Fireproof Garage

Darren and Simon—eventually—discuss world building, that extension of setting that enables readers to feel like the story they’re reading takes place somewhere very real, talking about their favourite worlds from novels they’ve read alongside some of their own work. Also a quick update on Darren’s missed opportunity with monster trucks and Simon’s concussion.

Darren’s article ‘First Person of Interest’ for WQ Magazine (paywall)

https://qldwriters.org.au/2018/03/01/first-person-of-interest-darren-groth/

Clade by James Bradley

https://www.amazon.com/Clade-James-Bradley/dp/1785654144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525840000&sr=8-1&keywords=clade+james+bradley

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen

https://www.amazon.com/Sick-Puppy-Carl-Hiaasen/dp/0446604666/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525840052&sr=1-1&keywords=sick+puppy+by+carl+hiaasen

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

https://www.amazon.com/Darkly-Dreaming-Dexter-Jeff-Lindsay/dp/0307277887/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525840100&sr=1-1&keywords=jeff+lindsay+dexter

Worth also noting, if you ask ask Darren for a tiny synopsis of a work in progress, you should know now what to expect. You’ve been warned.

What exactly is a ‘sensitivity reader’ and what is the service that one can offer a story in progress? Darren and Simon clear some air around an occasionally fraught topic, pointing out that this is really just an extension of what editors do anyway.

In other news, the literary Brothers Groth discover yet again that they are the lesser Groth siblings with the discover of the Groth Brothers monster truck driving team. This, inevitably, kicks off a discussion about the perfect name for a literary monster truck.

Let’s call it an episode of contrasts.

A great article by Meg Vann on the topic of sensitivity readers. https://megvann.com/2017/02/20/sensitivity-and-straw-hats/

Tyler Groth drives ‘Zombie’, a monster truck shaped like, well, a zombie. https://www.monsterjam.com/en-US/drivers/tyler-groth

Travis Groth drives ‘Megalodon’, a monster truck shaped like a shark. https://www.monsterjam.com/en-US/drivers/travis-groth

A recent interview with Tyler and Travis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMeeKrcvumI

Also, Kate Grenville’s fabulous ‘The Writing Book. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/writing-language/The-Writing-Book-Kate-Grenville-9781742373881

Our upcoming book Infinite Blue has a home on the interwebz at our fantastic publisher, Orca. https://www.orcabook.com/Infinite-Blue-P1763.aspx

A triumphant return to the Fireproof Garage as Darren and Simon discuss their recent hiatus and its associated pilgrimage to the podcast namesake in Livermore, California.

Main topic of discussion in this episode, though, is the forthcoming actual text-based collaboration between Darren and Simon. Called “Infinite Blue”, this modern fabulist love triangle between boy, girl, and the water will be released all over North America in September 2018.

There will be plenty more to talk about closer to release, but for now, Darren and Simon respond to the three questions they know they will be asked on the book’s release.

On the way they discuss Darren's dubious stalking practices and the value of corsages. In what may be a telling contrast Simon's choices were all for dead authors, while Darren avoided the graveyard in favour of contemporaries. We'll leave it for the amateur psychologists to work out what that means, if anything.  Simon's choices: Douglas Adams Marcus Clarke Thea Astley Darren's choices: Nick Hornby Steve Toltz Margaret Atwood

Stuff talked about: Hyde by Daniel Levine https://www.amazon.com/Hyde-Daniel-Levine/dp/0544484029 Lionel Shriver’s deliberately controversial address to the Brisbane Writers Festival https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/13/lionel-shrivers-full-speech-i-hope-the-concept-of-cultural-appropriation-is-a-passing-fad Hunted Down and Other Tales by Marcus Clarke http://www.futureofthebook.org.au/shop/hunted-down/

An update on the brothers' current exploits in writing takes a quick detour through the finer points of copyright (thankfully punctuated by some shirtless action from Simon's son) and a reading from Darren's new work in progress "Where You Are Now".

Along the way they quote from The Simpsons, address Alice Munro directly, discuss using a Kraken as a fake passenger for HOV/transit lanes, and assess the suitability of the title of this episode as an appropriate pseudonym for an adult film star. Simon's favourites: Embiggen Books, Melbourne Better Read Than Dead, Sydney Avid Reader, Brisbane Darren's favourites: Munro's Books, Victoria Albany Books, Tsawwassen Riverbend Books, Brisbane

After a novel-writing hiatus, brothers Darren and Simon Groth return to the Fireproof Garage for a second series of their not-at-all acclaimed podcast with news of their impending collaborative novel, Infinite Blue to be released in Canada and the United States in the not-too-distant future. After discussing some of the mechanics of managing a collaborative work between siblings, and a side mention of their mum's preferred fake phone number for flipping off suitors, Darren and Simon read each of their favourite bits from the novel.

Simon and Darren take us through their respective top three books by the best genre-crossing writer to have come out of New England. Don't forget to wash your hands.

Darren selects his top three books that have won the prize we suspect was named after Booker T. and the M.G.'s.