Dark Waters

We're joined by Josh Mendoza to discuss switching between screenwriting and novels, $1,000 lego sets, and finding light in the darkness. We also get a sneak peak of his book Shadow of the Eternal Watcher, the fun parts of editing, and creepy Twilight Zone episodes.

Josh Mendoza is a screenwriter, director, producer and author.  Mendoza is the founder of Strike the Sun Entertainment, and his movie work has been recognized by film festivals and competitions alike. Mendoza’s debut novel, Shadow of the Eternal Watcher, was released in January 2025. The novel is a noir detective mystery that spirals into a science fiction adventure. The novel has already received positive reviews from Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. It was recently featured as one of the best upcoming sci-fi books for 2025 in New Scientist. Prior to his writing career, Mendoza received a BA in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University and an MFA in Film and Television Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and lived for over 15 years in Los Angeles, California.  He splits his time between the deserts of Arizona and the city of angels with his wife and two children.

Mendoza is currently developing multiple feature-length scripts and writing his next novel.

Dark Waters vol. 1 & 2 are available to order! To get a copy, head over to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

Noah Rymer joins us for a lively discussion of Catholic literature and morality, Flannery O'Connor fandom, and selecting the least-bad vices. We also get a sneak peak of denouement, now available from Anxiety Press.

Noah Rymer is a poet, editor, and prose writer who runs the literary outhouse Pere Ube as editor-in-chief, and whose debut novella denouement was released in March 2025 from Anxiety Press. He usually writes within the suburban gothic, and these dreadful narratives can be found within most magazines of ill-repute, such as APOCALYPSE CONFIDENTIAL, BRUISER, DO NOT SUBMIT!, and other similarly sordid sleaze-rags. You can often find him spiraling slowly into madness or chasing the specters of early modernity out of his closet. 

Dark Waters vol. 1 & 2 are available to order! To get a copy, head over to our ⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

Thomas Trang joins us to discuss nuances in villainous characters, balancing exposition in narration, and his book Dark Neon & Dirt. We also get a sneak peek of the book, talk second-person narrations, and the geopolitical considerations of Jafar.

Thomas Trang is a French/Vietnamese writer currently living in the UK after stints in Australia, New York, and Singapore. His stories have previously appeared in FutureQuake, Full House Literary and the Revolutions 2 anthology. He is currently working on a SF trilogy which mixes cyberpunk with the gritty realpolitik of The Wire and Cold War spy fiction. His novel, Dark Neon & Dirt, was released by Shotgun Honey in March 2025.

Dark Waters vol. 1 & 2 are available to order! To get a copy, head over to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

The audio recording of our crowdcast for Dark Waters Vol. 2 - the podcast's second anthology of dark fiction.

Guest host Bobby Mathews comes on board to talk through the anthology, and we're treated to some guest readings by several of the anthology's authors.

We would also like to extend our congratulations to Jacqueline Freimor, whose story "Cruel to Be Kind" will appear in Best American Mystery & Suspense 2025, as well as DW authors Mary Thorson & Victor De Anda, whose pieces from other publications will also be included.

Dark Waters vol. 1 & 2 are available to order! To get a copy, head over to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bobby Mathews is a novelist, short-story writer, and journalist who lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

He currently has two books under contract with independent publisher Shotgun Honey. Living the Gimmick, a crime novel set against the backdrop of 1980s professional wrestling, published in May 2022; Magic City Blues, a noir love story set in Birmingham, was released in 2023.

His collection Negative Tilt was released in 2024, with the title story having won a Derringer award in 2023.

Also featuring Mary Thorson, Victor De Anda, Joel Nedecky,Gabriela Stiteler, Stanton McCaffery, Jacqueline Freimor, and Dannye Chase.

Are you an author with a release you'd like to discuss on the show? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

The wonderful Wes Browne joins us to discuss finding new books in unexpected ways, the perfect Bouchercon experience, and his new book They All Fall the Same. We also get a sneak preview of the book, touch on finding the ideal segments for author readings, and how taste can be incredibly subjective.

Wes Browne lives within the Kentucky River Basin in Madison County, Kentucky. He has practiced law as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, and public defender in Appalachia for over 24 years. He also helps run his family's pizza shops. His novel They All Fall the Same was named one of 2025’s biggest mystery or thriller releases by Goodreads and one of 2025’s most anticipated books by Book Riot Read or Dead. His debut novel Hillbilly Hustle was named one of 17 recommended lockdown reads by Merriam-Webster in 2020.

Dark Waters vol. 1 & 2 are available to order! To get a copy, head over to our ⁠⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠⁠

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by the talented Nick Kolakowski to discuss his upcoming release Where the Bones Lie, stylistic choices for author readings, and dive into various rants including Chuck Palahniuk photographs, the 2008 writer's strike, and being shouted out of imposter syndrome. We also get a sneak peek at Where the Bones Lie, talk about the importance of having/building writing communities and dive into the "undermess."

Nick Kolakowski is the author of several horror and crime novels, including Absolute Unit (Crystal Lake Publishing) and Where the Bones Lie (Datura, coming out 3/25). His short stories and nonfiction essays have appeared in various anthologies and magazines, including House of Gamut, Mystery Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Rock & A Hard Place, and Best American Mystery & Suspense 2024. He lives and writes in NYC.

Dark Waters vol. 2 is now available to order! To get your copy, head over to our ⁠⁠linktree⁠⁠

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by the awesome Jaima Fixsen to talk about her new book The Specimen, steminist literature, and 19th century medical ethics. Also, how to balance the supernatural and the human in stories, Edinburgh history, and the Pythagoras math cult.

Jaima Fixsen is a USA Today and International best-selling author living and writing in Alberta, Canada. Her novel, The Girl In His Shadow (co-authored under the pen name Audrey Blake), was selected as Libby’s 2022 Big Library Read, and has been translated into six languages.

Jaima studied Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta, and her experiences learning anatomy and dissecting cadavers began her fascination with the history of medical science, which often figures in her stories. Her debut crime novel, The Specimen, was released this year. Jaima still works in health care, supporting children with disabilities and their families. She loves history, snow, reading, snow, and spending as much time as possible in the Canadian Rockies.

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined again by the incredible Jordan Harper to discuss the US release of The Last King of California, writing the stories you want to write, and having an impromptu meeting of the S.A. Cosby fan club. We also get a sneak peek at The Last King of California, discuss publishing across different countries, and whether or not the UK has a valid excuse for not understanding the word "shotgun."

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

Rob D. Smith is a common man attempting to write uncommon fiction out of Louisville, KY. Currently an editor at Rock and a Hard Place Press, his work has appeared in Apex Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Pyre Magazine, Thriller Magazine, Tough, Thicker Than Blood, Vautrin, and several other crime, horror, and speculative magazines, anthologies, and online publications. ⁠Good-Looking Ugly⁠ is his debut crime novel. Find his work at ⁠https://robdsmith.carrd.co/⁠.

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

Debut novelist Sean Jacques joins us to discuss his book Doe Run, reading lists for high schoolers in 2024, the importance of indie publishing venues, and glimpses into the minds of former theatre kids.

We also get a sneak peek of Doe Run, and touch on whether or not Into the Wild is tragic, turning diaries into movies, and the effects of children's dystopian stories on millenial minds.

Sean Jacques was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks.

You can find him on his ⁠website⁠, ⁠twitter⁠, and ⁠instagram⁠.

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.