SAM Magazine

K.L. Abrahamson writes suspenseful stories of crime, adventure and romance for readers who like to be transported to unusual locations around the world. From murder mysteries set in the heart of a re-imagined Russia, or on the rugged coast of British Columbia, to magical romances set in the heart of a summer beach town, K. L. Abrahamson creates immersive worlds of fully realized characters that readers can root for. Her work has been described as having a “connection to culture” with “powerful characters (who) make an incredible story.” Karen’s short stories can be found in issues of Ellery Queen Magazine and Black Cat Mystery Magazine. In today’s episode we’ll be in the modern world with retired schoolteacher, Phoebe Clay, as she travels to Cambodia and returns home to Canada. K.L. (Karen) Abrahamson and I also talk about writing culturally rich novels as well as character arcs. We discuss the Sisters-in-Crime--CW (Canada West) anthology, Crime Wave, Women of a Certain Age. Thank you Karen for joining me in an excellent discussion.

http://www.karenlabrahamson.com/

https://sinc-cw.ca/anthology/

E107 - Jane Baird Warren writes for kids and adults, who, like her, still read Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction—Harry Potter was a game-changer for Jane. Jane has an MFA in creative writing from UBC. Her writing has been featured on CBC radio and in more than a dozen literary magazines in North America and the UK. In her fiction and real life, Jane is fascinated with people, but what she enjoys in both worlds is kindness and courage. She has a ridiculous memory for trivia, which she’d always believed was the most useless superpower a girl could have, until she started writing.

We talked about the issues she expertly wove into the classroom setting, the importance of acceptance, and I learned a little Scottish. Thank you Jane for a great discussion.

https://www.janebairdwarren.com/

E106 - Fern Brady is a fantasy author and the founder of Inklings Publishing. She holds multiple Masters degrees. She began her professional life as a foreign correspondent and taught for 15 years in Alief ISD. She has published numerous short stories, two children's picture books, and a couple of poems. Her debut novel, United Vidden, book one in her Thyrein’s Galactic Wall Series, was given a glowing review by Dr. Who Online, the official site of the fandom. Also available for purchase is volume one of her graphic novel/novella hybrid project, New Beginning. She has returned to the leadership of the Houston Writers Guild, with whom she served as CEO for four years previously. She co-hosts two podcasts – Author Talk and The Hot Mess Express. Besides being Municipal Liaison for Nanowrimo Houston, she is also a member of Blood Over Texas, Romance Writers of America, and American Booksellers Association. Fern lives in Houston TX with her parents and her talkative husky.

https://www.fernbrady.com/

https://www.inklingspublishing.com/

E105 - JM Landels wears so many hats from author, literary magazine publisher (she is also the managing editor), and swordplay on horseback with Academie Cavallo at Cornwall Ridge Farm.  Jennifer has a BA in Medieval English Literature from UBC and may some day return to her doctorate in Arthurian Romance at University College London. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous events including Write Vancouver, The Royal City Arts Society, VCON and the Creative Ink Festival. She has travelled to France, Germany, the UK and the US to speak and teach at conferences. Her debut fantasy novel, Allaigna’s Song: Overture was an Amazon bestseller and the sequel, Allaigna’s Song: Aria was published in 2020. We had a great conversation about her magazine Pulp Literature which features shoebox stories from authors Joan MacLeod, Chris Humphreys and Susanna Kearsley. We even talked about the rock bands she played in, such as Stiff Bunnies. Thank you JM Landels.

https://pulpliterature.com/

E104 - Diann Floyd Boehm is a humanitarian, educator and award-winning author. Diann was responsible for getting computers and technology into Texas classrooms. She lived overseas in many different countries, including Dubai and the The Philippines. But foremost, she's an author, having written picture books and YA novels. She is republishing her books in the dyslexia font and has many more books about to be published. 

We talked about her children's books and her YA novel, Rise! A Girl's Struggle for More, which was an Amazon bestseller, and has been compared to Anne of Green Gables. Diann's The Moonling Adventures - The Serengeti, won Best Texas Children's Book 2021. We also talked about Dubai.

Diann, you renewed my faith in mankind and I wish you were my grade 4 teacher. Thank you.

https://www.diannfloydboehm.com/ 

https://www.dyslexiefont.com/

E103 - Sebastien deCastell has an interesting story on how he began writing, which involved camping on an island. Sebastien has been nominated for many amazing awards. He was the 2019 finalist in the Sunburst (Canada) Best Young Adult; 2019 Finalist in the Grand Prix D’Imaginaire (France) Best Foreign YA; the 2019 Winner of the Centurion Award (UK) Best Novel, and the list goes on. You can check out Sebastien’s website and see the beautiful Booknest Fantasy Award 2018 he won for Saint’s Blood. Today, we talk about his fantasy novel, Way of the Argosi, Book 1 of The Argosi. Rock music, fencing, and film options, we talk about it all. Thank you Sebastien.

https://decastell.com/

J. Lynn Else loves reading and writing about awesome women from antiquity. She was "... getting frustrated with the way historical women were being portrayed in numerous books which focused more on their sexual escapades than their own self-sustaining strength in overcoming social bonds. I wanted to satisfy both my wants as a reader and a writer.” 

J. Lynn is a fan of Star Wars, Star Trek and MST3K (Mystery Science Theatre 3000 – American science fiction comedy). J. Lynn graduated from college with a theatre major and a dance minor. She’s self-published two historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt, The Forgotten: Aten’s Last Queen and The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic and one science fiction novella, Strangely Constructed Souls. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids. Their shelves are overrun with books, her kitchen is overrun with loose-leaf tea, and her workroom is overrun with Funko Pop figures.

We discussed whether King Arthur was a historical character, or mythical? And J. Lynn gave me her take on Lapsang souchong. After this episode, everyone's going to want to be Twig Lady.

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY J. LYNN!!

https://www.teasippinnerdymom.com/

E101 - Amy Tector loved reading and writing since a child. She grew up in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. When her husband got a job being a NATO archivist, they lived the expat life for almost three years. In Belgium, Amy returned to her PhD and wrote 460 pages about the representation of disability in Canadian novels of the First World War. You may remember Amy from when we talked about her novel, The Honeybee Emeralds, E91.

Her debut novel, which was a 2008 finalist in the Crime Writer’s of Canada Unhanged Arthur Award, has grown and morphed into the book which is available now, and we talk about The Foulest Things today. It is Book 1 in her Dominion Archives Mystery.  In reference to Amy's novel, Louise Penny’s writes The Foulest Things, is, “A literary joy ride.”

https://www.amytector.com/

E100 - Philip Fracassi is the author of the award-winning story collection, Behold the Void, which won “Best Collection of the Year” from This Is Horror and Strange Aeons Magazine.

His newest collection, Beneath a Pale Sky, was published in 2021 by Lethe Press. It received a starred review from Library Journal, and was named “Best Collection of the Year” by Rue Morgue Magazine. It was nominated for a Bram Stoker award. His novels include A Child Alone with Strangers, Gothic, and Boys in the Valley. Philip’s books have been translated into multiple languages and his stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, Dark Discoveries, and Cemetery Dance. The New York Times calls his work “terrifically scary.” As a screenwriter, his feature films have been distributed by Disney Entertainment and Lifetime Television. He currently has several stories under option for film/TV adaption.

Philip lives in Los Angeles and on today's podcast, we talk about his novel, Gothic. As well as his podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-word/id1617331704

https://pfracassi.com/

Thank you, Philip.

E99 - M.N. Grenside was born and raised in London. He began his career at Lloyds of London, specializing in Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance. At age twenty-five M.N. Grenside decided it was time for a career change and he started his media career working for Jim Henson and The Muppets. He has been involved in entertainment ever since. He is an award-winning producer, producing television series and mini-series such a Lonesome Dove, Merlin, Treasure Island, Fraggle Rock and much more. Mark appeared at the renowned Oxford Literary Festival, the Malta Book Festival, and he was interviewed by the Crime Writers of Canada author A.J. Devlin There’s a lot more to say about M.N. Grenside which will be revealed in the podcast. Today, we talk about his thriller novel, Fall Out.

https://mngrenside.com/