Sci-Fi Saturday Night

V.S. Holmes

Eat your heart out James Taylor because in tonight’s episode we  interview V. S. Holmes and it doesn’t involve Nel Bently.  With the Nel Bentley series we see a wonderful series of sci fi stories with great characters. In this episode, we see V’s other side with Smoke and Rain and transition to see her fantasy world. Oddly enough, this is the first world she ever created and helped in no small way become the amazing  writer she is today..

Her current fantasy series consists of two duologies:

Tonight we set the Wayback Machine to talk about those golden days of yesteryear and her very first

book in the very first series of her very first fantasy adventure. It was an interesting look back in time for everyone into how the series first developed and how it has evolved over the years AND how it will continue. Having V on the cast is proof, once again, that when you have a brilliant inventive mind, everything is possible.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Smoke and Rain

Emily Lawrence

For four years we have waited with patience to talk to the woman behind the Kickstarter  “Lilith In The Garden” which began in July 2016 and was successfully funded. Over the course for time the name changed, the personas changed but the driving force behind the project  remained and we and she persisted, wondering where the project was heading.

As it turns out, the title changed to Being Val (which is hopefully heading twards the festival circuit) and some of the inner working personnel shifted but the driving force remained and so tonight we FINALLY got the chance to speak with the multi-talented  Emily Lawrence.  We got to learn the difference between producing a book and a movie….the most obvious one is TIME. Beyond that, it is truly hard to quantify what it is about her that brought this wonderfully original bit of storytelling to the screen aside from the fact that she is ….a wonderful storyteller. It is truly rare to find an original like Emily; diverse, eclectic and truly happy with what she is doing.

Not as happy , however, as we were to be able to spend this time with her. Enjoy.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Becoming Val

Edward Willett

“If God created the universe with the appearance of being billions of years old, how was that any different from it actually being billions of years ago and aging through all that time?”  This is the worlds of the Shapers. The worlds from the mind of our guest Ed Willett. In this episode we converse with Ed about book three in his Worldshapers Series, aptly entitled The Moonlit World. One may well ask why is that an apt title? To divine the answer, you must listen to the podcast. Along the way you might also gleen such knowledge as might pertain  to performance in the Regina Light Lyric Opera Company, narration for the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and heaven forfend ,both  non-fiction  and fiction writing. The word eclectic came to mind many times during this episode but was never once uttered.

In all honesty, our conversation with Ed wass enlightening and enjoyable. He was a fun guest to talk with and his work is both complex and engaging. We could have just said he does a lot of stuff but he says it so much better. Enjoy.

Download | Open Player in New Window

The Moonlit World

Christie Stratos

(For those of you who are Mothers of Inventions fans, the title makes perfect sense) Podcasting, in many ways, is a lot like cooking stew. You throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and see what happens. When a friend of the show brought us to the attention of another podcast, we were invited to be a part of The Writers Showcase and met Christie Stratos. It turns out Christie is not only an incredibly competent and charming host, but also an editor and author, so we here at party central thought it only fair to bring her onto the area 51 podcast and give her the chance to talk about her work as well. And so we did. And here it is. 

We got the opportunity to talk about her experiences in podcasting and how our paths have intersected and then delved into her gothic thriller The Brotherhood of Secrets. The unfortunate aspect of the discussions is that her podcast is going on hiatus until the new year…..the good news is so she can finish her newest novel.

Enjoy the chaos.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Brotherhood Of Secrets

James Morrow

According to the great 20th Century philosopher Linus van Pelt

Cat Rambo

there are three things you should never discuss with people: Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin.  On this show we break two of the three rules. In this episode we discuss an alternate future anthology of a near future America, And The Last Trump Shall Sound. Joining us are  James Morrow and Cat Rambo ,both of whom  under other circumstances would have been more than enough for one episode but to have them both here to talk about their contributions to this anthology was more than amazing on a multitude of levels

Three  sequential stories of how things might be “in the not too distant future” resonates as few books have recently, in part due to the superb craftsmanship of the writing of all three scribes as well as their unique understanding of past and present  socioeconomic events and the impact on our shared future as a country and as people.

As much fun as they were to talk with, and let’s make no mistake about it, they were, this is also a wonderful read with some very “interesting conclusions about politics, economics, mass media and the future. 

In the book, like now, no one really lives happy ever after, but in no way does that mean this is not worth reading. In point of fact, quite the opposite, regardless of your persuasion or belief, this is an eye opening anthology.  I can truly say, enjoy the chaos.

Download | Open Player in New Window

When you discuss literature, inevitably one wonders what things are missing and in doing so , was it in error or purposeful. Welcome to the incomplete world of Heather M. Gooden, an author who dangles more threads than a blind seamstress and does so knowinging and with gleeful malice. If every picture tells a story, then every clue MUST have a meaning. The delicious problem here is that some do…some might and some…well…we may never actually know. And THAT is the beauty of her writing. 

Having read nothing else by the prolific Mags, we were both perplexed by her writing attributes: candor, style, economy of words which in this case leads to a story that tells so very much in such a short time and leaves you wanting so much more. The last few weeks of the senior year of high school for anyone is filled with landmines in a perfect word, but the world of Robin is far from perfect. I could tell you all the mundane disasters that proliferate her life and the one or two rather outstanding  crises ( the death of her mother early on, for one). I could tell you about how months before her birthday a present arrives for her from her mother’s birthplace, the Isle of Skye, but I’m not sure of it’s meaning or significance other than it has meaning and significance (another thread).

This is a novel novel written by a woman with a special skill for words and a unique style of storytelling. We should stop writing and you should start listening . THEN you should start reading The Cursed Heart.

Download | Open Player in New Window

The Cursed Heart

Marc Watson

If there is one thing on this show that we have come to learn, and sometimes we question learning anything, it is that authors can come from anywhere and no single path leads to becoming an author.  Marc Watson is a good example of coming at it from an oblique angle.  He refers to himself as an Anti-author due to his unique path of reaching this point in his career, a point which we discuss at length as his road to this point affects each word on the page.

We discuss his newest work of short stories Between Conversations which may have something to do with his larger universe of the Catching Hell duology.  Each of the 9 stories in this volume are a different time and space in the universe of man. Some are epic in scale while others are very intimate, showing an amazing versatility of style. Each however, is very different, which makes this such a unique volume to read and enjoy. Kind of a “Whitman’s Sampler” of his twisted universes.

This compilation is like a bag of Bertie Botts, there is a taste there for virtually everyone, tho, the guarantee is that you will bite into one or two that may cause an unpleasant reaction….to which I will snigger and say…”too bad, that was the price of admission.”. Between Conversations becomes available in mid September.

This was great fun to read and greater fun to talk with Marc…..and we will waste no time making fun of his next work of Paranormal Mystery/Romance….so for now …let the chaos ensue.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Between Conversations

Rusty Gilligan

One of the things we love best about attending Comic Book Conventions are the people we get to meet.  We get to sit down with them in person and have fun conversations that never make it on to the podcast.  But these conversations never seem to do more than scratch the surface of who the person is that we were talking to.  Such is not the case with this podcast.

We have on the podcast Rusty Gilligan, a face we see frequently at many cons and we get plenty of opportunities to talk to. Once the conversation began, we truly had no idea where it was going to begin. Not in our wildest dreams did we think we would start with Rusty as a child actor in Broadway musicals and movies and television in the 60’s and 70’s and how that led to his first real art assignment of the 1981 movie Heavy Metal. What a long strange trip it was from them to now. Oh, and did we happen to mention his 2 cat buddies, Mack and Trouble and how they rescued his life from professional wrestling? Of course we didn’t, but he did. So, there was that, and then there was also what he has been doing recently, so we got to talk about a few of his current Indiegogo projects and how Indiegogo has become the goto sales vehicle for artists and artisans during the pandemic.

In a way, we learned a ton of stuff about Rusty, but our guess is we have just scratched the surface. Check out his work and enjoy the chaos.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Jackiem Joyner

Well it was bound to happen.  After 448 episodes we have become a music podcast.  Okay, not really.  But when you have a talented jazz performer who has moved into the realm of science fiction writing, you have to talk about the elephant in the room.  Especially when the “elephant” is having the opportunity to play with George Duke.  So we may have strayed from the path as if this is not a normal occurance for us.  We hope you will forgive us. If not, you haven’t been listening much.

Welcome to the world of Jackiem Joyner. He came to talk to us about his first book, Zarya, a novel novel set in an alien universe. The main protagonist is a young girl with a peculiar set of tech skills which are seemingly inherited by osmosis by a father she has not really ever known. What sets this apart from most first novels is its style. As mentioned, Jackiem makes his living as a jazz musician, so in a peculiar way he writes hs prose in much the same way her writes his music. As hard as it is to describe what in fact that means, we spent a good portion of the interview talking about that process and how it makes the feel and texture of the prose “different”. I will be the first to admit that it takes a bit of getting used to , however once you recognize the tempo and beat, the characters and story flow in sometimes expected and many times unexpected ways; almost musically.

It was fun to read and Jackiem was fun to talk with and hey, check out his (believe it or not) Book Club.

Download | Open Player in New Window

Zyria

Gisella Bustillos

From time to time here on Sci Fi Saturday Night, we take a jump to the left.  We put aside science fiction for the world of science fact.  Every time we do we realize that the lines between the two blurs, which is as it should be.  Good science fiction should be predicated in, and predictive of the future.  Much like Star Trek communicators and tricorders foreshadowed into the age of tablets and smartphones or robots who are getting closer and closer R. Daneel Olivaw, Siri and Watson.  And now we have time travel…sort of

In this episode we meet Gisella Bustillos, a filmmaker with an early passion for science fiction who has created a documentary, A Brief History of Time Travel.  Starting with some of the earliest fables and stories written about time travel, many far earlier than most would guess, she moves the viewer  with ease on a journey from the past ,to pop culture and current scientific theory.  After that she expands the scope of concepts of time travel, to such far reaching areas as computer science, transcendental meditation, cryogenics and communication through time.  With all of this she still manages to capture the human element of what drives some people to study time travel. This documentary covers a broad scope of topics, much like our interview with her.

We look forward to what her next creation will be.  Enjoy this podcast and take the time to enjoy her documentary.

Download | Open Player in New Window