Ditch Diggers

* Matt and Mur come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s slightly better lawn furniture, which they’re actually sharing live and in-person in front of a small audience, slightly inebriated (Matt, Mur, the audience, or all three? Who knows!)

* Even during Ditch Diggers, a podcast about rolling up your sleeves and doing the job of writing, people are catching Pokemon while we record.

* Matt and Mur are joined by their special guest co-host, illustrator Natalie Metzger.

* The Ditch Diggers discuss the moistness of the environment.

* Networking! Matt and Mur talk to Natalie about how networking led to her landing a gig illustrating SFF titan John Scalzi’s short story collection, Miniatures.

* Subterranean Press, specialty books, and goats.

* Natalie talks about the networking “long game,” participating in fandom, and just plain getting to know people over a long period of time.

* Networking while dealing with shyness, introversion, anxiety, and other socially limiting conditions, and how to work with them rather than “overcome” them.

* Natalie sums up her philosophy on networking: “Give, don’t take.”

* Matt explains the Glengarry Leads.

* The Ditch Diggers take questions from the audience, including dealing with anxiety and shyness at cons, and how George RR Martin does NOT in any way frequent prostitutes.

* Natalie’s website: http://www.thefuzzyslug.com/

* Natalie on Twitter: @minitotoro

* Natalie’s webcomic: http://cthulhuslippers.com/

* Natalie’s other webcomic: http://over-encumbered.com/

* MINIATURES by John Scalzi, illustrated by Natalie: http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/miniatures

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Travel and excitement has us posting this late – both Matt and Mur have their birthdays on July 25, and, both of us being attention whores, we celebrate as much as possible. Mur and Matt (mostly Matt) explain how and why Morgan Freeman has balls for us all (okay, it’s all Matt). Mur and Matt … Continue reading Ditch Diggers #29: Birthday Extravaganza →

Coming to you live from Morgan Freeman’s server farm with special guest co-host Fran Wilde, who wants to know if servers can be milked. Fran talks about her experience winning the Compton Crook and Andre Norton Awards (and not winning a Nebula) and Matt theorizes on what happens if and when all Andre Norton Awards … Continue reading Ditch Diggers #28: Fran Wilde rolls with it →

Mur and Matt come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s nature walk with special guest co-host, Madeline Ashby! Matt on how, technically, anywhere you walk outside is Morgan Freeman’s nature walk. Madeline talks about her new futuristic novel COMPANY TOWN, its themes and inspiration. Cannibalism, and the appropriate amount thereof in all things, is discussed. … Continue reading Ditch Diggers #27: Madeline Ashby talks futurism →

Matt and Mur come to you live, connected via Skype, between Morgan Freeman’s haberdashery and Morgan Freeman’s Tomb of the Youngsters, with special guest go-hosts, multi-Hugo Award-winning author Kameron Hurley and her agent, Hannah Bowman! Matt and Mur argue the nature of ad-libs. Matt pronounces Hannah’s name incorrectly (it’s Han-ah, like Han Solo). This fearsome … Continue reading Ditch Diggers #26: Agent/Author Relations, with Kameron Hurley and Hannah Bowman →

Mur and Matt come to you live from Morgan Freeman’s doll hospital, and spend way too much time talking about doll hospitals in general and Morgan’s doll hospital in particular. The Ditch Diggers bring you up-to-date on their professional lives. Mur starts over. Matt needs to write faster. Mur experiments with delayed segues. Neither Matt … Continue reading Ditch Diggers #25: The Absolute Guide to Failure 2, Electric Boogaloo →