Podcast appearances and mentions of melissa medina

In this episode of TechMagic, hosts Cathy Hackl and Lee Kebler explore cutting-edge innovations, from AI agents to Meta's fashion-forward Ray-Ban smart glasses. Special guest Melissa Medina, CEO of eMerge Americas, discusses South Florida's rise as a global tech hub and previews their upcoming conference featuring industry leaders like Palmer Luckey and Daymond John. The hosts also dive into gaming news from GDC, NVIDIA's latest advancements, and the evolution of "vibe coding" in software development. Packed with industry insights and engaging discussions, this episode is a must-listen for tech enthusiasts, developers, and innovation leaders alike.Come for the Tech, stay for the Magic!Melissa Medina BioMelissa Medina Jiménez is the co-founder, CEO, and President of eMerge Americas, a venture-backed platform transforming Miami into a global tech hub. Under her leadership, the annual eMerge Americas conference has grown to attract 20,000+ attendees from over 50 countries. A University of Florida graduate, Melissa also studied at ESADE in Barcelona. She is a partner at Medina Ventures and leads the Medina Family Foundation. Passionate about innovation and community impact, she champions Miami's tech growth while raising her five children.Melissa Medina on LinkedIneMerge Americas WebsiteKey Discussion Topics:00:00 Welcome to Tech Magic with Cathy Hackl & Lee Kebler02:09 The Hidden Musical Talents of Tech Leaders - Lee's Harmonica Journey06:55 Inside DC's Tech Scene: AI Summit & Chip Diplomacy Discussions 13:14 The Global AI Race: Who Will Be #3 After US and China?19:35 South by Southwest 2024: Music Takes Center Stage31:02 Gaming Industry Updates: GDC Preview & Nintendo Switch News38:37 Meta's Fashion Future: Partnership with Coperni for Smart Glasses43:25 The Rise of AI Agents: From Simple Tasks to Complex Automation53:54 The Evolution of Coding: From Machine Language to AI-Assisted Development1:00:19 Special Interview: Melissa Medina on Miami's Tech Transformation1:11:53 Key Takeaways & Looking Ahead to Future Tech Developments Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copernicus interrogates Alex, who recalls what happened on The Island. Morgan has drinks with Kali. Sedona realizes Ricky hasn't been honest. Dylan insists on returning home after speaking with The Envoy, and Olivia begins her trial...  ________________ Created by Jon Rolfe Featuring Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Devon Chandler, Whitney Holland, Kristin Holland, Omri Rose, Chloe Mei-Li Bundt, Chelsea Krause, Gerald Hill, Ryan Smith, Melissa Medina, Ryan Perera & Sarah Ruth Thomas. Sound Design & Audio Engineering by Kathryn Stanley _______________ Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, Bluesky, or TikTok @crypticradiopod

We brought the couch to hang out with our friends the night before The Game Awards 2024! We chat about being in and out of the industry, pizza, and what we're expecting from the big show!Segment 1: Karen Han, Brian David Gilbert, Elyse Willems, James Willems, Emma Fyffe, and Ify NwadiweSegment 2: Danny Peña, Riana Manuel Peña, Briana White, Robbie Daymond, Jordan Minor, and Gabe Durham, Eric Van AlenSegment 3 - WARFRAME 1999: Ben Starr, Neil Newbon, Amelia Tyler, Melissa Medina, Elsie Lovelock, Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge, Keving Afghani, Alpha TakahashiSegment 4: Rebb Ford, Wout van Halderen, Celia Bee, Parris Lilly, Jurge Cruz-AlvarezSegment 5: John Drake, Mary Kish, Michael Higham, Harris Foster, Alix Wilton Regan, Ronnell CrawfordSegment 6: Shawn McDowell, Mike Monitti, Dan Ryckert, Jeff Bakalar, Lucy James, Tamoor Hussain, Niki Grayson, Jan Ochoa

Melissa Medina is a co-founder & the CEO of eMerge Americas with a mission of helping transform South Florida into a global technology hub. Under her leadership, eMerge now attracts more than 20,000+ attendees from over 50 countries. In this episode, Melissa discusses her path to leadership, the start of eMerge, the idea of turning Miami into a tech hub, the importance of education in tech, how the future of learning is changing, the tech funding landscape, following your passion, and her plan to bring more diversity to the tech sector.Streaming on  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts. We are also in the top ten percent of listened-to podcasts globally.

Founded in 2014, the eMerge Americas global tech conference set the stage for what has become a fast-growing tech scene. Is South Florida, and on a larger scale the Sunshine State, set to become the next Silicon Valley? And what's the outlook for 2025 and beyond? In this episode, eMerge Co-Founder, CEO & President Melissa Medina joins SFBJ Editor-in-Chief Mel Melendez to share her vision for the state and the impact of artificial intelligence.

Morgan pays Alex a visit and discovers they have something in common. Dylan shares a drink with the skipper of Lost Horizon, and Olivia announces a rendezvous with another ship and someone named "The Envoy"... ________________ Created by Jon Rolfe Featuring Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Devon Chandler, Whitney Holland, Gerald Hill, Elgin Eltrain Foster, Chelsea Krause, Barron B Bass, Chloe Mei-Li Bundt, Melissa Medina, Griffin Puatu, Kristin Holland & Sarah Ruth Thomas. Sound Design & Audio Engineering by Kathryn Stanley _______________ Show Artwork by O2bri

Morgan discovers someone is spying on her. Sedona makes a breakthrough with her new facilitator. Dylan begins to have doubts about Rob's motives and Olivia reveals what Ignota means when they talk about "traveling"... ________________ Created by Jon Rolfe Featuring Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Jamie-Lyn Markos, Devon Chandler, Rich Summers, Chelsea Krause, Whitney Holland, Elizabeth von Isser, Barron B Bass, Melissa Medina, Ryan Smith, Gerald Hill & Sarah Ruth Thomas. Sound Design & Audio Engineering by Kathryn Stanley _______________ Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok @crypticradiopod

Rob is anxious to get a message to the FBI, Olivia presses Dylan to continue their sessions, and Morgan reaches out to an old frenemy in an attempt to contact Alex... ________________ Created by Jon Rolfe Featuring Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Jamie-Lyn Markos, Devon Chandler, Rich Summers, Chelsea Krause, Whitney Holland, Melissa Medina, Elgin Eltrain Foster & Sarah Ruth Thomas. Sound Design & Audio Engineering by Kathryn Stanley _______________ Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok @crypticradiopod

|| Season 2 Begins Sept 26th || Dylan tries to maintain his cover within Ignota while continuing to search for his brother. Meanwhile, Morgan befriends another member and discovers some startling truths about the cult's origin. Featuring the vocal talents of: Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Devon Chandler, Whitney Holland, Rich Summers, Chelsea Krause, Jamie-Lyn Markos, Elizabeth von Isser, Ryan Perera, Kristin Holland, Ryan Smith, Barron B. Bass, Gerald Hill, Sarah Ruth Thomas, Alex Eller, Melissa Medina, Chloe Mei-li Bundt, Griffin Puatu, Elgin Eltrain Foster, Omri Rose, & John Kennard Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok @crypticradiopod Support the Show.

|| Season 2 Begins Sept 26th || Dylan tries to maintain his cover within Ignota while continuing to search for his brother. Meanwhile, Morgan befriends another member and discovers some startling truths about the cult's origin. Featuring the vocal talents of: Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Devon Chandler, Whitney Holland, Rich Summers, Chelsea Krause, Jamie-Lyn Markos, Elizabeth von Isser, Ryan Perera, Kristin Holland, Ryan Smith, Barron B. Bass, Gerald Hill, Sarah Ruth Thomas, Alex Eller, Melissa Medina, Chloe Mei-li Bundt, Griffin Puatu, Elgin Eltrain Foster, Omri Rose, & John Kennard Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok @crypticradiopod Support the Show.

In this special episode of Bast Amron's The Practice Podcast, listen to the recorded panel Harmonizing Humanity and Technology: Connecting the Workplace in the Digital Age from our 6th Annual Business Advantage Forum. This panel was moderated by Brett Amron and included Melissa Medina, CEO & President, eMerge Americas, Laura Juanes Micas (she/her), VP, Privacy Officer, RBI Restaurant Brands International, and Carlo Rodriguez, Managing Director, EVs & Advanced Vehicle Technology, Ryder Systems Inc.The panel of experts discussed how fast technology is growing, like social media and AI, and how it might make it harder for us to keep in touch with important people. They discussed the need to stay connected with others as we use more technology at work and in everyday life. The main points included how to keep people working well together when technology keeps changing, combining emotional smarts with AI to make work better, and ways to keep real connections in a world full of tech.They looked at how technology affects our work relationships, shared stories of success and challenges in using emotions to connect with technology, and talked about the impact of tech on our mental health. The discussion also covered how emojis and gifs help in expressing feelings and offered tips on balancing online and face-to-face interactions. The goal was to highlight the importance of keeping human connections strong in the tech-savvy world.If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Subscribing to the show and leaving a review will actually help others find the show. And it will help us grow, devote more time, and produce better content for you.Streaming now on  YouTube, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts. We are also in the top ten percent of listened-to podcasts globally.

In this episode, we delve into the crucial topic of understanding generational differences in the context of pharmacy education. Our guest expert, Melissa Medina from the University of Oklahoma, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, shedding light on why grasping these generational nuances is paramount for preceptors working with pharmacy students and residents.Tune in to gain a fresh perspective on how everyone can win and learn by engaging across generations.  HostKathy Schott, PhDVice President, Education & OperationsCEimpactGuestMelissa Medina, Ed.DInterim Dean and ProfessorThe University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of PharmacyGet CE: CLICK HERE TO GET CPE CREDIT FOR THE COURSE!CPE Information Learning ObjectivesAt the end of this course, preceptors will be able to:Describe factors that have impacted how Generation Z p(Gen Z) pharmacy residents and student pharmacists see the world.Identify strategies for engaging effectively with Gen Z learners.0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-24-111-H99-PInitial release date: 3/20/2024Expiration date: 3/20/2027Additional CPE details can be found here.The speakers have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.ChatGPT 3.5 (https://chat.openai.com) was utilized in the planning of this P2P episode.This program has been:Approved by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy as education for Minnesota pharmacy preceptors.Reviewed by the Texas Consortium on Experiential Programs and has been designated as preceptor education and training for Texas preceptors.Follow CEimpact on Social Media:LinkedInInstagram

An unconscious Jane Doe is found to be a missing actress with connections to Ignota. Dylan is summoned to another meeting and experiences his first regression... _______________ Created by Jon Rolfe Featuring Elliott Brotherhood, Samantha Cooper, Melissa Medina, Nina Auburn, Rich Summers, Marlon Dance-Hooi, Devon Chandler, Chelsea Krause & Sarah Ruth Thomas. ________________ Show Artwork by O2bri Support us on Patreon or follow us on X(Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok @crypticradiopod

Elliot Schiff is a voice actor, a husband, a father, and a good friend. Every time we chat, I come away encouraged, enlightened, and inspired. He has that amazing gift of being able to make whoever he's talking to feel like the most important person in the world, and he's got one of the brightest outlooks and kindest spirits of anyone I've ever met. Sit back, relax, and enjoy another round in the Ramble Room! Topics covered Elliot's recent work: Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, Watcher of Realms, audio description for Succession, The White Lotus, One Tree Hill, and more How Elliot found his way into voice acting Elliot's day to day: exercises, staying in shape, protecting your voice, and dealing with illness Creating characters Advice for aspiring voice actors: persistence, willingness to learn, contracts/future use/AI riders AI horror stories and the reasons behind the strikes How Elliot's Orthodox Jewish tradition and story sense influence each other Potential goods with AI: audio description at volume and for past properties that can't afford voice actors Elliot's thoughts on the state of the world: moderating your news intake, protecting your kids, and being aware Elliot's family's experience of the Holocaust How the Orthodox Jewish faith builds community Elliot's final words of wisdom: a word from Mr. Rogers and Lost For more Elliot Schiff: IG: https://www.instagram.com/elliot.schiff/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/elliotschiff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-schiff-vo/ IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3471515 Website: www.elliotschiff.com  Things Elliot mentioned: IDEA database of accents: dialectsarchive.com Melissa Medina video - “AI for VAs”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPmykXyxx3o NAVA - National Association of Voice Actors: https://navavoices.org/ NAVA ComicCon panel: https://youtu.be/iS_-Hrk1q8Y?si=59L01dkmt6IvRBcj Revenant Alien Links: For the searchers: https://revenantalien.com/searchers Twitter: @ARevenantAlien Instagram: @ARevenantAlien Medium: @ARevenantAlien GoodPods: @ARevenantAlien Holler at me: https://www.revenantalien.com/contact Support the podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arevenantalien/support

If you love intercession, this is the episode for you! If you don't love intercession (yet), this is the episode for you! Filled with testimonies that will awaken hope, prophetic intercessor and friend, Melissa Medina, shares with such joy, clarity and insight, the amazing power of coming into agreement with the will of God for the earth through prayer. She's dynamite. This conversation is glorious. You will love it!

Building a business from the ground up is not easy amigas so we wanted to share with you 3 lessons we've learned in business and what has helped us scale the most. My client, amiga and fellow Mujerón, Melissa Medina is our special guest on today's episode! Melissa is a NYRican career paralegal who started her own legal service business, Affordable Legal in 2018. Falling in love with entrepreneurship, and the ability to help Latino's connect with and support other latino owned businesses she founded Conexiones Latina in 2022, which she plans to take nationwide. Her passion and purpose are not only in growing into her best self but to inspire confidence and success in all Latino. In this episode we talk about: Fake it to you make it: The mindset of believe you already have what you want! Trust yourself: How building your self-trust is a game changer when building your dream biz and life. Invest in yourself: the number one tool that helped us scale faster than we thought possible. If you're ready to go deeper into how you are going to build your dream life, join me on May 18th for my free masterclass. Register here for the 5 Key Steps to Build Your dream life. Connect with us! Follow @themelissamedina Follow @conexioneslatina Follow @mujeronmovement Follow @thesoniaalejandra Work with Sonia: Apply for Private Coaching here Sign up for the waitlist for Mujerón University here Register for the FREE Masterclass here Save your Seat for Mujerón Movement 2023 Live Event

A missing person. A hidden treasure. Aliens. Ghosts. Reincarnation. And Liars. The Subjective Truth is a serialized paranormal docudrama. In June of 2020, Buddha Kline vanished from the Carson National Forest while searching for the legendary Fenn Treasure. Join our host, Graham Anderson, as she unearths all the answers to the question of... What happened to Buddha Kline? Written and Created by Jeremy Ellett. CAST:  Addison Peacock as Graham Anderson. A.R. Olivieri as Buddha Kline. Danyelle Ellett as Amy Kline. Sarah Golding as Beth Kline. Steve McGrath as Jerry Kline. Jen Lyles as Tammy Nance. Dallas Wheatley as Layback Theater Ad. Melissa Medina as News Reporter. Jazz Walker as News Reporter 3. Ashley Promisel as Park Ranger. This episode included the following tracks: Cybernetic Overture by Bajio Alvarado. Systematic by Lee Rosevere. Squirtit by Space Primates. Inverse by Bajio Alvarado. Credits and Announcements by Garan Fitzgerald. Vocal Direction by Danyelle Ellett. Post Production, Sound Design and Casting by Jeremy Ellett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Part 3 of a special series of episodes on How To Get Booked As A Remote Voice Actor when you don't live in a major voiceover hub like LA, NYC, or Dallas. Today's guest is voice actor Melissa Medina who is based in Minnesota. She is best known for voicing Herrera in Aliens Fireteam, Heta Kol in Star Wars, Amelia in Lego Friends, Yuel in Granblue Fantasy, and Rebecca in the viral game Mortuary Assistant. SHOW NOTES

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another episode of the M.E.O.W. Podcast! In this episode, we dive into the topic of deep shadow work inspired by Melissa Medina and her new art series, collection OUT OF THE DARK. Her inspiration came from the shadow period of her spiritual healing, and this collection is a physical art representation of the light and dark aspects of healing. Shadow work is a crucial component of the spiritual journey. Spiritual healing recognizes the shadows we all walk with, and rather than running away from them or finding shame; we can allow ourselves to find a delicate dance between the light & dark amongst us. Because with the balance of both, both can exist. You are whole, wherever you are, within your healing journey.

In this episode, we got a chance to sit down with Melissa Medina who talks about her upbringing with her family, growing up in a military household, her love for all things horror, dealing with stage fright, and how audiobooks were the gateway into voice acting. Melissa Medina is an American Hispanic voice actor known for her feisty characters and wide vocal range, she is best known as Yuel in Granblue Fantasy Versus, and for roles in LEGO Friends: Girls on a Mission, Billie Bust Up, Mechwarrior 5, and more. Melissa provides voices in English and Spanish for video games, animated series, foreign film dubs, commercials, and trailers.

Hello Heartlanders and welcome to a special Halloween night edition of FFTH, I'm your host Paul J McSorley. I know I told you fine listeners this joke last Halloween. But, it is my go to Halloween joke, and let's face it, I ONLY GET TO TELL IT ONE DAY A YEAR! Sorry about that, you spend as much time in a padded room as I do and it's bound to make you a little...whacked. I digress, Why can't witches have babies, anyone...? Because warlocks have hollow weenies! Muahhahahaha Xavier Poe Kane brings us an eerie tale tonight and I have the utmost honor of telling you Heartlanders, wifey and I were able to cajole, sweet talk, and possibly some begging as well, to elicit the extremely off the charts talented voice acting of both Melissa Medina and Olivia Steele. I cannot wait for you to hear it, so I'm finally going to shut my gob. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/FearFromTheHeartland If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/FearFromTheHeartland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Horror Fest '22: Campfire Radio Theatre: The Dreams of Wolves In this specially curated collection for Halloween 2022, we will be presenting a wide selection of new, old-time radio (and other) horror programs. For our 10th and final entry, we are proud to present The Dreams of Wolves from Campfire Radio Theatre. During the Civil War, a small band of Union soldiers seek refuge for the night within the confines of a southern plantation home inhabited by three frightened residents, unaware they are closely stalked by a predatory beast. CAMPFIRE RADIO THEATRE  Warning: Contains explicit language and frightening situations. Written, directed and produced by John Ballentine Cast: Soren Narnia Melissa Medina Blaine Hicklin Monique Sacay-Bagwell Owen McCuen Shelby Sessler John Bell Julie Hoverson Original music score by Kevin Hartnell "All the Pretty Little Horses" and "Wayfaring Stranger" performed by Melissa Medina

My wife has been peeking at me by Maliagirl1314 Narrations by: Matt Bradford, Rhiannon Moushall, Tanya Eby, Tom Aglio and Nikolle Doolin After 2 years, I finally read my dad's suicide note by R.M. Stamiforth Narrations by: Sarah Thomas, John Patneaude, Melissa Medina and Vinay Nariani There's someone pretending to be my sister by Darkley_Gathers Narrations by: Steven Brink, Nichole Goodnight, Danuta Marie and MJ Bradford Episode artwork by Ricky Romero Sponsor: Follow The Generation Why Podcast on Amazon Music or listen early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus on Apple Podcasts, or the Wondery app. Listen ad-free, unlock bonus episodes and more: patreon.com/disturbedpodcast Submit your true, original experience: disturbedpodcast.com/submit Disturbed Merch: disturbedpodcast.com/shop Audience survey: disturbedpodcast.com/survey Leave a voicemail: hotline.disturbedpodcast.com Contact: chad@disturbedpodcast.com Advertising inquiries: beth@authenticshows.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with an audio adaptation of frightening fiction, about sacred silence. I'm your host of the evening Nick Goroff, standing in for our dear friend Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of A. Y. Holliday are voice talents Olivia Steele, Melissa Medina, Heather Ordover, Nick Goroff and Kyle Stroud. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthony and Melissa Medina share what the Lord has put on their hearts during this season. Is it enough to just perform signs and wonders? What does it mean to have the fragrance of Christ?

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with two audio adaptations of frightening fiction, about gruesome greed, and elderly evils. I'm your host of the evening Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of Jon Allen and Samuel J Allen are voice talents Melissa Medina and Nick Goroff. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with two audio adaptations of frightening fiction, about scorned soulmates, and revealing recordings. I'm your host Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of N.M. Brown and Patrick Narvasa are voice talents Melissa Medina, Lucas Webley, Erik Peabody, Jesse Cornett, Kyle Stroud and Justine Anastasia. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with two audio adaptations of frightening fiction, about surviving storytellers, and abominable awakenings. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of Emily Winter and Nick Goroff are voice talents Heather Thomas, Nick Goroff and Melissa Medina. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm your host Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of Lucretia Vastea are voice talents Olivia Steele, Jesse Cornett, Otis Jiry, Jason Hill and Melissa Medina. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with two audio adaptations of frightening fiction, about misunderstood messages, and foreboding phone calls. I'm your host Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of N.M. Brown and Lucretia Vastea, are voice talents Justine Anastasia, Nick Goroff, Steve Taylor, Olivia Steele, Melissa Medina, Heather Ordover, and Paul J. McSorley To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to another episode of the M.E.O.W. Podcast. Join us as we dive into the topic: Art Heals. This topic was inspired by our first guest, Melissa Medina, who is the founder of Sacred Solutions. We will be discussing what Art Heals means to us and how to find your inner artist. We believe there is a hidden inner artist within all of us. We just need to take the time to find it. We hope to inspire you to start your creative journey. Join us on Instagram to engage with us and our community. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas of what topics you are interested in and connect! Check out Sacred Solutions by Melissa and find out more details on how you can be a part of Art Heals. Here are the books that we recommended: The Artist's Way Art of Living

Do you wonder if you've avoided stereotypes in your writing and been appropriately sensitive to people of different races, ethnicities, or neurodivergent? There are aspects to look for as you write and edit to make certain you are aware of how what you've written will be perceived. Plus, there are sensitivity readers who can help you out! With special guest and sensitivity reader Iona Wayland, Autumn covers some tips from tying mental health to character arcs to checking yourself for outdated language which will help your writing cast aside stereotypes. Find Iona on her website at https://ionawayland.wixsite.com/author and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/iona.wayland/ Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.   SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.   Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you'll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.  Read the full transcript below. (Please note that it's automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn't perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion). Narrator (2s): You're listening to The Am writing Fantasy Podcast in today's publishing landscape, you can reach fans all over the world. Query letters are a thing of the past. You don't even need a literary agent. There is nothing standing in the way of making a living from writing. Join two best selling authors who have self published more than 20 books between them now on to the show with your hosts, Autumn Birt and Jesper Schmidt. Autumn (31s): Hello, I'm Autumn. And this is episode 153 of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast. And this week we have, yes, we're on vacation and taking a bit of a break, you know, I guess he deserves, but so instead I have with me a different author and sensitivity reader and someone who writes fantasy and I'm so looking forward to talking to her, so welcome to the podcast. I own a Wayland. Iona (59s): Hi there. Thank you for having me. Autumn (1m 1s): Yeah, I'm so excited. I, you said you're a tea drinker. You're a pet mom. This is going to be so much fun. And I even like the sensitivity, I can't wait to talk about that because I know my first story, my first passions were like, well, you know, we have these giant epic fantasy quests and no one ever seems to come out the other side with like PTSD. So that was one of the first things that I thought of when I first started writing back in 2010. So I cannot wait to talk to you, but first go ahead and introduce yourself. I know you have your book, ashes and talk is tell us a little bit about that and tell us how you decided to become like a sensitivity reader. Iona (1m 45s): Well, I, and my day job is a trauma therapist and by night, so to speak, I write and ashes is my debut. It's a dark fantasy novel. It has a Latin X main character named Angela. And she has to decide if she wants to journey and avenge her brother's death. And so it's those trials of figuring out herself in the midst of trying to save her brother. Oh, Autumn (2m 16s): That is cool. So yeah. So he's dead. Is it saving his soul or saving him or is that giving away too much of the book? Iona (2m 23s): It won't give away too much. He is, he is dead at the beginning of the book, but it explores what was behind his death and what is behind like what his soul needs to pass on. Autumn (2m 36s): That is so cool. I love it. Well, that is because I looked at the cover. I'm also a graphic artist and I saw the cover. I'm like, cool. I like this. This is a very nice cover. So, Iona (2m 47s): So glad you like the cover. I designed it. I'm not, I mean, I'm not talented, like what you're saying, but I did design. I was like, this is exactly what I want, please, if you're able to do that. And they were so Autumn (2m 60s): Nice. Fantastic. Well, yeah, it came out really nice. I do like it. So, wow. You've been working with trauma. So that's already your interest in your background and a, did that bring you to writing or have you always been a fantasy reader? Always wanted to be a fantasy writer. Iona (3m 15s): I've always been a reader and a writer to the point where before I even could write, like I knew the alphabet or anything, I would watch cats out of like alley cats out of my window as like a little kid and right. Loop de loops. And that was my version of writing stories about the cats that I saw. So ever since then, I've just always wanted to be an author. And I've definitely, definitely a reader. So fantasy is the main thing, but I really like all genres. There's not any that I dislike. Autumn (3m 47s): I think that's one of the benefits of being like an indie author, that if you want to do a cozy mystery slash fitness slash something, we can mash those up and turn it into something really special. Iona (4m 1s): Yes, it's true. It gets very niche. I love it. Autumn (4m 4s): Yes, very much so. So before we get into some of the topics and I think it's interesting, so it sounds like your, your writing tends towards inspiration, which is a super cool and more like noble bright, but I have to ask what your favorite type of tea is because I never get another tea enthusiast on the podcast. Iona (4m 22s): The hard, oh, that's so hard. Well, right now I'm drinking an English breakfast, but oh man, my favorite tea, I have to say chai tea, which isn't really specific. Cause chai just means tea, but I like the spice tea for sure is, is so delicious. And I I'm really into bubble tea right now. Yeah. I definitely have that as like my Wednesday treat to myself middle of the week, treat to myself, I'll get a bubble tea. Autumn (4m 54s): Oh, I love that. I'm not anywhere close to any place that sells bubble tea. So I will live vicariously through you for that one. Yes. Iona (5m 3s): I definitely got lucky. Yes. Autumn (5m 5s): Oh yeah. Well, chai tea again is a perfect answer for this time of the season and the fall. We're recording this in October. So yeah, we're all in the pumpkin spice attitude right now. Iona (5m 16s): Yes we are. All Autumn (5m 18s): Right. So this is, Ashley's your first one. Are you working on something else right now? Or are you going to Iona (5m 24s): Actually working on a sequel? But there was a bunch of very happy but intense life stuff popping up. That was really good and wonderful, but it also made writing go on the back burner for a little bit, but I am working on the sequel to that. And the goal is to make it a SQL within the same universe. And the main characters of the first book are mentioned, or maybe even run into, but it is like a different main character. Autumn (5m 53s): Oh, I like the ones like that, especially where you can, you know, work in somebody from a previous book or a different book. And they just do like a cameo. That it's Very cool. So yeah, I was like reading about what you do and as, as sensitivity. So you have to tell us what a sensitivity reader is and how you came up with that idea. But I was going to say, looking at your own writing, you like, you like to look at grief and surviving trauma and finding purpose and strength. And when I read that, I'm like, oh, you probably liked the, as someone else put it what's considered traditional fantasy, but they decided to start calling it noble bright, which is, you know, it might go dark, but there's always that hope that's buried in there rather than everything being dark and dire. Autumn (6m 37s): And you're wondering, I remember one of the first dark fantasies I read it was really closely and in a sister died, everyone, this person cared about a diet and he's trudging through a swamp and I can never remember what the purpose, you know, what the final target and goal was. And I'm just like, you know, if I was this character, I would just lay down in the swamp and I'm done. So that's the other side of dark fantasy, but it sounds like you try to pull out a little bit of that hope in the healing. Iona (7m 5s): Yeah. I definitely am healing focus and it's not saying that it's necessarily a happy or what the character expected to have happen. And there's still trauma from those experiences. And at the same time, I feel like healing is such a beautiful, intense process that all humans are capable of making that. I just wanted to make sure I depicted the human experience in that way and my writing for sure. Autumn (7m 34s): I love that. That is so, you know, it's touching and it's, I love not, I it's one of those things when you're writing, you know, some people like have a moral compass and they're, it's almost like the fable where they're like doing a morality play and they're pushing the novel that way. But I do love it when you have characters. And like you said, it's almost like a twist or it's not what they expect. It's not what they fear, but it's a different result. But I do love the power of that change. The character arc, you probably work on that specifically is to see a character go through this trauma of face it and come out the other side one way or the other or somewhere in between. Iona (8m 14s): Yes, exactly. I love some good character arcs for sure. Autumn (8m 18s): Oh, is there a special one that you like to see? Like, is there something you've recently read as a sensitivity reader or even when you're writing or just a book you picked up and you're like, gosh, that was a good healing. You know, what made you think this is not only realistic, but just a very solid character, a character arc and maybe a little bit of a surprise. Iona (8m 40s): There was one. So this is actually from a TV show that I've been watching and it's an, it's an older TV show, but I, there is this character that was really annoying in the beginning and, and he was kind of insufferable at times and very emotionally immature. And as it's carried on, you could tell that his character arc was instead of being insecure and overcompensating by being kind of obnoxious, he was like, no, you know what? I can do this. And if you believe me, then, then great. But if you don't, I'm still going to do it anyway. And he got to be like one of my favorite characters by the end of it. Iona (9m 23s): So I thought that was pretty cool too. I had that whole, like this guy's like really annoying. And I wonder if he's going to be written out. That's how annoying. And it was really cool to see him thrive. It was very neat. So that is something that recently popped up for me. Autumn (9m 40s): That is fantastic. That's actually something I wish I had done in my debut novel. I've a character that he's, I would describe him more as overly sensitive, maybe sliding towards manic depressive with highs and lows and often making bad choices. And I I've actually had a few readers be like, oh my gosh, I can't stand him. I want to skip his chapters. And I don't think I really ever healed him if I ever go back to the story. I think, cause there's always is, I've done two trilogies. And I like even things like three sets of three, it's just, I'm half tempted to write another third set and I might have to finish up his character arc where yeah. Maybe people will not want to like drown him. Iona (10m 24s): It can be done. That's what you decide. Yeah. So, but that is real. That would be a really cool character arc to see having someone have like peaks and lows like that, being able to find more of a stability in between. That's pretty cool. Autumn (10m 38s): It was. But I have to say, especially having published that on in 2012, I've had definitely people not see why I did that. Like they want to have an easy character. They want a character that makes sense. And a character arc. And literally there's times he doesn't make sense because he just, he's got emotional highs and lows that don't always jive with. What's going on or a little extreme on either side. And I do see that as an issue, even though I try to bring out the nuances, like he's a little different in the society, he's a little unhinged, but to other people who are more stable, it's just the way he is. But I think people are getting a little bit more now. Autumn (11m 19s): I mean, it's been almost 10 years since I wrote it Iona (11m 25s): Here since then. Autumn (11m 27s): And what's crazy is how much society has changed. I see a lot more nuances in characters where they are, maybe there's some mental health issues and other things. And that's brought up a little bit more even in fantasy where I think before it used to be more in nonfiction. So I think it's a little more understood, but I would say, I don't know if you would give us any hints or tips on that, but if you're writing a character that does have some stresses like post-traumatic or mental health issues, cluing the reader in that you're not just throwing a crazy character and making them erupt just to like make the plot tense, but that it's actually a character issue, an internal thing that's going on. Iona (12m 9s): I really liked that. I love when people are able to not like to show the nuances like you're talking about and show that it's an inner character struggle and how it shows up for that character through symptoms is a very cool when people are pulling them off in the correct way. There's not that there's a one way that is what's hard. And there is not just one way, but that's where sensitivity readers come in. Where, so I, I read that's so sensitivity reading is where there's someone with expertise or the life experience or both. And they will read through a manuscript that has not been published yet. Iona (12m 54s): And they will point out depictions that may be harmful or inaccurate. So they, they really edit for inaccuracies in that regard. And then also I do diversity reading too, cause I'm a mixed race woman of color. And I like being able to help in that regard as well. Autumn (13m 14s): Oh, that's fantastic. Oh, and that's so important with so many people being more interested in writing different perspectives and viewpoints and races and cultures, even when you get into fantasy. I mean, even a dwarf is different from an elf versus a different color or other race. So that is cool that you can bring that out and see if the experience is, you know, like you said, authentic and valid and not just being cliched and stereotype. Iona (13m 44s): And in writing, like I think most authors and writers would agree that writing is very powerful. It depicts what's going on in our world. It shows even if it's in a totally different realm, it shows what the author's points of views are and what those characters points of views are and what they see. And so it's, it's really important to make sure that the representation is accurate so that there's not a perpetuating cycle going on from generation to generation. Yeah, Autumn (14m 17s): That's so true. I mean, I know I was paying attention when I was, I just wrote a fake contemporary Fe fantasy, urban fantasy, and part of it, I have, I'm a native American as a native American, more of a spiritual being and to not fall in that cliche of the native American, who is a Sage and knows all the answers or, you know, all these other, you know, to make him an authentic character who happens also to be a native American spirit who also has this history that he actually kind of doesn't quite understand, like so many teenagers are like, yeah, great. My grandfather's is great, dude. And he's like go out to the forest and go to class. And I'm like, so it is important though, because sometimes we don't even realize the stereotypes were contributing to. Autumn (15m 7s): I mean, I was just at a fantasy con and I was on a panel for women and fantasy and we decided that it was women characters, not just women authors. And I pointed out that so many times in the U S as a student, all of our examples are here and it's always he and she, or something, you know, the is always first. And I'm like, you know what? Screw that. I started all my pronouns. All my example cases are now female. Or sometimes I'll do 50, 50, I'll switch back and forth. But I always start with the woman for us. I always put she first because why, why is the default he, and you know, it only took me like 40 years to figure that one out. Iona (15m 47s): And there's so many different, like nuances to, to gender expression and experiences and stuff. Like why start with he? You know, I love that. I really love that. Autumn (15m 59s): Yeah. And even like you were saying, I mean, I just finished the late bar to go the Grisha verse books and oh my gosh, kudos to her. She has non-binary transgender. I think she has it all. And it was so fantastic to read. I'm like, this is, I can imagine the fantasy I read. Cause I grew up in a very conservative, very Christian, very rural place. And I know the fantasy, I read changed my perspective of who I became and I'm thinking my goodness, if I could have read the Grisha verse when I was 13, 15, and they thought Dungeons and dragons was bad, the water, Iona (16m 42s): I think that shows the power of writing and how, why it's so important to have accurate representation. It can really change people's lives. It's truly incredible. Autumn (16m 51s): So, I mean, as a, so as a sensitivity reader, what are the steps that you do when you look to help an author and what you're reading, what are you looking for that says, this is an authentic experience versus a, this might be, you know, the wrong way to go. Iona (17m 6s): Oh, that's a good question. Okay. So one of the things I see most often is when certain races or ethnicities or mental health experiences are experienced, like a monolith. So like, like there's, there's like three examples. So like, let's say let's use depression. That's something that a lot of people experience and struggled to overcome or do overcome. And that is something that I think what a lot of people think is depression means sad. And so if that's the only presentation of depression, there's nothing that shows what actually is making that depression for that character. Iona (17m 48s): Like everyone sad, but depression is different. There's way more reactions and symptoms that someone can go through. It can be very different that could be having difficulty getting up in the morning that can be staring off into space in the middle of the Workday that can be forgetting to brush your teeth or take a shower for a while. And then being like, oh shoot, how long has it been or not having the energy to do that? Or some people even experience physical pain of that. So I look for if there's any like broad strokes over simplification of mental health or any other kinds of experiences in the author's work, I think that way I can be like, let's be a little more specific. Iona (18m 32s): And how does it show up for your character specifically? Autumn (18m 35s): Oh, I saw like that. It reminds me of like, you know, I often teach like writing with the five senses. We still rely on visual. And then we might have sound because dialogue is sound, but it's like touch, taste. All of these other things are a way of experiencing the world and doing your world-building. It helps bring the world to life if you can touch it. So you're saying the same thing, like with depression, you know, even to me, I'm a huge foodie. So it's like losing that drive for like good tastes being like, yeah, it's just whatever, you know, that's all a sign and it also gives more depth to your character and more depths to the experience. Oh, I liked that so much. Iona (19m 11s): I'm clad. And I'm glad you talk about the different senses. I remember my world being like totally blown away when I learned that there was more than five senses. Like not, well, there's the five main ones, but like, there's like balance. Like if something feels off kilter, there's heat, hot and cold. There's Like, I there's like 20 more or something like that. But I remember like at the very least let's bring in the five senses, but there's also all these other things too, that we can add on there for the whole experience. Autumn (19m 41s): Exactly. And I always looked at it even the sixth sense, the traditional sixth sense is mind or soul spirit. That's where the mental health comes in is it's not just intelligence, but it's how well you deal with things. And that is such an interesting, you know, we talk about personally Nally tests to develop your character, but looking at just how reactive, how adaptive are they mentally to big changes. Some people are going to break very quickly and some people are going to be surprising and they're going to be able to change and flow, but eventually something might trip them up. And it's, it's part of knowing your character, knowing how they're mentally and emotionally handling the things you're these hurdles that you're throwing at them or letting them fall in love and then yanking of that away, how are they going to be like, oh, wow, there's a deeper impact to those things. Iona (20m 33s): Definitely a consequence. Yeah. Deeper impact for sure. Autumn (20m 38s): Very cool. So what are some tips resize? You know, don't so we have don't, you know, don't just dwell on one aspect, like, you know, definitely do your homework. Are we going to have a character? Who's depressed, looked at some of the other symptoms that are there. Like if they're manic, depressive, understand what the highs and the lows are and find a way of, of explaining that. Like I said, I can see readers being still startled. If you have a character that is truly going through a mental health crisis or has some issues, and especially when you come into across it and fantasy, it's not still not traditional to have those things, but they're creeping in there, but it helps to clue in the reader somehow saying I'm not just being over-exaggerated of this one character. Autumn (21m 22s): There's a real reason. I mean, is there some clues or some tips you can give us that are a way of letting people know that this is, you know, this, these are the things that are happening to this character or for a reason on purpose. Iona (21m 35s): Yeah. I, I definitely tell people to develop the character first, develop the character first because having a mental injury or mental illness is not a character trait. If someone's like, oh my gosh, they're so anxious that doesn't really tell me anything about the character at all. That that is just conveying a diagnosis or, or someone questioning if maybe they might have this diagnosis, like I want you to know, are they extroverted, introverted? Ambiverted do they out loud process, internally process? Are they quick to anger? Iona (22m 15s): Like, do they have a quick fuse or are they really patient? Like, how do they process the world? How do they react to other people? What is, what do they hold, dear? What do they push away? Those kinds of things. And then, then you can add the diagnosis because you already know your character as a person. Because I think that they'll sometimes there'll be writers who will have someone have their villain origin story is that they are bipolar. And it's like, well, that doesn't really tell me anything. There are lots of people who are bipolar. There's different kinds of bipolar. Iona (22m 56s): Like tell me about your character first and then just show through show. Don't tell, really show me what their symptoms are. And I think that's important to remember also not to always villainize those with mental health either. Cause that's a big thing that I see very frequently. And it's kind of cliche now. I think. Autumn (23m 17s): Yeah. I was just about when you said the villain being bipolar, like, oh, but isn't that a stereotype too? I mean, that's just like the joker or something in Batman it's should not always be the mentally ill who goes off the deep end. You can have a way. I think it's interesting. Cause I've even read fantasy recently where there was someone who was going through issues. And I think the elves came up with a drug for them. I'm like, oh my goodness, we're getting into pharmaceuticals. Now this is fantastic. You can be a healthy, productive member of society and how, and just be different. You know, my nephew actually has Asperger's and he and I, it kinda runs in my family. Autumn (23m 57s): We're all very literal. Like if you see a sign on the road that says like road drops 500 feet, our immediate thought is the road is going to fall 500 feet. Once we have a very literal interpretation, but it's just a different way of seeing the world. It's just our lens of the world is slightly different from most other people. But again, what is most other people? What is normal? This is normal for me. Iona (24m 23s): I don't think there is such thing. I think normal is made up as a therapist. Joke is it's a setting on your washer machine and Autumn (24m 34s): That's true. It doesn't say average, like normal cycle. That's true. I like that. I'm going to use that from now on to defend myself. Iona (24m 44s): And I do think that what you're saying is like, yeah, like you process the world or family members are on the spectrum are autistic and they process the world in a different way, but it's also not different. It's also just how you process it. So I would love to see an autistic character with those kinds of like the ability, the different abilities and disabilities portrayed there with that disorder. I don't even like calling it a disorder. It's it's someone not knowing and I'm, I am not neuro-typical so I'm neurodivergent myself. So I think that it's very cool to see all kinds of representation in writing. Autumn (25m 28s): I think it's important too. And that's one of the things I do love that. I mean, I did grow up in the eighties and it seemed like all the, it was all the male characters, you know, He-Man or something and they're wearing swords and they're going off and saving the women. And I was, I was always at least neuro atypical enough to usually just be able to put myself in the place of the hero. It didn't matter. I was a tomboy. I think, goodness, I actually just realized this the other day that my brother never said I couldn't do something because I was a girl. We were like playing Cowboys and Indians together. He let me play with his matchboxes. I'm like, oh my goodness. How much of my weird view of life comes from my brother? Autumn (26m 8s): Not treating me like a younger brother instead of a little girl, all the way down to trying to draw and quarter me once. But we won't go there. Iona (26m 18s): My choice of sibling relationships, Autumn (26m 22s): I love writing about them. They're so horribly wonderful, but it is true. It's it's those different viewpoints and the diversity of viewpoints that make even a quest group. You don't want every single person the same. And I know one of the advices I give is like, if you're having a problem telling your characters apart, which one, your readers will then have a problem, but give them like a totem. I'm like this, one's the Fox, this one's the out you to do something so that you understand their differences, some kind of way of seeing them differently. And I think that goes for even how they, Iona (26m 57s): Especially like, if the person's like indigenous and they understand the backgrounds behind, like what totems mean, but if you aren't indigenous and you want to try something else, you can also do like, smells this one author. Now I forget who said it, but that doesn't help. But she was like, you, you can use smells like sense and like, imagine that their candle, what would it be? I know for me, sometimes I'll imagine characters wearing certain colors, just because color is so important to me and having those different, like connections with color and, and what they mean for me and how I can tell like my characters apart and what makes them different from each other. Iona (27m 40s): Yeah. Autumn (27m 41s): That's when I wrote my debut, that was how I managed to get into character's head. I actually wrote in a different color font for each of the characters Iona (27m 49s): And that's so helpful. It Autumn (27m 51s): Was so helpful. I could, I knew then to stay, if I was especially, I was trying to do all chapters in one point of view. So I knew to stay. If I'm in red, I was in tie and I had to stay in Thai and it really helped me learn a lot better. But I, I liked that smells. That also gives you a totally different perspective and reminds you to use your other senses. Iona (28m 12s): It does. I really hadn't thought of it until this person said it. And now I wish I could remember this person's name. Autumn (28m 18s): Okay. I am sure. Well, you know, Google, I would say we can Google them, but yeah, that sometimes doesn't work. There's just so much out there anymore. Well, that's really cool. So you, I love that you do this kind of reading and sensitivity reading for both mental health, as well as races and stereotypes. And when you do it like character arc wise, what are some tips you can say for like showing a character shifting from the one side of their art to the other, like, are there good turning point issues or what are ways of showing that the, you know, they're becoming they're healing and moving on? Iona (28m 60s): Oh, that's a really great question. Something that I think is helpful to show with healing is that it's not linear. So I think a lot of people, even, even their expectation for therapy sometimes is like, okay, I'm going to have like six sessions. And then on the seventh one, there'll be a big epiphany and then I'll be fixed whatever that even means. And it's like, well, that's not quite how it works and that's not how it's going to work for characters either. So I think it'll be cool to show like, you know, they, they, their tolerance might get longer. Like when they usually are like really quick to anger, maybe show that their tolerance before they blow up is lasting a little bit longer and a little bit longer, or they're able to tolerate another character a little bit longer than usual. Iona (29m 54s): Or if someone has a hard time accepting accolades or like compliments, then showing that change in their effect from being able to just brush off, be like, no, this is it's like, wow, you really saved me. Like you're a hero. And then being like, I'm not a hero. Like we see that so much in fantasy. Like I'm not a hero, I'm just doing my job. But getting to a point where they're empowered enough to accept that they did something very difficult and very brave and courageous is very, very beautiful. I also love because I love seeing this cause this is how it happens in real life is when people regress. Iona (30m 34s): So there'll be these accomplishments, these accomplishments, these accomplishments, and then they might use, they might break a little and use an old maladaptive coping strategy that they don't, they haven't used for months or year or whatever. And then they go back to doing that. And then they're like, oh, was this all for nothing? And of course it's not all for nothing but showing that like, I've been different. I've been, I'm different now. Like, but why did I do this? And showing how they come back from that again and again. And I know someone told me once that healing is, is kind of almost like cyclical, where it'll go in a circle, you're going forward like a wheel. Iona (31m 18s): But it, you have some patterns that you have to break out of that takes some time and you might repeat them. Autumn (31m 25s): Oh, I love that. I reminds me of the anagram, which has like the nine stages for each of the key personality types. And so it's like, yeah, you can move up and down the scale. And it's not just villains moving down, but you know, you can have a character that starts really high and they can go down and they can go back up and they can go back down. I mean, I know, I remember again, one of my characters, one of my favorite characters and he starts off pretty high. He's pretty kick ass, but he, his, the second book, there's a huge event at the end of the second one, he loses his sister and he, he just kind of crumbles and he slides down and some people were really mad at me, but I'm like, this is legit. Autumn (32m 11s): This is, you know, people go through things. I've actually, I've lost siblings. It's you changes you. And I'm surprised that some people didn't want to see a character go down, maybe have, who went from a positive arc to a negative arc in one book and then came back up to the third book. That's what the trilogy is for. Right. Iona (32m 31s): Absolutely. And that's how it is. Like you're saying in real life, like grief, that's something that I heavily have heavily explore in ashes. Is it? I think they used to think that it was like the stages of grief. It's not stages, that's a swinging pendulum. I don't know what's going to happen. We don't know. And you can go move back and forth all throughout your life for the rest of your life. It's going to affect it. You're going to miss that person. And that's what I really wanted to show. And there are times when Angela, my main character, she will sometimes handle things really well and use her resilience and use her, like I'm going to do this for my family kind of attitude. Iona (33m 16s): And then there are other times where she's like, wow, what am I doing here? Like even going to work. Yeah, it's true. Autumn (33m 24s): And that's a stick. And I love that. And again, I mean, we just because it's fantasy and a fantasy setting or has magic doesn't mean that the emotions aren't real. I mean, that's how we can pretend to be a dragon or pretend to be an L for any other species that we come up with. Is those really the emotional connections. And that's also what draws us to characters. So that's why I think explaining it to that as someone who has an experienced grief or hasn't experienced someone in their family who is, has mental health issues might not quite, we'll actually get it a little bit. And I think that's really important is to not just make some people go, this doesn't make any sense, but try to draw out the realism and say, this is, this is how it is for some people. Iona (34m 9s): And I think that's really important. Autumn (34m 11s): Yeah. Well, is there any other tips you can think of that you think would really help writers, you know, talk about how to write, even we talked a lot about mental health, but even bringing out cultural differences, how not to fall into those stereotypical traps or how to even question, you know, when you're developing a character as, or a certain point where you're like, where do you stop and ask yourself, am I just being a stereotype with this person? Iona (34m 38s): Well, it's hard to know what biases, because we all have biases that we don't know about, which is why it's a lovely to have critique partners. I, my advice is to include the community, if you can, like of whatever you're writing about. So like, if you're an autistic person and you're writing an autistic character, then you should have some autistic beta readers. If you're not able to do, I have obviously support someone doing sensitivity reading or having a sensitivity reader, I should say, but if the person doesn't want to do that, then having the community help them. And then being very open to feedback about that. Iona (35m 20s): Because I think even though we can have biases, if we have certain disorders or if we have certain backgrounds like racial and ethnic backgrounds, I think there's more room for biased error when we don't share that. So that's why it's so important to include the community there and just making sure to unlearning certain things does not feel very good, but overall it will improve your writing. Autumn (35m 51s): Oh, that's so very true. And I know as it's, I love question, I swear. I didn't question anything as a teenager. I've made up for it as I've gotten older, but Iona (36m 3s): That's part of being a teenager, Autumn (36m 9s): But it is very important. I think, I mean, when I sit down to create a character and I go with my first gut assumption is like a female or a male and I've always stopped. Why, what color? You know, why do I feel like it should be that way? I think that's so important is to question basically it's exhausting. But when it comes to your main characters or even your sub characters, I know I was reading something, helping a writing coach with something. And it seemed like every default character was a male. The doctor was a male, the nurses were female. I'm like, come on, wake up 20, 20, 20, 21. Even know your doctors are now female. Your nurses are nail male deal with it. Autumn (36m 50s): And when it sneaks in there and sometimes I think you're right, I saw it because I wasn't on the author. And so I really noticed it. I mean, I think if I went back to something I had written ages ago and I looked at it with a clean slate, I would also go like, oh my gosh, why did I choose that? Iona (37m 8s): I've definitely looked at my old writing and been like, well, I've certainly grown because I know these certain thought processes are not accurate anymore, but you never have really thought they were. Autumn (37m 23s): I think, I think we all deserve to be able to grow. I always feel bad, even if it is for politicians, which it's hard to feel bad for politicians, but you know, once like 20, 30 years ago you voted on this, oh, for goodness sakes, let them change. People can change their mind. Over 30 years, your writing will change. Don't be afraid, I guess, to try writing a different culture, writing a different species. I know with my first books, I remember thinking I wanted a fantasy race. I didn't want ELLs. What color should they be? And I was thinking black. Yeah. I was trying to go through everything, but I want it to be fantasy that finally made them their skins, the color of bark. Autumn (38m 4s): So, you know, go ahead. Be different, come up with something totally new. That's fine too. Don't be afraid of trying it, but yeah. Make sure you probably check in with someone else. Some beta readers, some sensitivity readers to make sure you're not off the wall and going to, Iona (38m 21s): Yeah. The bark thing reminded me. This is not me saying your elves are bad. They're gone. It's not, I promise this is something totally different. It just reminded me of that's something that has, has changed a lot is the description of eye, color, hair, color, skin, color. It used to be that apparently, apparently everyone's default white for some reason. And then, and then anyone else would be compared to food. And so they would be like, so they would be like chocolate skin or like mocha caramel. Iona (39m 3s): Yeah. And that wasn't really, I mean, I'm sure it was harmful because anytime you've described someone as food related, it's like, that's a bit othering. I would think. Especially if you don't do it for one race, like the white race, it's cool to see like how that's changed and how authors, like there are authors who didn't know that that was harmful. And they learned, and they were like, okay, that's an easy fix. And they just put that in there. And I love, that's what I love seeing like as a sensitivity reader is not the mistake. I don't care if someone makes a mistake because it just is something that they're going to grow from. I, I, I do care if they don't listen to, not that they have to, they don't have to rewrite their book or anything. Iona (39m 50s): Usually sometimes that does have to have it, but it's just like, are they listening to the feedback of like, Hey, here's a bit of educational piece as to why this isn't working 10 years ago, 20 years ago, it may have worked, but we found that it's harmful. And so, and here's why, and here's a way to do it a different way. And when people are like, oh, that makes sense. We'll do, I'm like, see, that was not difficult. Autumn (40m 21s): Yeah. And it's, it's so much better to get it on, you know, from a sensitivity reader versus seeing it as a review on Amazon or good reads and being blasted for either cultural appropriation or being harmful with stereotypes, Iona (40m 39s): It hurts. It can hurt a lot of people. It can, it has the potential to, yeah. Autumn (40m 45s): We're in a global community, in a global society. And so all of our stuff, as much as we wish it was simpler, you have to be culturally and mental health. You have to be aware that all of these things are out there and you should write the best you can. And I still say, there are times where you might choose to do something that's a little harsh, but always make it a choice, have an answer. If someone says, why did you do this? If you have an answer that's legit. That's Iona (41m 13s): Fine. You were intentional with it. Autumn (41m 15s): Yeah. Just being intentional. I like that. Iona (41m 17s): Yes. The intentions. And I like what you were saying too. Always question your motivation. Why, why, why? And then be intentional when you write is, is so important. And I think that's very, very cool. Autumn (41m 31s): Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us. And of course, I'm going to put links to your webpage, but pleased to go ahead and tell people how to find you. So if they're interested in learning more about sensitivity reading, that they know where to look you up. Iona (41m 46s): Yes. Okay. So I am most active on Instagram and that's Iona dot Wayland and I'm sure you'll have that information too, but my book is available in ebook paperback, and it just released as audio book. I was very excited to work with Melissa Medina. They did a wonderful, wonderful voice of Angela and brought her story to life beautifully. And then on my website, if you have inquiries about sensitivity reading rates or questions or anything of that sort, you can send me an information. You can send me your question or your manuscript or whatever, have you through my, at the very bottom of my webpage. Iona (42m 32s): And you can sign up for my monthly newsletter, Autumn (42m 37s): The newsletter. I might go back and get that because I think that'd be, I want to stay in touch. That'd be fantastic. Iona (42m 44s): Thank you. Autumn (42m 46s): Great. Thanks again so much for joining us and next week. Yes. For we'll be back. Actually he'll be solo and he'll have another fantastic interview lined up for you. Narrator (43m 1s): If you like, what you just heard, there's a few things you can do to SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST. Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review. You can also join Autumn and Jesper on patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy for as little as a dollar a month. You'll get awesome rewards and keep The Am Writing Fantasy Podcast, going, stay safe out there and see you next Monday.

Good evening, listener… you're listening to Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. On tonight's Halloween edition, we invite you to leave behind your safe reality, and descend with us into the frightening depths of the most terrifying imaginations, with an audio adaptation of frightening fiction, about local legends and gravitational graveyards. I'm your host Steve Taylor and tonight I'll be your guide as we traverse the dimly-lit HALLOWEEN corridors of your darkest dreams. Joining us tonight, to help bring to life the frightening fiction of Rick-the-Intern and T.S. Huntzicker are voice talents Jesse Cornett, Melissa Medina and Danielle Hewitt. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/ChillingTalesPod Produced by Leo Melo  Music by NMC Music Creative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A very special fictional Halloween edition of Disturbed. Stories in this episode: My wife has a removable face. I've never glimpsed what lies beneath it, but my best friend has - by nslewis with performances by: Matt Bradford, Tanya Eby, Tom Aglio. My husband is a serial killer. And he's still out there by thehorrorwriter2 with performances by: Nikolle Doolin and John Patneaude. My sleep paralysis demon is actually a pretty chill guy by Chris Hicks with performances by: Melissa Medina, Todd Barsness, Tom Aglio, Sarah Thomas and Kelsey Schulz. Sponsor: Territory Foods. To save $75 across your first three orders, plus free shipping, go to territoryfoods.com and use the promo code DISTURBED. Promo: What Was That Like with Scott Johnson. Real people in unreal situations. Listen in your favorite podcast app or online at whatwasthatlike.com Listen ad-free, unlock bonus episodes and more: patreon.com/disturbedpodcast Submit your true, original experience: disturbedpodcast.com/submit Disturbed Merch: disturbedpodcast.com/shop Audience survey: disturbedpodcast.com/survey Leave a voicemail or text: 701-354-3667 Contact: chad@disturbedpodcast.com Advertising inquiries: donna@authenticshows.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Evelina, My Tentacles!" by Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas Copyright khōréō magazine 2021. Read by Melissa Medina, Produced by Katalina Watt, Edited by Aleksandra Hill Visit khoreomag.com & follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @KhoreoMag. Artwork: Cindy Fan Music: This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported CC BY 3.0Free Download or Stream: http://bit.ly/-this-too-shall-pass Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SEKx5vpSgvI

President & CEO Gale Nelson speaks with Melissa Medina , Founding Executive Team Member & President of eMerge Americas, President of the Medina Family Foundation

In this weeks episode, Melissa, Maria, Brian, and Cesar discuss:-Building eMerge America's over the years -The Medina family: A family in business-Collabing with Pitbull - & more  

On today's episode of SKILLS PAY BILLS, I sit down with Melissa Medina aka @MELICHA_ART. Melissa is a 24 year old artist that has her own studio inside of the ART HUB on Logan Avenue. She has created so many incredible works of art over the past few years, and we talk about many of them over the course of this episode. Melissa has always been so mysterious to me, but after recording this podcast with her, I feel deeply connected to her spirit and her journey. She is an awesome & amazing human being and I can't wait to see what she will create next!!! Thank you for watching & listening!! Skills Pay Bills Podcast: @skillspaybillspodMelissa Medina: @melicha_artClaudia Rodriguez-Biezunski: @sewlokawww.sewloka.com/podcast https://sewloka.com/Thank you for continuing to support Sew Loka and Skills Pay Bills, we appreciate you!

In this particular episode, Melissa Medina (Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Granblue Fantasy: Versus) and I talk voice over, representation, social media, Aliens: Fireteam Elite and a whole bunch of other stuff. Melissa's website and social media: https://www.hearmelissa.com/ https://twitter.com/melissamedinavo https://www.instagram.com/melissamedinavo/

Melissa Medina is currently President of eMerge Americas, the premier technology event of the Americas. Subsequent to the 2014 inaugural conference, she assisted in the launch of the Women, Innovation & Technology summit (WIT), which seeks to convene top female professionals from across the globe to showcase how they are transforming industries through technology & innovation. Melissa is also the President of the Medina Family Foundation (MFF) that focuses on mentoring children and empowering families by enhancing education and quality of life. She attended the University of Florida where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & a Master's in International Business. Subsequent to her Master's program, Melissa worked at Terremark Worldwide, a leading operator of integrated network access points. Melissa was named by the South Florida Business Journal as one of the “2019 Power Leaders in Technology.” Melissa also sits on the Board of Endeavor Miami, The United Way of Miami, Babson WIN Lab, and Roots of Hope. Finally, she is a mother of 5 children!

"Golden Girl" by A.M. Guay Jasy never feared photographs... until she was torn from home and adopted by a 'perfect' family. "Golden Girl” by A.M Guay interrogates transracial adoption by way of Get Out & The Stepford Wives. Copyright khōréō magazine 2021. Read by Melissa Medina, Produced by Katalina Watt, Edited by Aleksandra Hill. Visit khoreomag.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @KhoreoMag. Artwork: Isabelle Lin Music: This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported CC BY 3.0Free Download or Stream: http://bit.ly/-this-too-shall-pass Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SEKx5vpSgvI Sound effects from freesound.org all licensed under CCBYNC 3.0: Tape Recorder by Pogotron Tape Recorder Rewind by simplewave  

The HopeFires Podcast, with hosts Anthony and Melissa Medina, will ignite hope, healing and spiritual hunger within you! With each episode, you'll receive solid biblical teaching, diverse prophetic perspectives, and empowering prayer directives, that reveal Jesus, fuel revival fires, and activate transformation in every sphere.    By hearing inspiring stories, revelatory teaching, and dynamic dialogue with leaders from across the body of Christ, you'll be set ablaze for living a supernatural lifestyle, infused with hope to run your race with endurance, and emboldened to proclaim Christ with your whole life. This is HopeFires!   Connect with Anthony and Melissa: https://linktr.ee/hopefires

Anthony and Melissa Medina are a husband-wife team with a mandate to ignite hope, healing and spiritual hunger. Their vision and passion is for hosting the presence and power of God to change lives and transform nations. Together they have co-founded the ministry of HopeFires International as a vehicle for fulfilling God's call upon our lives. Engaging our complimentary gifts, we deliver sound biblical teaching, prophetic ministry, and demonstrations of God's power to heal and set people free. They speak in churches, conferences, and schools of ministry, as well as engage in prayer missions, compassion projects and evangelistic outreach within the U.S. and abroad. They also host growing media outlets for online teaching, encouragement and corporate prayer. Connect with Anthony & Melissa: https://hopefires.com/ https://www.facebook.com/anthonyandmelissa/ Ivan and Erica Roman, and their three boys Isaiah, Aren and Ezra all reside in Medford, Oregon. They serve as senior leaders of a joy-filled church called Empowered Life Church. Ivan has a passion to raise up healthy leaders that equip the saints. Ivan and Erica have also traveled around the world for the last two decades demonstrating the power of God through prophetic ministry and signs and wonders following.  Here are some different ways to connect with Ivan https://www.ivanroman.org https://www.schooloftheprophetic.com https://www.facebook.com/ivanroman.ministries

Anthony and Melissa Medina are a husband-wife team with a mandate to ignite hope, healing and spiritual hunger. Their vision and passion is for hosting the presence and power of God to change lives and transform nations. Together they have co-founded the ministry of HopeFires International as a vehicle for fulfilling God's call upon our lives. Engaging our complimentary gifts, we deliver sound biblical teaching, prophetic ministry, and demonstrations of God's power to heal and set people free. They speak in churches, conferences, and schools of ministry, as well as engage in prayer missions, compassion projects and evangelistic outreach within the U.S. and abroad. They also host growing media outlets for online teaching, encouragement and corporate prayer. Connect with Anthony & Melissa: https://hopefires.com/ https://www.facebook.com/anthonyandmelissa/ Ivan and Erica Roman, and their three boys Isaiah, Aren and Ezra all reside in Medford, Oregon. They serve as senior leaders of a joy-filled church called Empowered Life Church. Ivan has a passion to raise up healthy leaders that equip the saints. Ivan and Erica have also traveled around the world for the last two decades demonstrating the power of God through prophetic ministry and signs and wonders following.  Here are some different ways to connect with Ivan https://www.ivanroman.org https://www.schooloftheprophetic.com https://www.facebook.com/ivanroman.ministries

It's the future. The cities are flooded. Certain words are forbidden. The doomed Earth has become united under a global totalitarian regime. But two eccentric outliers who refuse to follow the rules may be the Tellestian Empire's only chance for a hopeful future. (Running time: 37 minutes, 21 seconds.) Written and directed by Edward Champion CAST: Ramirez:  Charly Saccocio Harris: Michael Saldate The Instructor:  Rachel Matusewicz The Voice:  Carol Jacobanis The Guard:  Graham Rowat Classmate #1:  David Perez-Ribada Classmate #2:  Sam Mercer Classmate #3:  Emmanuel Webb Scientist #1:  Glenn Bulthius Scientist #2:  Liz Fodor Scientist #3:  Alistair Mackey The Demon:  Pete Lutz The Rebels:  Glenn Bulthius, Liz Fodor, Alistair Mackey, Melissa Medina, Dylan Reed, and David Sinkus Associate Producers: Morgan Corcoran and John Osborne Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn with a bowling average that is too embarrassingly low to report to the general public. Music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox. Image licensed through Getty. This story was inspired by Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. Please be sure to listen to the excellent podcast, Rereading Wolfe, an excellent show devoted to analyzing this amazing work of literature. Thanks for listening!