Podcasts about sasquan

Author and editor Melinda Snodgrass joins us in this episode, telling us how she began her journey into speculative fiction with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. She'll talk about how Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom books, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Heinlein's juveniles were important to her as a smart kid who wanted adventure and escapism, why she's still fond of them as an adult, and the influence the stories of her youth have had on her own writing. Melinda will share her thoughts on what it's like to read the works of friends versus books written by people she doesn't know. She'll talk about some of the business aspects of writing, such as the cross-pollination that takes place between different types of media. And she has some words of wisdom for older fans about the next generation of science fiction and fantasy lovers who have come to the genre by different paths. Our interview took place in August 2015 at Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington (in a lounge area near a hallway in the convention centre, which is why you'll hear some background noise). Find out more about Melinda and her works at: melindasnodgrass.com   Visit iTunes to subscribe to Invaders From Planet 3 and download episodes, and be sure to rate the show while you're there!    

In this episode, author & editor Robert J. Sawyer tells us about getting an early start in adult-level science fiction reading books by David Gerrold and Isaac Asimov. He'll talk about why the original Star Trek was such a great TV series, and share his opinions about how science fiction has evolved and sometimes taken steps backward over the years. We'll also chat with Rob about how well old sf novels hold up, specifically some of the works of Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. Reflecting on his own writing, Rob will tell us about what he learned from interviewing some of the giants in the field back in the 1980s, how he's tried to synthesize the approaches of Larry Niven and Mike Resnick, and  his reputation for being an optimist. He'll also give us some hints about what to expect from his newest novel, Quantum Night. Our interview took place in August 2015 at Sasquan, the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington. Find out more about Rob and his works at: sfwriter.com  

We've talked about plot twists before. This episode covers the way in which the type of plot twist is dependent on, or signaled by, the context of the story. Getting plot twists right may mean surprising the reader, but it's just as important to have the twist surprise the character. SPOILER ALERT: Avengers: Age of Ultron, and The Sixth Sense, among others. It's hard to talk about plot twists without talking about some really good ones. This month's master-class topic is "Context," but the Q&A at the end of the month (coming real soon!) is on plot twists, featuring a special guest who joined us at Sasquan, the 73rd Annual World Science Fiction Convention.

Charlie N. Holmberg, who was recently signed by Amazon's 47 North imprint, joined us in front of a live audience it Sasquan (the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention) to talk about breaking in to the industry. Brandon and Dan broke in a decade ago, and Howard never actually bothered breaking in. This episode is brought to you by David Farland's writing workshops at mystorydoctor.com, whose URL completely escaped Howard during the episode. Here are two coupon codes: August50 gets $50 off any course regularly priced $399 August100 gets $100 off any course regularly priced $749  

Charlie N. Holmberg, who was recently signed by Amazon’s 47 North imprint, joined us in front of a live audience it Sasquan (the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention) to talk about breaking in to the industry. Brandon and Dan broke in a decade ago, and Howard never actually bothered breaking in. This episode is brought … Continue reading Writing Excuses 10.35: Breaking In, With Charlie N. Holmberg →

With Gary only just returned from Spokane and the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, we sit down to discuss the success of Sasquan, the successful site selection for Helsinki in 2017, congratulate our friends at Galactic Suburbia for their big win, and touch on some of the many and varied issues surrounding the 2015 Hugo Awards. During the podcast we:encourage you to join both MidAmerican II (Kansas City) and WorldCon 75 (Helsinki); mention io9s list of alternate Hugo Awards nominees; and discuss Jay Maynard's article at Black Gate about conservatives in the SF field . This episode was recorded the day after Sasquan and is being sent out early. We expect to return to our usual schedule this coming weekend. Till then, we hope you enjoy the episode!

It's time for a post-Sasquan look at the 2015 Hugo Awards and Doctor Who's place in them…

This week saw the release of Nebula Award winning author Aliette de Bodard's  powerful and engaging fourth novel, The House of Shattered Wings.  Aliette was in Spokane, Washington for Sasquan: the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention when she made to time to sit down and discuss the novel; using the real world in world buildin; urban fantasy; combining work, family and writing; and much more with Gary and Jonathan. “Paris has survived the Great Houses War – just. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens continue to live, love, fight and survive in their war-torn city, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over the once grand capital. House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls. Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires' salvation. They may be the architects of its last, irreversible fall…” As always, we would like to thank Aliette for making time to appear on the podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode!

In this episode, I talk about Lou Antonelli, his efforts to report David Gerrold to the police, and Sasquan’s response. If you want to learn more about what is going on, here are few useful links: Pattern Matching: Lou Antonelli and the Sad Puppies by Natalie Luhrs Some Members are More Equal than Others by […]

Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith talk to me about their YA novels (Stranger and Hostage), and C.S.E. Cooney talks to me about her music project, Brimstone Rhine.First, a congratulatory note to all the Nebula nominees this year! Many OA members on that list, which is full of awesome people and awesome stories! Special congratulations to Katherine Addison (Sarah Monette), Ann Leckie, Ken Liu, Richard Bowes, Rachel Swirsky, Sarah Pinsker, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Aliette de Bodard, Alyssa Wong, Sam J. Miller, Usman T. Malik, Carmen Maria Machado, Ursula Vernon, and Eugie Foster (who passed just after her last story was published). Hugo nominations are open until the 10th of March. If you are an attending or supporting member of Sasquan, or if you attended or supported LonCon last year, you should be eligible to nominate! I (Julia Rios) personally am eligible in Best Editor Short Form for my work with Strange Horizons, and on Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories. I'm also eligible in Best Fancast for this very podcast as well as for The Skiffy and Fanty Show, and Strange Horizons is eligible in Best Semiprozine. There are a bunch of other super worthy OA member projects, but I wanted to give another special shoutout to Catherine Lundoff's series on LGBT SF History over at SF Signal. I believe she's eligible for best fan writer for that series. Stranger and Hostage are the first two books in the Change quartet, set in a post apocalyptic LA. Rebel and Traitor (books 3 and 4) should be out later this year and early next year respectively.Prisoner, Partner, and Laura's Wolf are Rachel's three books featuring werewolf marines, hot sex, and PTSD. You can download Prisoner for free.Angel in the Attic is Rachel's lesbian werewolf romantic comedy.Brimstone Rhine is C.S.E. Cooney's made up rockstar alter ego, who is crowdfunding two EPs right now on indiegogo. Rewards include things like Claire's books (in addition to the music of course). For a free taste of Claire's Witch's Garden world, you can read "Witch, Beast, Saint" in Strange Horizons. The books that are part of the Brimstone Rhine campaign rewards include The Witch In the Almond Tree, The Breaker Queen, The Two Paupers, and Bone Swans. The Banjo Apocalypse Crinoline Troubadors are one of C.S.E. Cooney's other music  and storytelling projects, which, if Brimstone Rhine ends up hitting far beyond the initial funding goal, might also produce an album of Distant Star Ballads.