Speculate

Welcome back for Episode 30 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we interview the multitalented Maurice Broaddus, who in between writing, editing, performing the duties of a small publishing company vice-president and running a convention somehow finds the time to talk to us!  This was an enjoyable and thoughtful interview, touching on issues of faith, setting (urban fantasy can indeed be staged in Indianapolis) and other topics over a forty-five minute span, and we hope you enjoy it.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check out Maurice’s other projects on and offline, and remember to check back next week when we plan to have another interview scheduled.  Until then, thanks as always for listening to the show, and please continue to spread the word!

Welcome back for Episode 29 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  This week we conclude our series of shows on Night Shade Books‘ anthology The Book of Cthulhu with a discussion about some of the writing techniques used in the stories we focused on during this sequence.  We enjoyed reading this anthology a great deal, and if you have even a faint interest in cosmic horror (or, you know, just don’t feel like getting on the wrong side of the Elder Gods) we highly recommend you check it out.  If you enjoy the discussion, make sure to check back next episode as we conduct a couple of short interviews while we gear up for our next book sequence on Mark Hodder’s The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack.  Until next time, thanks as always for listening to the show, and please continue to spread the word!

Welcome back for Episode 28 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our sequence of shows on Night Shade Books‘ anthology The Book of Cthulhu with an interview of two contributors to the volume, Laird Barron and John Hornor Jacobs.  Like our interview with editor Ross Lockhart, this was a fun and entertaining discussion which covered a lot of ground…and some of it is of the distinctly not safe for work variety (for which John takes the blame!), so be warned!  If you like what you hear, make sure to check out each author’s home page for more of what they have coming next, and remember to check back here next week when we’ll talk about some of the writing techniques used in the stories.  Until then, thanks as always for listening to the show, and please continue to spread the word!

Welcome back for Episode 27 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our sequence of shows on Night Shade Books‘ new anthology, The Book of Cthulhu, with a discussion with its editor Ross Lockhart.  But as Ross proves in this wide-ranging interview, he knows a lot more about literature than just H.P. Lovecraft, and we enjoyed his insights on writers from J.R.R. Tolkien to William Hope Hodgson–we hope you do too.  If you like what you hear, remember to check back next week when we’ll interview two contributors to the anthology, John Hornor Jacobs and Laird Barron.  Until then, thanks as always for listening to (and telling others about) the show!

Welcome back for Episode 26 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we start a new sequence of shows on the new anthology from publisher Night Shade Books and editor Ross Lockhart, The Book of Cthulhu, investigating (gulp!) the Elder Gods with our reaction to stories by Laird Barron, Elizabeth Bear, John Hornor Jacobs and Bruce Sterling.  If you enjoy the discussion, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll interview Mr. Lockhart and several of the authors for their takes on the anthology.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and thanks for continuing to spread the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 25 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  We’re just about ready to start posting our next sequence of shows on The Book of Cthulhu, but we didn’t want to leave our loyal listeners content free for another week–so this week we’re happy to present a talk Greg did at this past Readercon in Boston on the subject of using one’s personal and professional background to further a writing career.  The talk took place on a Saturday night at 9 p.m., but despite the late hour and the other items scheduled at the same time, the turnout was solid and the audience pretty enthusiastic.  Greg covers a lot of ground during the talk, discussing aspects of how his own personal background has helped him in his efforts to build a career in speculative fiction, and we hope you’ll find the conversation instructive (one note: Greg had thought the talk was scheduled for thirty minutes, but it turned out to be slotted for a full hour, so the question and answer period was longer than might normally be the case).  If you like what you hear, please check back next week when, as promised, we’ll return to our standard show arrangement as we discuss The Book of Cthulhu.  Until then, thanks as always for listening, and thanks for continuing to spread the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 24 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we present our second interview with bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss, this one conducted at the just concluded Worldcon in Reno.  As usual, Pat’s answers are thoughtful and wide-ranging, from a frank discussion about the difficulties of writing “the middle book”–and the psychological impact of trying to follow up on one of the most talked about debut fantasy novels in decades–to a description of how work on his charity Worldbuilders grounded him during a stressful time in his life.  We were just glad to set Pat up and watch him go.  If you like what you hear and see, please check back next week when we’ll be getting back into our regular show format with a discussion of Night Shade Books’ upcoming anthology The Book of Cthulhu; until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

Hello all,

On Tuesday we’ll be posting Episode 24 of Speculate!, a special video interview with bestselling author and friend of the show Patrick Rothfuss.  To get ready for the event, we thought we’d get you warmed up with this video version of the interview we recently did with author Ed Greenwood.  If you like what you hear (and see), please check back on Tuesday for Episode 24, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 23 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we bring you a series of interviews done with authors attending Gen Con, one of the largest fantasy / science fiction / gaming conventions in the world.  Robert Farnsworth, Don Bingle, Jerry Gordon, Paul Genesse, Maurice Broaddus, Elizabeth Vaughan and the inimitable Ed Greenwood hold forth on all sorts of subjects relating to writing speculative fiction and the unique qualities of Gen Con, and we hope you’ll find their insights enjoyable.  If you like what you hear, remember to tune in next week when we’ll post a special video interview with Patrick Rothfuss, just conducted at Worldcon; until then, thanks for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 22 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we talk about some of the nominees for the Hugo, to be awarded this coming weekend at Worldcon in Reno, focusing in particular on short stories and graphic novels.  We hardly have a crystal ball, but (as usual) we have some thoughts about the competitors up for the award.  If you like what you hear, please check back next week for a series of short interviews recently conducted at Gen Con; until then, thanks in advance for your support and willingness to spread the word about the show!

P.S. We’ll both be at Worldcon; if you’re going to be there as well, please make sure to stop by a panel or reading we’re doing and say hello!