ARCHIVOS Podcast Network

Each year, thousands of bold and dedicated writers accept the NaNoWriMo challenge: get 50,000 words on paper in a month. At The Roundtable Podcast, we support this worthy ambition wholeheartedly, and we wanted to help... so we invited four remarkable writers to gather at the table and share their own preparations for the NaNoWriMo event.

Adam Christopher - author of "Empire State" and "Seven Wonders" - is one of the few debut authors whose work already has "fan fiction". Granted, that's because of the visionary "WorldBuilder" initiative greenlighted by Angry Robot Books and produced by Mighty Mur Lafferty but still... you gotta respect the fact that Adam crafted a story world that has the scope and nuance to support a robust and active collaborative community. Our 20(ish) minutes with Adam was a delight and fraught with talk of shared worlds, superhero literature (what a shock) and an exploration into Adam's writing process. Writerly goodness dressed in spandex awaits!

Maurice Broaddus - author of the "Knights of Breton Court" series, editor of the "Dark Faith" anthologies (with Jerry Gordon), crafter of worlds and tales of wonder - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to workshop an alt history fantasy by podcaster and Guest Writer Zach Ricks. Zach's tale - described as "James Bond in Harry Potter's world during the time of Downton Abby" - launches us into a frothing brainstorming session, dealing with alternate global politics, romantic triangles, nefarious plots, and a huge dragon slumbering under Yellowstone Park. Literary gold abounds!

Maurice Broaddus - author of the "Knights of Breton Court" series, editor (with Jerry Gordon) of the newly released "Dark Faith: Invocations" anthology, speaker of the pompetis of love - joins me and guest co-host Ryan Stevenson for an remarkable Showcase interview. During our 20(ish) minutes with him, Maurice discusses the writer's lifestyle, explores theme and genre, and presents an amazing personal insight into the power of genre fiction. There's so much writerly goodness here, we can barely contain... so take some for yourself!

Ben Delano, The Roundtable's Wandering Alchemist, strolled the halls of WorldCon asking some truly remarkable individuals this question: Describe your ideal protagonist. We know what you're thinking ('cause it's the same thing we were thinking), "These are all going to be the same answer." Oh no, dear friends... the diversity of response that we got affirms the depth of these writer's perceptions within their craft. Literary Gold abounds... get yours!

Many episodes ago we started making a promise to all our Guest Writers: Write the story... put it out in the world and we will make you a Knight of the Roundtable Podcast. We knew it would happen. It had to... with all this Literary Gold being flung about, somebody was going to write their story. And then it did. John Walker, who workshopped his story back in Episode 15 with the articulate and insightful Myke Cole, took the ideas from the workshop, applied them to his story and has released it as an e-book!

Nathan Lowell - author, podcaster, scholar, and Asker of Interesting Questions - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help Brion and I workshop a tale offered up by Guest Writer Michael Brundenell. Mike brings a very cool contemporary martial arts story to the table fraught with ancient societies, secret government projects, with the future of humanity in the balance. This is, of course, a veritable buffet of awesomeness and we all fill our plates high with ideas, suggestions, and "what if's". Literary gold ensues... get some for yourself by clicking that PLAY button!

Nathan Lowell was the first Guest Host to ask ​us if he could be on the show. He's also the first Guest Host to write us and ask "When are we doing it again?". I'm not sure what that says about us, but it speaks volumes of Nathan. He has distinguished himself in many ways - as an author, podcaster, educator, and business man - but he's also an adventurer, a seeker, and an artist who deeply enjoys exploring his craft. This second 20(ish) minutes with him leads down the road of discovering authorial voice, the editing process, and an exploration of what makes a "strong story". There is a surfeit of writerly goodness for everyone here, so dive in an get yours!

Brand Gamblin - channeler of Cthonic Deities and crafter of marvelous tales of all genres - returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help us workshop a story of biblical proportions... a superhero powered by God. The tale is offered up by veteran podcaster and audio fictioneer Clay Dugger and proved to be a marvelous springboard into a discussion about presenting faith in fiction, working or avoiding tropes, and developing suspense and pacing in your story. Everyone had a blast exploring the delightful terrain of this intriguing tale... and, of course, there's an abundance of Literary Gold to be had!

Brand Gamblin is a storyteller who aggressively pursues the evolution of his craft, striving always to push the limits of his ability and expand his comfort zone. His works to date include Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternate Future (see? He's making this stuff up, people!) and Science Fantasy (see?). He's also possessed of a dark humor as evidenced by his wildly successful "Calls for Cthulu" video series. We spent a fabulous 20(ish) minutes with this marvelous weaver of tales discussing his transition from programmer to writer, and from outliner to pantser... we even dig into what Spec Fic really means. There's writerly goodness behind that PLAY button, friends... click it!