Signal Boost

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews Libia Brenda about the Mexicanx Initiative and A Larger Reality 2.0, a new hybrid anthology. They discuss the importance of the initiative, the unique hybrid nature of the new anthology, the importance of unconventional forms of narrative, and much more!

Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

 

Show Notes:

* Libia’s Stuff:

* Libia’s Twitter

* A Larger Reality 2.0 (Anthology)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Sphere” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews Ariela Housman & Terri Ash of Geek Calligraphy fame. They discuss the wild world of professional calligraphy, what it takes to run a calligraphy business, where their geek passions come from, and so much more.

Then Shaun and Jen Zink join forces in a Dublin cafe to talk to Tanya DePass about I Need Diverse Games, gaming culture, the alluring universe of diversity in gaming, and other related topics.

Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* Geek Calligraphy’s Things:

* Website

* Geek Calligraphy’s Twitter

* Terri Ash’s Twitter

* Tanya’s Things:

* I Need Diverse Games

* Tanya’s Twitter

* Tanya’s Streams!

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Sphere” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews the the wondrous Malka Older about the 1st season of Serial Box’s Orphan Black, co-written with Madeline Ashby, Mishell Baker, Heli Kennedy, E.C. Myers, and Lindsay Smith! They discuss the incredible task of bringing a beloved TV show to the written form, the work it takes to write a serial story with a lot of awesome folks, and much more.

Then Paul Weimer talks to the delightful R.J. Barker about The Bone Ships. They discuss Barker’s approach to worldbuilding, the wonderful world of ships, Barker’s naming conventions, history, and so much more!

Show Notes:

* The Orphan Black Crew’s Stuff:

* Orphan Black Season 1 (Serial Box)

* Malka Older

* Website

* Twitter

* Madeline Ashby

* Website

* Twitter

* Mishell Baker

* Website

* Twitter

* Heli Kennedy

* Twitter

* E.C. Myers

* Website

* Twitter

* Lindsay Smith

* Website

* Twitter

* R.J. Barker’s Stuff!

* The Bone Ships

* Website

* Twitter

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Sphere” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews the fantabulawesome C.S.E. Cooney about Desdemona and the Deep and the wonderrifical Carlos Hernandez about Sal and Gabi Break the Universe! Unlike other Signal Boost episodes, this one features both guests on the same mic! And that means in addition to talking about Cuban food, the politics of wealthy society (and goblins), their unique journeys to publication, and the powerful themes of loss and change in each of their works, among other things, you get some delicious banter between these incredible writers!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

 

Show Notes:

* C.S.E. Cooney’s Things:

* Twitter

* Website

* Desdemona and the Deep (BUY IT!)

* Carlos Hernandez’s Things:

* Twitter

* Website

* Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (BUY IT!)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! This is a slightly different Signal Boost than usual. Instead of our usual two boosts, this time we want you to focus completely on the super extra important fund drive for the amazing STRANGE HORIZONS!! Today, Jen Zink is joined by by Strange Horizons newest Editor-in-Chief, Vanessa Rose Phin, to talk a little bit about the structure, history, and the voice of Strange Horizons and then, most importantly, their 2020 funding drive on Kickstarter, what the Kickstarter backers can get out of their support, and more! They might have made their base funding goal, but lets get Strange Horizons all the way to the top!

Stuff they’re getting now that they weren’t at when we recorded:

* Mexican SFF issue

* Climate Change issue

What they still want to get that you can get them to in the next 24 hours:

* 10 CENTS PER WORD PAY RATES FOR WRITERS! LET’S DO IT!

And don’t forget, Strange Horizons is a finalist for Best Semiprozine! If you haven’t voted yet, don’t forget to do so NOW! Like, seriously… time is almost up!!

 

Show Notes:

* Vanessa Rose Phin, EIC of Strange Horizons

* Strange Horizons

* Strange Horizons on Twitter

* Strange Horizons 2020 Funding Campaign(GO SUPPORT IT!)

* Strange Horizons on Patreon

* Variations on a Name: The -Punks of Our Times by Jaymee Goh

* Vanessa Rose Phin on Twitter

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul Weimer and Kate Sherrod interview the wonderful Ada Hoffmann about her debut novel, The Outside. They discuss the really fun basis for the novel, the mash-up of horror and space opera, representation of neurodivergent characters, AI gods, linguistic spiders, and a bunch more fun stuff!

Then Shaun Duke talks to David Wellington about The Last Astronaut, his new science fiction horror novel. They discuss what it’s like to talk to actual astronauts, what draws David to the horror genre, space-themed horror and what makes for good alien menaces, and even a bit about how David tackles a dark tale of the future of the space program while still being a NASA super fan.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* Ada Hoffman (01:00 – 21:28)

* Ada’s Website

* Ada on Twitter

* The Outside (GO BUY IT!)

* David Wellington (21:32 – 48:23)

* David’s Website

* David’s Twitter

* The Last Astronaut (GO BUY IT!)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen Zink interviews Tracy Barnett, podcaster, writer, and TTRPG designer, about their work as a TTRPG designer, from their first game, School Daze, to their most recent (as of the recording of the podcast, which we must apologize for posting 2 months later than expected) big project, Iron Edda! Jen finds out all sorts of interesting things about TTRPGs, from how the independent TTRPG design community has exploded, how new TTRPGs are redefining what a game is, to the themes that Tracy likes to explore in their own games, and more. This is a treasure trove of information so have a listen!

Then Jen talks to Evan Winter, self-published turned traditionally published, author of the debut epic fantasy novel, Rage of Dragons! They discuss why Evan originally decided to self-publish Rage of Dragons and how that eventually brought The Burning series to Orbit, including new edits to the originally published manuscript, how his time as a Music Video Director helps Evan plot both the larger plot of his books and individual scenes, some of the influences for the book, including his childhood memories of Africa, the magic system of Rage of Dragons, and more!!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* Tracy Barnett (01:00 – 22:40)

* Tracy’s Website

* Tracy on Twitter

* Tracy’s Podcast

* Tracy’s Published TTRPGs (GO BUY THEM!)

* Evan Winter (22:48 – 40:27)

* Evan’s Website

* Evan on Twitter

* The Rage of Dragons (GO PRE-ORDER IT!)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen interviews L. D. Lewis, short story writer, author of A Ruin of Shadows, and Art Director of FIYAH Literary Magazine for Black Speculative Fiction! L. explains why the theme of changing allegiances after discovering the truth is something she likes to explore, how science fantasy helps her ground her world-building, her upcoming essay in Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Existence, and what it means to be the Art Director of FIYAH and how she uses that platform to boost the work of Black artists.

Then Jen talks to fangirl, Associate Professor, and KidLit activist, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, about her new non-fiction work, The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. Jen refused to cut anything because they talk about everything from the imagination gap in publishing to how Ebony’s long involvement with fandom and as a fangirl led to the critical lens through which she developed The Dark Fantastic, whether diversity in media is a moment or a movement, and so much more goodness that you just have to listen!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* L.D. Lewis (01:00 – 22:07)

* L.’s Website

* L. on Twitter

* A Ruin of Shadows (GO BUY IT!)

* Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance ed. by Bethany C. Morrow (GO PRE-ORDER THIS!)

* FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction (GIVE IT ALL YOUR LOVE!)

* Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (22:13 – 57:53)

* Ebony’s Professional Bio

* Ebony on Twitter

* The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (GO PRE-ORDER IT!)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to short story and interactive game designer, Erin Roberts, about her work. They talk about what Erin really enjoys exploring thematically, one of the key features that connects her story, Sour Milk Girls, with her game, Thanks for the Memories, the differences and connections between writing short stories and designing interactive games, and more!

Then Paul interviews Sarah Chorn about her debut novel, Seraphina’s Lament. They discuss how she used a large cast to better tell the story, the historical events that inspired the novel and how she found that inspiration, where she plans to take the next book in her planned trilogy, and a few more things besides.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* Erin Roberts (01:00 – 17:00)

* Erin’s Website

* Erin on Twitter

* 2018 Eligible Works (GO ENJOY!)

* Sarah Chorn (17:06 – 37:58)

* Sarah’s Website

* Sarah on Twitter

* Seraphina’s Lament (GO BUY IT!)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

 

 

 

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to T. Frohock about her new Los Nefilim series novella, Where Oblivion Lives. T. treats us to a glimpse of what life was like just prior to the Spanish Civil War, how she deals with the trauma of World War I, the queer relationship between Diego and Miguel, the villainy of humanity, and more! T. is a long time friend of the show, and we’re so glad she finally got to join us!

Then Jen interviews Alex Harrow about their new science fiction novel, Empire of Light! Alex tells us about the complicated relationships between the characters, the importance of queer representation and how they specifically try to combat many of the negative queer tropes, why the super powers that they created for Empire of Light (the Voyance) comes with consequences, the importance of finding community, and more!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* T. Frohock (01:00 – 24:14)

* T.’s Website

* T. on Twitter

* Where Oblivion Lives (GO BUY IT!)

* Alex Harrow (24:22 – 43:52)

* Alex’s Website

* Alex on Twitter

* Empire of Light (GO BUY IT! There or here)

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.