Sci-Fi Saturday Night

Liz Butcher

It’s not often we get a second chance to talk with a wildly inventive author upon their sophomore outing and yet here we are with Liz Butcher as she offers up Never Never, one of the most inventive mystery horror novels to come into Area 51 in a very long time. Set loosely within the mythos (though not really) of a recognizable fairy tale it quite quickly goes off the rails into its own terrifying world which keeps you guessing until the very last word….. and beyond. This book is Liz at her finest and the Commander and I had a fine conversation with her, tip toeing around spoilers whilst truly enjoying the wonderful twists and turns that have become hallmarks  of plotwork.

Come and enjoy the wonderful world of Detective Wendy Darling as seen through the eyes of wonderful storyteller Liz Butcher.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Never Never

Miles Cameron

Miles Cameron  is an enigma and that is a huge understatement. First of atl he writes under several names but Miles is the name he uses for his science fiction work, which we hope will be numerous, because his first book, Artifact Space, is a quite amazing start for an author who has well over 40 other books under his belt under  other names including Gordon Kant and Christian Cameron. What a wild ride it has been for Miles from his days in the US Navy to a historical reenactor, to co-writing with his father and learning about the world as he wrote about it and bringing his unique perspective to the page.

What a pleasure it was to sit and talk with him about his first sci fi novel and how it will be the springboard for his first series of books in a genre he has loved for so long. Enjoy the conversation as much as we all did.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Artifact-Space

Shahid Mahmud

On the ‘Cast is one of the more interesting people we have had on in a very long while. So interesting, in fact, that we began talking in the pre-show and quite frankly, once the show began, I forgot  to introduce him. Shahid Mahmud is the creator of the SF/Fantasy imprint Phoenix Pick. The catalog now includes reprints by Heinlein, Niven, de Camp and many other iconic figures of the genre. We had one hell of a discussion that just barely began to pique the interest of Commander Cam and myself on a myriad of topics.

How does a young child in Pakistan get hooked on Star Trek and science fiction? How does one give up a lucrative and successful career in Financial Management to open a publishing house? We also spoke about the release of Ben Bova’s final book “Power Challenges” and how he came to publish it.This ‘Cast is filled  with amazing stories and the surety of many more to come. 

Come listen and enjoy.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Power Challenges

Ariel Diaz

In this episode, the Commander and I get the chance to speak with an up and coming artist from Texas who is about to burst on the national convention scene. Ariel Diaz had her opening cut short by the pandemic and was forced to sit patiently for a year, honing her craft and working (as we all did) doing sketching, drawings and covers and producing amazing work. You can find on her web page, Facebook and her Instagram page. We got the opportunity to talk about how things are finally beginning to open up for her and what this coming summer has to offer for her, including:

If you get the chance to see her at any of these events , don’t miss her.

(Dates Subject To Change. Check Her Website and Venue Websites For Updates)

Download | Open Player in New Window

To Kill A King

In this episode Commander Cam and I get the chance to speak with W.L.Hawkin about her Hollystone Mystery series. I have to admit speaking with Wendy was a quite unique experience and was one of one of the few times I was truly tongue tied. a situation which amused the hell out of Cam as well as myself. We got the chance to explore with Wendy a lot of her process in both her character formation and development  as well as her plot structure. Its was most certainly different as well as informational and gave us all the chance to explore her way of writing.

Wendy provided to be both an uncommon writer as well as an uncommon interview. It was a joyous time to talk with her and gain insight into her work and workings. We hope you enjoy  this as much as we did.

Download | Open Player in New Window

W.L. Hawkin

In the Lovcraftian universe there are very few rules. When I learned a friend of one of my very good Sci Fi writer friends, CT Phipps, (see Talkcasts 380, 425  and 475 ) had written a number of stories in this universe I became intrigued and we talked about it. He then suggested I read the works of Matthew Davenport and so I did and he joins us on this talkcast  to discuss his “horrifying “works as well as his other “stuff”.

It turns out a multidisciplinary author and a multidisciplinary mind like Matt is damn interesting to talk to. A man of many talents and idea and genuinely fun, it was a new spin on lovecraftian noir for me and his character Andrew Doran who I was drawn to as both a very able protagonist as well as an extremely well written adversary to the underworld. It was a great relaxed conversation. Enjoy the subdued chaos.

Download | Open Player in New Window

The Book of Yig: Revelations of the Serpent

Sebastien de Castell

A remarkable interview begins and ends in the most unexpected places. This begins with Sebastien de Castell, musician, author and our guest on the ‘Cast. Ostensibly here to talk about his latest  book, Way Of The Argosi, The Commander and I has way too much fun on a number of other topics before we ever got there, some of which may have included:

We also  finally did get to talk about Way Of The Argosi for a bit within the context of his Spellslinger series and the importance this volume  holds for him as well as for the series. This could well be called an “interesting” conversation. I think I just did. I hope you  think so too.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Way Of The Argosi

Edward M. Lerner

Smart, original and snappy science fiction is a rare commodity today. Rarer still is the author who can converse about it. Meet Edward M, Lerner and get the chance to know a bit about him, who he is and his work as we explore him, his background and his latest novel, Deja Doomed. It’s fun to be able to have a conversation not just about the work but also about its contextual relevance within current science as well as looking forward in the most positive of ways….. maybe.

The mixed bag of science fiction and futurism are solidly intertwined in Deja Doomed, a beautifully crafted thriller set in the near future. Join us as we discuss the book, our future, Nasa, Mars and more.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Déjà Doomed

When we first spoke with the writing team known as OE Tearman in January oof 2020 it was to introduce book one of their Aces High, Jokers Wild Dystopian Science Fiction Series. In this episode , we welcome back Olivia and Nonier to talk about book 2 in the series, Call The Bluff as well as the poignant similarities between what we might see in the book and logical extrapolations in current and near society.

The fine line between futurism and crying wolf is tightroped as we walk through this stunningly uncomfortable future and get the chance to talk with the protagonists of this world, touching on the many themes proliferate this series.

Everybody knows the war is over

Everybody knows the good guys lost

Everybody knows the fight was fixed

The poor stay poor, and the rich get rich

That’s how it goes

And everybody knows

Enjoy

http://www.scifisaturdaynight.com/podcast/talkcast479.mp3

Download | Open Player in New Window

Mark Leslie

Once upon a time there was a werewolf, who sometimes wasn’t a very good one. It really wasn’t his fault, because as most of his ilk, he was a victim of circumstance. Meet Michael Andrews, protagonist of The Canadian Werewolf Series  written by tonight’s guest the very smart and funny Mark Leslie. We got the chance to pick his brain and talk about book three in the series,  “Fear and Longing in Los Angeles”, which is engaging, funny as well as a damn good story with some very interesting characters and settings, both real and fictional which lent to some interesting story’s.

Mark brings much of himself into his work and that made the interview much more interesting. From his time in NYC to his personal relationship to the music of Alicia Witt, if comes through in the execution of this incredibly intense and yet wonderfully wacky werewolf love story. Oh yeah, did I mention  it’s also a love story? Well, it is, most emphatically.

Please  enjoy the conversation as much as we did.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Fear and Longing in Los Angeles