Podcasts about Kickstarter

EVENT: THIS SATURDAY EDSBS will be in town to celebrate Michigan fans once again dominating the Charity Bowl. Brush up on your shipwrecks trivia, find us at the library, and meet up for drinks afterwards at Venue. It's free but RSVP here so we can get a head count. BOOK: If you want a VALIANT, THE KICKSTARTER is still going on. If you want your name in it or need to add something to your order, email me. Things Discussed: Make Sam happy: We've got the #1 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft coming. Even better, DuPont falls under The Shouneyia Law: All Michigan stars should be 5'11" wigglers who score in droves. Dusty May reaction: We're blindsided that it happened in late June, but didn't expect Dusty to be here for 30 years. It takes a Tom Izzo who loves being the king of a tiny country to do that. Could be a Mike Macdonald/Jesse Minter thing: sometimes you get a legend on his way. Circumstances of college basketball today amplified Dusty's genius. His ability to put together a roster was especially effective in a situation where everybody's rosters are poachable. Converse of Bo, who was the right guy for a time when players were really trapped at one school through the course of their development. Sam: Dusty could have won in any era (point conceded). Boynton/staff? What does "interim" mean? Probably that it's a "you've got a year to show it." Will he be interim for the entirety of next season? Yeah. Then why aren't we calling Josh Schertz? Brian: Disabuse people of the notion that going from college to the NBA is a good idea. Brad Stevens is one man. Dusty? Based on history he'll get chewed up, because NBA coaches are disposable and not really in charge. Beilein lost his damn mind (yes, would say this to his face); he was a fundamentals-teaching college lifer. Counterpoint: Dusty's not as much of a college coach; he's a roster-builder and a locker room guy who loves to watch film, isn't interested in spending half of his time fundraising. Brian goes off on Warde for losing four great coaches to better jobs, Craig argues Dusty told Warde I'm staying and every one of those events is explainable. Sam: There was plenty of evidence you were going to lose Dusty next year, but not this June. Seth argues (borrowing from a commenter) is it doesn't look like we're being proactive (is there any AD in America who wouldn't give Dusty the best contract in the Big Ten?). Consideration: If you poach another coach, that's two rosters and coaching staffs you can build from rather than fighting Dusty for your staff and fighting everyone else in college basketball for your roster. Canham always had three coaches in his drawer. Being a leader doesn't just mean defending your tower; you have to be agile, and ready to make decisive, advantageous moves. From an outsider's perspective, does it look like that's what's going on in our athletics department, or does it look like we're making decisions on ChatGPT? Why Duke kept Scheyer: they grew him, and they have a basketball culture.

Comic Talk and Comic Coming Attractions for August 2026! And in this month's Previews chat, we're joined by listener Chris Ellis! We announce a new contest from Ignition Press and new comic apps, speculate on the future of the Doctor Who franchise, share our experience with the recent M.A.S.K./ROM blind bags, give Previews recommendations and reunite with longtime CGS Forum member Stephen Reid aka Flint Lockjaw to talk about his Kyla: the Goddess Who Walks the Earth treasury edition Kickstarter! (2:09:50)

This week, Brad and Dave discuss what happens after a cartoonist achieves the dream: making a living from comics. They explain why success can create its own time-management problems, how to protect the thing that's already working, and why adding books, Kickstarter campaigns, merch, newsletters, or conventions should happen gradually. They also talk about practical systems for numbering webcomic pages, naming files, and keeping longform comics organized over time. Main topics covered Weird convention-reader encounters, including disputed signatures and free-sketch requests What to do when your comic and Patreon are working, but there's no time for anything else Protecting the “engine” of your business before adding new projects Avoiding concentration risk when most income comes from one platform Adding new business layers slowly instead of trying to do everything at once Using small projects, like enamel pins, as manageable learning experiences Why side projects can derail your main comic if you're not careful Finding extra time without wrecking your life or mental health Dave's San Diego Comic-Con booth and the free ComicLab enamel pin How to number pages for longform webcomics The difference between website numbering and book-page numbering Using SEO-friendly titles, focus keyphrases, transcripts, and alt text File-naming conventions for comics, including dates, chapters, pages, and vertical-scroll segments Planning ahead for long-running comics so your numbering system doesn't break later You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Tomorrow we're launching our Kickstarter with a livestream! Join us here at 1PM Central: https://youtube.com/live/AYVyHLDyBmA?feature=share And be sure to take the poll on our Kickstarter blog about what kind of cake we should have: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raythe-reign/the-big-gay-art-book/posts/4720873

Alycia Anderson welcomes back Nashville photographer, disability advocate, and Let Them Stare creator Angelea Yoder to discuss her advocacy, her VACTERL Association diagnosis, and the liberation of moving from hiding invisible medical differences to sharing them publicly, including a Good Morning America segment that shifted her fears into feelings of acceptance. Angelea explains VACTERL and how it has impacted her life through multiple anomalies and more than 20 surgeries, and Alycia shares they have the same VACTERL-related experiences. They focus on Angelea's first Let Them Stare phase, the photography-based children's book Look at Me: Look What I Can Do, now on Kickstarter to raise $40,000 for self-publishing and printing, with tiers for preorders and donating books to schools and hospitals. They also discuss consent and privacy for disabled kids on social media, and Angelea previews future plans including an adult coffee-table book, a disability-focused modeling agency, and a community hub. The episode's mantra is simple and powerful: “Let them stare.”  The Big Ideas Behind the Brave Moments 

CONTENT NOTE Main Show:  gunfire, cannonfire, graphic violence, blood and gore, death, falling from great heights Dear Uhuru: Returning soon! THE ULTIMATE RPG VILLAIN BACSTORY GUIDE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy it here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave a review, please!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ COSMIC CENTURY KNIGHTS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get the game on Kickstarter!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the mailing list for James' game design projects⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ THE ULTIMATE RPG PODCAST ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen Here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SKYJOUST FIGHT WITH SPIRIT EXPANSION ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get it now!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SKYJACKS: COURIER'S CALL IS BACK! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen on Spotify (or any other podcatcher app)!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ STARWHAL PUBLIC FEED: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen on Spotify (or any other podcatcher app)!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ JOIN OUR MAILING LIST ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Right Here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support BROTHER MANOR, Kelly's gothic romance miniseries, on Kickstarter! INFO AND DONATE!SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON for ad free and video eps, bonus eps, & more.DiscordInstagramMERCH!TEEN CREEPS IS AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST.*All creepy opinions expressed are those of the hosts and guests. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimmy attended Heroes Con the weekend of June 12-14. It's one of the best comic book conventions around where comic books are the star! The con is fun, comfortable, family friendly, stacked with talent and more. Shelton, Karla and the whole crew work their butts off to give you this amazing convention every June! Plan on attending next year so you don't miss out on all the nerdy goodness.  Jimmy got 10 interviews at Heroes Con and you'll hear them all over the next few weeks. In this episode, you'll hear his interview with Bobby Timony and Nicholas Doan. They talk about their collaboration on Misfit Island, the Kickstarter for it, a dream project they'd love to work on together, their individual comic work and more!

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:45:00 GMT http://relay.fm/tc/134 http://relay.fm/tc/134 Dan Provost, Tom Gerhardt, and Myke Hurley Myke, Dan, and Tom chat about Dan's new guitar company, Offkilter. They then chat about Myke's successful Kickstarter campaign for his new podcast with Jason Snell, Designed in California. Myke, Dan, and Tom chat about Dan's new guitar company, Offkilter. They then chat about Myke's successful Kickstarter campaign for his new podcast with Jason Snell, Designed in California. clean 2999 Myke, Dan, and Tom chat about Dan's new guitar company, Offkilter. They then chat about Myke's successful Kickstarter campaign for his new podcast with Jason Snell, Designed in California. Links and Show Notes: Support Thoroughly Considered with a Relay Membership Offkilter Guitars Offkilter – Instagram Blog — Dan Provost Designed in California – Kickstarter Campaign Upgrade #609: The Origin of Apple - Relay Upgrade #619: Road to the Apple II: Apple for Sale (Part 1) - Relay

Our hosts return to the Podtower to dive into Part 1 of In Blackest Night.Alex and Will discuss this courtroom drama in space and are surprised by how calm Green Lantern seems after being accused of destroying a planet with six billion inhabitants. They also talk about the debut of the Manhunters, the surprising actor behind the voice of their leader, and the many influences woven throughout the episode. From Steve Englehart's original comic story to Superman: The Movie, there are plenty of references and nods to uncover.Our hosts also speculate about what a detective series on Hawkgirl's homeworld might look like, question whether Green Lantern would have been left naked in the street after surrendering his ring, and Martian Manhunter calls a Phone Sex Hotline.Also, tip us or find us on social media here:Tip Jar: https://buymeacoffee.com/batmantaspod Outbreaks Issue 4 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/speechcomics/outbreaks-1-4-an-ongoing-zombie-anthology-seriesMobster Mash 1-2 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/speechcomics/mobster-mash-1-2-classic-movie-monsters-as-mobsters Join Our Discord - https://discord.com/invite/bQF76V3nUs TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.tiktok.com/@batmantaspod?_t=8zn1yhsgnfz&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/@batmantaspod Follow the Pod on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.instagram.com/batmantaspod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow the Pod on Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.facebook.com/BatmanTASPod Follow the Pod on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://twitter.com/batmantaspod1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to Will's Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.patreon.com/willrobson Speech Comics Website⁠ - https://www.speechcomics.com/ Will's WhatNot Page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.whatnot.com/user/speechcomics

My Cool Friend John Layman is so great and cool! Funny story, but he created one of the greatest and most popular independent comic books of all-time in CHEW. Have you read it? You should read it. Did you know he's also written like, every other character as well? Well he has! Did you ALSO know that he's getting back together with his CHEW partner Rob Guillory for a new project, Ghostbrawler, which launches its Kickstarter campaign on June 23rd? Well I didn't until after I booked this show, and boy what a happy accident because it sounds amazing. We talk about so much fun stuff, some of it a little inside comicsball, some of it is not. No matter what, this was such a fun and easy episode to record, and I can't wait for you to listen to it!So enjoy, check out @themightylayman on the socials, be on the lookout for Ghostbrawler's Kickstarter campaign on June 23rd, and head on over to Patreon.com/jeffmay for early access to uncensored episodes, exclusive podcasts, and enjoy the bonus content on THIS EPISODE that we recorded JUST FOR PATRONS

Something a bit different for your feed today, detectives! In honor of our season 3 Kickstarter, we're bringing you a very special episode of our Patreon-only unscripted series, CinEnigmas - on the main feed for free! Once a month, Ian, Lauren, and some occasional special guests and friends of the show, are examining what makes a good MYSTERY MOVIE (or tv show)! From the highest highs to the lowest lows, we are examining mystery storytelling, mystery solving, and the elements of making a detective for cinema. In this episode, we're talking Sherlock Holmes (2009), the first of the Guy Ritchie Holmes series!   If you like this episode (or even love it), and want access to all past and future episodes, consider donating to the Kickstarter at the $50 tier, where you'll get one year of Patreon membership (a $60 value) which also gets you updates, episode commentaries with the team, ad-free access to our whole catalogue, and early access for our future episodes. Or check out our other offerings, or donate as little as $1 to help us make more Fawx & Stallion!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Epic Realms, Nick sits down with three-time Eisner Award nominated cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Chris Schweizer for a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, storytelling, and building a life around making comics. From his childhood in Louisiana and Kentucky to his years studying art, theater, and filmmaking, Chris reflects on the experiences that shaped his artistic voice and eventually led him into the world of graphic novels. Along the way, he shares stories about making homemade movies as a kid, discovering classic comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes and Pogo, and finding his place within the evolving comics industry. The discussion explores the craft behind visual storytelling, the unique language of comics, and the creative choices that separate newspaper strips, graphic novels, and superhero books. Chris also looks back on the creation of Crogan's Adventures, the project that helped launch his professional career, and discusses how his approach to writing and illustration has evolved over the years. The second half of the conversation focuses on The Outlaw's Apprentice, Chris's upcoming fantasy graphic novel launching on Kickstarter. Drawing inspiration from Appalachian culture, classic adventure fiction, and a lifelong love of immersive worldbuilding, the series follows a young apprentice and his unlikely mentor as they navigate a dangerous world while staying one step ahead of the law. Filled with insights on art, storytelling, history, comics, and creativity, this is a fascinating look inside the mind of one of the most distinctive voices working in graphic novels today. Check out the links for Chris Schweizer's stuff below. https://schweizercomics.com/ https://www.patreon.com/ChrisSchweizer https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/schweizer/outapp1?ref=profile_saved_projects_prelaunch&category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktMjUy

The SKATCAST Network presents:The SKATCAST Show #232 by the Script KeeperToday's Skit-SKAT:[ Gunner Halifax: 2012 | 3:03 ] - "Through the Something" - Gunner and his crew of 2012 dorks run through another set of Super Epic Space Stories. Span space and time with the worst person in the galaxies!Thank you for listening!!! Have a happy Tuesday!!!Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/XKxhHYwu9zFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcastCheck Out our Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scriptkeeper/skatcast-operation-splatter-skat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:00:00 GMT http://relay.fm/upgrade/624 http://relay.fm/upgrade/624 The Memory Guys 624 Jason Snell and Myke Hurley In the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! In the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! clean 6913 Subtitle: John Is Going to Talk NowIn the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! This episode of Upgrade is sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Mercury Weather: Forecasts, beautifully done. Download now for free. Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code UPGRADE. Designed in California on Kickstarter: If you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting us! Guest Starring: John Siracusa Links and Show Notes: Get Upgrade+. More content, no ads. Check out Upgrade merch! Submit Feedback Apple Announces Major App Store Changes on iOS in Brazil - MacRumors Apple Plans Camera AirPods, iPhone Foldable 2, 20th Anniversary iPhone in 2027 - Bloomberg Apple Plans Second-Generation iPhone Air Launch for Spring 2027 - Bloomberg Apple's New CEO Ternus Needs to Shake Up Design; Apple's 2027 iPhone Road Map - Bloomberg Exclusive | Apple Price Increases ‘Unavoidable,' Tim Cook Says in WSJ Exclusive - WSJ Outgoing Apple CEO delivers the bad news: Prices are going up – Six Colors Apple Price Increases, Apple Intelligence and the E.U. – Stratechery by Ben Thompson Intel stock rises after Trump touts U.S.-built chip deal with Apple – CNBC Designed in California – Kickstarter Campaign

What if the real secret to a lasting writing career isn't talent or luck, but learning to thrive in the mess? Why are in-person events worthwhile even if the maths doesn't add up? How do you protect your creativity when the machines never sleep and the community is at one another's throats? With Mark Leslie Lefebvre In the intro, Has AI Already Killed Non-Fiction [Tim Ferriss]; 9 ways that AI would disrupt authors and the publishing industry over the next decade; Pivoting towards The Transformation Economy; and Who do you serve? This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Mark Leslie Lefebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as non-fiction travel and books for authors. He's also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. His latest book is Stark Realities: Stacked Up Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know About the Business of Writing and Publishing. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why print and in-person events are making a comeback for indie authors The case for (and against) licensing your voice clone through ElevenLabs Why we keep selling books in person when the numbers rarely add up Measuring success by creative satisfaction rather than money Being honest about author earnings and the fear of being truly seen Managing stress, divisiveness, and the noise around AI You can find Mark at MarkLeslie.ca. Transcript of the interview with Mark Leslie Lefebvre Jo: Mark Leslie Lefebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as non-fiction travel and books for authors. He's also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. His latest book is Stark Realities: Stacked Up Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know About the Business of Writing and Publishing. Welcome back to the show, Mark. Mark: Oh, hey, Jo. It's always an awesome time chatting with you. Jo: You've been on the show lots of times over the years, but the last time was in September 2024, when we talked about selling books in person. So give us a bit of an update. What does your writing and publishing business look like at the moment? How do you manage it alongside the day job and everything else you do? Mark: Oh my God. Well, sleep is—no rest for the wicked, maybe. I'll sleep when I'm dead. It's so funny, it was just this last weekend in Waterloo. I was at Waterloo Book Fest, and somebody came up to my table—another author from one of the other tables—and said, “I heard you on the The Creative Penn Podcast. And then when you mentioned something about Waterloo, I said, ‘He can't be from Waterloo.' And then when you mentioned the skeleton, I said, ‘I know where he lives.'” Jo: That's scary. Mark: So I love the fact that there are so many of your listeners all over the world, and that's usually how people know me. No matter what else I've done, it's like, “Oh, you've been on Joanna Penn's podcast.” I'll say, “Yes, I have.” You know what's really funny? The last time I was on the podcast, we were talking about A Book in Hand, which I was supposed to release that year. Jo: Yes. Mark: I just added another 5,000 words to it this morning. Jo: Wait, it's still not published? Mark: No, and it's so funny. I actually have the first 60,000 words of it with an editor right now, and I told her I'd get her the rest of it, which I thought would be another 20,000 words, by the end of June. But I think it's going to hit 100,000. Here's the weird thing that happened with this. This is trying to accumulate my life of book selling, as well as doubling down on doing in-person events in the last several years. I thought I was going to have the book done in 2024. I ran into some issues where I didn't back it up properly. It was an old version, and I accidentally overwrote the only version I had. Jo: So, for everyone listening, Mark—how many decades have you been an author and a publisher? How come you're still missing deadlines and still not backing up your work properly? Mark: Yes, this is a lesson: no matter how long you've been doing something, you can still make boneheaded errors. So if you, dear listener, have made mistakes, just know that this old guy who's been doing this since the mid-'80s still makes mistakes like that. Don't beat yourself up. I probably did something worse. Anyway, that book I thought was going to be maybe 40, 45,000 words, it's going to be bigger than Wide for the Win—close to 100,000 words. Here's a really important lesson I learned in that, Jo. I thought the book would be something. It became something else. Through my own experiences of doing more in-person events, book signings, and library event. Also in talking to awesome folks like Johnny B. Truant, Katie Cross, Todd Fahnestock, and so many other authors I know, and seeing what Ben Wolf is up to, and a whole bunch of different people who are doing in-person events. In creating case studies for how they interact specifically with a bookstore or library, or how they do in-person selling—I really think the book wasn't ready then. It's like the recipe wasn't ready. I still needed to play with some things. I do sincerely have faith, since I got it into the editorial process, that this will be the year the book actually gets released. Jo: As you said, there are some really good lessons there around sometimes the book not being quite ready. I'd bought an early version from the StoryBundle, which is how I got this book as well, actually. Mark: Yes. Jo: That's another tip for people—storybundle.com. You can go and find some great bundles there. I was also thinking, as you were talking, that maybe one of the reasons this book about in-person events has got so big is because that's a real trend in the community. It feels like indies, we've moved… Back in the day, I said, “I'm not doing print. No way.” This was the early days of digital, because print was really hard back then. So I was like, “Oh, and we've got all the advantages doing digital, so I'm just going to focus on that.” It feels like the pendulum has swung, perhaps even more with the ease of mass production of digital with AI. The focus on print and in person is getting stronger and stronger. Do you think that's happening? Mark: Oh, yes, 100%. I did print in 2004. It was really hard back then, so that's gotten easier. I think there are a few reasons. One of the reasons is, yes, digital made it so much easier for indie authors to get out there and break into the community. But the reality is that print books still outsell e-books in general—overall—despite the fact that indie authors can make six and seven figures a year from selling e-books alone on a single platform. So print has never really gone away. It was just never something indie authors attended to. They were in a different business than traditional publishers were in. And second, obviously I've got these gorgeous books that you've created on Kickstarter, because I like the beautiful books. I've never stopped buying print books. I actually buy more print books. I read more because of audiobooks and e-books, but I buy more print books, especially when I can get a nice signed copy. Then the other reason comes back, again, to your advice—something I've been following for the longest time, and you've long been saying. I do repeat this, and I try my best to offer attribution to you every time I use it: to double down on your humanity, particularly in this age of digital generation and the ability for even non-writers to leverage tools to create content. I think it's so much more important for me, as a creative who will never be able to catch up with the machines, to exploit my humanity. I mean, we both have digital voices of ourselves, right? There's a digital Mark Leslie Lefebvre voice that people can use, and I'm making money off it because people are able to license it through ElevenLabs. But when I'm there in person, so far the holograms aren't good enough to fool people. I think I'm not just selling a book to somebody; I want to create an experience where, “Oh, I'm talking to the author, and we're signing a book together, and we're taking a selfie together.” For me, there's that tactile experience that's really enriching. And it may not be something that lines my pockets as easily, because the investment is more significant. For every $10 I make, it costs me six or seven dollars, as opposed to an e-book, where the cost is amortised in the most beautiful way over millions of copies. Jo: There are a few things there. First of all, let's talk about that ElevenLabs voice licensing, because, as you say, I also have a voice clone. Bones of the Deep, the latest book, that's my voice clone. I haven't gone with the licensing, partly because you don't have control over what someone can do with it. So, for example, someone could create Nazi content, or content that I might not agree with, in my voice. So how have you got over that? Because part of me really does want to license my voice, and the other part doesn't. Mark: This is a great question, Jo, and I'm glad you asked it. It's the same reason I don't worry about people stealing my books—adding DRM onto my e-books and things like that. I may as well make some money off it, because let's be honest: you and I, our voices are out there. Thousands of hours of our voices, right? In your podcast, my podcast, in various interviews we've done over the years. The technology exists for someone to make a copy of my voice themselves anyway. The tools exist. They can do it easily, so why not do it myself and at least make money? I'm actually getting money deposited into my account. Not a lot—maybe $30, $18, something like that every week. Again, I've taken a lot of my non-fiction books that I haven't had the time to record myself, as I like to do, and I can at least load those to ElevenLabs and make my voice the default voice. But wouldn't it be great to be able to listen to my book in your voice? It would sound so much better. Because you can do that. When you listen to a book on that platform, you can choose my voice if you'd rather hear it in my voice, or you can choose Burt Reynolds' voice, or some other folks who've licensed theirs. Again, for me, the whole concept of wide publishing has always been important. It's another small revenue stream that's adding to my numerous revenue streams. So I guess that's how I've justified just licensing the voice. If someone's going to do something with my voice that I can't control, they can do it regardless of whether or not I put it out there myself. Jo: I agree with you. That could happen, and neither of us is famous enough that it's likely to happen anyway. I do quite like the idea of people using our voices, say, for other books for authors, because that would make sense—that's where we fit in the niche. I will rethink that, because I think it's interesting. I wanted to come back to print books. You said sometimes there are easier ways to line your pockets, and I think that's funny. So, getting into the book, this leapt out at me quite near the beginning: Why do we keep doing this when the maths almost never adds up? Mark: Oh, I have a perfect example of that from an event I did a couple of weekends ago in Burlington, Ontario. I think it was a $60 table fee. It was a new event. I believe I made $90 or $95 in sales. So even after the costs of printing and all that stuff, I really didn't make money. I made my table back, which is always a good thing. There were a few encounters I had with people who were really excited to find my Canadian Werewolf series of books, and just so thrilled to get started. Among the four of them, they bought one copy, but they were going to pass it amongst each other. You know what? Okay, they bought a single copy, and I was like, “Well, the e-book is permanently free online. You don't even have to buy a copy”—which is anti-selling. I just want them to read the book and enjoy it. But if they read it and pass it along and start talking about it, they could become readers for a long time. It's an eight-book series, with the ninth book coming out later this year. There was another encounter I had that day. A woman and her teenage daughter came in, and they were looking at my traditionally published books that I buy at a reduced price from a local bookstore and resell. They were looking at these true ghost story books I had, and they were pointing: “Do you have that one?” “Yes, I have this one, I have that one.” And the mother's like, “Well, she collects all your books, and she wants to make sure she has them.” We had this conversation, and she was so excited to meet me in person and to get a signed copy of the book. That experience was such a vanity moment for me as an author. We're lonely. I'm a big loser. Nobody's buying my books. We're always down on ourselves. So that investment of time and energy, in order to get that little pat on the back or that feeling of, “Wow, I really connected with someone who likes my stuff”—those moments are really precious. They're difficult to explain if you only look at the world in a financial way. I guess I'm fortunate enough that I do have enough income from numerous streams, including the consulting I do part-time, that it's okay if not every bookish endeavour leads to more money in my pocket at the end of the day. I can still have these authentic connections with people, which I think is one of the reasons I'm a storyteller. Yes, it's the stories I have to tell, but it's also putting the story into somebody else's hands and eyes and heart and mind. Jo: You're very giving like that. You have that sense about you, whereas I'm just a curmudgeon in the corner. Mark: That is not true. Jo: It is, generally. I don't do events like you do for readers. Mark: But that's because it takes a lot out of you. Jo: Yes, but that doesn't matter. Why do I write? I write for me. Mark: Ah, very good. Jo: At the end of the day—just being entirely selfish about this—when people say, “Oh, if you won the lottery, what would you do?” I'm like, “Well, I'd do pretty much what I'm doing now.” Mark: Yes, I'd just do the same. Of course, I'd write more books. Jo: I'd write more books. So this is where I'm trying to get to for people as well: measuring success in a different way. You were talking about measuring success by how that girl loved your books, and how you feel when someone says they love your books. With Bones of the Deep, this thriller I've just done, I feel like I had the benefit of that book before anyone even read it. As soon as it was finished, I made a nice proof copy from BookVault, and I held it in my hand and said, “I made this. I'm proud of the story, I wrote the story, and it's outside my head now.” I feel like I'm creatively satisfied in that moment. Then, of course, the Kickstarter was great, and I love that the books are going out around the world, but— I think the happiest I felt was that moment of finishing—that creative satisfaction of holding the book in my hand. You know what I mean? Mark: 100%, Jo. I cannot agree with you enough. I love so many aspects of writing. Yes, the connection with people is amazing. But I often say this when I'm doing my one-on-one consulting with authors: focus on the projects that mean the most to you, those passion projects. The process of writing, and the painful rewriting and editing and all the things you go through—when you finish that book, like you said, you hold it in your hands and it is a thing of beauty. It's a huge achievement. You've won. Whether or not you sell a single copy, you've won by doing it. Everything else is gravy: the sales, the money in your pocket or not, the reviews, positive or not, the people who say, “Oh my God, Bones of the Deep, thank you for writing this book. I'm so glad you introduced this into the world and into my life.” Anything beyond the creation itself, which is a pure joy—I love it so much. It's just why I get up at 5:30 every morning and write for hours before the rest of my day begins. I try to get stuff done before the rest of the world wakes up. I want to get the writing done first, when I have the most energy to give myself to the page. Then the rest of the day is kind of gravy for me too. Jo: You talk there about giving yourself to the page, but in Stark Realities— You talk about the fear of truly being seen. What do you mean by that, and how do you manage that feeling? Mark: For anyone who has written anything—fiction, non-fiction, memoir in particular, since it's a bit more closely tied to reality—it's exposing yourself to the world. I'll never forget an interview I did with Canadian science fiction author Julie E. Czerneda, who, before being a fiction writer, was writing biology textbooks, but her real passion was science fiction and fiction. When her first novel came out, she said, “It's like standing naked on the front lawn.” When you release a book, even a novel, people look at it and they're going to judge you and rate you. I remember early on, Jo—we knew each other through Twitter, I think, where we initially met, and then interacted with and finally met in person at London Book Fair. I think you and I have a very similar reaction. When people know us as positive and upbeat and out there helping authors in the community, and then they read our fiction, they go, “Well, Jo, you burned a nun alive on page one.” Or, “Mark, what kind of… they're drinking from the skulls of dead people? What the heck is going on with you two?” We are exposing parts of ourselves in our fiction and non-fiction. That's a fear I embrace, but also never get over, if that makes any sense. I write scary stories because I'm a big chicken. So maybe the entire process is just cheap therapy for me. Or not cheap, because it's an expensive pastime, isn't it? Jo: It certainly can be, but I agree. I struggle with fear of judgment still. I think it's also because we do this in public, which comes back to the financial side of things. We do a lot of this in public, and then people judge us on our author businesses too. You could look at Bones of the Deep, which was just on Kickstarter, and compare my Kickstarter to another author's Kickstarter for a fiction book, and judge one or the other person based on numbers. I feel like this is because you and I have done so much in public—for me, almost 20 years, and for you, like 40 years or whatever. Maybe 30 years. You look that old. Mark: Listen there, dearie. Get off my lawn. Jo: Yes, get off my lawn—with those skeletons you have on your lawn. Mark: Yes. They're no longer in my closet. Jo: They're not in your closet. I wonder if that also plays a part of it—the pros and cons of doing this business in public. Mark: Yes, that is a part of it. One thing I try to be very clear about, because there's so much FOMO and so much out there about people thinking that everyone else is making a million dollars from their books and “I'm the only loser who's not”—I try to be clear that I have never made more than a mid-five figures as an author from my author earnings, ever. I haven't yet hit six figures. One of the reasons I try to be transparent in sharing that is I don't want people to think that everyone else is a six- and seven-figure success story, and they're the only one who's only made $100 last year on their books. The reality is, 90 to 99% of the people who are writing and publishing are not going to earn a significant amount of money. I realise I'm also very, very lucky that I've earned this much, and it's taken a long time. I just shared this in a Substack post I posted yesterday: it was 10 years of rejections before I got $5 for my first short story that was published in '92. It wasn't until 2001 that I finally made pro rate, six cents US a word, for a short story that, ironically, Julie Czerneda bought from me back in the day. For me, I've been lucky that it's always been a long, slow slog. It's been a marathon, and I've never instantly sprinted across any dramatic finish line. I've had some really phenomenal moments—doing a book signing in a Costco, walking into Walmart and seeing my books there. Even last night at the Burlington Public Library, going, “Wow, they have eight of my books here—four of my self-published books and four of my traditionally published books, in two different sections.” I was like, “That's kind of cool.” So I've had these amazing moments as a writer, but I've never had the blockbuster—the Brandon Sanderson, or even the Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman, kind of moments. I still think I've had a very fortunate and lucky journey. Even if I wasn't making the money I'm making, I'd still be writing, and I'm sure you would be too. Jo: Oh, yes, for sure. I actually think the thing most of us would probably let go is the marketing. If we won the lottery, we'd carry on with all the creative stuff, the writing, the community stuff, and we'd just literally do no marketing at all. Mark: Well, yes, of course. Or potentially say, “Oh, here, ad agency, here's some money. You just run it, whatever. Let me know if it works or not. I don't care.” Jo: That's a much better idea. Mark: At least I've got the extra disposable income, so I may as well, because I'm helping the world when my books are out there. I know my books will help people. I really honestly think that as storytellers—whether it's fiction or non-fiction, we're still storytellers—what we do in writing and podcasting and all the things we do, the re-sharing on social media, is really helping connect people. I think that is one of the most profound things we can do as writers. And I mean that the writing, in and of itself, is a reward. Jo: Like you said, we met on Twitter when Twitter was what it was back in the day. I do very, very little social media now. But you just mentioned your Substack, and you also have your podcast, Stark Reflections. So how are you balancing what you put on each? I only do this podcast now. I don't even blog. I write books, obviously, and then I do the podcast. So what are you doing differently on Substack to the podcast, and what part do they play in income and marketing? Mark: Great question. I realise most people have never heard of me, or read or listened to the things I put out into the world. And I've been a longtime fan of “reduce, reuse, recycle my IP.” My podcast is not as long-running as yours, but I'm in my ninth year, and I've not missed a single Friday in the full eight years, or eight and a half by now, that I've been doing this. Every week I reflect on what I learned from an interview, or I'll reflect on something you've posted and say, “This episode is not an interview, but Jo said this last week, and I'm going to talk about it.” The podcast itself takes a lot of work. I still do all of it myself, and I know I probably shouldn't, but I like doing it, so it's one of those tasks I enjoy. I also have reflections that aren't going to come out vocally but might come out in writing. Sometimes in the morning I'm not in the mood to write the novel or the non-fiction book I'm writing, but I'm writing some tangent. I just let the creative monster go. I find that re-sharing… I might have reflected on something for a couple of minutes at the end of an interview, but I really want to expand upon it, so I write the Substack article. I try to reuse some of that content. Someone's going to enjoy seeing it on a short video clip I share on YouTube, or whatever the platform is. Someone else is going to listen to it on a podcast, wherever they listen to podcasts, and someone else is going to want to read it. It could be the same information, just shared in a slightly different way, to potentially get it out to other people. So for me, it's part of that wide publishing mentality. I'm trying not to completely duplicate the work, although I am duplicating some of it. I'll give you an example. Hey, Canadian listeners—if you have not registered for Public Lending Right in Canada, please put something in your calendar for February 2027, because the deadline's over. It was May 1st of 2026. Put it in your calendar for next year. I even had somebody at this writers' event I was at this last weekend say, “You mentioned something in a presentation you did for the Canadian Authors Association about Public Lending Right, and thank you, because now I get thousands of dollars a year from this.” So just look up Public Lending Right. I've been saying stuff about Public Lending Right for at least 10 years now. Every time I get my beautiful multi-four-figure cheque from them in February every year, I post on social media and remind authors to check it out. I know it exists in the UK, and it exists in 36 countries in the world—just not the US. Jo: Not the US. Mark: They don't have a programme like this, probably because the big publishers—and probably one of the authors' associations—think that libraries are cannibalising book sales, which is not true. It's been proven time and time again, and that lobbying has prevented it from happening. Whereas here in Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Writers' Union of Canada worked hard to make this happen. Anyway, I talk about something like Public Lending Right and I feel like I must have said this so much that people are sick of it, but every single time I mention it, someone goes, “Oh my God, thanks for saying that. I never heard it.” That's a good reminder, especially for folks like you and me. We know the basics. We know what an ISBN is. We know KDP Select means you can't put the e-book on any other retailer, or even sell it on your own website. We know all these things, but it's hard for us to remember that there are folks coming to this for the very first time who've never heard it, even though we feel like, “Oh my God, I've said this till I'm blue in the face.” I think I got that from retail. When I worked in retail, I recognised that somebody's going to come in and ask for “that blue book that Reese Witherspoon was talking about,” or Oprah was talking about, or whatever. And you do your darn best to help them figure it out rather than mock them. I try to take the same approach when people ask me those questions, because I'm trying to remember what it was like when I honestly did not know the answer, and having someone take the time to help me. I've been very, very lucky that I've had a lot of people take the time to help me. I'll never forget—God rest her soul—Nancy Kilpatrick, a horror writer here from Canada who passed away a few years ago. She gave me a blurb for my very first book in 2004 because she'd acquired one of my short stories for an anthology she'd edited. I was trying to call my short story collection an anthology, and she very kindly took me aside and said, “It's not an anthology if it's a single author. An anthology is a…” Jo: I didn't know that until, like, last year. I got that wrong as well. There are lots of words like that. I want to circle back, because you didn't really answer earlier about the time management. You just mentioned YouTube, on top of Substack and all the things you do. You also have a day job at Draft2Digital—it's part-time, right? You also do part-time at the university, teaching publishing, right? You do all kinds of things. How do you manage your time with all of that? Mark: Well, I mismanage my time more than I manage it, Jo. That's the God's honest truth. Fortunately, most of the things I have that aren't scheduled—like, scheduled to do this lecture at this time, or scheduled to have this meeting at this particular time with Draft2Digital—most of my work is very flexible. I do not work a regular 9:00 to 5:00, Monday to Friday. Well, I never did. I always worked way more. But I have a very flexible schedule. Every single day is a work day, and every single day is a play day for me. So I'm very, very lucky. I do schedule in the very important things, particularly where somebody else is reliant upon me—meetings and connections and stuff like that. Then I make the time first thing in the morning to get the writing done. Everything else is not as important, and it's part of… I guess it's part of playing. You know, like the social media sharing. I don't look at social media as marketing. I just look at it as another way to connect with people, with other creatives, and with readers potentially, all six people who read my stuff. I probably could do a better job of managing my time. I've tried several times over the years to adapt processes to make it better, but I consistently default back to what I do, and so far I guess I've been getting away with it. So I was like, “Do I want to waste more time trying to come up with a process, or do I just want to roll with it?” Because so far I haven't killed myself doing it, and I've been enjoying the journey. So, if it ain't broke… Jo: I think that's the point, if it doesn't feel like it's broken. Having known you for a long time now, and we work together—obviously we co-wrote The Relaxed Author—you do work very, very differently to me. You definitely are a little bit more chaotic. I'm chaotic in some ways too. Mark: Oh, you're very generous. “A little bit chaotic.” Thanks. That was generous, Jo. Jo: You're chaotic in your work practices and scheduling and all that, which I couldn't cope with very well. Even though I feel like a part of my brain is very chaotic—the creative side, I guess, can be quite chaotic—I think I'm actually quite controlling and very scheduled in my work practices. As you say, for someone else on the outside, it might feel to me like you have too many balls in the air. But if you don't feel that, then that's the way of working that works for you. So this is another important thing, isn't it? You can't adapt to what other people say your life should look like. It's what feels good to you. Mark: Oh, for sure. One thing I know about my procrastination tendency is that panic and fear motivate me. So, a deadline—”I have to get this into a publisher by this date, I have to get this manuscript to an editor by that date”—I'm motivated by fear. And I'm afraid of everything, so I guess I'm always motivated. Jo: But I also know that when you hear the word “deadline”—and I know a lot of people who do this—the deadline means you get it in on the deadline, or the day before the deadline. To me, a deadline means I have it ready a month earlier. Mark: I love that. I've done that a few times and shocked myself. I actually had a pre-order up—with the audiobook, the print, and the e-book—a month in advance, and I didn't know what to do with myself. I was like, “Well, what am I going to do now in the next month?” Jo: Work on the next thing. Mark: But I'm so used to working on it up to the last second that I was kind of like, “What do I do?” That actually caught me by surprise, and I honestly felt weird. I was like, “I've never felt this before.” I'm really lucky. I know you have a very supportive and amazing partner, and so do I. My partner, scarily enough, is maybe a bigger procrastinator than me, so she never gives me a hard time. She supports me, and I do the same thing with her own work. I'm up all night with her at the last minute so we can get something turned in. So, fortunately, we really understand one another, and we don't give each other a hard time. We just go, “Well, got away with it again. I guess I'm not going to change my ways.” Jo: We made it. And again, that's the point. You and I could stand up in front of people, both hold up the last book we wrote, and say, “We made this,” and our processes are completely different. Our brains are completely different. We come from different countries. There are lots of things that are different, and yet we both made a book. So hopefully that encourages people. You don't have to do anything that we're telling you, or anyone else tells you. But if you want to be an author, at some point you have to produce a book. Mark: Exactly. As Brian in the classic Monty Python film gets them to say: “Yes, we are all different.” Embrace that difference. I think that's such a powerful reminder that there is no one process for getting anything done. Jo: Given that we co-wrote The Relaxed Author back in 2021—and we did that because we had another show, and we were talking, and we said, “Oh, everyone's stressed and the anxiety levels are really high, and we think there's a better path”—we co-wrote that book, which I think is still a very good book. Definitely people should get it. Interestingly, I think the stress and anxiety might actually be higher now than it was. So what do you think the main stresses are in the community now? You also see a lot with Draft2Digital, I guess, as well. Mark: Oh, for sure. Honestly, Jo, I'm so glad we wrote that book, because I actually pick it up every once in a while to remind myself of the things we tried to help others with. Again, it's therapy for me as well, so I'm so glad we did it. I think we're 10, if not 100, times more stressed. The world events and things going on, the divisiveness—not just in the world in general, in politics and everything else, but the divisiveness in the author community. The witch-hunting that happens, people trying to tear down other authors either because they're successful, or because, “Oh my God, you dared use a new technology.” All of these things are happening, and everyone's at one another's throats. I need to pick that book up and reread it. I'm a lot more stressed than I was. I'm just getting over shingles, which is… Jo: Oh. Which is actually related to stress as well, isn't it? Mark: It is, yes. I was in LA for Writers of the Future—I'm a judge for that science fiction and fantasy conference. I went right from LA, like a week in LA, which was a phenomenal experience getting to mentor the winners. And I mean, come on, it's a free trip to Hollywood, hanging out with Kevin Anderson, having beers and stuff like that. Then I came back to the Toronto Indie Author Conference, run by Tao Wong, here in Toronto. I went right from the airport—didn't even go home—straight to the hotel, because I kicked into another conference. We did a display on how to set up an in-person booth, so I ended up having to hand-bomb boxes, blocks down the street from where I was parked. My chest was really sore when I got home on the Monday, and I thought it was because I hadn't used these muscles, because I'm not in the best shape. Then I took my shirt off and went, “Oh, there's a rash there.” Liz goes, “You have shingles.” Because the pain in my chest, which I thought was the muscle, was actually underneath. I'm one of those lucky people that it's taken the full five weeks, and I'm still in pain even afterwards. So, again, public notice: if you're an older person like me, and there's a vaccine available for shingles, you may want to consider it. Jo: Yep, get it. Mark: Oh my God, it hurts. But, yes, the stress, I think, is higher—even though I didn't know I was feeling it. It was happy stress, right? I was stressed out because I'm there in Hollywood, helping people and doing some good things, and then I'm doing the same thing, interacting with some amazing authors at the Toronto Indie Author Conference. I didn't feel anxious stress. I was happy stress. Is that a thing? Jo: I think possibly… your physical body masks stress, physical stress, because you enjoy all of that stuff. Whereas someone like me, I'll feel it quicker and withdraw. Although I say that, back probably a decade ago, Jonathan would say to me, “You're going too fast, and you're going to hit the wall. And when you hit the wall, it's not going to be fun.” And I did hit the wall. Then, probably in 2021—I mean, that was when I just started going into menopause, and obviously we had the pandemic, and I wrote Pilgrimage, and I was doing all those walks, which I think really helped me. I learned a lot about maybe stopping that before it happened. Becca Syme obviously talks a lot about this too. But I find it interesting with you, because I think you're so positively happy with these events you do that it might mask your physical symptoms in a different way. That's really hard to watch out for. I'll give a tip to you and everyone else listening: schedule the calendar, and look at your calendar and go, “I can't go back-to-back-to-back. I have to put in some rest days.” Mark: Well, thank you. You know, Jo, you and Becca Syme are two of my best unpaid therapists. I appreciate that. Jo: You just don't listen, Mark. Mark: Or sometimes I do. Jo: Just coming back to the community, and the divisiveness there is primarily over AI at the moment, I think that's one of the biggest things. And the arbitrary lines as to what you're allowed to use it for and what you're not allowed to use it for, which is just kind of crazy. Obviously, you know I've opted out of that whole discussion now. How do you think we can move through this [divisiveness over AI], move on? We remember when it was trad versus indie, and then it was wide versus KU. So this will pass—it's just hard, when you're in it, to know when it might pass. Mark: Yes. I think the more generic advice—for whatever may come, whatever has come—is: why are you doing this? Why are you a writer? Heads down, focus on what gives you pleasure, and do that, because everything else is noise. All the marketing tactics and strategies, and all the people yelling at one another. Write your books. Do the things that motivate you. Do the things that give you that intrinsic reward. It's hard to ignore. I get it, it is hard to ignore. I have difficulty ignoring the haters and the yelling and the screaming that happens, but I do my best. Like this morning, when I was in the throes of my manuscript and I looked up and went, “Oh my God, I've got to shower. I'm going to be talking to Jo soon, I should comb my hair”—which I have none of. Because I was so in my book that everything else melted away. That, for me as a storyteller, as a writer, is one of the most beautiful places to be. Jo: I think you're absolutely right. I have a little thing that pops up in my calendar sometimes which says, “If you're feeling all of these things, just go create something.” The moment you refocus on creation—whatever that means to you—things change. It changes the energy. That, or go for a walk. That's my other tip. Mark: Outside. And I have to say, Jo, Pilgrimage is still one of the most profound and powerful books you've written, and you've written a lot of amazing ones. Jo: Oh, you're very sweet. Mark: That one really resonates, not just for me, but with Liz. Because one of the things we often do when we get stressed is go for a walk, ideally in nature. The vitamin N. I think there's something really profound in that, and it really helps me a lot. And again, sometimes going for a walk listening to your podcast, or an audiobook, or sometimes just attending to the environment. A tip I picked up years ago from Brooklyn author Denis Hamill was: go for a walk with your character. Listen to what they see. What do they comment on? How do they approach this environment that you've seen a million times? How do they see it? What do they notice that you don't notice? That's such an incredible experience of creativity—when you're not writing, but writing. That really helps me a lot. Jo: Oh, nice one. Okay, so your latest book is Stark Realities, but you have so many more. Where can people find you and your books and your podcast online? Mark: Jo, you can find everything you want to know about me—and stuff you don't want to know about me—over at MarkLeslie.ca. It links to all the other places from there. Jo: Brilliant. Thanks again for your time, Mark. That was great. Mark: Thanks so much, Jo. Bye-bye. The post Creative Satisfaction, In Person Print Book Sales, And Author Mindset With Mark Leslie Lefebvre first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:00:00 GMT http://relay.fm/upgrade/624 http://relay.fm/upgrade/624 Jason Snell and Myke Hurley In the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! In the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! clean 6913 Subtitle: John Is Going to Talk NowIn the spirit of the Summer of Fun (and Apple history Kickstarters), John Siracusa joins us to discuss when Apple was forced to replace the Classic Mac OS. Also, John Ternus gives some love to Apple's designers and Tim Cook says prices are going up! This episode of Upgrade is sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Mercury Weather: Forecasts, beautifully done. Download now for free. Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code UPGRADE. Designed in California on Kickstarter: If you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting us! Guest Starring: John Siracusa Links and Show Notes: Get Upgrade+. More content, no ads. Check out Upgrade merch! Submit Feedback Apple Announces Major App Store Changes on iOS in Brazil - MacRumors Apple Plans Camera AirPods, iPhone Foldable 2, 20th Anniversary iPhone in 2027 - Bloomberg Apple Plans Second-Generation iPhone Air Launch for Spring 2027 - Bloomberg Apple's New CEO Ternus Needs to Shake Up Design; Apple's 2027 iPhone Road Map - Bloomberg Exclusive | Apple Price Increases ‘Unavoidable,' Tim Cook Says in WSJ Exclusive - WSJ Outgoing Apple CEO delivers the bad news: Prices are going up – Six Colors Apple Price Increases, Apple Intelligence and the E.U. – Stratechery by Ben Thompson Intel stock rises after Trump touts U.S.-built chip deal with Apple – CNBC Designed in California – Kickstarter Campaign

---Join Us in Support of Alkem Gear's Kickstarter ending June 19th!https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alkemgear/alkem-gear-purpose-built-tabletop-gear?ref=249zfwUse our link for a free Month of Elite on TradeMagic.gghttps://trademagic.gg/eternaldurdlesChannel Art Assets by: https://www.instagram.com/jonthetallone/ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EternalDurdlesTCGPLAYER AFFILIATE LINK:https://partner.tcgplayer.com/OexAAnWith Marvel officially arriving in Magic: The Gathering, we thought it was the perfect time to answer a simple question:Where should you start with Marvel Comics?Zac is joined by two longtime comic book veterans and former Legends comic shop crew members, Marc Leone and Rob Messick, to build the ultimate Marvel reading list for newcomers. From Spider-Man and Daredevil to Wolverine, the X-Men, Infinity Gauntlet, Earth X, and Marvels, we explore the stories that shaped the Marvel Universe and explain why they still matter today.We discuss:00:00 Introduction & Comic Shop Memories02:08 Where Should New Readers Start?02:51 Why Spider-Man Is the Gateway Character04:04 Marvel Comes to Magic: The Gathering06:32 Universes Beyond & Trading Card Games12:25 Building a Marvel Reading List15:11 Marvel's Rise in Popular Culture17:08 Kraven's Last Hunt18:35 Infinity Gauntlet & MCU Inspirations22:20 Daredevil: The Man Without Fear25:30 Daredevil Recommendations & Frank Miller29:00 Wolverine: Not Dead Yet32:00 Enemy of the State & Wolverine Classics35:00 Earth X Deep Dive42:00 What If...? and Alternate Universes47:00 Future Imperfect & Maestro52:00 Elektra: Assassin56:00 Fantastic Four and Alex Ross01:00:00 Marvels and Marvel History01:05:00 Cosmic Marvel Recommendations01:10:00 Silver Surfer, Thanos & Cosmic Ghost Rider01:15:00 More Essential Marvel Reads01:20:00 Final Recommendations01:24:00 Closing Thoughts---Spider-ManKraven's Last HuntRevenge of the Sinister SixComing Home (J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita Jr.)Cosmic Spider-Man / Acts of Vengeance era collectionSpider-Man Blue----Daredevil / ElektraDaredevil: The Man Without FearDaredevil: Guardian Devil (Kevin Smith & Joe Quesada)Elektra: AssassinDaredevil Yellow----Wolverine / X-MenWolverine: Not Dead YetEnemy of the StateWolverine: Jungle AdventureWolverine/Gambit: VictimsLongshotX-Men: Elsewhen (John Byrne)Hulk: Future Imperfect (X-Men adjacent discussion through shared creators)---Marvel Universe / Cosmic MarvelInfinity GauntletMarvelsEarth XSilver Surfer: BlackThanos WinsCosmic Ghost RiderSilver Surfer (Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Fireside Graphic Novel)Marvel Cosmic Universe by Donny Cates (umbrella recommendation)---Fantastic FourFantastic Four: Full Circle---HulkFuture ImperfectDoctor StrangeDoctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and TormentMarvel History / Beginner Collections---Origins of Marvel ComicsSon of Origins of Marvel ComicsBring on the Bad GuysWomen of Marvel ComicsJeph Loeb / Tim Sale Color SeriesWhether you're a lifelong comic fan or someone discovering Marvel through Magic, this episode is packed with recommendations, nostalgia, and stories from the comic shop era that helped shape an entire generation of nerd culture.What Marvel comic would you hand to someone who has never read one before?#Marvel #MarvelComics #MagicTheGathering #SpiderMan #XMen #ComicBooksPinned CommentYou can only recommend ONE Marvel comic to a brand-new reader.What's your pick?

Jimmy Gaspero is joined by Tyler Chin-Tanner, Vita Ayala, and Jarred Lujan to talk about the current Kickstarter campaign for Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience is a 150+ page anthology that not only features 16 stories about resistance, but includes useful guides and practical resources for getting involved, staying safe, and making a difference! Tyler, Vita, and Jarred preview some of the creative teams and stories, plus talk about the Tim Daniel logo design, the Chris Shehan cover, as well as the practical resources for getting involved in your community. Back Civil Disobedience on Kickstarter From the campaign page: Filled with inspiring stories that range from historical accounts of protest movements, to tales of the current political climate, even to allegories set in the near and distant future, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is meant to inspire hope. We want readers to walk away from this anthology with a feeling of determination and and belief that they CAN and SHOULD do something! Follow Comic Book Yeti

Writer John Layman and artist Rob Guillory (Chew) join Dave to discuss their new collaboration Ghost Brawler, the Bruiser Edition live on kickstarter now! The two share the blistering writing pace of the series, how the setting draws from the cinematic style of Martin Scorsese, and the creative shorthand of a decade working together. The pair discuss the Chew television adaptation at Blumhouse, share memories of the late Sam Kieth, Signed Boxing gloves, creative teams, and explain why Kickstarter rewards collectors in ways corporate imprints can't. For fans of Goodfellas, Rocky, Raging Bull, Ghostbusters, and CHEW!BACK THE KICKSTARTER HERE - https://tinyurl.com/4kttuys4https://www.robguillory.com/My Website : directeditionpodcast.comPATREON https://www.patreon.com/DavengersDirectEdition

Weekend 10 Story Kickstarter Firebirds Kats Recap and More!

In Episode 532, Ryan and Jose are joined by David Blair for another Book Club of Blood episode. This time, we cover Volume 4's "The Body Politic".  Ples we get into some Hellraiser news and shoutouts to our friends.   This is the Clive Barker Podcast, where long-time fans Ryan and Jose interview guests, bring you the news, and take deep dives into Barker-related stuff.  This episode will be available in Podcast Audio and Youtube Video.     Sponsor : Don Bertram's Celebrate Imagination | Pinterest | ETSY Store Check out his recent paintings, A Little Something Fishy II and Pork Rinds.   Sponsor : Ed Martinez YouTube Channel Sponsor : The Now Playing Podcast     From the Reef New Boom Studios Hellraiser Comics Hellraiser Revival Release Date and Gameplay!!! Trick or Treat Studios figurines available on Pre-Order (Bundle or Separate)     Book Club of Blood Discussion: Books. Of Blood Vol. 4 | The Body Politic   Show Notes Quicksilver Highway | On YouTube The Body Book Dr. Seuss "What Was I Scared of?"   Feedback / Questions Reddit Facebook Page Listeners Group   Coming Next Clive's Contemporary Commentaries : 1987 (Prince of Darkness / Angel Heart) News and Interviews BCOB – The Inhuman Condition   Shoutouts Roger's Album Review of Danny's Book Joseph Edwards from Lexington KY     Patreon Members Shout-Out (Become a Patron) David Anderson Erik Van T' Holt Daniel Elven Amanda Stewart Bradley Gartz Markus Matthew Batten Bennett Jesse Timothy Ramakers Terry Murdock John-John Sponsor: Don Bertram's Celebrate Imagination Sponsor, Ed Martinez YouTube Channel Sponsor : The Now Playing Podcast     And this podcast, having no beginning will have no end.   web www.clivebarkercast.com Apple Podcasts,  Android,  Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Libsyn, Tunein, iHeart Radio, Pocket Casts, Radio.com, and YouTube and Facebook: | BarkerCast Listeners Group | Occupy Midian  BlueSky | Reddit | Discord Community   Support the show Buy Our Book: The BarkerCast Interviews Occupy Midian  Hardcover | Kindle | Apple Become a Patreon Patron | Buy a T-Shirt   Music is by Ray Norrish   All Links and show notes in their Entirety can be found at https://www.clivebarkercast.com   AI Recap   This was episode 532 of the Clive Barker Podcast, where the hosts returned after a month-long break to discuss news and analyze "The Body Politic" story from Volume 4. They covered recent Hellraiser developments including new one-shot comics from Boom Studios focusing on different Cenobites, the upcoming Hellraiser game releasing October 8th, and new Trick or Treat Studios action figures. The main discussion centered on "The Body Politic," a story about Charlie George whose hands rebel against his body, exploring themes of revolution, control, and the consequences of breaking away from societal structures. The hosts analyzed the story's metaphors, its film adaptation in "Quicksilver Highway," and received feedback from listeners about their experiences with the story. They also discussed upcoming commentary tracks for Prince of Darkness and Angel Heart.   Summary Hellraiser Comic Series Announcements The podcast hosts discussed recent Hellraiser news, including Boom Studios' announcement of five new Hellraiser one-shot comics titled "Hellraiser Resurrections" focusing on different Cenobites. They reviewed details about each comic's plot and characters, noting that these appear to be standalone stories that could potentially lead to a new series. The discussion also covered a successful Kickstarter campaign called "Leviathan's Vault" that raised nearly $900,000 to reissue Hellraiser comics, including volumes from 2011 and various limited series. The conversation concluded with a brief mention of the Hellraiser revival game, though details about this were not provided in the transcript segment. Hellraiser Game and Figures Release The group discussed the upcoming release of a Hellraiser game on October 8th, with José sharing details from gameplay demos including melee attacks, gunplay, puzzles, and a crafting system. They also discussed new Trick or Treat Studios Hellraiser figures that are available for pre-order, with an estimated shipping date of December 9, 2026, and a special bundle price of $159.96. The figures will be 8 inches tall with some articulation features, and were sculpted by Alexander Ray. Clive Barker's "The Body Politic The group discussed Clive Barker's story "The Body Politic," focusing on its extended metaphor about body parts rebelling against the control of the brain. They analyzed how the story explores themes of revolution, tyranny, and the consequences of following a wrong leader, particularly through the character of Charlie George whose hands conspire against him. The discussion included details about the film adaptation in "Quicksilver Highway" and compared it to the original story, noting differences in the ending where Charlie jumps from a roof followed by the hands, leading to their collective doom. Clive Barker's "The Collection" Analysis The group discussed Clive Barker's short story "The Collection" and its film adaptation, focusing on themes of revolution and the body's autonomy. They analyzed how the story explores the concept of body parts rebelling against their owners, with José noting the film's cameos including Clive Barker and John Landis. The discussion concluded with speculation about which body part would be most terrifying if it rebelled, with eyes and butts being particular points of concern. Clive Barker Story Discussion The group discussed Clive Barker's short story "The Body Politic," sharing personal reactions and experiences, including one listener's connection to the story through a personal injury. They reviewed comments from Reddit and their listeners' group, noting the story's themes of revolution and control. The team announced their next content will be audio commentaries for the 1987 films "Prince of Darkness" and "Angel Heart," chosen after a tie vote between those films and "Hellraiser." They also mentioned upcoming content including "The Inhuman Condition" in their Book Club of Blood series.  

This week we were lucky enough to spend an hour with the incredible David Miller. It was such a treat to hear the stories behind so many of the iconic images that define our sport. It turned into a super‑relaxed chat about running, Zoom vs Teams, the Barkley Marathons, and of course his upcoming book — SPINE: The Story of the Montane Winter Spine Race.SPINE is the definitive visual story of Britain's most brutal ultramarathon, a premium photography book by David Miller, created in collaboration with Vertebrate Publishing and the organisers of the Montane Winter Spine Race.KICKSTARTER - https://bit.ly/4oDqw2gHARRIER - Use code TATP10 for 10% off - https://harrierrunfree.avln.me/c/qXhnTgIdEMeaXMILES UK - Listeners receive 10% of their order value back as store credit via the link - https://xmiles.avln.me/c/RiwxnARvfHeRFENIX LIGHT LTD - Use code T&T5 for 5% - https://www.fenixlight.co.uk/PRECISION FUEL & HYDRATION - Use code TEA2026 for 15% off your first orderPRECISION FUEL & HYDRATION PLANNER - https://visit.pfandh.com/3RuP25zSTRAVA - Use code TEA for 20% off an annual membership - #StravaPartner #Adhttps://www.strava.com/subscribe/checkout?code=TEASUNGOD - Use code TEA15 for 15% off your order - https://www.sungod.co/en-gbBEARHUG - Click the link to receive 15% off your order.https://getabearhug.avln.me/c/PAmERmkwPealContent contains affiliate links which help support this channel at no cost to you.Brew with the Coaches - CLICK HEREHardmoors - https://www.hardmoors110.org.uk/Trail Outlaws - https://www.trailoutlaws.com/13 Valleys Ultra - https://www.13valleysultra.com/Beyond Trails - https://www.beyondtrails.co.uk/Hellfire Events - https://www.hellfireevents.com/Dales Runner - https://dalesrunner.co.uk/Run The Wild - https://runthewild.co.uk/Hannah Walsh - https://www.hannahwalsh.co.uk/Punk Panther - https://www.punkpanther.co.uk/Pen Llyn Ultra - https://penllyn.niftyentries.com/Yellow Belly Ultra - https://yellowbellyultras.co.uk/Raw Adventures - https://www.raw-adventures.co.uk/XNRG - https://www.xnrg.co.uk/

This Week on the Toy Power Podcast; we have another Segment for The Team - this round featuring the arch Enemy of the M.A.S.K. Heroes - Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem - V.E.N.O.M.! We take into effect their Appearances, their Mask's Capabilities & but not limited to; even pulling from their Stats. The usual run-down of: Leader, Muscle, Specialist, Wheelman & of course Vehicle! This was a fun one. Who would you have picked?!? Then Trent flips through the Magazine Pages of old ToyFare issues - in our repeat "From The Vault" segment. This round it focuses on Predictions (from the early 2000's) with us trying to guess what direction the articles where trying to go in. Plus another Fun article focused around the "Dirty Little Secrets" surrounding our beloved: Masters Of The Universe property. How many do we know? How many did you know? Enjoy!Support the show: http://patreon.com/toypowerpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The SKATCAST Network presents:Truck Driver Theater #96 by the Script KeeperToday's Skit-SKATs:[ Creepiest Sh*t | 0:19 ] - "Season 2: Volumes 4-6" - From the Dave and Angus Show comes the second season of Creepiest Sh*t. Starring Dave and Angus as Sam and Dean Dimjester.Thank you for listening!Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/XKxhHYwu9zFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcastCheck Out our Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scriptkeeper/skatcast-operation-splatter-skat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Dolce pulled back up to Comic Crusaders with not one project, not two, but a whole creative three-piece combo meal. First up is Ones & Zeroes #1 a Sci-Fi / Horror, his recently funded Kickstarter, which is pitched around the idea of an A.I. secretly overtaking humanity. That alone gives the book some timely teeth, because it's playing in that sweet spot where paranoia, sci-fi, and real-world tech anxiety start hanging out together like they pay rent. Then there's Plan 59 From Outer Space Super Deluxe Edition, which isn't just a dust-off job. Michael's own Substack says this new edition adds 30+ extra pages, includes the new Journey of the Ghoul story, and offers a Kickstarter-only hardcover for collectors. That makes it a genuine event release, not just a rerun with lipstick. And because apparently Michael hates boredom, there's also Dungeons & Dimwits – Clownpocalypse Now, an upcoming campaign from the Dren side of the universe that's been publicly teased as a story involving demon-possessed clowns. Which, let's be honest, is already enough to make people say "absolutely not" and then click anyway. Michael's broader public bio reflects a creator who's been building for years across comics, podcasting, and creator-owned work through The Sire, Descendant, and Sire Studios. That makes this episode bigger than simple promotion. It becomes a conversation about momentum, range, and what it looks like when a creator keeps stacking worlds instead of waiting for permission. YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OohjP9DWKEI Kickstarter Links: Plan 59 From Outer Space Super Deluxe Edition https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mdolce/plan-59-from-outer-space-super-deluxe-edition Dungeons & Dimwits – Clownpocalypse Now (Part 1) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/drenproductionsgames/dungeons-and-dimwits-clownpocalypse-now Ones & Zeroes #1 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mdolce/ones-and-zeroes-1 Guest Links Website: MichaelDolce.com Sire Studios: SireStudiosInc.com Instagram: @sirestudios X: @Sire_Studios Bluesky: sirestudios.bsky.social Subscribe to Comic Crusaders for more interviews with comic creators, indie legends, rising stars, and the wildest voices in pop culture. Thank you for Watching / Listening! We appreciate your support! Host Al Mega Follow on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook: @TheRealAlMega / @ComicCrusaders Make sure to Like/Share/Subscribe if you haven't yet Rumble/Twitch: ComicCrusaders YouTube: / comiccrusadersworld Visit the official Comic Crusaders Comic Book Shop: comiccrusaders.shop Visit the OFFICIAL Comic Crusaders Swag Shop at: comiccrusaders.us Main Site: https://www.comiccrusaders.com/​​​​ Edited/Produced/Directed by Al Mega

▶︎ Watch Get ready to power up! On this special bonus episode of Superhero Slate, Chris and guest host Patrick sit down with prolific game designer and founder of Lynnvander Studios, Tommy Gofton, to talk about his explosive new Kickstarter campaign: Dragon Ball Z: The Board Game Saga. This game is a true survivor, having […]

The SKATCAST Network presents:It's A Getch Thing #16 with GetchToday's Show:Getch is solo on the mic this week! He is unleashed, unsupervised and it is unknown what might take place! Join in and see what happens!! Thank you for listening!!!Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/XKxhHYwu9zFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcastCheck Out our Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scriptkeeper/skatcast-operation-splatter-skat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trailblazer Kickstarter complete! Gamefound vs. Kickstarter, Competitive Sorcery, new office, send us your dad jokes, sad Mount Nim, Obsession, and Mina the Hollower.(00:00:00) Intro(00:17:40) What's Happening(00:30:30) Gamefound vs. Kickstarter(00:59:15) Listener Questions(01:22:00) Stuff We're Into (feat. Special Guest)Email: info@earthbornegames.com Website: https://earthbornegames.com/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/mXN2cUNPXE Merch: https://earthbornegames.teemill.com/ EBR Soundtrack: https://earthbornegames.bandcamp.com/ Gamefound: https://gamefound.com/en/creators/earthborne-games BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/49415/earthborne-games Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthbornegames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthbornegames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/earthbornegames.bsky.social Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarthborneGames#earthborne #earthbornerangers #rangers #hubworldaidalon #hubworld #aidalon #tabletopgaming #cardgame #gamefound

With enemies controlling the top deck and moving to take the helm, the Uhuru pirates mount a desperate defense. Without anyone from the Captain's council to lead them, casualties mount. Meanwhile, Pliff and Jane complete their sabotage of The Elegance and must now try to escape under fire. CONTENT NOTE Main Show:  gunfire, cannonfire, death from gunfire, death, falling from great heights Dear Uhuru: Returning soon! THE ULTIMATE RPG VILLAIN BACSTORY GUIDE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy it here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave a review, please!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ COSMIC CENTURY KNIGHTS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get the game on Kickstarter!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the mailing list for James' game design projects⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ THE ULTIMATE RPG PODCAST ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen Here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SKYJOUST FIGHT WITH SPIRIT EXPANSION ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get it now!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SKYJACKS: COURIER'S CALL IS BACK! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen on Spotify (or any other podcatcher app)!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ STARWHAL PUBLIC FEED: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen on Spotify (or any other podcatcher app)!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ JOIN OUR MAILING LIST ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Right Here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crowdfunding starts before Kickstarter. Long before launch. In this episode, Max Engle of Groundhog Audio reveals how he raised over $192,000 by validating his idea with rough prototypes, $500 in ads, and viral Instagram videos. You'll discover: How to test demand before manufacturing Why ugly prototypes generate better feedback How social media comments improved the product What it takes to fund in five minutes Resources and Tools Mentioned: Book a coaching call Subscribe for Weekly Crowdfunding Tips Fulfillrite: Kickstarter and crowdfunding reward fulfillment services. They come highly recommended! Download their free shipping and fulfillment checklist FREE Kickstarter Course Kickstarter Launch Formula Audiobook OnePedal™: The Tone-Matching Guitar Pedal on Kickstarter Groundhog Audio Website Groundhog Audio on Instagram

Rob Landeros joins us to share the incredible story behind Trilobyte and The 7th Guest, from discovering the Amiga and working at Cinemaware and Virgin, to teaming up with Graeme Devine and helping ignite the CD-ROM revolution with one of the most iconic FMV horror puzzlers of the 1990s. The 7th Guest Remake: https://the7thguestremake.com/Diddly on Kickstarter: https://lnk.ua/9XeHAcgxMContents:00:00 – The Week's Retro News Stories47:15 - The 7th Guest InterviewPlease visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.comCheck out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needsLondon Gaming Market: https://www.londongamingmarket.com/We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:https://theretrohour.com/support/https://www.patreon.com/retrohourJoin our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8Website: http://theretrohour.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/X: https://twitter.com/retrohourukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.comTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohourShow notesGodzilla Remaster Challenges GTA: https://youtu.be/w-veMlH2L-APaulaNET Amiga Wi-Fi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhAg-fT83o8Jet Set Radio Divides Fans: https://lnk.ua/tdyOdTeYHN64 Controller Guitar Pedal: https://lnk.ua/9IWlFwXIzThief Remaster Announced: https://lnk.ua/XduraQixGCastlevania Mega Drive Port: https://lnk.ua/tOaxHv6waMetro Siege Hits Kickstarter: https://lnk.ua/RyOFar6cKPatrons newsFinal Fight 64 Homebrew: https://lnk.ua/awxAjBPf5Perfect Dark VR Port: https://lnk.ua/bKQAOFZqH

About Ivan Van NormanIvan Van Norman is a true powerhouse of indie tabletop publishing and media innovation, bringing over 15 years of deep industry expertise to the table. Our paths cross all the way back to the very first year Gen Con introduced Entrepreneur's Alley, where our tiny 10x10 booths were literally shoved into the back corner of the convention hall, facing a wall right next to the food court. While I was out there hawking the first print run of Ascension, Ivan was launching Hunters Entertainment. Since then, Ivan has carved out an incredible track record, serving as an executive producer and host at Geek & Sundry during the wild dawn of the web-streaming boom, helping lay the early foundational blocks for massive cultural phenomena like Critical Role, and co-owning Hunters Entertainment. He's the publisher behind brilliant, boundary-pushing projects like the silent, text-messaging RPG Alice Is Missing. In this episode, we discuss the brutal realities of transitioning from a broke creator to a successful studio owner, how shifting mediums completely transform the mechanics of storytelling, and why your graveyard of discarded ideas is secretly your greatest design asset.Ah-ha! Justin's Takeaways* Everybody Prepares You for Failure, Nobody Prepares You for Success: When you're broke and just starting out, you are completely free to take massive risks because you have absolutely nothing to lose. However, the moment an indie project hits it big, the landscape completely flips. Ivan shares a wild reality check about running his first hit Kickstarter as a sole proprietor and suddenly getting hit with a massive personal tax bill he didn't see coming. Success brings structural obligations to payroll, to investors, and to an audience that wants you to repeat your tricks.* The Medium is the Mechanic: If you want your creative stories to break through the modern cultural noise, you have to design explicitly for the technology where your audience actually lives. Felicia Day and Geek & Sundry did it by leveraging the wild west of early YouTube and Twitch to unlock long-form TTRPG streaming. Alice Is Missing did it by turning a standard smartphone group text into an intensely emotional narrative engine. During our chat, Ivan's insights actually inspired me start work on a brand-new design concept right at the table: how to build an ultra-short-form video RPG engineered entirely for Shorts, Reels, and Twitch.* Less Money Equals More Radical Execution: Starting out broke right out of college gives you a massive, counterintuitive edge, because without a cash cushion, you are forced into a level of radical execution you just can't fake. Ivan and I launched right in a brutal recession, building display tables out of inventory boxes and dragging ammo cans down the hot streets of Indianapolis. That said, the real secret to surviving over the long haul as a serial entrepreneur is a beautiful touch of amnesia. We are naturally wired to avoid pain, and if you perfectly remembered the bone-deep exhaustion and near-failures of a launch, you'd never take a big risk again. You need that selective memory loss to trick yourself into thinking "this next launch will be smooth" just to find the sheer audacity to stand at the starting line again. It acts as a psychological shock absorber, wiping away the baggage of past failures so you can always approach a blank sheet of paper with total confidence. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, David Hedgecock shares insights on comic book creation, Kickstarter success, and the art of packaging and presentation. Discover how to build a direct connection with fans and create compelling, collectible comics.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/funtimego/super-kaiju-rock-n-roller-derby-fun-time-go-fuji-flames/descriptionhttps://funtimego.com/David Hedgecock's Social Media: Instagram - @FTGLetsGo X - @FunTimeLetsGo Get your Fortress Comics merchandise with the link belowhttps://www.teepublic.com/user/fortress-comicsFortressofComicNews.comhttps://chriscomicscorner.substack.com/YouTube.com/FortressComicsFind Chris: https://linktr.ee/tacticalsquirrelmediaMike twitter @fortressrickerMike's Comic Bone Graft: https://globalcomix.com/c/bentbox-shorts/chapters/en/4/1Patreon.com/FortressComicshttps://www.tiktok.com/@chriscomicscornerThanks for Listening!#marvel #marvelcomics #mcu #dccomics #comicbooks #comicnews #podcast #indiecomics #batman

The SKATCAST Network presents:The Dave and Angus Show #229Today's Skit-SKAT:[ Creepiest Sh*t | 1:33 ] - "Season 2: Volume 6" - Dave and Angus star as Sam and Dean Dimjester as their role in a supernatural war becomes more clear-ish (sort of). Mosh the demon's issue also gets more intense and Gator takes two steps backwards working at the bunker-bar.We hope you enjoy today's show and the rest of the day! Thank you!!!Visit us for more episodes of SKATCAST and other shows like SKATCAST presents The Dave & Angus Show plus BONUS material at https://www.skatcast.com Watch select shows and shorts on YouTube: bit.ly/34kxCneJoin the conversation on Discord! https://discord.gg/XKxhHYwu9zFor all show related questions: info@skatcast.comPlease rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow SKATCAST on social media!! Instagram: @theescriptkeeper Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scriptkeepersATWanna become a Patron? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/SkatcastSign up through Patreon and you'll get Exclusive Content, Behind The Scenes video, special downloads and more! Prefer to make a donation instead? You can do that through our PayPal: https://paypal.me/skatcastpodcastCheck Out our Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scriptkeeper/skatcast-operation-splatter-skat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome welcome, it's the show notes for our third minisode. I am your host Sara Century and these minisodes are cohosted by Alex Segura. Minisode is a bit of a misnomer this episode but you get my meaning.  We actually have wrapped our Kickstarter but follow us at patreon.com/theforgottenfive for updates because we've got many announcements to come.

This week Kelly and Katai subject themselves to WALK OF THE SPIRITS by their former friend, Richie Tankersley Cusick, a barely there ghost story glorifying the Confederacy??? They talk racism, slavery erasure, and, unfortunately, more. It goes badly.Support BROTHER MANOR, Kelly's gothic romance miniseries, on Kickstarter! INFO AND DONATE!SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON for ad free and video eps, bonus eps, & more.DiscordInstagramMERCH!TEEN CREEPS IS AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST.*All creepy opinions expressed are those of the hosts and guests. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from HeroesCon 2026, in Charlotte, North Carolina, we're celebrating the beautiful kinship between cartoonists Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer, the industry's most notable BFFs. Their meet-cute occurred ten years ago at HeroesCon, the most comic book comic convention in America, but it solidified during an adventure to claim a “Tiger Truck.” You can take a second to unpack that last sentence, or you can just go ahead and press play on this week's podcast episode. We discuss how a passion for comics, Kyle's location, and its relation to a town where Chris collects his lumber brought these friends together. Eventually, this would lead to collaboration on books such as Rock Candy Mountain, Mars Attacks, 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton, and Karate Prom. They are two singular creators with the determination to do things their own way, but somehow, through the bickering, they make magic. It was a pleasure to sit across from these two while they regaled us, and a HeroesCon audience, with tales of triumph, defeat, and consternation. One's a grump. One's chill. One's an optimist. One's a realist. Who's who might surprise you. We're delighted to platform these comic book besties. Recently, Kyle Starks wrapped up Wrestle Heist for Image Comics, and it will land in bookstores on August 4th. He also completed Where Monsters Lie: Dead End via Kickstarter and is currently writing the Vertigo Comics series, End of Life. Follow him on BlueSky, Instagram, Patreon, and his Website. Chris Schweizer is weeks away from launching his next Kickstarter campaign for Outlaw's Apprentice: Broken Blade, the first graphic novel in his Appalachian-inspired swashbuckling fantasy series. You can also read it on Webtoon and Patreon. Follow him on BlueSky, Instagram, and his Website. This Week's Sponsors The Future is Calling! 2000 AD is the Galaxy's Greatest Comic, with new issues published every single week! Every 32-page issue of 2000 AD brings you the best in sci-fi and horror, featuring characters like Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, and more. Get a print subscription to 2000 AD and it'll arrive to your mailbox every week - and your first issue is free! Or subscribe digitally, and you can download DRM-free copies of each issue for only $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible comics every month for less than $10! Head to 2000AD.com and click on ‘subscribe' now – or download the 2000 AD app and start reading today! This June, Top Shelf Productions is bringing you unforgettable stories from the deeply personal to the absolutely colossal. On June 2nd, discover We Are Pan, the powerful historical graphic novel from writer Andre Frattino and illustrator Yasmin Flores Montanez. Inspired by the true story of Operación Pedro Pan, the secret mission that evacuated over 14,000 Cuban children to the United States during Fidel Castro's rise to power. Then, on June 23rd, buckle up for Minnie Pouches in the MicroRealm! From Caleb Goellner and Eric Lide comes a wildly imaginative all-ages adventure about a super-anxious super-strong girl battling pizza dinosaurs, laser robots, and floating nightmares across bizarre dimensions to rescue her pets and save her family. The charming town of Orchard has everything you could ever need: walkable streets, friendly residents, and no escape. But why would you want to leave? The world outside is a nuclear wasteland! It's much better to stay in the warm confines of Orchard and ignore the deep secrets it holds. After all, it's a safe place to live. Free on Webtoon, Winston Gambro's A Safe Place to Live is the dystopian horror comic you've been waiting for. It's Severance meets Archie. Support human-made art!. Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Subscribe to the Comic Book Couples Counseling YouTube Channel Watch The Stacks, Comic Creators Name Their Favorite Comics Previously on CBCC: Kyle Starks on Karate Prom Previously on CBCC: Kyle Starks on I Hate This Place Comic Book Film Club: Supergirl at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia on 6/27 at 11:00 AM. Co-Sponsored by Four Color Fantasies. Comic Book Club: The Complete Persepolis at Meanwhile...Coffee in Herndon, Virginia, on 7/5 at 3:30 PM Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren. Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts. Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators. Podcast logo by Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

She sold out. Twice. Wendy is a homeschool mom of six, a former nurse, and a Print School student who launched the Plan Prep Pray Homeschool Mom Planner — an all-in-one planner built for the reality of homeschooling and home management at the same time. Her 2025–2026 planner sold out. Her 2026–2027 planner sold out too. Now she's back with a preorder for her 2027–2028 dated planner and a brand new undated version — because her audience asked for it and she listened. In this episode, she talks about what went into designing a planner that actually works for homeschool moms, what the Kickstarter felt like, and why she's convinced none of it happened by accident.

In this episode of The Fireside, Jake sits down with Peter Mohrbacher — celebrated digital painter, character designer, and creator of the stunning Angelarium series. Peter shares how a nerdy teenager obsessed with anime and video games became one of the most recognizable names in fantasy illustration, with work spanning Magic: The Gathering, indie art shows, and a thriving freelance career built on Kickstarter and Patreon. They dig into Peter's unconventional creative process — including his use of gradient maps to find color — the evolution of the convention scene, how he got himself fired into a successful solo career, and why the most important part of a critique has nothing to do with anatomy or tangents. Peter will also be one of the headlining instructors at the Paradise Artist Retreat this October at Jiminy Peak, where he'll be leading a digital painting workshop. Join Pete and Jake at this year's Paradise Artist's Retreat www.paradiseartistretreat.com

Our hosts return to the Podtower to review the third and final instalment of Secret Origins. Alex and Will share their thoughts on the three-part story as a whole and come away feeling a little underwhelmed. They also spotlight the episode's musical score, noting its uncanny resemblance to Pirates of the Caribbean and wondering whether Hans Zimmer may have stolen it from this show. Another film comparison that Alex notices is from The Matrix, in both the music and the aliens' plan to block out the sun.Our hosts also discover that Martian Manhunter might be into BDSM (even if he doesn't know what the acronym stands for), the aliens tunnel of deadly fart gas, and Batman builds a massive space station for the Justice League, only to then remain a temporary member of the team. Also, tip us or find us on social media here:Tip Jar: https://buymeacoffee.com/batmantaspod Outbreaks Issue 4 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/speechcomics/outbreaks-1-4-an-ongoing-zombie-anthology-seriesMobster Mash 1-2 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/speechcomics/mobster-mash-1-2-classic-movie-monsters-as-mobsters Join Our Discord - https://discord.com/invite/bQF76V3nUs TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.tiktok.com/@batmantaspod?_t=8zn1yhsgnfz&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/@batmantaspod Follow the Pod on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.instagram.com/batmantaspod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow the Pod on Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.facebook.com/BatmanTASPod Follow the Pod on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://twitter.com/batmantaspod1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to Will's Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.patreon.com/willrobson Speech Comics Website⁠ - https://www.speechcomics.com/ Will's WhatNot Page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - https://www.whatnot.com/user/speechcomics

THIS IS A PREVIEW. FOR THE FULL EPISODE, GO TO Patreon.com/worstofall Mark Zuckerberg spent seven years and $80 billion attempting to build Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality "metaverse" that peaked at around 200,000 monthly users in October 2022. After years of decay, Horizon froze the creation of new worlds in VR this week, shifting the platform's focus back to mobile and marking the effective end of Meta's virtual reality ambitions. This week, the lads perform an autopsy on both Horizon Worlds and Mark Zuckerberg's dream of the metaverse more broadly, discovering how a platform built on the vision of a revolutionary gaming headset eventually gave way to a world solely inhabited by dozens of eight-year-olds screaming slurs in 360 degrees of immersive 3D. Media Referenced in this Episode: Meta Horizons Worlds for Oculus Quest, including the following worlds: “Horizon Central” “Bobber Bay Fishing” “NBA Arena” “Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour” “METDONALD'S” “Pizza Kitchen” “Bad Roommates UPDATED!” “I Spent A Week Alone In The Metaverse” by Jarvis Johnson (August 1, 2023) Kickstarter campaign for Oculus Rift Oculus VR profile on Crunchbase “Happy Go Luckey: Meet the 20-year-old creator of Oculus Rift” by Robert Purchase (Eurogamer, July 11, 2013) “John Carmack's former employer claims he stole tech for Oculus VR when he left” by Ben Gilbert (Engadget, May 1, 2014) “Palmer Luckey: The Facebook Near-Billionaire Secretly Funding Trump's Meme Machine” by Ben Collins and Gideon Resnick (The Daily Beast, September 22, 2016) Palmer Luckey's post about Nimble American on Facebook (September 23, 2016) “Palmer Luckey distances himself from Nimble America group” by Matt Kamen (Wired, September 26, 2016) “Facebook launches beta of Spaces, its goofy and fun social VR platform” by Lucas Matney (TechCrunch, April 18, 2017) The Mark Zuckerberg/Sweet Baby Ray's edit “Zuckerberg blasted for tone-deaf 'magical' VR tour of Puerto Rico” from CNET News (October 10, 2017) Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Flatiron Books, 2025) “Introducing Oculus Quest” from Meta Developers (February 13, 2019) “Oculus Quest Basics Tutorial” from Meta Quest (May 20, 2019) “Everything revealed at Facebook's Oculus Horizon presentation” from CNET Highlights (September 25, 2019) “Building the Tools to Power the Future of Work” press release from Facebook (May 21, 2020) “Growth At Any Cost: Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection In 2016 Memo — And Warned That Facebook Could Get People Killed” by Ryan Mac, Charlie Warzel, and Alex Kantrowitz (BuzzFeed News, March 29, 2018) “Zuckerberg Says He Strongly Disagrees With “The Ugly” Memo By Top Facebook Exec” by Jim Dalrymple II (BuzzFeed News, March 29, 2018) “Facebook Horizon | New Worlds in the Making” from Meta Quest (August 27, 2020) “Facebook launches ‘Horizon Workrooms.' Here's how it works” from CBS Mornings (August 19, 2021) “The Metaverse and How We'll Build It Together -- Connect 2021” from Meta (October 28, 2021) Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook post announcing Horizon Worlds launching in France and Spain Announcement that legs are coming soon Footage of Meta Connect 2024 in Horizon Worlds “What Went Wrong With Horizon Worlds? Former Meta Devs Share Surprising Insights -- And a Solution to Still Save It” by Wagner James Au (March 12, 2025; archived from the original on March 16, 2025) “Eli Roth Brings His Brand of Horror to Meta Horizon Worlds + Meta Quest TV” Meta press release (October 14, 2022) “Why The Metaverse Was Doomed From The Start” by The Art of Storytelling (March 27, 2026) “Zuck Never Understood the Metaverse” by The Morbid Zoo (April 4, 2026) “How Did the Metaverse Fail So Badly?” by Patrick Boyle (April 12, 2026) “What does Meta actually do now?” by Good Work (May 8, 2026) “Meta burned $19 billion on VR last year, and 2026 won't be any better” by Lucas Ropek (TechCrunch, January 28, 2026) Announcement from Meta that Spark will be shutting down in January 2025 “Meta is closing down its VR meeting rooms as part of its wider cull” by Mariella Moon (Engadget, January 16, 2026) “Meta Lays Off 8,000 Employees, as A.I. Casualties Mount” by Eli Tan, Kalley Huang, and Mike Isaac (The New York Times, May 19, 2026) “Backrooms uses the bluntest of metaphors to capture a uniquely Gen Z fear” by Joshua Rivera (The A.V. Club, June 5th, 2026) TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Connect Keynote Address 2026” // Written by A.J. Ditty // feat. Brian Alford as “Zucks”

The Deep Lake Latchkeys are a group of people who used to live in Deep Lake, New Mexico when they were kids. In the 80s and early 90s, there was a mysterious public access TV station in town. That is, until it was wiped off the face of the earth in 1992. Most have explained it's disappearance mundanely, but only these folks remember the station's programming, and its bizarre, otherworldly fare.Going back to their old home town to seek the truth in 2004, their investigation proves fruitless thus far. However, a tape of a recording from the station appears on their doorstep, as does a man their age. He pleads for their help investigating his old childhood friend's home on Escondito Street. His family vanished in the 1994 without a trace, and what remains in that house is not good...Thus begins our broadcast day.Public Access is a Carved From Brindlewood RPG of nostalgic analog horror in the early aughts by Jason Cordova. You can find out more about the game at The Gauntlet (with links to purchase from DriveThruRPG.) Public Access recently had a successful Kickstarter for an updated edition of the game with new stories and expansions. You can read more, or become a late backer, at the Kickstarter page.Greg - GMBen - Shane ScroederSean - Amber Wright

Chris Yates is stepping into the creator-owned spotlight in a big way with Marcus Walker: Kingslayer Protocol, a kinetic sci-fi comic that blends explosive mech-versus-kaiju action with family drama, buried secrets, and the kind of emotional weight that gives giant-robot stories real soul. Set in New Honolulu City, Marcus Walker: Kingslayer Protocol follows Marcus as a war between Kaijus and Kingslayer Mechs rages around him. But instead of putting the obvious hero in the obvious seat, Yates builds a more layered story: Marcus is not the mech pilot. His older brother Kaleb is. That choice alone gives this series a different kind of heartbeat, one rooted in distance, identity, survival, and the pressure of legacy. Yates comes into this project with a fascinating background. Before launching his own book, he worked at The Walt Disney Company and United Talent Agency, specializing in comic book adaptations, non-traditional IP media rights, and creator representation. In 2025 alone, he helped develop, launch, and market four indie publishing Kickstarters that raised more than $87,000 collectively. That experience now feeds directly into this campaign, which feels built with both creator passion and strategic clarity. Artist Simone Ragazzoni brings the visual blast radius, and Yates has openly praised that collaboration as one of the healthiest and most rewarding creative partnerships he's had. The result is a book that promises spectacle, but not empty spectacle the kind where every punch, transformation, and monster clash is tied to something personal. For fans of Ultraman: Rising, Big Hero 6, and Power Rangers, this Kickstarter looks like a sharp mix of nostalgia, modern emotional storytelling, and collector appeal, with variant covers and premium reward tiers helping turn the launch into a real event. YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbKSBeaTtPg Comic Crusaders is hyped to talk with Chris Yates about the road that brought him here, what Marcus Walker challenged him to do creatively, and why this project could be the start of something much bigger. Support the kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crushyourgoals/marcus-walker-kingslayer-protocol-a-kinetic-sci-fi-comic Chris Yates on Instagram: @cyg47 Chris Yates website: Www.crushyourgoals.com Artist Simone Ragazzoni on Instagram: @simoneragazzoni Subscribe to Comic Crusaders for more interviews with comic creators, indie legends, rising stars, and the wildest voices in pop culture. Thank you for Watching / Listening! We appreciate your support! Host Al Mega Follow on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook: @TheRealAlMega / @ComicCrusaders Make sure to Like/Share/Subscribe if you haven't yet Rumble/Twitch: ComicCrusaders YouTube: / comiccrusadersworld Visit the official Comic Crusaders Comic Book Shop: comiccrusaders.shop Visit the OFFICIAL Comic Crusaders Swag Shop at: comiccrusaders.us Main Site: https://www.comiccrusaders.com/​​​​ Edited/Produced/Directed by Al Mega Want to create amazing live streams like ours? Then look no further than StreamYard! The BEST and EASIEST to use Streaming Solution on Earth! Check it out at: : https://streamyard.com/pal/d/6492786798886912

Join Us in Support of Alkem Gear's Kickstarter ending June 19th!https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alkemgear/alkem-gear-purpose-built-tabletop-gear?ref=249zfwUse our link for a free Month of Elite on TradeMagic.gghttps://trademagic.gg/eternaldurdlesChannel Art Assets by: https://www.instagram.com/jonthetallone/ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EternalDurdlesTCGPLAYER AFFILIATE LINK:https://partner.tcgplayer.com/OexAAnMarvel has officially arrived in Magic: The Gathering. Whether you're excited, skeptical, or somewhere in between, these cards are entering Legacy—and that means it's time to evaluate what actually matters for competitive play.In this episode, Phil and Zac review the Marvel Superheroes set through a Legacy lens, discussing which cards might deserve testing, which are unlikely to make an impact, and which designs stand out from a gameplay perspective.Cards discussed include:00:00 Intro — Marvel Comes to Legacy01:04 Ares, God of War04:46 Molecule Man08:28 Black Bolt12:26 Shang-Chi of the Ten Rings16:22 Black Widow, Super Spy17:35 Bruce Banner / The Incredible Hulk19:30 Dragon Man23:44 Franklin Richards Ascendant25:43 Galactus27:45 Helmut Zemo29:07 Ironheart30:20 Iron Lad31:21 Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk33:28 Loki, God of Mischief34:28 Mole Man38:24 Namor, the Sub-Mariner43:22 Patriot44:30 T'Chaka, Vulnerable King45:40 Thanos, the Mad Titan46:45 Vision49:20 Kimoyo Beads (Bonus Discussion)50:20 Tony Stark52:20 Ultron53:10 Willie Lumpkin53:55 Into the Time Vortex55:43 Vision Quest58:20 Iron Man Armor01:00:20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Flying Car01:12:28 Final Thoughts on Marvel & Universes Beyond01:14:30 Comic Book Recommendations01:15:00 The Commander Product Problem01:17:00 Wrap UpAlong the way, the conversation explores deckbuilding theory, the realities of Legacy power levels, Universes Beyond design philosophy, and whether any of these cards can compete with the format's established staples.Which Marvel card are you most interested in testing?#MTGLegacy #MagicTheGathering #MarvelMTG #MTG #LegacyMTGJOIN US ON DISCORD: https://discord.gg/hrC7PxQZTEProudly supported by Three For One Trading: shop.threeforonetrading.comRiverside Partner Link: https://riverside.sjv.io/KB0E07MOXFIELDEternal Durdles Moxfield: https://www.moxfield.com/users/EternalDurdleshttps://www.moxfield.com/users/Durdlemagushttps://www.moxfield.com/users/ForceofPhil

In this episode, hosts Dirk Knemeyer and David Heron sit down with Mikey Gilder, the Chief Creative Officer of Avantress Entertainment, known for their hit actual play show Legends of Avantress and the massively successful $9 million+ Kickstarter campaign for Neon Odyssey. The discussion explores the intersection of actual play performance and "crunchy" game design, examining how the rise of shows like Critical Role has fundamentally shifted the way players approach tabletop RPGs. Mikey shares candid insights into the transition from hobbyist to professional publisher, the painful lessons learned while creating The Crooked Moon, and the philosophy of "inverting the pyramid" to provide players with more mechanical "buttons to press" while maintaining narrative freedom. Listeners will find a deep dive into the realities of high-stakes crowdfunding, including how to balance expensive merchandising like plushies and minis with the core integrity of the RPG book.

Follow the project page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raythe-reign/the-big-gay-art-book See the banana video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZYioUnBhGO/ YouTube version with slideshow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0m-_We3Uzs

Our season 3 Kickstarter is live! Fawx & Stallion is a comedy-mystery podcast about the best detective team in London! Not that one. The other one. Across the street, and slightly to the left, at 224B Baker Street. We've successfully solved two mysteries, and we'll need your help to get a crack at a third! Scripts are written, pre-production has begun, and all we need is the funding to make this show's engine start in earnest! Season one of the show was primarily self-financed, and season two's 10 episodes were crowdfunded and produced for $8000. For season 3, we are telling a story unlike any you've heard, with 12 full-cast episodes. Thank you to our Patreon members who have helped finance our pre-production and our wonderful team of five guest writers! For this season, we are asking for $10,000 to bring this sprawling, absurd, ambitious story to life. We invite you to check out our crowdfunding page, which is live now, for more info on the season, our budget breakdown, and our fantastic set of rewards (early access! annotated Holmes stories! stickers! for the first time, the opportunity to name a character or provide walla for the show!). If you're not in a position to donate or join the Patreon, that's fine! Please send along our campaign to anyone who may be interested, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on any of your favorite podcatchers. Word of mouth is crucial for campaigns like these! Share the campaign (and the show) on Twitter (we won't call it the other thing), Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, Bluesky, etc–we're on all platforms @224bbaker!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can horror writing help readers — and writers — work through psychological trauma? Why does cross-genre fiction take longer to find an audience, but pay off in the long run? Is running a direct sales store actually worth the inventory, postage, and learning curve? And how can SubStack work for fiction authors? With psychotherapist and award-winning author P.D. Alleva. In the intro, thoughts on why in-person conferences are still worth it, even when they are a challenge for sensitive introverts! and tips for making the best of conferences [Self-Publishing Show]. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why horror puts the human condition on display better than any other genre Emotional trauma as the silent psychological killer most people overlook The pros and challenges of cross-genre writing and finding your audience Practical lessons from running a direct store, including integration and signed-copy fulfilment How a 3 a.m. writing routine keeps the writing separate from the marketing and admin Serialising fiction on Substack, multiple newsletters, and avoiding paid subscriber promotions Why Facebook groups, TikTok Lives, and the three-to-one rule are working right now You can find P.D. at PDAlleva.com or on Substack. Transcript of the interview with P.D. Alleva Jo: P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. So welcome, Paul. PD: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. This is a great opportunity. I love doing interviews, and I love talking to great people. Jo: Oh, good. Well, first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and being an indie author. PD: So I've been writing since I was a kid, at least second grade and more than likely even before that. I've always had that creative itch. Getting into indie author publishing, I published my first book in 2011. At the time I was also operating my own business, which took up about 24 hours of my time every single day. Then I kind of got through that and sold that in 2016, and I'm like, you know what? The time has come. I'd always written books, poetry, short stories, but never really did anything with them because I just didn't have the time. So in 2017, that's when I really came out and said, all right, the time is now. Indie publishing was doing great. The one good thing I do love about Amazon is they allowed us to come out there and start showing our craft to people. So in 2017, I just started—let's do this. Let's write full time. Let's put books out there. Let's be creative. Let's really get those juices flowing. Plus, I was getting a little bit old, and I was like, now is definitely the time to do this. Since then I've been publishing consistently, and most of my books are horror books, but I dabble. I have a sci-fi series, and I'm starting to get into psychological thrillers too. I've got a new psychological thriller that'll be published in early 2027 called Girl on a Mission. For the most part, I'm definitely into the horror genre—books, short stories, all that good fun stuff. Jo: Right, so a couple of follow-ups. You said you're a bit old. Can you give us what decade you're in at least? PD: Well, I'm 51, so born in 1971. Jo: Oh, there you go. Same age as me. PD: All right, good. See that? So we're going head-to-head there. Jo: I don't think that's old at all. Also, you mentioned you sold your business in 2016. So what was your business before? Because I think business experience is so important. PD: Agreed 100%. So I'm a psychotherapist, and I had owned a treatment centre for mental health and addiction. That was started in 2011, and in 2016 is when it sold. Since then, my wife and I started a private practice. So I still, even to this day—well, about a year and a half ago is when I stopped. I specialise in trauma, PTSD, and addiction. Trauma mostly. Most of my caseload has always been trauma, PTSD, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, war-type trauma. I was doing that mostly individually since 2016 in private practice, and I'll still go into treatment centres and see patients there too, specifically for trauma. About a year and a half ago is when I started wanting to do writing 100% full time. I thought about becoming a professor, maybe going to college, but then I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into that full time, as far as a caseload and school and everything like that. So I decided to just do group therapy, group facilitation, and I've been doing that consistently since then. It may be 15 hours a week. I do love to give back, and to me, it's more what I teach. I specialise in neuro-linguistic programming, bilateral stimulation or EMDR, hypnotherapy, science of mind concepts, psychopharmacology, biological bases of behaviour—which is pretty much how your brain works—ancient wisdom, quantum physics. I do this in a drug addiction treatment centre mostly, also mental health. And of course, just living an addictive lifestyle is traumatic, too, in and of itself. So pretty much I'm teaching them. Behaviour modification is a big part of what I'm teaching during that time. You'll see that, too, if you read my books. There's two things you can figure out from my books. You can figure out how to murder people and get away with it, and two, you can figure out how to overcome trauma as well. The whole “murder people and get away with it” comes from my upbringing. I have a very sorted past, let's put it that way. My upbringing was very different than what most people grow up in. Jo: Oh, can you give us any more than that? Now everyone's like, “Oh.” PD: “What's going on with this guy, right?” So I grew up, let's say, quote unquote, “in an Italian New York family.” Jo: Okay. All right. PD: That might give people ideas, right? Jo: That's going to give people a lot of ideas. PD: If you've ever seen the movie Goodfellas, I kind of grew up in that atmosphere, and with even some of those people too. My family had connections to those people in that movie, which I find very funny. If you watch that movie with me, you get a very different perspective on what's going on in the movie. Jo: Wow. So you're an interesting guy with an interesting background, with a very interesting backstory job as well. Some people are like, “Well, of course he's writing horror because horror is just awful and full of slasher gore and all that.” I often have to say to people who don't read horror, “Look, it's not like that.” Maybe some of it is, sure. But most of it isn't. Could you talk about how reading and writing horror can also be psychologically healthy? How do these worlds intertwine for you? PD: Well, sure. It 100% can be healthy. Especially over the last few years, there's a trend going on out there right now where people are taking their trauma and putting it into a creative process through poems, short stories, and even novels. They're taking their trauma and giving it a face, like a monster, where people are overcoming that monster within the creative process. I always say that horror is the genre that puts on display, better than any other genre out there, the human condition. Why is that? When people are in a terrifying situation, you really see who they are. You get to the heart of the matter of who that person is by putting them in these horrific but undefinable situations where it's like, what are they going to come out as? That real true personality needs to come out, and that courage comes out. That's huge in horror, and I think horror gets such a bad name. Now, I know there's the extreme horror and the splatterpunk, and that has its kind of role too in what I'm saying, but that's where horror is getting its bad reputation out there with the over-the-top type of gore. For the most part, that's a small part of the horror genre. It's a subgenre for a reason. It has its readership, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with it. I read it all the time. I find a lot of joy in it, a lot of excitement. However, for the most part, any horror novel that is not completely with the gore and stuff like splatterpunk can be seen as a psychological thriller, and a lot of psychological thrillers can be seen as a horror novel. Look at books like The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon. That's horrific as well, but if you read the novel, it's in there. It just gets that bad rap right now, and it's not all gore. Most horror novels that I read today are psychological horror. It's tame on the gore, and the psychological aspect is there. I always see that psychological aspect—it's like psychological trauma. Most people, even in my industry, when people are out there and you mention trauma, PTSD, they're thinking about sexual abuse, physical abuse, or war-type trauma. The silent psychological one—I once wrote an article called “Emotional Trauma: The Silent Psychological Killer.” The one that's out there is the psychological trauma, the emotional trauma that is widespread. Most people go through that, and it could even be from parent to child, and most people don't understand that that's a traumatic experience. It's like a distortion of reality that you're experiencing that then creates a belief system in your brain, and you're constantly acting out that belief system. That's where the psychological component of horror really comes out. People breaking through that psychological belief system that was created through a traumatic experience by reaching courage and coming out through a horrific situation. Jo: Yes, it really annoys me, because with romance, of course people understand that romance is a huge genre. Something like a small town sweet romance is a world away from the bully romantasy, dark, or mafia. Mafia romance is a really big thing with very dark themes. I'm like, well, how can you understand that romance is a huge genre with all these different subgenres, and not think that horror or thriller or fantasy or sci-fi all have so many different subgenres within them? I personally read a lot of supernatural horror, but rarely the slasher gore kind of stuff. So I'm really glad you said that, and hopefully more people will open up a bit more. I did also want to ask you about what you write. You write all these different things. You write standalone—I mean, often horror is standalone—but you also have some series. How do you balance it? What are the benefits of cross-genre writing, but also the challenges of it? PD: Okay. So obviously I love cross-genre writing. To me, I use fantasy to explain the supernatural elements. I blend mostly a tad of fantasy to help explain the supernatural components in my supernatural novels. When I write sci-fi, specifically sci-fi, that has the fantasy element in it too, but there's also a tad of horror in there as well. It's just who I am. When I grew up, I had a lot of different influences. I had Star Wars on one side, and then I'm watching B-rated '80s slasher films on the other side. Those two mixes just kind of followed me throughout my life, and that's why I like putting them into my novels. As I tell my patients, don't limit yourself. Never limit yourself. If you're just limiting yourself to one genre, you're missing out on so much more that's out there. So I love the blend of mixing genres. It just gets my goat each and every time. It is a challenge though. I remember when I first started getting into indie publishing, I was never big into Facebook and social media up until I started becoming an indie author. Before that, with my type of upbringing, you don't advertise yourself. You don't advertise where you're going. That's a big no-no. So I always had this aversion to social media. I'll tell you a funny story. It was the late 2000s, probably 2006. I was a full-time single father at that time, and I was living in Florida. My family—brothers and sisters-in-law—were living in New York, and my sister-in-law said, “Get a Facebook account so we can see pictures of the kids.” I said, “Oh.” I didn't want to do it, but I said, “Okay,” so I did it. And I'm thinking, looking at this Facebook thing, “How do I put pictures on here?” So I figured out how to put pictures in folders. Then I phone called her, and I'm like, “Okay, so they're on there.” And they're like, “Well, where are they?” I'm like, “I put them in these folders. You can go and look at them.” She's like, “No, you've got to post them.” That to me was like, “I'm not posting pictures of my kids.” That was a big no-no. It didn't click. When I got on there finally in 2016, 2017, I'm like, “Okay, so I need to figure out social media. As an indie author, I need to be on there, so I need to get through this aversion and get on there.” I started noticing how people are so particular with their genres. If they're reading a romance, it had to be very specific with that exact type of romance, and if you deviated from it, they're not going to like it. So that was the challenge. I was like, “All right, number one, I'm not going to dilute myself” and say, “All right, take things out of my writing or out of my novel just so I could cater to a certain type of audience.” I'm like, “I'm not going to do that.” I know with me, myself, as a reader, I'll read everything. I don't limit myself to a specific genre. I'll read psychological thrillers. I'll read romance. I've been doing that all my life. So I'm like, if there's a person like me out there—and look at this, I just met like four other people who also read cross genres—then I know that there's at least another 30,000 people, and I know that at least then there's 300,000, then there's three million people out there. So just write the books that you're writing and find your audience. Now, that takes longer. So you've got to chip away. Chip away. You're going to find readers here and there, and then that reader kind of tells a few people about you, and then you've got a few more readers. Then you keep going, and you go on these Facebook groups, and you do a whole bunch of different things, and then you gather a few more readers. Then they're telling some friends, and then you've got more. The process takes a lot longer, yes, 100% agreed, but I would say be true to yourself and you can never go wrong. Jo: Yes, I agree. I write cross-genre as well, and I've browsed your collection. Golem was the one I was like, “Ooh, yes, I like that one.” I haven't read it yet, it's on my list. I think when you're cross-genre, my people come to my store as well, and it's like, “Okay, I'm interested in lots of things, but this is the one by this author that I'm interested in.” Whereas with other authors who only write one type of thing, then I might not like any of their stuff. So I think there are definitely pros and cons and different ways into our world. I also wanted to ask you about the differences in business. Obviously you ran this treatment centre and there were physical humans on all sides, and now you've got a business as an author. So what have you learned in business from what you used to do and what you do now? PD: Okay. You're right. The treatment centre industry is very different from what I'm doing now, but it's still people. Treat those people right, have integrity. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. My word is my bond type of thing. That definitely has fed into the writing and publishing industry that I'm in now in a huge way. Just connecting with people is, to me, the biggest part of it. I mean, treatment centres, you've got to connect with people. When I would market the treatment centre, where would I go? I would go to hospitals, residential facilities, detoxes, and talk to them about my programme and why they should be referring clients there. It's the same thing here. Why should you be reading my books? You get there through interviews like what I'm doing here with you. Other podcasts. You get there by doing Facebook Lives, TikTok. I haven't started TikTok Lives yet, but I actually love that platform. I'm falling in love with it. IG Lives, anything like that where you're talking to people and you're making a connection with those people. Through that, I've gathered so many different types of readers who are like, “Yes, I'll give this book a shot.” And then they read it and they're like, “Hey, this is really good, and I'm going to read another book.” With my books, I have very different books. Golem is my psychological horror novel. It's my slow-burn psychological horror novel, heavily inspired by Frankenstein and the Pygmalion myth. It's my first true horror book that I published. Then there's Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect, which is inspired by B-rated '80s horror movies and the old grindhouse movies of the '70s, and it's mind manipulation. It's just wild and bizarre. And then The Sleepy Hollow Incident is my Gothic tale—it's like a dark romance mixed in with Gothic horror. So I always try to put something for everyone that's out there. To me, when I'm writing, it's got to be about depth, psychological depth. I always refer to my books to be like peeling layers off a Texas-sized onion. The more you read, the more in-depth you get into not only the characters, but the story. It's just something that comes out of me. It's part of me. That's the way I always have to do it. I always have to put that depth in there. To me, that's good storytelling. When I grew up, I read a lot of classic literature. Yes, Edgar Allan Poe, but also Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Brontë sisters. Keep going. Ray Bradbury, Ayn Rand, Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson. Those to me are my books that I absolutely love. So there's a sweet science in today's fast-paced, social media type of world in marrying the depth of the old classic literature and the entertainment value that is required today for being an author. There's that sweet science behind it, and I love just hitting that nail on the head every time. Jo: So did you ever pitch traditional publishing, or have you thought about going that way? Because I also find that a lot of horror actually sits very close to literary. Like, I read a lot more literary horror than I do in some of the other genres. PD: Correct. So in the beginning, yes. Not in a long time. I maybe went to a couple of indie publishers, but as far as traditional, the Big Five publishers, I have an aversion to them for a big reason. I know people who have worked in that industry that have told me some pretty bad horror stories about those places. So I haven't sent anything to that type of place in a very, very long time. Maybe close to 20 years. Indie publishers, the small presses, yes, here and there, but even then, I'm always moving at a fast pace. So if I've got a book and I'm sending it out as a query letter, by the time that query letter is even read, I'm almost done publishing. I love that aspect of it. The control of my story, where I know where this character's going. And listen, I've got my beta readers, I've got my ARC readers. They're there to tell me, “Hey, maybe you should change this or change that.” Whether I take that advice or not, of course my editor too, is really up to me. I always put out the book that I know is the one I want to read. And to me, I haven't gone wrong in doing so. I know with traditional publishing, you sometimes get too many thoughts in the pot there. Let's put it that way. Jo: Okay, so coming back to being indie then. You mentioned Amazon earlier, but you have a store where you sell direct. Many authors are doing this now, but it can be a challenge. So what have you found are the pros and cons of your direct store? What's working? Any lessons there? PD: Okay. So I use a place called Big Cartel. They're the platform where the books are on. They're hosting my website, PDAlleva.com. The big challenge was actually just starting it. It was so overwhelming. How do I put this on there? At the time, I've got all these books, so how do I present them? I'm even going to be doing another revamp with it too, because I want better pictures—taking pictures of the books, stuff like that, instead of just having the covers on there. I also have a lot of shirts that I'm selling. So I think the biggest challenge is just getting on there and starting it. Then of course, you've got to learn a whole new platform, and the mechanics, and how people are going to be downloading, and how that's done on an e-book versus a print version of the book. So it's a huge learning curve that you've really got to put your focus on and give it time. What most people like in indie publishing is signed copies. It's a huge part of indie publishing, selling those signed copies. People love a signed copy, and that's primarily what my website is for. You can order signed copies from me. I also use a place called IngramSpark, and they're more like a distributor. They're used by everyone. They've been around for a very long time. Traditional publishing uses them too, and they're just distributing your novel. I'd say about a year ago, maybe two years ago, they started where you can sell your books on discount through them as well. So I have that on my website too, where you're just clicking on the book and you're pretty much going directly to their site and you're buying paperbacks and hardbacks at a discount. That's going well too. For the most part, people are definitely coming to my site because they want the signed copies. A good thing with indie publishing is limited editions, first print copies, special editions. That type of stuff really just takes off. People love to see that, especially in the indie community. You can sell them too. I go to a few different book conventions during the year, and the limited editions are there. Like I said, people love the signed copies. They love being a part of that and getting that signed copy. They treasure it, just like I treasure my books too. I'm not referring to my books that I've written, but books that I have as well. I love my e-reader, don't get me wrong, but I still prefer the physical copy—the paperback, and even more so than the paperback, the hardback. So people love those signed copies, and that's why I created the website, to sell on there for them. Jo: Yes, I mean, we're getting to a point now though where I think some people are questioning the pros and cons of it. For example, you doing the signed copies—I don't do that from my Shopify store because I don't want to hold stock and I don't want to deal with postage. So I only do it when I do a Kickstarter. I've just finished one recently, Bones of the Deep, and I'm going up to the printer, and I'm going to sign a couple of hundred copies and then they do the postage. That's the only way I'm willing to do it because of the pain of getting books to your house, signing them, getting them in the post. So how do you manage that practically? PD: Okay, so the inventory's there. I don't go and sign everything right away. I just keep the inventory. Once somebody buys the book, then I'll pull out the book, log it and all that good fun stuff, sign it, and then ship it out immediately. Here in my country, we get discounts at the United States Post Office because they're books. So they pass that shipping cost over to the reader too, so it's a little bit cheaper for shipping. I'll just take books once or twice a week over to the United States Postal Service and ship those books out. I don't sign them until I actually get that order. Jo: How many do you have in your house? It's the holding stock of all the backlist that is the problem. PD: Ooh, gotcha. All right. That's why I have a two-car garage. But here's the thing, I won't order 500 at a time. I'll order 20 at a time. Jo: Okay. Right. PD: When I see that inventory's getting low, I'll order another 20 at a time. Jo: And you get those from IngramSpark? PD: Correct. When the new one comes out, maybe at that time I'm just selling those, bringing those to conventions that I go to. Or maybe doing a sale on those books at that time to get rid of the inventory so it's not sitting around anymore. Jo: I think that's so important. Then like you mentioned, you do T-shirts or shirts. That is also really hard because of sizing. So is that all print on demand? PD: Yes. So I don't really hold the stock on the shirts. When I get an order, whatever the size is at that time, I go directly to the place and order it. I use a place called Sublimation Station that's here in Orlando. They do great all-over print T-shirts. They're fantastic. I just did one for The Sleepy Hollow Incident. So The Sleepy Hollow Incident is one long story, and it's broken up into four books. Each book has its own. The covers are fantastic. I use a lady named Cherie Foxley. She's a phenomenal cover designer. So the shirts are, like, book one is on the front of one shirt with book two on the back, and then the second shirt is book three on the cover and book four on the back. However, I can customise those. I just did a giveaway in my Facebook group and I let people know I could customise them, and she wanted book one and book four, so I just got that and sent it out to her. Now, if people go ahead and order that on the website, I can just order it right away from them, boom, and that place will get it shipped right then and there. Jo: Right, so they do the shipping. These are all sort of practical things that people need to answer because I feel like sometimes it's like, “Oh, yes, having a direct store is great,” but there's actually quite a lot of work that goes into it, isn't there? PD: There is. There's a lot of work. You're pretty much opening almost like your own brick-and-mortar store at that point. You just don't have walk-in traffic coming in—your traffic is all coming online. So there is a lot to it, but it's worth it. If you're a self-published author or even a small indie press, it's good to have. Because like I said, people love the signed copies. Jo: When you say it's worth it, is it worth it financially or just because you like to serve the customers in that way? PD: Both. Jo: Right. So it is financially worth it for you? PD: Yes. Jo: I was talking to a friend of mine and saying, are you valuing your time in terms of things like taking the books to the post office and stuff like that? Do you find it eats into your writing at all, or do you just manage it all separately? PD: No, I manage it separately. So I'm an early morning riser. I get up at 3:00 in the morning, and that's when I write my books or do editing or brainstorming. I'm about to write a new novella now called The Adam and Eve Story, which is actually based on a little-known CIA shelved book from the 1990s called The Adam and Eve Story as well. So I've been brainstorming that, and I was doing that this morning. I get up at 3:00 a.m. and I do my writing, and by the time the kids are up and by the time the wife is up, it's like 8:00 a.m. is rolling around and I'm pretty much done at that point. Then I have my days. Tuesday I'm completely working from home and I do my thing in the morning, and then the rest of the day is marketing, fulfilling orders, stuff like that. On the days when I'm going to do group facilitation, I'll of course still get up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning, and then I'll plan out the day. I've got an hour between this group and I can go ahead and do that, and I'm already there so it's not a problem. The post office is right around the corner. You kind of figure out all the logistics for yourself. There are some days, like on Monday, I don't facilitate groups until the afternoon, so I've got the whole morning to work on marketing and do other things, and fulfilment. Then of course Saturday's a big day for that too. Jo: Oh, that's good. I feel like people always need to know how to balance their time, but it sounds like you manage, because at 3:00 a.m., as you say, there's not much else to do other than write. You mentioned marketing, and you have a Substack, pdsalternativefiction.substack.com. Talk about that and serialising fiction and how Substack works. Because I feel like a load of people are jumping in but might not necessarily know how it works, especially for fiction. PD: Correct. It is becoming quite popular out there. I think the one before that was Patreon, and Patreon is pretty big for that too, kind of the same thing. I wanted to start something and just get the work out there. I was very interested when Amazon came out a few years ago with what was called Vella. They kind of started that. I was like, “This is kind of cool.” Couple chapters at a time. I'm writing the books anyway, so why don't we kick this off and see how it goes—a type of experiment. I had a lot of fun doing it. I started on October 4th, 2024. I've done four novels so far. One is still going, which is Volume 3 of my Dark Veil serie— that's a sci-fi series. I wrote three other novels. The Hypnotist, which is a thriller, heavy on the sci-fi and a tad of horror in there too. And then I wrote Girl on a Mission, which is my psychological thriller, and then Cat Fight, which is a horror novel—all within that time. I think I finished all three of those novels in January, and then the first week of February they were all pretty much done. Now what I'm doing is, I went paid recently on the Substack. It's like everything else that's out there—chip away, chip away. I fell into that hole where they say, “Hey, we can promote you and get people to sign up for your newsletter.” And I'll be honest with you, don't do it. It's not worth it. You spend money, and what happens is they're what I refer to as dead leads. They don't click. You wind up shuffling them off after three to six months, because they're just not clicking. Everybody gets a star rating, so you know—are they clicking, are they staying on, are they not? So I got rid of pretty much all of those people, and I'll never do that again. It's got to be done organically. That's why when you read my books, especially the new books, towards the end it'll say, “Sign up for my newsletter.” I do more with that newsletter too. If you're on the free tier, every month I do a monthly newsletter, which is just me talking about updates, things going on in the publishing industry, things going on with me. My daughter puts together a weekly Horror and Sci-Fi Chronicles newsletter, which gives what's going on in new releases in the industry—sci-fi, horror, books, movies, television. She does deep dives into industry tropes, historical tidbits, and a weekly quiz. I also do a monthly Terrors and Tales newsletter. I started this last year, and it was a quarterly newsletter. It's other authors who are new, upcoming, never been published before, looking to get published. It's a chance for them to be on the newsletter where they have a flash fiction story or poem or even a short story that I publish for them. It's called the Terrors and Tales newsletter. What happened is I would put out calls for submissions. And a place called Duotrope—I don't even know who these people are, but all of a sudden I got an email from them stating, “Hey, we found that you're looking for submissions, and we posted your link. We hope you don't mind.” I'm like, “No, of course I don't mind.” I got so many submissions from that one link. I'm like, “Okay.” Do I really want to deny people? I'm not like that. I want to help promote other authors. I know what it's like when you're new and upcoming, no matter what age you are, to say, “Hey, here's a platform for you to see your stuff in print.” Obviously, I read through them just to make sure they're up to a certain standard, but for the most part, if you submit, you're getting in there. With Duotrope, I'm like, I have enough here to put out one a month. So in May 2026, the first one goes out, and then I'll have one each month until December, and then who knows? In 2027 I might go back to quarterly. I might get enough submissions to just keep it going once a month. So that's the Terrors and Tales newsletter, and it usually comes out towards the end of the month—the last two weeks. I have nothing to do with it in terms of content. None of my stories are on there. None of my poems are on there. None of my flash fiction. It's all other authors, just for them to see their name in print, see their work in print, share it with their friends, and put something on their resume, and to encourage people to keep reading and keep the craft going. Jo: When you say in print, you don't mean in physical print? PD: Oh, I mean in the newsletter. I'm sorry. Jo: I think that's important, or you're going to get a lot more submissions, and you will need to do publishing contracts and all that kind of thing. I think that's the difficult thing with a Substack newsletter approach—it's difficult to know where to categorise it. Is it marketing? Is it publishing? It's all of these things, I suppose. A bit like this podcast, it's all kinds of things. In terms of Substack actually making money on its own or leading to book sales that make money, do you think it does serve that purpose? PD: I think I've gotten more book sales through it, and also ARC readers who are enjoying the books and giving reviews. As far as the paid tiers, that's kind of a little bit slow, and that's where I'm saying chip away at it. Keep it up there. Keep it going. Over time, you're going to build that type of audience where it's going to be like, “Hey, this is financially feasible for me to continue to do this.” That's the response that I'm getting out there. Jo: Yes. Before, you mentioned you were doing Facebook Lives and you're looking at TikTok, but— Is anything else working for you in book marketing? If people have a few books and they're like, “What is working for book marketing right now?”—what do you recommend? PD: Okay. For me, the thing that has made the most sense is making sure the reader knows the book is out there through some sort of social media. I've had really good success on TikTok since the beginning of this year especially. I started it about a year ago, year and a half ago, but then my father got sick and passed away, and it was a new venture and I put it off to the side. I really got the flavour going at the beginning of this year. February, March of this year. It seems to be going really well, and I've noticed an uptick in sales from just getting the videos out there and getting it in front of people's eyes. There's an event I'm going to in August called ShiverCon, which is a pretty big event. After that event, I'm going to look to see what type of inventory I have left over from the event, and I'm going to start doing TikTok Lives. I'm very comfortable being on camera. So I'm like, “Yeah, that seems like a good way to go.” I know there's a few other horror authors who are doing it and having good success with TikTok Lives as well. A guy named Jason Davis is doing really well with TikTok Lives, and a few other authors too. I'm like, “Yes, I could definitely do that.” I want to get up to a certain number of people, and I want these events. I'm going to one in July, and then ShiverCon in August. Once those are done, I'm going to have more time to do the TikTok Lives. As far as Facebook is concerned, what I've had really great success with on Facebook is being in the groups and meeting other authors. That's not always about my book per se, but whatever books I'm reading, I'm posting my reviews about those books in those groups and meeting readers. Then obviously, they always say the three-to-one rule. Post about three different books and then post about your own book, whether you're doing a sale or a new release or a re-release or whatever. I've found success through that just by interacting with readers. When they post a book, I'll comment, “Hey, I've read that book,” or, “Hey, that book looks really cool. I like the review.” Commenting on it so you start these relationships with people who are out there in these Facebook groups. I've recently started my own Facebook reader group. I kind of go with the same thing. Last night, we did a live reading for another author. I like other authors to be on there. I always like to think, what does the reader need? What do I want to see as a reader? I would love to hear live readings from authors. So I kind of learn about them, learn about the book, and get a live reading. To me, that's a good way to go. So I started that recently, and it seems to be going well. I've got a new folk horror coming out soon, and I put out a call for ARC readers and got a fantastic response from that. That kind of drives the sales anyway, because when you get those reviews, then people see it gives credibility to the book, and then other people see it, and then they're buying it too. So that comes from the groups. There's so many wheels to spin in this industry as an indie author when you're doing this, especially when you're doing 99% of it on your own. You've got to get out there. No one's going to know your book exists if you don't get out there and tell somebody about it. Jo: Brilliant. Well, tell us— Where can people find you and your books online? PD: All right. Perfect. So obviously I'm on Amazon like everyone. Most of my books are worldwide, so you'll find them in Barnes & Noble as well. And of course, if you want the signed copies or discount print books, I always lead people straight to my website, PDAlleva.com. Then, of course, if you go to my Substack, you'll get all the updates, and you'll get all the links to purchase or find out where they are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and things like that too. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Paul. That was great. PD: Thank you very much for having me. It was great chatting with you. The post Writing Cross-Genre, Selling Direct, And Serialising On SubStack With P.D. Alleva first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Artist Rob Guillory joins the show to talk about his current approach to comics and the upcoming Kickstarter for Ghostbrawler #1: The Bruiser Edition. Guillory discusses Chew adaptation news, the adaptation process, the nature of being a creator, how things have evolved since he started in comics, the different audiences in comics, diversifying his workload, the model he's following, taking on writing, the origins of Ghostbrawler, the creative partnership at its core, the shadow of Chew, the nature of a cartoonist, going the Kickstarter route, figuring out which projects to do, whether experimentation will always be a focus, and more.