster.*This episode contains SPOILERS for Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at: 32 min 29 secs. ***CW for the episode: discussions of death, blood, gore, murder, weapons, racism, sexism, assaultBe sure to follow us online!On Wednesdays We Read Podcast – Welcome to OWWR PodBluesky: @owwrpodInstagram: @owwrpodMedia Mentions:Dead Beat by Jim Butcher The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne Cascadia board game The Pitt---HBO Max E.R.---HuluFreshwater by Akwaeke EmeziSchool Spirits---Paramount+ That Thing You Do---HuluTaskmaster---YouTube Support the showBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter (updates only): @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsBlueSky: @myyypod

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 10 in which we realize we're all irresponsible and flamboyant like Molly, unless you ask Jes who claims she's completely normal.Proven Guilty Chapter 10 Summary:Molly and Harry arrive at the Carpenters and are greeted by her family. Charity and Molly quickly descend into conflict to which Michael tells them they have until he returns to resolve their issues. Michael enlists Harry's help to help resolve the issues and to watch over his family while he is gone.More about our guest Shayla:Enjoying Shay's horror expertise? She has content of her own! Find her on Insta or TikTok!Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 17 Andy has his interview for primetime. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.   It turned out that a dozen women all getting ready for television appearances was, in fact, a major operation. The master bathroom was large enough that four of the girls could use the mirror at the same time, but beyond that, they had to party up with "prep buddies," each making sure they were getting themselves ready as well as their prep buddy. Andy was, of course, ready long before anyone else was, even with Emily, Sarah, Ash and Niko sharing him in the shower. He left the four of them in there, although they emerged not long after, each running a hair dryer while they applied their make up and got into their outfits. He was glad to escape the bathroom as early as he did. The girls were in go mode now, and the last thing he wanted to do was get in anyone's way, so he took the time to prep the house. The house had a large empty room that seemed like it was meant to be used as a ballroom. They'd used it as their poker room on and off, but it was also just a nice place where lots of people could stand around and talk. It also had French windows opening into the garden, so the lighting of the room was excellent. Andy figured it would be the best place for the group interviews to take place. Katie and Nicolette helped him get enough chairs for everyone into the room, while Jenny was prepping a large lunch for all of them, a massive batch of jambalaya, so they would have a bit of leftovers in case the 60 Minutes crew arrived hungry. They were scheduled to arrive at one in the afternoon, and had asked them not to make plans into the evening, so clearly the interviews would take as long as they took. Nicolette had been doing cleaning a bit at a time for the last two weeks, so the only thing that really needed to get a major touch up was Andy's writing room, which the 60 Minutes people had asked to use for their one on one interviews, something he'd agreed to, although he was going to lock his laptop away before they arrived. He didn't imagine they'd want to steal his writing, but he was notoriously paranoid when it came to that sort of thing. The cats seemed extremely confused by all the hustle and bustle, but also seemed content to just rub up against the leg of whoever was closest, and follow people around when it seemed like they were going from one place to another. Andy also took time to check in with both Tala and Jade, making sure they doing okay and still on board with talking to 60 Minutes, something he was glad he did. Tala, as expected, was starting to feel the mental itch from having been primed the day before but not yet imprinted, though she was handling it far better than Sheridan had, even if she wasn't as far along with it. She said she'd never felt quite so sexually frustrated before, but that it was a great feeling to have, and that she enjoyed her body acting with wills and wants of its own. Jade had news for him as well. "I want you to imprint me as soon as you're done imprinting Tala, Andy," the bubbly blonde said to him. "And I want you to record it. Not for 60 Minutes, though, but for my father. He has tried to control me my entire life, and I'm just friggin' sick of it, so I want him to see that his dang control is broken, and that I'm giving that control to another man, a better man. So you can use my phone to make the video of it, and I don't care what it shows and what it doesn't, as long as he sees my face when I'm taking that orgasm, when I'm starting that imprinting process, so he knows that he can't push me around any more." She'd been talking with a sort of intensity that he'd never seen from her before, and he let her finish. When she stopped talking, it was almost as thought it dawned on her how forcefully she'd been lecturing him on what to do. "That's, that's okay, right?" "You're sure about this, Jade?" he said, taking her hand in his own. "I'm sure he's done some rough things over the years, but he's still your father, and you want to be careful not to do anything you'll come to regret." "The only thing I regret is being that asshole's daughter," she said, wrath in her voice. "I know it's a lot to ask, especially since I'll be sucking you off, which means that it'll be hard not to get your cock at least a little in the shot, but it's important to me, okay? I'm, I'm reclaiming a part of myself that bastard's taken from me. So you asked me earlier what I wanted, and that's what I want. And I want him to see it while I'm imprinting, so there's no way he can talk to me about it." He nodded. "Alright then. You can change your mind at any time between now and then, but if you don't, then that's what we'll do, just for your father, just at your request. Although, you probably also want to record a message for him to go along with it before hand, so he's not just randomly getting that video without any context." She bristled in mirth, nodding quickly. "Good point. I'll record that on my phone after lunch." "Or during the time they're doing one on one interviews with anyone else. I know they're planning on doing smaller interviews, one with Emily and Sarah and one with just me, but I don't know who else they're going to want to talk to." "If they want to talk to me, they can, and if the 49ers organization has a problem with it, well, the heck with them, I don't have to continue being a cheerleader for them anymore." "Give it some thought. You've still got time." By lunchtime, everyone was ready except for the staff, who'd gone to get themselves ready once lunch had been served. Nobody was sure if the 60 Minutes crew would want to talk to them, but Andy felt it best to make sure that anyone who was willing to have a conversation with Katie Couric was in a state where they could. Nicolette had said she didn't care one way or another, and while Katie wasn't thrilled about the idea of being interviewed, she agreed that if Katie Couric wanted to talk to the two of them, she and Jenny would make themselves available for it. Over the course of lunch, it was clear the girls were doing everything they could to keep Andy's mind off the interview, as the family got to know both Tala and Jade better, while Whitney was still in Nicolette's chambers, in the middle of the imprinting process, and Fiona and Moira were in the early stages of it in the master bedroom. Tala had decided that her first project, once she got her workshop set up in the poolhouse, was going to be to make Andy a puzzle desk of his very own, and once that idea had been voiced, all the girls had thoughts and ideas on things to incorporate, with Sarah filling in suggestions based on his books, and Aisling filling in suggestions based on his life. Niko thought it should also incorporate all the girls' names, so that he might have a better time remembering everyone, which made everybody laugh, simply because the family had indeed grown so large. They were just finishing cleaning up after lunch when the doorbell rang, and Andy's heart felt like it stopped just a little. Ash poked him with a smile. "It's just the media, babes," she teased. "You'll do fine. Go say hi." He headed up from the dining room and down to the front door, where Nicolette was standing in the doorway, greeting the visitors. Standing in the doorway was Katie Couric, one of the best known journalists in America, with a couple of crew members behind her. "Hey, Ms. Couric," he said to her as he approached. "Welcome to my home." He held out his hand and she seemed thankful for the normalcy of shaking hands. "Please, Mr. Rook, call me Katie," she said, "and thank you for inviting us for the interview. I know the President's office had something to do with it, but you could have said no if you didn't want to. Having a couple of famous faces like Miss Stevens and Miss Washington selling the new normal will help the general population of the nation make more sense out of this tragic new normal." "Well, I'll call you Katie if you'll call me Andy," he said. "How's your tour of New Eden been so far? Niko mentioned you did a short interview with her at the base, although you mostly just talked with Dr. Varma and my boy Phil." "You're friends with Mr. Marcos?" she said. "Is that how you got in here?" "Well, there's a story behind that. I can tell you now, but I suspect you'd rather get it down on camera. It's not all that long a story, nor is it really that interesting. I suspect Phil's story was a lot more engaging than mine will be." "Did you get your writing room all set up for our interview?" "I did," he said, "and we also set up our ballroom with chairs, so you can talk to all of us together first. I know Em and Sarah are willing to talk to you either in their little studio, or you can use my writing study instead. It's up to you." "I'll have my team take a look at both locations while we're getting set up in the ballroom. Is everyone in the house willing to take part in the interviews?" "Two of my partners have chosen not to take part, simply because they aren't sure how their employers would react to it, but everyone else in the house is willing to chat," he said, as he felt a hand sliding onto his shoulder. He turned around to see Lauren standing behind him. "Actually, Andy, Sheridan and I have decided we're going to do it anyway, and if the Niners or the people at Cirque have a problem with it, fuck'em, we'll sue their asses into the ground," the tall blonde Aussie told him. "If this is gonna be the new normal, pretendin' like it's not is just as bad as sayin' it ain't, so we'll be there." "You're sure, Lauren?" he asked her, smoothing his hand over her hip, knowing it usually soothed her nervous when she was wound up. She placed her hand over his and gave it a soft squeeze, smiling at him. "Yeh, 'sides I dunno how much of management's gone at this point already. You gambled with us, so let us have a turn at the plow fer a change." He leaned up and kissed her softly. "Well, I've known you long enough, hon, to know if your mind's made up, there's no point in trying to talk you out of it." Andy glanced back at Katie Couric, shrugging. "Guess you get your pick of the litter then." Behind her, the crew had started ferrying in lights, tripods and camera equipment. While Andy had thought he'd only seen two additional people at first, it turned out Katie Couric traveled with a crew of nine, and there had been a second and third S U V behind the van that he hadn't seen. It felt a little like his house was being invaded, but he did his best to not get in anyone's way, as Nicolette started to lead a producer away, to show her where both Andy's writing room and the actresses' little studio were located. "C'mon, I'll take you down to the ballroom, and we can get settled there," he said, starting to lead Katie and her two companions down the hallway. One of them, Geraldine Amato, was the unit's head producer, and the other, Poppy Delgato, was the lead camera woman. "Was your crew mostly women before the plague hit?" "Mostly," she said, "although I've got a couple of men in here as well, and thankfully, they've been given the treatment via their wives. My husband has been getting it through myself as well, for about a month now." "I'm a little surprised they let your whole crew into New Eden," he said, as they headed down the stairs to the lower level. "They've been fairly paranoid about letting people in, I've been told, so I imagine you had to quarantine for a little bit after you got here." "We did," she said, stopping to look at one of the promotional posters on the wall, this one in particular for "The Trouble With Werebears." She glanced over at him with that winning smile she loved flashing on the news regularly. "In fact, Geraldine here's now sharing my husband with me, because she didn't have anyone before hand, and needed someone she could count on to be around while doing her job." She reached up and tapped at the words 'New York Times Bestselling Author' on the poster. "It says here you're a bestselling author, but I have to admit that before preparing for this interview, I'd never heard of you." He shrugged with a little smile. "There's leagues of difference between a Bestselling Fiction author and a Bestselling Genre Fiction author, I'm afraid. When you're talking non genre, you're talking hundreds of thousands of copies, but for genre, well, drop a zero off there, so if you're not into urban fantasy, I won't take it as a slight. Jim Butcher, who's probably the most popular of us working in the field, only sold a couple hundred thousand copies for his most recent Dresden Files book, and that series has a huge following, far bigger than my little corner. Hell, I think the reason a publisher finally took a gamble on me was that I was playing in a similar wheelhouse and they were hoping to piggyback off his success." "E. F. Winston is a genre writer, but her books have sold in the hundreds of millions," Katie countered. "So clearly there are breakout stars." "Ah, but those are young adult books, and the teen fiction genre has a handful of crossover success that never seemed to roll over into other things in our genres," he sighed. "The Dagger Academy books were definitely science fiction, but you didn't see a spike in sales for people like John Scalzi or William Gibson when those books took off, did you? The same for those Harry Potter books. Sold by the truckload, and yet, did many of those kids go and read works from Roger Zelazny, Fred Saberhagen, Emma Bull, Terry Pratchett, Steven Brust, Simon R. Green or any of the other massively prolific fantasy masterminds we've had working for decades? No, we're not all that different than any other form of entertainment,  everyone's just hoping that they get one big bite from the apple at some point during their career." "But I heard they're making a movie based on your books?" "Well, when two high profile actresses are willing to sign onto a project, that goes a long way into pushing it out of Movie Hell," he laughed. "The option had been signed years before that, but once Sarah and Emily expressed interest in playing supporting roles, well, that got the whole thing into turnaround quite quickly. It's like the screenwriter William Goldman always said, 'Nobody in Hollywood knows anything.'" Andy shrugged a little bit as they entered the ballroom. "Besides, I figured you'd want to get all this out during the on camera interview." "Oh, we'll go over it again then, but it doesn't hurt to do a little pre camera screening, just so I know what kinds of things you're likely to say, so I can facilitate the conversation in moving in the right directions," she said. "You've been interviewed several times before. Hasn't anyone ever done that?" "Nope," he said, moving to sit in one of the chairs in the front row. "But then again, I've never been interviewed for television before." They'd originally set up the 17 chairs as one chair facing two rows of eight, but Geraldine started moving the two rows of eight into four staggered rows of four. "We'll bring in some risers, so we can get everyone into one big shot," Geraldine told Katie. Poppy nodded. "We'll need to set up four cameras in here," she said, as she started to help Geraldine block out the room. "One for the group shot, one for Katie, one for Andy and one to rove to whoever's answering questions in the group setting. We can use fixed cameras for the first three, and I'll manage the fourth. We'll have them all rolling all the time and you can just pick and choose what you want in the editing room." "How do you want to order them, Katie?" Geraldine asked her. "Well, Andy here in the front corner, then Niko, the woman we interviewed yesterday next to him. That'll be our link between the segments. Then Sarah and Emily next to her, because star power up front. Beyond that, we can figure it out." "I'd like to insist Aisling, my first partner, be up front with me," he said, just as Ash was walking into the room, along with Emily. "The balance might be a little weird," Poppy frowned. "No no," Geraldine, "we can make that work. We'll just do five in front and three in the top row, so we frame Andy in the center, with Niko and Aisling on one side, Emily and Sarah on the other." "Good," Katie said, "that reinforces the whole 'large family' front and forward as our first visual cue, so that the viewer has to confront it right away. Does that work for you?" she said, asking Andy his opinion for the first time. "That'll work," he replied. "You can even put the three staff at the back, since they're willing to be here for this, but aren't likely to volunteer much in the way of answers." "Jenny and Katie, er, Kate might not, Master," Nicolette said, entering the room with the rest of Katie Couric's crew in tow, "but I'm certainly planning on speaking my mind given a chance, because I don't want people to be given the wrong idea." "What's the wrong idea?" Katie asked, tilting her head just a little bit. "That we're here involuntarily, or that this isn't what we wanted, or, hell, even that Master Rook here wouldn't let us change if we wanted," the French maid teased. "You know if I had a nickel for every time he's sort of reminded me I don't have to call him Master, and I've had to remind him that I like calling him Master, well, I could enjoy a nice two week stay in the Bahamas, once it's opened up again. In fact, little secret, every time he reminds me of it lately, I've just gone out of my way to say it even more, so I can watch him blush." "I think you like watching him blush," Ash said, moving to close in around Andy. "Katie Couric," Andy said, "this is my first partner, Ash Blake, and I'm sure you've probably already met Emily Stevens." Katie made it a point to shake Ash's hand first. "A pleasure, Miss Blake." She then turned to Emily, taking the tiny blonde's hand and shaking it as well. "I've actually interviewed you before, Miss Stevens, although I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember. You seemed quite busy on that press junket, and I know they were just wheeling journalists in and out for you." "I keep a diary of anyone who's interviewing me, Ms. Couric," Em said, a wry grin on her face, "so I assure you, I remember the interview quite well. Any surprises we should be wary of?" "Oh, I've always got a few things planned to lighten up an interview," the journalist said, somewhat evasively. "It's not like I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin or anything. You're not going to have me murdered for a question you don't like." "Well," the Brit said, "I still wouldn't anger Sarah too much. She's, excitable, and prone to fits of exaggeration." "I'm fairly certain she's never poisoned anyone to win a role, Em," Andy said to her. Emily clicked her tongue in amusement. "Let's not be too hasty with that judgment, Andy. Anyway, shall I round everyone up and we can get started?" "Yes, I think my team will be ready to start in about twenty minutes, so if you can get everyone together, that would be excellent." By the time all the girls were in the ballroom, risers had been placed under the seats, the lights and sound were set up, a boom microphone used to cover the majority of the girls, although clip on mics were used for Katie and Andy. They also had a handheld microphone that the girls could pass around if anyone wanted to give a detailed answer. They were structured as had been discussed, with Niko and Aisling to Andy's left in the front row, and Emily and Sarah to his right. Behind them, Lauren, Taylor, Sheridan and Piper sat. The third row had Asha, Hannah, Tala and Jade. In the back row sat the staff, Kate (his Katie), Jenny and Nicolette. All of the fiancees were up front, and everyone else was sat in order of arrival, with the exception of the staff, who were at the back, at their own request. It felt right that Ash was on one side of him and Emily was on the other, as if the two of them wanted to be close in case he needed support. It wasn't until Andy saw it framed up in the monitor as they were showing Katie that it dawned on him just how big his household was growing, and even still, he knew there were already three more in the house not in this shot. He was always aware of how big his family was, but seeing everyone together in one single framing shot, it really drove the size of it home, and it felt huge. "Okay, Andy, let's start with how you telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got here." For the next few minutes, Andy gave the shortest possible version of his bio, how he'd moved to California a decade and a half ago, his writing for the Silicon Valley companies, as well as his novels, which transitioned nicely into him talking about how he got his vaunted level 5 status, regaling 60 Minutes with the story of how the guy who'd come to test them, Dave, had been a big fan and given he and his then roommate Eric level 5 status as a return gift for Andy having given him an advanced copy of his next novel. "I hope I'm not getting Dave in any trouble by telling that story," he finished. "No no, each member of the initial Bay Area team was given five level 5 statuses to give away as they saw fit," Katie Couric told him. "Most of them just gave them to friends or family, but Dr. David Straussman hadn't used any of his until he met you, and there were no rules on who he could or couldn't give them to, so that's fine." "Straussman," Andy repeated. "Huh. You know, I didn't even know his last name until right now. I hope he's doing okay." "He's doing quite well," Niko said. "I see him every so often wandering around the base." "So Andy," Katie said, bringing them back on task, "how did you fill out the form you were given with the testing process?" "Well," Andy said, "Dave stressed to us when he gave us the link that we should be honest, and to answer the questions knowing we wouldn't be judged for our responses. I don't actually remember a lot of it, because it was a very long questionnaire, like, ridiculously thorough. But I suppose what you're getting at is what key things do I remember answering." "Yes, that's what I'm asking." "There were definitely questions about my sexual preferences, like, a lot of those, but there were also basic demographic questions about what range of people I felt comfortable dating, was I into women, men or both, and how did I feel about polyamory." "Did that surprise you?" she asked him. "Sure, but not as much as I expect it probably shocked people back in the Midwest. It's not what I would call common place around here, but you see it mentioned often enough in people's online dating profiles that most people have at least some awareness of it here in the Bay." "And how did you answer the polyamory question?" "I actually put 'no preference,' but you have to remember, to some extent when this started, we thought this was all some temporary thing, and we certainly didn't know that the casualties to men in America were going to be as high as they were," Andy said, sighing a little bit, Ash taking his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Do you remember what ages you put that you would be comfortable with?" "The low end was set to 18, and I didn't adjust it, and I set the high end to 35. I suspected no one younger than their mid twenties would be interested in me, so the low end didn't really matter." "You can start to see how his mind works," Hannah teased, "and how he just misses things sometimes." That let the girls have a soft laugh, releasing a little bit of the tension. "Were there any things that you said were absolute deal breakers?" Katie asked. "Just two," Andy admitted. "Must not be allergic to cats, and must not smoke, although we ended up with someone who vapes." "And who is that?" "That'd be me," Sheridan said, "but I'm working on quitting, so, it's a stopgap on the way to that. And it's been much easier stepping down from that than it was stepping to that from smoking." "Who showed up first?" "Aisling showed up I think it was actually the very next day," Andy said. "I was a little surprised how quickly everything moved. Usually anything the government's managing is a total clusterfuck, but I think since we were basically right by the site where the treatment was developed, they were rushing it out in order to keep as many people safe as they could." "Aisling, let me ask you Aisling, was Andy the sort of man you dreamed about ending up with when you entered into the process?" "At first, my head was a little clouded, because the process when it started wasn't as refined as it is now, so when I met Andy, my mind was a little fogged up with lust, but he ticked all the boxes of what I wanted out of a man. He didn't look exactly like I expected him to, but yeah, within a couple of days, I knew I loved him pretty hard. Still do." "Would he have been the kind of person you would've gravitated to in a bar?" Katie asked her. "I would've thought he was cute, but I was horrible at dating, and only had a couple'a boyfriends before him, so I'm a bad judge of character for that sort of question." "How many of you would've approached Andy in a bar?" Katie asked the group of them. Andy chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Be honest." Sarah put her hand up immediately, and Tala raised her hand as well, as the rest of the group giggled a little bit. "As progressive as we all like to think we are, Katie," Niko said, "women still generally don't approach men in bars, so maybe that's more on us than saying anything about our tastes." "Sarah, I saw you put your hand up," Katie asked. "You're an Oscar nominated actress who's know worldwide. What about Andy would've made you approach him?" Over the next couple of minutes, Sarah and Emily related the story of how they'd attended one of Andy's Q&As at ComicCon in costume, so that nobody would recognize them, and talked about how she'd had a crush on him because of his writing for a long time, which Katie laughed about, and Andy was certain would make for good television. "So how many of you would say you're in love with Andy now?" she asked the group after Sarah finished her story. About half of women raised their hands, although several of the others looked like they were considering raising their hands. The front row all raised their hands, as expected, but Lauren and Piper also raised their hands, which surprised Andy a little. "So those of you who wouldn't say you're in love with him, how would you describe your relationship with him?" "Deep respect and affection, but not at the love stage, not yet anyway," Sheridan said. Most of the other girls seemed to nod and agree with that. "Why do you say 'not yet,' Sheridan?" "You have to keep in mind, Katie, a lot of us have only known Andy a few weeks right now," she said, leaning forward just a little bit. "We had to make probably the biggest choice of our lives, and we had to do it basically on a hunch. Our choices were to defer treatment and go on being afraid we were going to die, or take the treatment and get paired up with a man for the indefinite future. That's a hell of a gamble to ask of anyone." "Who's unhappy with the decision they made, raise your hand," Katie said, only to get no hands raised in response. "Everyone's happy being paired with Andy, maybe for the rest of your lives?" "Look, Ms. Couric," Hannah said. "You're going to find every one of us girls has a different story, a unique story, and each one of us came to where we are now on an entirely different path, m'kay? But we'll all tell you the same thing,  Andy's treated us with an immense amount of respect and affection, and he's made sure that nobody's doing anything they aren't comfortable with. Shit, he's even done stuff he's been a little uncomfortable with because it's made us feel more comfortable, and how many women can say that about their partner? So while a bunch of us aren't in love with him, yet, we all admire and respect how much he's gone out of his way to make sure we feel like we're part of a goddamn family, a good goddamn family." "Do you want to continue to grow the family, Andy?" "If you ask him," Em said, jumping in before he could respond, "he wanted to stop growing it a while ago." All the girls laughed at that. "But at this point, I think we're all doing what we can to stick together, and a lot of us girls wanted to protect our friends, to keep them safe, so we took turns presenting them all to Andy, trying to convince him to bring them into our home and into our family." "Everyone had someone they wanted to pitch?" Katie said, smiling at Andy. "That must have been overwhelming." "Not everyone wanted to pitch someone, but almost everyone," he said with a laugh. "And it was a lot of names and faces that were presented all at once. I said upfront, though, that I wasn't going to bring everyone on, and that there was only so much of me to go around. In the end, I think we mostly made it work to everyone's satisfaction." "So how many more people are coming?" "Well, we have three people who are in the imprinting process right now, and two more people arriving tomorrow, and if I have any say in the matter, that will absolutely, positively, definitively be the limit of women I can handle in my life," he chuckled. "And how much say do you actually have in that matter, Andy?" "Very little!" Emily joked, and all the girls laughed, as did Katie. "It would take a super compelling case for us to add, like, anyone else to the family past that," Sarah said, "but I think it's totally for the best that we never say never. Sometimes exceptions have to be made." "Like I told you yesterday, Katie," Niko said, "I think if Andy had total control of the matter, he would've probably put a hard limit in after myself, Ash and Lauren were in his life. He told me multiple times early on that he barely felt like he deserved one amazing woman, and at that point, he already had three, so it's been a growth process." "But this is the new normal now," Katie said. "Or at least it's going to be. Families with one man and several women, because so many men in the US have died. Raise your hand if you know a man who's lost their life to the plague here in the US." All the women raised their hands, and of course Andy had his raised as well. "How does that feel?" "I think we're all suffering from some degree of post traumatic stress disorder," Piper said. "The losses, they're too big for any of us to process, so we're sort of clinging to one another, holding on to the only family that we know for certain that we can protect." "Piper, you were actually supposed to have competed in the Olympics by now. How does that feel, knowing that when it starts up again next year, the US basically doesn't have almost any of their male athletes to compete?" "At this point, it's impossible for it to even make sense in my head any more, Katie," she sighed. "Most of the people I trained with have died over the last several months. A lot of my trainers died. I've lost colleagues, friends and family members. I don't even know where to start mourning, because there's so damn many people to mourn. I consider myself lucky that my sister's husband took everything seriously, and completely refused to leave the house this year since the word of the plague got out." "It's something we've talked about in here a bunch," Andy said. "And we sort of keep coming back to that famous Stalin quote. 'A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.' It's so many dead men that the mind can't even make sense of it. It's like 9/11, but if each of the Twin Towers was holding exclusively almost every man each of us knew and loved. My own brother died a few weeks back, and he was one of the kindest and most careful souls I know, but he ran out to help someone get their storm shutters up before a particular bad thunderstorm rolled through, and a few weeks later, he was just gone, almost overnight. It happened so fast, I didn't even hear about it until after he was already gone." "It's actually unproven that's a real Stalin quote," Tala said. "I read an article that said it was attributed to a French humorist." "Sure, but even if Stalin didn't say it," Andy said, "it's still pretty relevant here. It doesn't really matter who said it, it's the sentiment that's important. We're talking about a matter of scale, and the human mind's capacity to comprehend that scale. At the end of the day, that's a hell of a lot for anyone to handle. So we're all just doing our best." "Normally," Emily said, "when a friend or loved one dies, there is typically a funeral or a wake, a gathering of all that person's surviving circle coming together, to celebrate their passing and remember them, but we have been denied that, and it has made all their passings that much harder to process, somehow transformed them all into seeming less real, because our normal emotional milestones haven't happened along the way. We are adrift in our emotional morass." "That's true," Katie said. "We, as Americans, haven't had to confront all the deaths simply because we aren't allowed to go out and do so, and that somehow makes it feel less concrete." "It hits you every day," Jade said, "little by little. Lauren described it to me a few weeks ago as a slow motion car crash that we're all stuck in, and nobody can get out of." "So, Jade, I understand you're one of the newest arrivals here," Katie said. "Have you gone through the imprinting process yet?" "Not yet," she said. "Tala and I arrived yesterday, but we wanted to wait a little bit, to spend some time with Andy and his family, to makes sure that we would be happy getting melted into their pot. I'm happy to say we're both going to do it, but it's the kind of commitment you gotta be certain of, you know?" "Have you seen what the imprinting process is like?" "Um, yes?" she said, trying not to blush a little. "When we arrived yesterday, we had a third person with us, another woman who was joining the staff and faculty of the house, but not the family itself, a young woman named Whitney." "So, Andy, explain to me the difference between family and staff, and how you decide that." He immediately put his hands up, almost like he was at gunpoint. "First and foremost, I do not decide that," he laughed, and all the girls laughed with him. "When the military came and relocated us from our little condo and brought us here to New Eden, the house also came with three members of staff attached with it, all of whom I was told had been selected to mesh with me, and whose boxes I would tick as well." "That was the three of you in the back, Nicolette, Jenny and Kate, yes?" Katie asked. "We had all been told a bit about Andy before he arrived," Nicolette said, "and his answers to the questionnaire implied that he would eventually be willing to play into our tastes." "Eventually?" Katie asked. "Well, sure," Nicolette giggled. "I know the first few times I called him Master, it rattled his cage a little bit, but he eventually realized I liked saying it, and nobody was making me do it. One of the things that we girls all figured out early on was that just because Andy was okay with something didn't mean he had any real experience with it, so we would need to hand hold him a bit through it. So while Andy said he was okay with bondage and discipline stuff in his questionnaire, he didn't have any real practical experience in it. So we've found ways to teach him about that kind of thing without it ever feeling like we were lecturing to him. He sort of set that expectation up front when he told us communication was everything, and he couldn't have been more right." "And Kate? I hear that you and Jenny had a different experience," Katie asked. "Damn, uh? Andy?" Kate (his Katie) asked. "How real you want us to get here?" "We're not hiding anything," he chuckled, "so fire away." "So, uh, Katie," Kate coughed. "I'm actually a lesbian. Not a bisexual who mostly identifies as a lesbian, I mean straight up, hardcore, one hundred percent, unrepentant fully committed lesbian. And Jenny here is my wife, but she's bisexual." "Hi!" Jenny cheerily said with a wave. "When we signed up for this, we, ah, we were planning on hiding that from Andy, and I was simply going to fake it, and go along with the ruse, so that we could stay together, and we could still get the treatment, which, as you already know, takes both a female and a male component to work," she sighed. "So I, er, we lied, and claimed we were both bisexual. Since we were married, wherever we went, we were going to go together, and we figured we could just keep up that lie as long as we needed and make it work." "And what happened?" Katie asked. "Day two, I folded, before we'd even been imprinted," Jenny said with a shrug. "When we met him, Andy wasn't at all what any of us were expecting him to be, but I mean that in a really good way. It didn't feel right lying to him. We'd had a few days together before he showed up, the three of us, us two and Nicolette. We'd talked about it, and Nicolette volunteered to go first, so that if it didn't go well, my Katie and I could request to be moved elsewhere, since we were a little more particular than she was about how we got paired up." "What do you mean, you folded?" "I started talking to Andy, and, and it all just came tumbling out, how we were a little unsure, how my Katie wasn't really into men, and, I just felt like I had to tell him everything before we were committed to anything." "How did you react to that, Andy?" "I could tell they were afraid that I was going to be angry," Andy said, his tone as breezy and relaxed as he could keep it, "but I wasn't. Why would I be? I simply wanted to talk with them about how they wanted to handle it, because at that point, I knew a bit more about the physiological affects of the treatment than they did, so I wanted to prepare them for it, if they wanted to move forward." "Do you still consider yourself a lesbian, Kate?" Katie asked her. "Absolutely. I don't feel any sexual attraction to Andy what so ever," she said. "Now, with that said, I can also admit that I have received biochemically induced orgasms from him regularly as part of the treatment process, and I don't think that affects my sexual identity in any way. But Andy and I haven't ever had direct sex. He's offered, but he's also never pressured. I might take him up on it some day, to see if the chemical and neurological changes the treatment have made to me might compensate for my lack of sexual attraction to him, but then again, I may not. That's my decision, well, our decision, to make," she said, taking Jenny's hand in hers. "And nobody's going to tell me who and what I am. I get to decide that, and fuck anyone who says otherwise." "So if you haven't had direct sex with him, how are you getting what you need from him to keep your treatment managed? Go ahead and be as direct as you want, and we can bleep parts of it out if we need to, but I think they're just going to air it as we send it." "Well, to be frank about it, I don't ever actually fuck Andy, but that doesn't mean I don't swallow his semen. I do that around once a week, either directly from him, or second hand from my wife. I consider sucking his cock just to be another task around the house that needs doing now and again. No offense, Andy." He laughed, waving a hand in his air. "None taken, but you already know that." "And that's enough?" Katie asked. "Just swallowing semen, either directly or second hand?" Kate nodded. "It's fine. I haven't had any adverse side effects, and it's easy enough right before he's about to pop for him to point it elsewhere, or for Jenny and I to split it after he does pop. I'm never going to have an encounter with Andy without Jenny present, and she's always my focus, not him, because she's my wife, and he's just, my boss." "And everyone in the house is okay with that?" "This is the world we live in now," Lauren said. "Lotsa fellas used to get all hung up onna things that they did and didn't like, but who's got time for that anymore? Life's too short to hold onta old grudges, so if we can, we're all gonna take it on the chin and just keep movin' on together." "Now Lauren, I understand you're also a lesbian." "Nah Katie," the tall blonde Aussie corrected. "I'm definitely bisexual, but I just lean a lot more towards the ladies than I do the fellas. I very much enjoy my sexual encounters with Andy, but I'm not one of his primary partners, despite showing up so early. I'm in love with him, like he is with me, but he's not my Big Love, if you folla. I've got me own primary partner here, in Taylor. We'd split before New Eden, and when she came back, I was right pissed off, but we've worked it out, and now she and I are back to being a couple again." "Does that put you on the outs with Andy?" "Nah," she laughed, "it just means the master bed doesn't need triple reinforcement. I love Andy and all he's done for me, for alla us, but I ain't interested in being one of his wives. I wanna marry Taylor at some point, but that doesn't mean I don' wanna stay part of this family. That works for us, so, y'know, fair play." "How many people do sleep in bed with you on any given night, Andy?" "There's always at least five of us in the bed," he answered. "Myself, Ash, Niko, Emily and Sarah. But sometimes more people want to cram in, and we never say no." "What's the most the bed's ever held for a night?" "Oh, uh, everyone who isn't staff, I think, but last week, so before some people had arrived," he said, trying to remember, "so, what, 11?" "Yes, that was the maximum. On the day when we found out Andy's brother died," Emily said, "we all crawled into bed with him and just wrapped our arms around him, as we all shared a good cry, then fell asleep holding one another, but that's extremely uncommon." "Five or six would definitely be the average," Ash said. "So the four of you would say you're closer to Andy than the rest of the women in the house?" "Well, we're all his fiancees, so we'd better be, Katie!" Sarah laughed. "He asked Ash first, and then Niko asked him before he could even get the words out to her, so once he freakin' told us, me and Em, we both demanded he propose to us as well immediately, because we come as a package deal." "What do you mean by that, Sarah?" "Okay, well, here's the thing. Emily and I have been a couple for almost two years now, but we're both, well, we're both totally into dudes and chicks. So while we super love each other, we also knew we were going to need a regular cock in the equation. When we found out that the writer of my favorite freaking book series of all time was in play, we decided we had to freaking have him." Andy was a little amazed Sarah could do so much to self censor, but realized she'd probably been doing it for interviews forever. "So you put in a request for the two of you to be paired up with Andy, and the government made that happen?" There was a long pause, as everyone was trying to decide what to say and how to say it, but eventually Emily broke the silence. "Something like that, yes," she lied. "We'll put a pin in that and come back to it later," Katie said, and Andy's guard was immediately up. He'd been wondering what sort of problems this interview was going to throw up, and now he felt like he knew what one of them was. "Have you had to send anyone back, Andy? Had any partners show up that you didn't think would be compatible?" "Just one," he admitted. "My ex girlfriend was sent to me, because she hadn't disclosed that we'd been together about a decade ago. She was eager to rekindle the relationship, but I was not. It ended on terms that made me unwilling to revisit it again, so we helped her make other arrangements. We hadn't been compatible back then, and I didn't feel comfortable gambling that she'd grown enough that I would've been compatible with her now." "You didn't send her back to the government?" "New Eden isn't that large of a community, so sometimes we just see if we can make things work among ourselves first, and we found a solution that everyone seemed happy with, including my ex. In fact, the people that my partners here pitched to me that I didn't think would be good matches for our family, we worked to pair them up with other people here in New Eden instead, so they were still local and safe. It's a small town, so we have to look out for one another. Problems here are rare and generally manageable." "Not always, though, we've heard," Katie said. "I take it you've heard about the fatality that New Eden had last week?" Everyone nodded. "It was horrible, hearing about someone dying from something so easily preventable," Hannah said. "Like, they totes warned us about that ish before we left the base, so why the hell would someone chance it?" "They did warn you?" "Very thoroughly," Emily insisted, horror in her voice. "They told us multiple times, again and again and again, that if we took in semen from any man other than the one we were paired up with, it would be toxic, if not fatal. They even showed us a recording of a woman who'd already been imprinted getting semen from a man she wasn't paired up with on her skin, and the large, violent rash that immediately broke out. I am told they show that footage to everyone, to drive the point home. Seeing that sort of instantaneous reaction should've been enough to discourage anyone from testing those boundaries." "They're talking on base about showing some of the autopsy photos from the fatality to the people who are getting the treatment now," Niko said, "to make sure everyone understands how serious it is not to dally outside your family." "Have any of you ever been tempted?" "I think we all value our lives too much for that," Sarah joked. "And love Andy far too much for that," Ash said. "Definitely," Emily agreed. "Why would anyone task such a pointless risk?" "Did any of you know the woman who died, or the man she partook from that killed her?" Katie asked them. "I met her briefly," Andy said, "but I wouldn't say I knew her. And none of us ever even met the man accused of doing it to her." "Major Peters told us yesterday he's currently imprisoned at the base, pending local law enforcement being able to take custody of him. They're going to charge him with murder, they were telling us." "They should," Sarah said. "They told everyone when they brought them here to New Eden what would happen if people engaged in any form of sexual activity with anyone they're not paired with, and they fucking did it anyway!" "The problem," Andy sighed, "is that the man, whoever he is, already has multiple women paired up with him, which means that whatever they do to him is going to affect those women as well, even if it's just that they have to come to a prison for their weekly intake. Those women are already tied to him. I'm sure they're looking into some way to remove the binding and reimprint a woman onto a new person, but there's only so many problems they can solve at once." "Does it bother any of you that your health is tied to Andy's?" Katie asked the group. "Bother is the wrong word," Sheridan said, annoyance in her tone of voice. "Concern is the right word. We're very protective of Andy, because he knows our lives are all fully dependent on his for the time being, and that if he dies, we all probably die with him. So, sure, we're concerned, but I think all of us feel comfortable in knowing that Andy's got our best interests at heart, and is keeping that all in mind." "One of the two people arriving tomorrow is going to be his bodyguard," Jenny said. "A friend of mine from college, who's going to guard his life with her own." "Who's the other?" "A director friend of mine," Emily said, "whom I thought would be an excellent addition to the house. She was one of the AD's on some of the latter Dagger Academy movies." Katie Couric clapped her hands together. "Okay, why don't we take a break, then do some of the one on ones, and then we can circle back and do another group interview to close out the day. Our team can leave you one of our cameras here tonight, so you can get that video of someone being imprinted, and we'll come by and pick it up tomorrow before we leave town. We appreciate you trusting us with that, as I know it can't have been an easy decision to make, but I think that footage will go a long way to convincing people this treatment is in their best interest. As for today, we'll go ahead and finish getting set up in Andy's office, and when you're ready Andy, we can sit down and do our one on one and drill down on some things I've got further questions on." "Sure," he said, as all the girls were standing up and stretching. "Let me go grab a quick drink, and I'll meet you in my office in about ten minutes, okay?" "Sounds good." Katie and her crew were escorted by Nicolette down to Andy's office, while the girls stood up and started chatting among themselves, while Emily and Ash closed it around Andy. "That went about as well as can be expected," Emily said to them. "I feel like we've got some kind of curveball coming," Ash said, taking Andy's hand in her left and Emily's hand in her right. "After you're done, Andy, we'll talk a bit again. I'm sure you'll get surprises before any of us do." He took his time, grabbed a bottle of Vanilla Coke, drank it then headed down to his office, which today felt a little like going into a lion's den. With all the girls in the ballroom, the large group session had allowed the attention to bounce around a great deal, and he felt like he could catch his breath, but here, it was just going to be the two of them, and he didn't have anyone to run interference for him from time to time. Andy headed into his office and saw that even his cats weren't in there, likely having been moved by the production crew, as Andy moved to sit down in his writing chair, Katie Couric sitting across from him. "Are you ready?" she said to him. "Yep," he answered. "Let's do it." After the mics were checked, the cameras were tested and the lights were adjusting, Andy's one on one began with a softball question. "So how'd you fall into writing urban fantasy, Andy?" "The best advice I ever got was 'if the stories you want to read don't exist in the world, it's your job to put them there,' so I've stuck with that," he said. "I knew what kind of stories I wanted to read, and nobody was really writing those, a sort of fantasy western/samurai hybrid. I mean, you had Butcher's Dresden books, but those were more of fantasy noir hybrids, and I wanted to get into the sort of stories that people like Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone used to tell, where you could kill off characters, where actions had consequences and where you never really knew when the next gunfight was coming, because it felt like they could happen at any time. Joe Abercrombie does it in high fantasy, but I wanted something that was happening in our time, in our world.&am

Anne returns from the Philippines after 3 years as we catch up and talk about some fandoms old and new. Anne and I get to catch up a bit and jump right into one of the older fandoms that we both love, Tabletop Roleplaying Games. Anne talks about some of her favorite games, including playing Dungeons & Dragons in Critical Role's Exandria setting, the Power Rangers RPG, Dresden Files, and Vampire: The Masquerade. We talk about her continued role as running and hosting streamed actual play games on Twitch channel through all of this. From there, we move over to another older fandom that we share. Power Ranges. Distinctly, we talk about the end of the Power Rangers series. Anne talks about the final seasons of the show, the Netflix movie, and how it all wrapped up. Anne and I discuss what a future reboot of the series may look like, ponder a sequel to the 2017 live action movie, and just reflect on the franchise and its characters. Lastly, we wrap up with a new fandom, Cobra Kai. We both talk about finding it on the former YouTube Red channel, when they were investing/creating their own content, its move to Netflix, and why we both were drawn to it. We talk about favorite characters and story arcs, and even touch on the question on who the "real" Karate Kid is. You can find Anne at: https://bsky.app/profile/thegirlwonder.bsky.social https://beacons.ai/girlwonder https://www.twitch.tv/bardicinspirationnetwork You can listen to Anne's original episode here: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-262-anne-aka-xo_girlwonder-talks-power-rangers-and-tabletop-roleplaying-games  

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastWe discuss Chapter 9 and initiate another into the have-nots of McAnally's public house. That and we talk about Nelson and Molly some more.Proven Guilty Chapter 9 Summary:Harry bails Nelson out of jail and gets the story of the supernatural assault at Splattercon. They drop Nelson off at the airport, and then leave for the Carpenters to face the music.More about our guest Shayla:Enjoying Shay's horror expertise? She has content of her own! Find her on Insta or TikTok!Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 8 in which Harry is borderline weird about boobs again, and we contemplate rebellious tattoos, piercings and clothing.Proven Guilty Chapter 8 Summary:Harry arrives at the precinct and finds a not incarcerated Molly who fesses up that her boyfriend Nelson is the one in trouble.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 7 which mostly turns out to be random stories from each of us and a very small amount about Harry's ritual prep.Proven Guilty Chapter 7 Summary:Harry prepares himself for his upcoming ritual but is disrupted by a phone call from Maggie Carpenter asking him to bail her out of jail.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 6. Two Words: Little ChicagoProven Guilty Chapter 6 Summary:Harry and Bob contemplate taking Little Chicago out for its first test run to search for evidence of Black Magic.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

We discuss the return of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Frank Herbert's posthumous SFWA Infinity Award, Audible's AI narration plans and Amazon's cancellation of The Wheel of Time—while nominating hamburg steak and vegan enchiladas and sharing listener stories from Matt Dinniman's event. We round out the show with in-depth discussions of The Lives of Tao and Mickey 7.

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 5 in which Murphy decided boys are dumb and tells them thusly, Thomas acts sus, and Harry contradicts himself again.Proven Guilty Chapter 5 Summary:Murphy brings Harry back to his apartment and they talk about the White Council's disciplinary actions, black magic in Chicago and Thomas' recent behaviour. Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 3 & 4 in which Lasciel takes the initiative to open her own marketing firm and Harry joins the Crash Test Dummies.Proven Guilty Chapter 3 Summary:While Harry is driving, Lasciel comes for a visit to remind him that her services are at his disposal. Proven Guilty Chapter 4 Summary:Murphy comes to check on Harry after his run in with the Chrysler. Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 1 & 2 in which Harry is biased by trauma and has no jokes to tell, and McCoy make an attempt to repair their relationship.Proven Guilty Chapter 1 Summary:Harry and the Merlin argue about the enforcement of The Laws of Magic after the execution of a convicted teenager.Proven Guilty Chapter 2 Summary:Ebenezer attempts to placate Harry and make amends, while also updating him on the current war situation, but Harry brushes him off and heads home. Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we finally conclude Something Borrowed in which Billy is gung-ho to unquestionably kiss whomever he is told to and Fae Hulk SMASH!Something Borrowed Summary:Harry's friends, Bill and Georgia are about to get married. There's just one little problem…. Georgia is nowhere to be seen and there's a revenge-hungry faery on the loose.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

Grab your pocket fan and a glass of ice water as the boys are off to the Underworld this week as we venture to hell in 3 separate books and work to close shut the jaws of Oblivion.Best BooksBug Wars #3Absolute Wonder Woman #7Book BlurbsJustice League Unlimited #6, Green Lantern #22, The Mummy #2, Hornsby and Halo #6, Superman #25, New Champions #4, and X-Force #10B-SegmentThe Elder Scrolls IV: OblIVionUncle's One More ThingDeath Masks: Book 5 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastWe discuss the believability of broken doors, Murphy's ability to do the time-warp, disposable wedding attendees, and hairbrush hygiene.Something Borrowed Summary:Harry's friends, Bill and Georgia are about to get married. There's just one little problem…. Georgia is nowhere to be seen and there's a revenge-hungry faery on the loose.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

Adam and Lexi discuss going through their backlog of materials as a form of spring cleaning.   They wax about various forms of fantasy series and Lexi hammers home how much Adam will like The Dresden Files.   (Tune in next time to get his first quick review during Lexi's traveling librarian piece).

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we mostly get distracted and discuss other things but sometimes talk about the first part of Something Borrowed and crappy people.Something Borrowed Summary:Harry's friends, Bill and Georgia are about to get married. There's just one little problem…. Georgia is nowhere to be seen and there's a revenge-hungry faery on the loose.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere Jes catches us up on her opinions on issue 4 and then we discuss issue 5 in which we go over art choices we are rather uncertain about.War Cry Issue 5 Summary:The Shoggoth begins to reign destruction on all parties. Harry instructs the Wardens and the Venatori to escape, while he and Thomas enact a plan to destroy the Shoggoth in the nearby Quarry.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

          In this Episode Saul and Jolene discuss why some GMs do not like running Intellectual Property games.  Those are games based on books, Tv shows, or movies.  Whether its Conan, Star Wars, Star Trek of hundreds of other RPGs that are based on others creative works some GMs shy away from running these games for specific reasons.        Saul as usual goes to the way back machine and discusses his brushes with working on games that were based on others Intellectual Property.   From the first foray into running a shared campaign in the World of Greyhawk and later Forgotten Realms Saul talks about the ease and difficulty about taking on running an "IP RPG.        Lastly Saul and Jolene discuss why they like playing RPGs based on Intellectual Properties.  Whether it was Conan, Star Trek or Dresden Files they discuss what they like about playing in those created worlds or universes.  They also discuss the genuine fun that players have when they get to play a RPG in their favorite IP.     Thank you all for Listening      Web Art by Jim Foster      Episode Art by Michael Shean-Jones     Music by Lyrics Girl, song Intellectual Love,  off the album Acid Planet     Available from Tribeofnoise.com     Used Under the Creative Commons License 4.0     https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss issue 4 in which we are genuinely confused where Thomas and Harry are squatting and stealing beer from.War Cry Issue 4 Summary:Harry takes control and begins to fortify the house. The Baron Bravosa offers Harry safe passage to leave but not with the Venatori. Harry denies and finds out that the Venatori are housing the offspring of an outsider - a Shoggoth.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we cover Issue 2 and 3 in which we discuss the physics of shotgun art, and kettle black wardrobe insults are flung. War Cry Issue 2 Summary:Harry takes control and begins to fortify the house. The Baron Bravosa offers Harry safe passage to leave but not with the Venatori. Harry denies and finds out that the Venatori are housing the offspring of an outsider - a Shoggoth.War Cry Issue 3 Summary:The Wardens fiercely battle to defend the Venatori's Stronghouse while inside the Venatori fend of a human mercenary. Just as the Wardens begin to lose steam another breed of vampire arrives in the fray.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

In this week's episode, I take a look at some of the historical influences & inspirations that went into my new book GHOST IN THE ASSEMBLY. This coupon code will get you 25% off SILENT ORDER: OMNIBUS ONE at my Payhip store: SILENT25 The coupon code is valid through April 7th, 2025. So if you need a new book to read for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 244 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 21st, 2025, and today we are looking at some of the historical influences that went into Ghost in the Assembly. Before we get into that, we will do Coupon of the Week and an update my current writing and audiobook projects. And then Question of the Week, which we did have time for this week.   This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook of Silent Order: Omnibus One at my Payhip store. That coupon code is SILENT25. I'll have the links and the coupon code in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through April 7, 2025, so if you need a new book to read for these spring months, we have got you covered.   Now an update on my current writing projects. I am 44,000 words into Shield of Battle, the fifth book in the Shield War series. I'm hoping to have that out towards the end of April, if all goes well. A reminder that the Shield War series will be six books, so Shield the Battle will be the second to last one. I have also started on the sequel to Ghost in the Assembly, and I am 4,000 words into that, give or take. I had originally planned to call this book Ghost in the Assassins, but I thought that sounded too similar to Ghost in the Assembly. So the fifth book in the Ghost Armor series will be called Ghost in the Corruption. A reminder that Ghost Armor will be six books long and Ghost in the Corruption will be the fifth of six books, so the second to last book in that series as well.   In audio news, recording has started for Shield of Deception and Ghost in the Assembly. Shield of Deception will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and Hollis McCarthy will excellently narrate Ghost in the Assembly. I expect both of them will probably be out sometime towards the end of May if all goes well, given how long it usually takes to record an audiobook.   In Stealth and Spells Online news, I am 68,000 words into the third and final book in this trilogy. Once Ghost Armor and Shield War are complete, then I will hopefully release the final book in the Stealth and Spells Online because I've been working on that as a tertiary project for quite a long time now. So that's where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects.   00:02:17 Question of the Week   Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is of course designed to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's question, what is your favorite style of fantasy setting (like a more high fantasy, one like Middle Earth or the Forgotten Realms, urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or Kate Daniels or more steampunk like Everon and so on)? No wrong answers, obviously.   And as you can imagine this inspired quite a few responses.   Perry says: Hyperborea! Lankhmar is up there as well. Setting where magic is rare, and usually dangerous or evil. The first edition of the Forgotten Realms (the grey box from the ‘80s) was great. Enough detail to let you use the setting, lots of room to make it your own. Then all the Forgotten Realms novels started to appear with the release of the second edition in the ‘90s and everybody in the world suddenly had powerful magic at their fingertips. Elminster, the Seven Sisters, Drizz't, and others took the appeal right out of the setting for me.   Joachim says: I like the Spelljammer Campaign setting best. A lot of great modules. It seemed it was not overly successful. A shame. I had a campaign running in this setting with some people who liked it. In addition to the Spelljammer modules, you can easily transfer any normal module centered on a small town onto an asteroid.   Evan says: A huge Sanderson Cosmere fan here, especially Stormlight Archive. I like the magical progression tied in to character development, with a bit of mystery of how things work or an unknown that takes time to unwind or tease out.   Justin says: My problem here is separating the settings from the authors. Given that near impossibility, I would cast my vote for high fantasy with a bit of techno/steampunk mixed in. Example – Andre Norton's Witch World.   Bonnie says: I seem to gravitate towards the swords and sorcery genre like Frostborn, but I also enjoyed the urban fantasy/Nadia and the other genres. I have to thank you for introducing me to all of these.   Michael says: Okay, Jonathan, that's the second time I've noticed you indicating a preference for sword and sorcery saga where a barbarian hero travels between corrupt city states and now I really, really want you to write this. And yeah, that's definitely my favorite type of setting too.   Simone says: Definitely urban fantasy. Even in your books, which offer an unusual variety of fantasy settings, I find I enjoy the Cloak series the best.   Roger says: Being an old fogey, I prefer high fantasy always. Can't seem to get my head around urban fantasy. It jars with me.   John says: While I enjoy all settings, I'm also a traditionalist and want a non-industrial, non punk setting without some sprawling empire, more like the aftermath of empire with multiple successor states.   Jonathan T. says: Personally, Star Wars has always been fantasy in a science fiction setting, and that remains a personal favorite. Other than that, I suppose I'm for high fantasy, although I'm not opposed to high fantasy slapstick either such as the Wuntvor trilogy. At some point I must try again to surmount the obstacle known as The Wheel of Time.   Catriona says: Epic and high fantasy are my favorite, enjoy Dark Fantasy, too. Urban fantasy is a hard pass for me.   Juana says: Sword and sorcery, parfait gentle knights, medieval societies, historical fiction like Doyle's The White Company and Sir Nigel. Wherever Nadia lives.   Justin says: Sword and sorcery, magical creatures/beasts. Definitely needs different environments like cities and wild mountains and forests. Not sure what genre that is, but that's what I like.   MG says: High fantasy.   Brandy says: I like ones with a clearly defined map. Sometimes it seems like the world wasn't thought about clearly, so it makes it hard to imagine and I find those stories the least successful. The ones I go back to repeatedly, the ones I read over and over or pimp out to other authors or groups are those I feel like they have a great structure and map, even if it's added on to later. So high, low, or middle, I just really just want the author to tell a great story and make it a great one.   Speaking as an author myself, I really dislike drawing maps, but fantasy readers really like maps, so that's why I have been doing more and more maps lately.   Pauline says: Urban fantasy is definitely my favorite.   Jeremy says: High Fantasy is my favorite. However, my favorite fantasy author is Terry Brooks. His series is Low Fantasy based on Earth. I found out years after reading the series LOL.   For myself, I think my favorite would be a pre-industrial setting with a lot of city-states and various dangerous magic, like you have a barbarian hero wandering from city-state to city-state with monster infested ruins and wilderness between them. When he gets to the city states, he can fight corrupt sorcerers, arrogant nobles, and thieves guilds, and then move on to a new adventure in the next book. So basically a sword and sorcery style setting. So that's it for Question of the Week.   00:06:30 Main Topic of the Week: Ghost in the Assembly: Inspirations and Sources (Note: Spoilers for Ghost in the Assembly!)   This week and now onto our main topic, Ghost in the Assembly inspirations and sources that went into the book. I should mention that this episode contains mild spoilers for Ghost in the Assembly. So if you have not finished reading Ghost in the Assembly yet, stop listening and go finish reading Ghost in the Assembly.   So I thought it would be interesting to talk about some of the ideas and influences that went into Ghost in the Assembly. I have to admit, it took me a few years of thinking between Ghost Night and Ghost Armor to figure out how to write more Caina stories because Caina had become a political figure by the end of Ghost Night and political figures typically do bad things for personal advancement and then lie about it. That is in some ways the essential definition of a political figure. This of course, is hard for a writer to use as a sympathetic protagonist.   Of course, I eventually realized the way around this, the success of a political figure cannot be judged by their personal morality or even their political morality, but by the results of their decisions. Did they do the most for the greatest good of their people? Therefore, I just needed to write a political figure who did somewhat sketchy things (like subverting the Kyracian houses via buying up their debt) in the name of the greater good of the people (defending them from the impending attack of the Red Krakens).   I frequently said that if you want to write a good fantasy novel, you should try to stick to about 15 to 25% of the actual harshness of the past. I don't think you want to go full Grimdark, but you don't want your fantasy world to be indistinguishable from a typical 21st century parliamentary democracy because I think that kind of defeats the purpose of fantasy where you want to visit a world that is eldritch and strange and at least somewhat different than our own. So for Ghost in the Assembly, I went to about 15 to 25% of the experience of ancient Greek democracy. For the entire time that New Kyre and the Kyracians have been in the series (Ghost in the Storm was way the heck back in 2012 and the Kyracians were mentioned before that), they've always been very loosely based on the democracy of ancient Athens. In fact, the very name Assembly of New Kyre comes from ancient Athens, where the gathering of voting citizens was called the ecclesia, which translates into English as assembly. Interestingly, this is also the origins of the word ecclesiastical in terms of a church since one of the first words for the church was ecclesia in the sense of the assembly of the believers in Christ.   Athens wasn't the first ancient Greek democracy, but it was one of the most successful. It was also one of the democracies that self-destructed in the most spectacularly dramatic fashion possible. The Athenians decided to convert the Delian League from an alliance of city-states into their own private empire. A demagogue convinced them to waste enormous resources attacking Syracuse and Sicily, which ended disastrously. The Athenians were eventually defeated by the more militaristic Spartans.   People have debated for centuries whether or not this means democracy is inferior to the Spartans' harsher system, but that overlooks the key fact that a few decades later, Athens, Sparta, and all the rest of the Greek city-states were conquered by the Macedonians anyway. I suppose the actual historical lesson is that a city-state, regardless of its government, is no match for a larger centralized state with better leaders and better military organization. In fact, historically city-states tend to eventually get subsumed into larger political entities. If they last for a long time, it tends to be because of geography (like in ancient Greece) or because of weak and or remote central authority like the medieval Italian city-states, which were ostensibly under the authority of the Holy Roman emperor but in practice tended to do whatever they wanted. Places like modern Vatican City tend to be special exceptions.   Caina's criticism of the assembly of New Kyre in the book is that it is not as egalitarian as it pretends and is easily swayed by both demagogues and bribes. The Athenian assembly of citizens had both these problems, but far worse. You needed to have a substantial level of property to be allowed to vote, and there were numerous examples of the votes swinging on bribes or last minute orations. The Athenian assembly was easily swayed into making bad decisions, such as supporting the disastrous attack on Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War that was the start of Athens' downfall.   In Ghost in the Assembly, Lady Eirenea Tritos is one of the nine chief magistrates of the city, but in an Athenian democracy, women were not allowed to vote and most definitely were not allowed to hold political office. The ancient Greeks in general did not have a very high opinion of women. One Greek orator said that men had wives to produce legitimate heirs, concubines to attend to the body's “daily needs”, and prostitutes for pleasure.   Because of things like that, I thought a setting with a hundred percent of the harshness of ancient Greece would be off-putting to the reader. So as I said, I shot for between 15 and 25% of the actual harshness. New Kyre is definitely richer, better governed, and less elitist and chauvinistic than the ancient Greeks. That said, New Kyre isn't an egalitarian place. Nobles have vastly more rights and money than commoners, and both nobles and commoners own slaves and only the poorest commoners own no slaves themselves. Indeed, slavery is so common in New Kyre that the other nobles see Kylon's decision that House Kardamnos will have no slaves as a sign of malevolent and sinister foreign influence.   Kalliope's fear that she could be dispossessed and Kylon simply take her children is very real. If Kylon wanted, he probably could keep Kalliope from seeing Nikarion and Zoe ever again, though that would inevitably put him in conflict with Lysikas Agramemnos and Calliope is charismatic enough to powerful allies to her side. If Kylon did in fact refuse to allow Kalliope to see their children, he might well set off a civil war. But Kylon, who lost both his parents when he was young, doesn't want to deprive his children of a loving mother.   Of course, the ancient Greeks never had to fight the Red Krakens and orcs. The Red Krakens, the Caphtori, are kind of written like snake-worshipping Vikings. In fact, Caphtori are inspired by the “Sea Peoples”, pirates that seem to have contributed to the collapse of Bronzes Age civilization. Historians argue endlessly about the impact of the Sea Peoples or whether they existed at all, but if they did exist, they might well have been proto-Ancient Greeks, perhaps Mycenaean in origin.   Since having one ancient Greek-esque group fighting another would've been confusing in the book, I made the Caphtori/Red Kraken more like Vikings, which I suppose is a bit of historical anachronism, but Ghost Armor is a constructed world with elves, orcs, and sorcerers, so it's not like I'm writing period accurate historical fiction here.   So these are some of the influences that went into Ghost in the Assembly. I don't have any grand concluding point here. Those were just some of the ideas I thought about and went into the story. Though I should mention that for a while I was a graduate student in medieval history and I hated the experience so much I left and went into IT instead. That said ,decades later it has proven a useful source of plot ideas for fantasy novels, so it worked out in the end.   One final note, a reader suggested that Kalliope Agramemnos and Mardun Scorneus might hook up in later books. And I have to admit, I laughed at that suggestion. Kalliope would react with dismay at the thought of marrying anyone other than an extremely high ranking Kyracian noble, and at the prospect of marrying Kalliope, Mardun would think about it, fake his death, and flee back to the Empire, preferring to take his chances with the Magisterium rather than Kalliope. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read Ghost in the Assembly. I am very grateful that so many people have enjoyed the book.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all back episodes of the show on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.  

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Issue 1 of War Cry in which we are confounded by big holes in the ground, no name princess lackies, and questionable thresholds.War Cry Issue 1 Summary:Harry and his group of inexperienced Wardens are tasked to assist a group of Venatori Umbrorum in Iowa. They defend against a Red Court vampire attack as soon as they arrive.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere Maggie and Jes talk about the short story I was a Teenage Bigfoot and Tansenn hides in a dark room with a migraine and whines a lot. I Was A Teenage Bigfoot Short Story Summary:Harry Dresden pranks some high-tech monster seekers—and attempts to save a friend's son whose life-energy is slowly being drained by an unknown adversary.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

In this week's episode, we continue our discuss about how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller list. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book #2 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: DRAGONSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through March 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 241 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 28th, 2025. Today we are continuing our discussion of how to escape the trap of prestige for writers, specifically traditional publishing and The New York Times Bestseller List. Before we get to our main topic, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week.   This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book Two in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is DRAGONSHIELD50. As always, I'll include the coupon code and the link to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we start to head into the spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report I am done with the rough draft of Ghost in the Assembly. I came in at 106,000 words, so it'll definitely be over a hundred thousand words when it's done. I'm about 20% of the way through the first round of edits, so I am confident in saying that if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I am on track to have it out in March. I am also 10,000 words into Shield of Battle, which will be the fifth of six books in the Shield War series and I'm hoping to have that out in April, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for both Cloak of Dragonfire and Orc-Hoard is done. I'm just waiting for them to get through the processing on the various stores so they're available. There is also an audiobook edition of Half Elven Thief Omnibus One and Cloak Mage Omnibus Three that hopefully should be coming in March. More news with that to come.   00:01:55 Question of the Week   Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is your favorite subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, cultivation, or something else? No wrong answers, obviously.   Cindy says: Epic fantasy or those with a good history for that world. The Ghost Series are fantastic at this.   Thanks, Cindy.   Justin says: I enjoy all those sub-genres, if they are done well. In times past I would've said comic fantasy, but that is because Terry Pratchett at his best was just that good.   Mary says: High fantasy.   Surabhi says: I'd honestly read anything fantasy that's written well and has characters I'm attached to, given that it's not too gritty. Bonus points if there's humor! Also, I love your books so much and they're the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and characters. Your books were what really got me into Sword and Sorcery.   Thanks, Surabhi.     Matthew says: See, that's difficult. I love my sabers, both light and metal. I would say urban fantasy crosses the boundary the most. If it's a captivating story, it will be read.   John F says: I can't choose one- Lord of the Rings or LWW, The Inheritance Cycle, The Dresden Files, Caina, Ridmark, or Nadia. I think what draws me is great characters who grow. The setting/genre is just the device. That's why I keep coming back to your books. You create great characters.   Thanks, John F.   John K says: I think I'm partial to historical fantasy. I enjoy all genres, but when I think of my favorites, they tend to be derivations of historical settings. Think Guy Gavriel Kay or Miles Cameron. That said, I was weaned on Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Vance, so a strong sword and sorcery second place.   Juana says: High fantasy. Belgariad, Tolkien, dragons, et cetera.   Jonathan says: Sword and sorcery in space! Prehistoric sword and sorcery, sword and sorcery always.   Quint: says Sword and sorcery!   Michael says: Sword and sorcery.   For myself, I think I would agree with our last couple of commenters and it would be sword and sorcery. My ideal fantasy novel has a barbarian hero wandering from corrupt city state to corrupt city state messing up the business of some evil wizards. I'm also very fond of what's called generic fantasy (if a fighter, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard are going into a dungeon and fighting some orcs, I'm happy).   00:04:18 Main Topic of the Week: Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2   Now onto our main topic for the week, Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2, and we'll focus on traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller List this week. As we talked about last week, much of the idea of success, especially in the United States, is based on hitting certain milestones in a specific order. In the writing world, these measures of success have until fairly recently been getting an MFA, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting The New York Times Bestseller List. Last week we talked about the risks of an MFA and an agent. This week, we are going to talk about two more of those writing markers of prestige, getting traditionally published and having a book land on The New York Times Bestseller List. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So let's start with looking at getting traditionally published. Most writers have dreamed of seeing their book for sale and traditional publishing for a long time has been the only route to this path. Until about 15 years ago, traditional publishing was the way that a majority of authors made their living. Now that big name authors like Hugh Howie, Andy Weir, and Colleen Hoover have had success starting as self-published authors (or in the case of authors Sarah J. Maas and Ali Hazelwood, fan fiction authors) and then are getting traditional publishing deals made for them for their self-published works. It's proof that self-publishing is no longer a sign that the author isn't good enough to be published traditionally. Previous to the rise of the Kindle, that was a common belief that if you were self-published, it was because you were not good enough to get traditionally published. That was sort of this pernicious belief that traditional publishing was a meritocracy, when in fact it tended to be based on who you knew. But that was all 15 years ago and now we are well into the age of self-publishing. Why do authors still want to be traditionally published when in my frank opinion, self-publishing is the better path? Well, I think there are three main reasons for that.   One of the main reasons is that the authors say they want to be traditionally published is to have someone else handle the marketing and the advertising. They don't realize how meager marketing budgets and staffing support are, especially for unknown authors. Many traditionally published authors are handling large portions of their own marketing and hiring publicists out of their own pocket because publishers are spending much less on marketing. The new reality is that traditional publishers aren't going to do much for you as a debut author unless you are already a public figure.   Even traditionally published authors are not exempt from having to do their own marketing now. James Patterson set up an entire company himself to handle his marketing. Though, to be fair to James Patterson, his background was in advertising before he came into publishing, so he wasn't exactly a neophyte in the field, but you see more and more traditionally published authors who you think would be successful just discontented with the system and starting to dabble in self-publishing or looking at alternative publishers like Aethon Books and different arrangements of publishing because the traditional system is just so bad for writers. The second main reason authors want to be traditionally published is that they want to avoid the financial burden of publishing. This is an outdated way of thinking. The barrier to publishing these days is not so much financial as it is knowledge. In fact, I published a book entirely using free open source software in 2017 just to prove that it could be done. It was Silent Order: Eclipse Hand, the fourth book in my science fiction series. I wrote it on Ubuntu using Libre Office and I edited it in Libre Office and I did the formatting on Ubuntu and I did the cover in the GIMP, which is a free and open source image editing program. This was all using free software and I didn't have to pay for the program. Obviously I had to pay for the computer I was using and the Internet connection, but in the modern era, having an internet connection is in many ways almost a requirement, so that's the cost you would be paying anyway.   The idea that you must spend tens of thousands of dollars in formatting, editing, cover, and marketing comes from scammy self-publishing services. Self-publishing, much like traditional publishing, has more than its fair share of scams or from people who aren't willing to take the time to learn these skills and just want to cut someone a check to solve the problem. There are many low cost and effective ways to learn these skills and resources designed specifically for authors. People like Joanna Penn have free videos online explaining how to do this, and as I've said, a lot of the software you can use to self-publish is either free or low cost, and you can get some very good programs like Atticus or Vellum or Jutoh for formatting eBooks for very low cost.   The third reason that writers want to be traditionally published is that many believe they will get paid more this way, which is, unless you are in the top 1% of traditionally published authors, very wrong. Every so often, there's a study bemoaning the fact that most publishers will only sell about $600 worth of any individual book, and that is true of a large percentage of traditionally published books. Traditional publishers typically pay a lump sum called advance, and then royalties based on sales. An average advance is about the same as two or three months of salary from an office job and so not a reflection of the amount of time it typically takes most authors to finish a book. Most books do not earn out their advance, which means the advance is likely to be the only money the author receives for the book. Even well-known traditionally published authors are not earning enough to support themselves as full-time authors. So as you can see, all three of these reasons are putting a lot of faith in traditional publishers, faith that seems increasingly unnecessary or downright misplaced. I think it is very healthy to get rid of the idea that good writing comes from traditional publishers and that the prestige of being traditionally published is the only way you'll be accepted as a writer or be able to earn a living as a full-time writer. I strongly recommend that people stop thinking that marketing is beneath you as an author or too difficult to learn. Whether you are indie or tradpub, you are producing a product that you want to sell, thus you are a businessperson. The idea that only indie authors have to sell their work is outdated. The sooner you accept this reality, the more options you will have. Self-publishing and indie publishing are admittedly more work. However, the benefits are significant. Here are five benefits of self-publishing versus traditional publishing.   The first advantage of self-publishing is you have complete creative control. You decide what the content of your book will be; you decide what the cover will be. If you don't want to make the covers yourself or you don't want to learn how to do that, you can very affordably hire someone to do it for you and they will make the cover exactly to your specifications. You also have more freedom to experiment with cross-genre books. As I've mentioned before, publishers really aren't a fan of cross genre books until they make a ton of money, like the new romantasy trend.   Traditional publishing is very trend driven and cautious. Back in the 2000s before I gave up on traditional publishing and discovered self-publishing, I would submit to agents a lot. Agents all had these guidelines for fantasy saying that they didn't want to see stories with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures because they thought that was passe. Well, when I started self-publishing, I thought I'm going to write a traditional fantasy series with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures just because I can and Frostborn has been my bestselling series of all time in the time I've been self-publishing, so you can see the advantages of having creative control.   The second advantage is you can control the marketing. Tradpub authors often sign a contract that they'll get their social media and website content approved by the publisher before posting. They may even be given boilerplate or pre-written things to post. In self-publishing, you have real time data to help you make decisions and adjust ads and overall strategy on the fly to maximize revenue. For example, if one of your books is selling strangely well on Google Play, it's time to adjust BookBub ads to focus on that platform instead of Amazon.   You can also easily change your cover, your blurb, and so forth after release. I've changed covers of some of my books many times trying to optimize them for increased sales and that is nearly impossible to do with traditional publishing. And in fact, Brandon Sanderson gave a recent interview where he talked about how the original cover of his Mistborn book was so unrelated to the content of the book that it almost sunk the book and hence his career.   You also have the ability to run ad campaigns as you see fit, not just an initial launch like tradpub does. For example, in February 2025, I've been heavily advertising my Demonsouled series even though I finished writing that series back in 2013, but I've been able to increase sales and derive a significant profit from those ads.   A third big advantage is that you get a far greater share of the profits. Most of the stores, if you price an ebook between $2.99 (prices are USD) and $9.99, you will get 70% of the sale price, which means if you sell an ebook for $4.99, you're probably going to get about $3.50 per sale (depending on currency fluctuations and so forth). That is vastly more than you would get from any publishing contract.   You also don't have to worry about the publisher trying to cheat you out of royalties. We talked about an agency stealing money last episode. Every platform you publish your book on, whether Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords and Apple will give you a monthly spreadsheet of your sales and then you can look at it for yourself, see exactly how many books you sold and exactly how much money you're going to get. I have only very rarely seen traditional publishing royalty statements that are as clear and have as much data in them as a spreadsheet from Google Play or Amazon. A fourth advantage is you don't have to worry about publishers abandoning you mid-series. In traditional publishing, there is what's called the Publishing Death Spiral where let's say an author is contracted to write a series of five books. The author writes the first book and it sells well. Then the author publishes the second book and it doesn't sell quite as well, but the publisher is annoyed enough by the decrease in sales that they drop the writer entirely and don't finish the series. This happens quite a bit in the traditional publishing world, and you don't have to worry about that in indie publishing because you can just publish as often as you want. If you're not happy with the sales of the first few books in the series, you can change the covers, try ad campaigns, and other strategies.   Finally, you can publish as often as you want and when you want. In traditional publishing, there is often a rule of thumb that an author should only publish one book a year under their name. Considering that last year I published 10 books under my name, that seems somewhat ridiculous, but that's a function of the fact that traditional publishing has only so much capacity and the pieces of the machine involved there are slow and not very responsive. Whereas with self-publishing, you have much more freedom and everything involved with it is much more responsive. There's no artificial deadlines, so you can take as long as you want to prepare it and if the book is ready, you don't have to wait a year to put it out because it would mess up the publisher's schedule.   So what to do instead of chasing traditional publishing? Learn about self-publishing, especially about scams and bad deals related to it. Publish your own works by a platform such as KDP, Barnes and Noble Press, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and possibly your own Payhip and/or Shopify store.   Conquer your fear of marketing and advertising. Even traditionally published authors are shouldering more of this work and paying out of their own pocket to hire someone to do it, and if you are paying your own marketing costs, you might as well self-publish and keep a greater share of the profits. The second half of our main topic, another potential risk of prestige, is getting on The New York Times Bestseller List. I should note that I suppose someone could accuse me of sour grapes here saying, oh, Jonathan Moeller, you've never been on The New York Times Bestseller List. You must just be bitter about it. That is not true. I do not want to be on The New York Times Bestseller List. What I would like to be is a number one Amazon bestseller. Admittedly though, that's unlikely, but a number one Amazon bestseller would make a lot more money than a number one New York Times Bestseller List, though because of the way it works, if you are a number one Amazon bestseller, you might be a New York Times Bestseller, but you might not. Let's get into that now.   Many writers have the dream of seeing their name on the New York Times Bestseller List. One self-help guru wrote about “manifesting” this milestone for herself by writing out the words “My book is number one on The New York Times Bestseller List” every day until it happened. Such is the mystique of this milestone that many authors crave it as a necessity. However, this list has seen challenges to its prestige in recent years. The one thing that shocks most people when they dig into the topic is that the list is not an objective list based on the raw number of books sold. The list is “editorial content” and The New York Times can exclude, include, or rank the books on the list however they choose.   What it does not capture is perennial sellers or classics. For example, the Bible and the Quran are obviously some of the bestselling books of all time, but you won't see editions of the Bible or the Quran on the New York Times Bestseller List. Textbooks and classroom materials, I guarantee there are some textbooks that are standards in their field that would be on the bestseller list every year, but they're not because The New York Times doesn't track them. Ebooks available only from a single vendor such as Kindle Unlimited books, ebook sales from not reporting vendors such as Shopify or Payhip. Reference Works including test prep guides (because I guarantee when test season comes around the ACT and SAT prep guides or the GRE prep guides sell a lot of copies) and coloring books or puzzle books.  It would be quite a blow to the authors on the list to realize that if these excluded works were included on the list, they would in all likelihood be consistently below To Kill a Mockingbird, SAT prep books, citation manuals, Bibles/other religious works, and coloring books about The Eras Tour.   Publishers, political figures, religious groups, and anyone with enough money can buy their way into the rank by purchasing their books in enormous quantities. In fact, it's widely acknowledged in the United States that this is essentially a legal form of bribery and a bit of money laundering too, where a publisher will give a truly enormous advance to a public figure or politician that they like, and that advance will essentially be a payment to that public figure in the totally legal form of an enormous book advance that isn't going to pay out. Because this is happening with such frequency, The New York Times gave into the pressure to acknowledge titles suspected of this strategy with a special mark next to it on the list. However, these books remain on the list and can still be called a New York Times Bestseller.   Since the list is not an objective marker of sales and certainly not some guarantee of quality, why focus on making it there? I think trying to get your book on The New York Times Bestseller List would be an enormous waste of time, since the list is fundamentally an artificial construction that doesn't reflect sales reality very well.   So what can you do instead? Focus on raw sales numbers and revenue, not lists. Even Amazon's bestseller category lists have a certain amount of non-quantitative factors. In the indie author community, there's a saying called Bank not Rank, which means you should focus on how much revenue your books are actually generating instead of whatever sales rank they are on whatever platform. I think that's a wiser approach to focus your efforts.   You can use lists like those from Publishers Weekly instead if you're interested in what's selling or trends in the industry, although that too can be manipulated and these use only a fairly small subset of data that favors retail booksellers, but it's still more objective in measuring than The New York Times.   I suppose in the end, you should try and focus on ebook and writing activities that'll bring you actual revenue or satisfaction rather than chasing the hollow prestige of things like traditional publishing, agents, MFAs, and The New York Times Bestseller List.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Sherry Miller is a Canadian actress. Miller began her career in the 1970s as a singer and dancer, who later gained attention in Canadian television for representing Spumante Bambino wine in commercial advertisements, as well as for her role as the host of the children's television series, Polka Dot Door.   She also appeared in Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. She won a 2001 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her work as Elisha Cuthbert's mother in My Daughter's Secret Life. Miller is best known for her recurring role as Justin's mother Jennifer Taylor on the American version of Queer as Folk, during the entire run of the series from 2000 to 2005. She also appeared on the television series E.N.G. as weather reporter/anchor person Jane Oliver, and the 2004 miniseries Kingdom Hospital as sleep psychologist Dr. Lona Massingale. Miller was also an anchor for Global Television's newscasts from 1986 to 1988.   In addition, Sherry is known for her work on Hot Frosty, Ginny & Georgia, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, The Good Witch, Schitt's Creek, The Dresden Files and F/X the Series.    Want to watch: YouTube Meisterkhan Pod (Please Subscribe)    

In this week's episode, we take a look at five tips for outlining your novel. I also take a look at audiobook sales for 2024. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Wizard-Thief, Book #2 in the Half-Elven Thief series, (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward) at my Payhip store: WIZARD50 The coupon code is valid through February 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 237 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is January 31st, 2025, and today we're discussing five tips for outlining your novel. Before we get to that, we will have Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing projects, Question of the Week, and then a look at how my audiobooks performed in 2024.   First up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Wizard Thief, Book Number Two in the Half-Eleven Thief series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward) at my Payhip store. That coupon code is WIZARD50. Both the coupon code and the link to the store will be in the show notes for this episode. This coupon code will be valid through February the 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook to get you through the February doldrums, we have got you covered. And now an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I am very, very, very pleased to report that Shield of Deception, the fourth book in The Shield War series, is done. As soon as I am finished recording this episode, I'm going to start publishing it at all the stores. So by the time this episode goes live, you should be able to get it at your favorite ebook store. I'm very pleased this is done because I think this is the longest book I have written in the last four years, which of course I picked to do over the Christmas holiday and was in the process of switching over to a new desktop computer. Great planning on my part, but the book is done and hopefully you should be able to enjoy it soon at your favorite ebook store.   Now that Shield of Deception is done, my next project will be Ghost in the Assembly and I'm pleased to report I'm 20,000 words into that. So I'm hopefully on track to have that come out sometime in March. My secondary project is also going to be Shield of Battle, the fifth book in the Shield War series, and hopefully that will be in April, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, Cloak of Masks is now finally available at all audiobook stores: Audible, Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Chirp, and all the others. A reminder that you can also get Ghost Armor Omnibus One, the combination of the first three Ghost Armor books (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy), at Audible, Apple, and Amazon.   00:02:15 Question of the Week   Now it's time for Question of the Week, which is intended to inspire enjoyable discussions of interesting topics. This week's topic: do you watch the special features on the DVD when you watch a movie? I'm talking about the making of and the director and cast and crew interviews and so forth. Not all DVDs have them of course, but some do. We have a few responses to this question.   Justin says: It depends on the movie. The special features in Monty Python and the Holy Grail Special Edition are a must-see in my opinion.   John says: I watched all the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition extras. Really great material. I know I've watched others, but I can't recall offhand. Definitely the gold standard.   Tom says: My general pattern is to watch the trailer, then the movie, then the deleted scenes. Sometimes I'll watch parts of the special features if their name caches my eye, not often though.   James says: With On-Demand through my cable provider, I just watch the movies. Being part of the PC Master Race, I've never had a gaming console to play DVDs on. I haven't bought a DVD in ages. I used to belong to Redbox, but they're not even in business anymore. Elizabeth says: Sometimes, or play in another language with English subtitles.   Brandy says: Sometimes. I watched The Lord of the Rings special features and enjoyed it. I also watch historical extras or look them up.   Bonnie says: I think I may have once? I usually just watch the movie, haven't watched anything in ages, though.   Juana says: Yes. After the feature things are interesting!   Tracy says: I do.   For myself, the inspiration for this question was that I couldn't think of anything to watch, so I was watching the special features on The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions box set, which a few people have already mentioned. I really think those are the gold standard for DVD special features. Not too many special features have middle aged literature professors discussing the origins of the book that inspired the movie. There's like six discs worth of special features in the Extended Edition Lord of the Rings DVDs, and if you watch all of them, it's really a very interesting and comprehensive documentary on how those three movies were made. If you get the Oppenheimer Blu-ray, the special features that come with that are also quite interesting and worth watching in my opinion.   00:04:18 Audiobook Sales in 2024   Now let's talk a little bit about how my audiobooks did in 2024. Ebook sales were down a bit from 2023 to 2024, but my audiobook sales were up from 2023 to 2024. So here are my Top 10 bestselling audiobooks of 2024. It's nice to note that audio (at least for me) was up, in 2024 in a time of general economic contraction. So that's nice. Now my Top 10 audiobooks:   The Ghosts: Omnibus One 2. Frostborn: The Gorgon Spirit 3. Frostborn: The Dark Warden 4. Frostborn: The Broken Mage 5. Frostborn: The World Gate 6. Frostborn: The False King 7. Frostborn: Excalibur 8. Frostborn: The Dwarven Prince 9. Dragonskull: Omnibus One 10. Frostborn: The High Lords   So I have to admit, it's nice to see the Frostborn books still in the Top 10 there because they've long ago made back their production costs. So now it's just a pure profit at this point, which is nice. And it's also amusing that The Ghosts Omnibus One remains my bestselling audiobook of all time just because it's so long. Now let's see how those sales broke down by vendor because as you know, I sell my audiobooks through several different platforms. And so let's see how they did:   ACX (Audible, Amazon, Apple): 76.54% 2. Google Play: 9.84% 3. Storytel: 5.08% 4. Hoopla: 2.73% 5. Spotify: 2.27% 6. Chirp: 1.05% 7. Under 1%: Kobo, Scribd, Audiobooks.com, Overdrive, TuneIn, Bibliotheca, Nook, and Anyplay     So as we can see, Audible in the form of ACX is still pretty dominant, but there is growth on the other platforms, especially Google Play. I was not expecting Google Play to come in second. I would've thought it would've been Chirp or Spotify, but it seems Google Play did very well for me for audiobooks for 2024. So thanks for listening everyone, or at least listening to the audiobooks. We're not done with the podcast yet, so let's now move on to our main topic.   00:06:34 Main Topic: 5 Tips for Creating an Outline for Your Novel   Now let's move on to our main topic, five tips for creating an outline for your novel. In the fiction writing community, there's generally two schools of thoughts, outliners (of which I am definitely one), and discovery writers, who feel that starting with outlines sort of drains the process of its fun and magic. Though I heard an interesting point from one of Brandon Sanderson's videos recently where he said that all outliners do have a little bit of discovery writer in them because if you look at your outline, it'll say something like “there is a chase scene.” Then when you get to that part of the book, you write out eight to ten pages of the chase scene or whatever that you come up with on the spot and then later refine and improve through editing. So that's a good point, but I do think outlining is more useful in general for writing than not outlining is.   So why outline? As I mentioned, many writers do not outline, but I do think outlining does help, especially with beginning writers. For one, it saves time because if you follow the outline, you're less likely to go down a blind alley and realize you have to drop the last 10 or 20,000 words you wrote. It helps prevent getting stuck and not knowing what to write next. And it also really helps because it'll save you time in editing because you're less likely to have to rewrite large portions of the book. And it's also helpful for maintaining continuity as well.   I found also that outlining in advance is good because it forces you to think about things before you start because we all know writers who get really excited about writing, get a third of the way through, and then don't know where to go next. It's because they haven't thought it through. Outlining forces you to really think through the middle, which is where a lot of writers get stuck, and it also forces you to think through the ending and make sure it properly resolves the conflicts and stakes raised in the story.   As an example, I know a beginning writer who did not create an outline when setting out to write for the first time, although she had a strong setting and liked her characters, she realized about halfway through that the conflict wasn't enough to carry her whole story and that changing the conflict or raising the stakes would change the tone of the story too much. And unfortunately, she decided to abandon the draft. You could look at that one way, that it was months of wasted effort for her that could have been prevented with a couple hours of outlining, though I think it's better to look at it as a valuable learning experience where she learned that yes, outlining really will help me with my writing and just sort of had to learn that the hard way through attempting to write without an outline first.   #1: So our first tip for outlining novels is to learn story structure. It's hard to write an outline without understanding good story structure, but the flip side is if you do understand story structure and put good story structure into your outline, it will be all the easier to write your novel. The basic story structure that everyone learns in English class when they're talking about short stories (or should learn an English class when they're talking about short stories), is introduction, conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution. That is essentially basic short story structure that's in short stories and in novels, however long. A longer novel of course we'll have subplots and sort of sub conflicts and maybe false ends and red herrings, but that basic story structure is there throughout. So our first tip for good outlining is to understand story structure. And if you try to hold to that basic five step story structure when you're first starting out, especially when you're first starting out, you'll probably find it a lot easier to go.     #2: Start with the problem. What do we mean by that? First, think of the main conflicts and then start outlining to move the characters/locations around them accordingly. Work the hardest on understanding your central conflict. Your protagonist must have a problem that results in a serious conflict. Now, serious conflict doesn't necessarily imply violence, though in genres such as a thriller and mystery, it can. The conflict must be emotionally significant and serious for the protagonist where there are real stakes involved.   The example I usually go to for this is the movie The King Speech, which is a highly fictionalized version of Britain's King George VI learning to overcome his stutter to speak in public. At no point in the movie is George VI in any physical danger. His wife and children love and respect him, and he's generally well regarded by everyone who knows him. However, the problem is he can't speak in public effectively, and this is a huge emotional problem for him. And frankly, one with serious stakes after his brother abdicates and he becomes king. He needs to be able to speak effectively in public or he won't be able to carry out his duties well. So this conflict of dealing with his stutter and his speech impediment is central to the movie. And even though he's not in any physical danger, it nonetheless has very high stakes for him, which is why I say that the problem has to be emotionally significant and have high stakes for the protagonist.   And there are ways to do that without violence, though of course, if you're writing fantasy or a thriller, you can use all the violence you want. You can help create a significant conflict and problem for your character by asking yourself a few questions. What conflicts and actions lead up to it? What is causing this conflict to happen? What are the stakes? What will happen if it doesn't resolve favorably? And why is the character involved? What must they do to resolve the conflict?   For an example from my own books, I'm going to talk about Half-Elven Thief, which is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited if you want to go read that. In Half-Elven Thief, the main character is Rivah, who is a member of a fantasy Thieves Guild in her city. She's massively in debt to her immediate superior in the Thieves Guild who hates her and has been using that debt to exploit work from her and considering selling her into slavery to recover the debt. However, a massive and very dangerous job comes to the Thieves Guild, and Rivah is the one assigned to take the job, and if she pulls off the job, her debt will be repaid and she doesn't have this debt hanging over her head anymore. But the job is to steal a spell book from a very dangerous and powerful wizard, so there's every chance she'll be killed in the process. So the central conflict of Half-Elven Thief, that Rivah needs to steal this spell book from this very dangerous wizard, and the stakes for that is so she can get out from under this debt her superior has been holding over her head for the last three years. So hopefully that is a helpful example of a conflict with serious stakes for the protagonist.   #3: Our third tip is to start with simple. What is the book's blurb or elevator pitch for this story? Write that first. There's a couple different ways you can do that. I've sometimes described my Cloak Games/Cloak Mage series as Shadow Run meets The Dresden Files, which can be a starting point. I've heard people describe the Caina series as Black Widow meets Conan the Barbarian, which is another way to do it. To return to our previous two examples, in The King's Speech, the precise pitch is “faced with becoming King George VI must overcome his speech/stutter and face his emotional problems in order to effectively exercise his office.” And with my book Half-Elven Thief, the elevator pitch was, “in order to escape a dangerous debt, a thief is forced to steal a spell book from a dangerous wizard.” So that is the one sentence starting point, and you can use that to build the conflict.   Another potential way to do this is to write the blurb for your book and then build the conflict off that. For example, here is the blurb for another one of my books, Ghost in the Serpent, which is available at all ebook stores.   Anyway, the blurb: “A deadly poison. A hidden cult of sorcerers. Only Caina can find the truth. Caina is a countess of the Empire, an advisor and friend of three powerful monarchs, but she was once a nightfighter with the Ghosts, the spies and assassins of the Emperor and faced lethal sorcerers and corrupt lords. And when a hidden cult of malevolent sorcerers emerges from the shadows, Caina will show them that she has forgotten none of her old skills.”   So what is this blurb doing? It is introducing the setting and the characters, Caina and the Empire, focusing on the conflict and stakes and focusing on how they relate to Caina. And that allows us to sort of expand out into the conflict. If you read the book, you know that the plot is someone tries to poison Caina and fails. As she investigates what happened, she discovers that her husband had two children that he didn't know about, and for some reason this mysterious cult is trying to kill both Caina and these children, which pulls her deeper into the mystery. So that is the stakes and the conflict, and that is how I was able to build the book around them. #4: Our fourth tip is to just start. Just pick a time, grab your laptop or your notebook or whatever, and just start writing down an outline for your short story or a synopsis. Don't research things about your story while you're outlining. You can just write “TO BE RESEARCHED LATER” in capital letters, which is what I do sometimes. Don't research the perfect way to make an outline, just sit down and make an outline. How I outline personally is what I usually do is I have the central conflict in mind, like the example with Rivah, and then I sit down and write a synopsis of what I want to happen and then I chop up the synopsis into chapters and I go from there. My outlines tend to be about 1,000 to 2,000 words long, depending on the length of the book.   For example, Shield of Deception, which I just published, was on the longer side. It came to about 120,000 words and the outline was about 2,000 words. And it basically started out as a long synopsis I wrote, and then I chopped up the synopsis into chapters and went from there. I included major story beats, where the characters were going to go, and what they did. It doesn't get too detailed. Each chapter…the book had 30 chapters. So each chapter generally was described with about 80 words in the outline, maybe a hundred words, depending on what goes on. The detail varies. Basically, like in a chapter outline, I'll say “Character X comes and confronts Character Y and then they fight.” Then I will extemporize and make up the conversation when I actually get to the writing.   What I try to include in all the outlines is story beats that have to be in the story. The character has to be here or the plot doesn't make sense, or they have to go this location or it's a massive plot hole, or they have to think of this or it causes a plot hole, that kind of thing, which is part of the value of the outlining process is that it forces you to think of these things in advance. What I don't include is that I don't get too super detailed because to return to the Brandon Sanderson example from earlier in the show, when you get to the actual scene, there is a bit of discovery writing, like where I'll write where Character X confronts Character Y about whatever they're arguing about. Then the actual conversation I will just write when I arrive there.   #5: And our fifth and final tip, try a different style of outlining if you're struggling. There are different outlining techniques and styles out there. Here are two examples.   There's the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson, which is where you start with a one sentence summary, build up to a paragraph, and continue to add detail in depth. There's also Dean Koontz's story structure from his book, How to Write Bestselling Fiction. His story structure is:   Get your character into trouble as quickly as possible Their plans backfire Things escalate until defeat seems inevitable Victory against all odds   If you're having trouble starting an outline, that might be a good way to do it. That said, there is no magic bullet. There is not a magic outlining style or perfect outlining style that will guarantee success. So don't get lost in endless reading or studying different kinds of outlines. A finished outline is better than waiting for a perfect one. And in that vein, a book that you have actually written, even if it's not as cool as you want it to be, is still infinitely better than a book that exists only in your head. And all that said, those five tips for outlining, I'm about to do all that myself. There is in the tech industry a phrase called “eating the dog food” or “eating your own dog food,” which means if you make a product and sell a product, you should probably be using the product a great deal. And Microsoft in particular was known for leaning on this. And for myself, I'm going to be doing everything I just talked about here because over the next few days, I'll be writing the outline for Shield of Battle, which at the moment consists of only four sentences I jotted down when I had ideas. I'll be applying all those techniques myself to write the outline for Shield of Battle, and hopefully it will work well for me. I think it will. I think these tips, if you want to start outlining your novels before you write them, would hopefully be helpful for you as well.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

ACOFAE Podcast Presents: The Wizard's Brew: "January is weird, let's make it weirder." It's 2025 and things that we are doing this year is finding joy wherever it may take us. Be it different genres, subgenres, or formats...altogether 2025 is the year ACOFAE leaves no stone unturned in the search for joy. So that should explain why Laura Marie and Jessica Marie find themselves in a crime procedural. No really, CRIME! Think 1920's crime noir with gnomes. And werewolves. Maybe some shapeshifters. Throw in a little magic and add a magical institute with fae objects and you've got a story; add in murder and you've got The Wizard's Brew. Potion making is the name of the game for a poor chap who just wants to do right by his wife, until MURDER. Enter in our detective, his pal, and we're off following the clues and going where the case takes no matter what. Oh and our detective is a man. What's a man doing here?! TW / CW: addiction For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/ Spoilers: The Wizard's Brew by Jordan Reed Mentions: Bones, Fringe, The Black Witch Chronicles, Supernatural (SPN), The Dresden Files, Arrow, Ninth House, X-Files, Serpent and Dove, The Magicians, The Mummy, Jessica Jones, The Babysitters Club, Animorphs, CSI: Vegas, CSI: Miami *Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/) at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks! TikTok: ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura?) ( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura) ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica?) (https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica) Instagram: @ACOFAEpodcast (https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/) https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/ @ACOFAELaura (https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/) https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss the Chapter 43 in which Mouse goes on adventures through the city with his frenemy Mister and Harry doesn't notice one bit. Also, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!Dead Beat Chapter 43 Summary:Bob updates Harry on the aftermath of the DarkHallow. Harry gets the blackmail material from Mavra by giving her the Word of Kemmler and threatens her to never use him again. Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss Chapter 42 in which Harry provides answers to the Great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, and Bob f*cks shit up.Dead Beat Chapter 42 Summary:Harry and Ramirez are able to take out Grevane but shortly after Cowl disables Ramirez, and Kumori holds Harry at knifepoint. Harry is able to free Bob who then uses Sue to free Harry from Kumori's grasp. Harry then successfully stops Cowl from finishing the Darkhallow.Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastHere we discuss chapter 40 & 41 in which Luccio pulls the Dom card on Morgan and informs him she's traded in for a newer model, and Harry and Ramirez start a beautiful bromance.Dead Beat Chapter 40 Summary:Morgan attacks Harry accusing him of killing Luccio. Harry defends himself and tries to reason with Morgan and finally in an act of desperation, drops all of his defenses against Morgan's attack. Dead Beat Chapter 41 Summary:Ramirez and Luccio in her new body come to Harry's defense and get Morgan to stand down. Ramirez and Harry make a quick plan and ride Sue towards the Vortex to stop the Darkhallow. Find Us Elsewhere:Do you want to follow up with us for even more Dresden? We're all over the internet - you can email us at pubcast@freeflowrambling.com, or you can track us down at Facebook, Instagram, Discord, X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, our Dresden Files website, or our parent website. If you want hypnotic visuals with your podcast, you can find us at YouTube. Not enough? Why not show your support by clicking here and donating or joining us on our Patreon. Also, if you're in the market for some merch, you can click here. If you still aren't satisfied, click here and tell us all about it!

* (0:29) Switching to a bucket list of what we want to play. * (1:30) Wayne wants to play Dresden Files. * (4:13) Dan still wants to play an Injustice game. * (6:11) Mary wants to play a necromancer. * (9:05) Doug wants to play Stargate (or something like it). * (10:18) Wayne wants a […]

Hannah and Laura are thrilled to be able to talk to science-fiction/fantasy author, Bryan Wilson, about his series, Power of the Stars! They chat about Bryan's publishing journey, writing fictional friendships and complex families, and navigating intergalactic politics.**This episode contains mild spoilers for The Forsaken Planet by Bryan Wilson.** Be sure to read Bryan's books (The Forsaken Planet and The Son of the Prophets) and request them from your local library!You can follow Bryan at:bryanwilsonauthor.comInstagram: @bryan.wilson.authorTwitter: @BWilsonauthorMedia Mentions:The Forsaken Planet by Bryan WilsonThe Son of the Prophets by Bryan WilsonA Princess of Oldir by Bryan WilsonThe Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonEnders Game by Orson Scott CardStar Trek---Paramount+The Dresden Files by Jim ButcherThe Hobbit by J.R.R. TolkienHalo the videogameRed Rising by Pierce BrownLightbringer by Pierce BrownBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypod

Hannah and Laura wrap up The Year of the Dresden: 6A by discussing the characters and themes of Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. They miss Billy the werewolf, talk a LOT about vampires and discuss how there may just be a bit too much going on in this novel. Hannah and Laura also chat about some fun graphic novels, a book that gives Hannah vibes of 90's rom-coms, and awesome musicals/movie musical experiences.**This episode contains SPOILERS for Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at: 28 min and 50 secs.****CW for the episode: discussions of violence, sexual assault, sex work, mental illness, death, gore, blood, toxic relationships, nudity, sexism**Media Mentions:Blood Rites by Jim ButcherDeath Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherStorm Front by Jim ButcherStar Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 4 by Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larroca, and Juan GimenezStar Wars: Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith, Vol. 1: Imperial Machine by Charles Soule, Jim Cheung, and Giuseppe CamuncoliA Side Character's Love Story, Vol. 19 by Akane TamuraStar Wars---Disney+Dracula by Bram StokerArrested Development---NetflixHacks---MaxAgatha All Along---Disney+Divine Rivals by Rebecca RossBeetlejuice the MusicalLabryinth---HuluLabryinth in Concert@britandherbooks on TikTokShogun---HuluThe Thornbirds---Prime VideoVampire Diaries---PeacockBuffy the Vampire Slayer---HuluThe Fires of Treason by Michele QuirkeThe Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. JemisinThe Murderbot Diaries by Martha WellsThe Forever Desert series by Moses Ose UtomiHills of Heather and Bone by K.E. AndrewsBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypod

Holly, David, and Brian do their best to remember details about the Dresden Files novels as they anticipate the upcoming book.

If you'd like to support the show, please go to https://www.patreon.com/unspoiled and become a patron or just follow us for updates!It's time for RoShawn and I to brush up on the world of Harry Dresden before the next book drops, so we decided to cover the very weird TV show! Well, this may not help us brush up after all, because this is a very VERY different world.Thanks for listening, and we will see you soon with a new episode!This version of ACDC's hit “Hell's Bells” is by Jazzkantine and you can find it on YouTube here!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl5QiAEGTmUWanna talk spoilers? Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/rEF2KfZxfV

Our favourite time of year is fast approaching so whilst we prepare some squashes, lets all enjoy nine songs from Toys That Kill, ProFESSional, Night Court, The Awakening, Limozine, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Discarded, Belmont Beach Weirdos and Pinhead Gunpowder.Witch jokes, jingle, Tony has your Facebook comments, longest running podcast, last week, new Apocalypse Babys songs, The Substance, Dresden Files, new vacuum, lodger, Limodean, From the Vaults, our funerals, burning clowns, Tony's International Gig Guide, Spanish, this week, houses, Alcohol are back (again), Forest v Crystal Palace. young people, football players and language, no Izzatwat, no Quiztime for Tony, all the Billys and a reminder of the ways you can listen/Song 1: Toys That Kill – Angels With Dirty ContractsSong 2: ProFESSional - TelevisionSong 3: Night Court – Where The Light Comes FromSong 4: The Awakening - FalloutSong 5: Limozine – You Got It I Want ItSong 6: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Driving Black (Ding's Remix)Song 7: The Discarded - TestifySong 8: Belmont Beach Weirdos – Proper LoudSong 9: Pinhead Gunpowder - Unt

World building isn't just background noise—it's essential to storytelling. Let's see how two masters, Pierce Brown and Jim Butcher, weave it into every scene. Today, we break down how Red Rising and The Dresden Files build immersive, unforgettable universes.Seven Deadly Plot Points FREE TRAINING VIDEO!The Storyteller's Mission Podcast is now on YouTube. You can watch your favorite podcast as well as listen. Subscribe to our channel and never miss a new episode or announcement.Support the Show on Paypal@Missionranchfilms!Send us a textSupport the show

Hannah and Laura are in the midst of Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, and friends, there are lots of vampires in this book. So many, in fact, that it is confusing. They also chat about Disney movie sequels with great songs, a book series that Hannah couldn't wait to finish, and feminist icon, Moo Deng.**This episode contains SPOILERS for Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at: 41 min 35 secs. ****CW for the episode: discussions of abuse, sex, racism, mental illness, nudity, violence, death, murder, disease, pandemics, sexual assault***Apologies for Laura's audio quality. She recently got a new computer and has not figured out the settings. *Media Mentions:Blood Rites by Jim ButcherDeath Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherScream---Prime VideoConan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcastSignificant Others podcastStation Eleven by Emily St. John MandelStation Eleven---MaxThe Stand by Stephen KingPiranesi by Susanna ClarkeValentine's Day---AppleTVLove Actually---AppleTVNew Year's Eve---AppleTVMother's Day---AppleTVJoyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul ScheerHow Did This Get Made podcastSpare by Prince HarryMy Name is Barbra by Barbra StreisandThe Godfather by Mario PuzoInside Out---Disney+Inside Out 2---Disney+Wreck It Ralph---Disney+Ralph Breaks the Internet---Disney+Moana---Disney+Frozen---Disney+Star Wars---Disney+Lion King 2---Disney+The Battle Drum by Saara El-ArifiOnly Murders in the Building---HuluWhat We Do in the Shadows---HuluRenfield---PeacockThe Fires of Treason by Michele QuirkeBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypod

Hannah and Laura are covering the first third of Jim Butcher's book, Blood Rites, and seeing Harry Dresden as a detective in a [fairly] straightforward murder mystery. They also chat about a show that Hannah is making part of her personality, depictions of chronic illness in books, and Laura's preference for learning about the histories of Middle Earth rather than histories of actual Earth...***This episode contains SPOILERS for Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at: 49 min 40 secs.******CW for the spoiler section: discussions of murder, violence, sex work, sex, racism, sexism, internalized misogyny***Media Mentions:Blood Rites by Jim ButcherDeath Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherStorm Front by Jim ButcherJRR Tolkien's worksThe Lord of the Rings trilogy---MaxThe Hobbit trilogy---MaxThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power---Prime VideoThe Uglies by Scott WesterfeldThe Uglies---NetflixPersuasion---NetflixPersuasion by Jane AustenStar Wars---Disney+The Wheel of Time---Prime VideoFirekeeper's Daughter by Angeline BoulleyStephen Graham Jones's worksMongrels by Stephen Graham JonesNight of the Living MannequinMegan Miranda's worksThe Rom-Commers by Katherine CenterThe Bodyguard by Katherine CenterFargo---HuluTen Things I Hate About You---HuluPretty Woman---AppleTVWild RobotHeartstopper---NetflixA Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky ChambersArrested Development---NetflixThe Fires of Treason by Michele QuirkeBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypodHive: @myyypod

Hannah and Laura try to figure out why Jim Butcher titled the fifth book in his series "Death Masks." They still aren't sure and will continue to do research. They also chat about a spicy romantasy book, recent book club reads with autumn vibes, and a couple of bizarre documentaries.***Spoilers for Shark Heart by Emily Habeck at 12 min 30 secs through 17 min 38 secs.******This episode contains SPOILERS for Death Masks by Jim Butcher. Spoiler section begins at 54 min and 15 secs. ******CW for episode: discussions of violence, animal cruelty, animal violence/mauling, lawsuits, violence, sex, sexual assault, death, murder, fraud, illness, guns, racism, sexism, vampires***Media Mentions: Death Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherStorm Front by Jim ButcherThat Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly LemmingDungeons & Dragons ttrpgLegends & Lattes by Travis BaldreeShark Heart by Emily HabeckWhalefall by Daniel KrausThe Godfather by Mario PuzoChimp Crazy---MaxTiger King---NetflixAgatha All Along---Disney+WandaVision---Disney+North Woods by Daniel MasonLone Women by Victor LaValleJoyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul ScheerThe Forest Brims Over by Maru AyaseLittle Miss Innocent---HuluMadame Web---NetflixBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypodHive: @myyypod

Hannah and Laura may not know what's happening, but nonetheless, they are covering Jim Butcher's Death Masks! They also chat about some Netflix docuseries, books that have great representation of complicated, strong women, and P. Djeli Clark's latest release.***This episode contains SPOILERS for Death Masks by Jim Butcher. MaskSpoiler section begins at 32 mins 5 secs.***CW for the spoiler section: discussions of violence, gore, blood, sex, death, racism, sexism, guns, gun violence, chronic illness, comas, illness Media Mentions:Death Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherStorm Front by Jim ButcherBefore We Go BlogUndine's Blessing by Tessa HastjarjantoThe Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que MaiKevin Can F**k Himself---NetflixEnglish Teacher---HuluThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power---Prime VideoThe Dead Cat Tail Assasins by P. Djeli ClarkThe Forever Desert series by Moses Ose UtomiThe Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham JonesWorst Roomate Ever---NetflixWorst Ex Ever---NetflixClue---Paramount+Buffy---HuluThe Secret of Nihm---TubiEcho---Disney+Be sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypodHive: @myyypod

Hannah and Laura chat about board games, how social media is quick to create "experts," and they share a story about a weird live podcast viewing experience they had. Then they get into the first 11 chapters of Death Masks by Jim Butcher and keep their fingers crossed that the plot doesn't get too complicated.***This episode contains SPOILERS for Death Masks by Jim Butcher. The plot section begins at 55 minutes 21 seconds.***Media Mentions: Death Masks by Jim ButcherSummer Knight by Jim ButcherGrave Peril by Jim ButcherFool Moon by Jim ButcherStorm Front by Jim ButcherQuaint Creatures by Andrew D. MeredithLegends & Lattes by Travis BaldreeBookshops & Bonedust by Travis BaldreeMiss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby OlsonThe Hobbit by J.R.R. TolkienMartha Wells's worksWingspan (Stonemaier Games)EverdellVillainousCascadiaFlamecraftGuild of Merchant ExplorersTicket to Ride-EuropeUnoMancalaSplendorSleeping GodsGalaxy TruckerHeatPandemicRed NovemberWyrmspanApiaryUndergroveDominionFungiTakedo DuoMexican DominoesThe Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda MontellCultish by Amanda MontellStar Wars---Disney+The Umbrella Academy---NetflixCrazy Ex-Girlfriend---NetflixBehind the Bastards podcastThe Bechdel Cast podcastYou're Wrong About podcastThe Goonies---Prime VideoThe Hannah Montana Movie---Disney+99% Invisible podcastHollow Knight gameStardew Valley gameThe Legend of Zelda gameBe sure to follow OWWR Pod!www.owwrpod.com Twitter: @OwwrPodBlueSky: @OwwrPodTikTok: @OwwrPodInstagram: @owwrpodThreads: @OwwrPodHive: @owwrpodSend us an email at: owwrpod@gmail.comCheck out OWWR Patreon: patreon.com/owwrpodOr join OWWR Discord! We'd love to chat with you!You can follow Hannah at:Instagram: @brews.and.booksThreads: @brews.and.booksTikTok: @brews.and.booksYou can follow Laura at:Instagram: @goodbooksgreatgoatsTwitter: @myyypodBlueSky: @myyypodHive: @myyypod

Description Returning guest Nicole Freim joins Joe to discuss the first novel from the Dresden Files series. This long-running series by Jim Butcher are urban fantasy novels that use the tone of a boiled detective story. Harry Dresden is a … Continue reading →

One of Alex's closest friend's, His Name Was Dusk, has been begging him to read the first book in the Dresden Files series, Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Well after hearing these requests, Mrs. Pearlmania stepped forward on shouldered the burden by reading the entire wizard detective mystery novel and forcing alex to listen to the entire plot. This book has it all, sex magic, demon toads, multiple concussions, EVERYTHING. So strap in for an OVER TWO HOUR book lcub that will change nothing about your life, but will at least entertain you for a while. SEE ALEX LIVE!!! TICKETS FOR THE SOUP FOR MY FAMILY TOUR HERETo become a Team leader: Join our patreon (not a cult): https://pearlmania500.netPlease take our membership survey! We want to hear your ideas and input! https://bit.ly/3xZtyYkThe Pearlmans have a NEW Post Office Box: P.O. Box 72151, Thorndale, PA 19372.Follow us on Instagram: @Pearlmania500 & @mrs.pearlmania500You can watch this episode on our Youtube Channel!!!Our theme song and all of the music for our show comes from our friend's project called "His Name Was Dusk." Check out his website for more info at: hisnamewasdusk.com Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oceanids, Nereids, and Naiads, oh my! We're back to talking about nymphs, but this time it's all about water nymphs - rivers, the sea, the springs and lakes. Grab your towels and let's dive in!   Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of cannibalism, death, murder, blood, castration, warfare, drowning, and sex.    Housekeeping - Recommendation: This week, Amanda recommends The Dresden Files. - Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests' books, and more at https://spiritspodcast.com/books - Call to Action: Join the Multitude Discord!   Sponsors - Shaker & Spoon is a subscription cocktail service that helps you learn how to make hand-crafted cocktails right at home. Get $20 off your first box at shakerandspoon.com/cool   Find Us Online - Website & Transcripts: https://spiritspodcast.com - Patreon: https://patreon.com/spiritspodcast - Merch: https://spiritspodcast.com/merch - Instagram: https://instagram.com/spiritspodcast - Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiritspodcast - Tumblr: https://spiritspodcast.tumblr.com - Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/group/show/205387   Cast & Crew - Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin - Editor: Bren Frederick - Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod - Artwork: Allyson Wakeman - Multitude: https://multitude.productions   About Us Spirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.