Tales from the Trunk

It’s my distinct pleasure, for this, our post-NaNo episode, to welcome C.L. Clark (@C_L_Clark) to the show! Cherae reads a pair of excerpts from their trunked novel, The Bitch of Maradon, which leads us into a great conversation about formal and informal writing education, interrogating our biases, and how awkward it can be to revisit our old writing in the context of actually reading it out loud. Cherae also shares the story of her journey from NaNoWriMo to publication for their amazing novel, The Unbroken.

Things we mention this episode:

The Unbroken, by C.L. Clark

Héctor’s episode

My episode with Sharon Hsu

George Carlin

NaNoWriMo

Brandon Sanderson

Scrivener

Podcastle

Frodo it is done dot gif

#DVPit

Just Like Home episode

The Faithless, by C.L. Clark

Writers of the Future

Tor.com

“Sisyphus,” by C.L. Clark

Queers Destroy SF

Seanan McGuire

Lockie Hunter

Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Wonderbook, by Jeff Vandermeer

The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey

The Godkiller, by Hannah Kaner

Small Gods and Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett

Cherae’s website and insta

Maslowe’s Hierarchy of Needs

The Skeleton War

“SFF’s Big Fat Problem,” by R.K. Duncan

Join us next month, when I’ll be talking to Annalee Newitz and Juliet Kemp, plus our annual awards roundup!

Happy NaNoWriMo, for all of you who observe! This time around, we’re joined once again by R.J. Theodore (@bittybittyzap) to talk about the crazy act of writing a novel in a single month and the freedom that comes with actually deciding to finish a thing. Rekka brings us a compare and contrast reading of two different beginnings of their novel, Flotsam, first from the NaNo when she first finished the book and the second from the version you can go and buy for yourself!

Things we mention in this episode:

NaNoWriMo ML

Rekka’s book tour

We Make Books

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Pumpkin Landing

xkcd 483

Neal Stephenson

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Rekka’s first episode

The Peridot Shift series, by R.J.Theodore

Murderboard podcast episode

Writing book three of a duology with Premee podcast episode

Stephen King

Sarah Gailey

Coffee shop AU

Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree

Our Flag Means Death

John Wiswell

Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey

Bridge to Elsewhere, edited by Alana Joli Abbott & Julia Rios

Neon Hemlock Press

Quick Sip Reviews

Robot Dinosaur Press

Chipped Cup Collective

Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

Sarah Loch

Andi C. Buchanan

Novae Caelum

Nia Quinn

Carlie St. George

Juliet Kemp

Rekka’s website, insta, and patreon

Join us next month, when I’ll be talking to C.L. Clark!

This time around, it’s my distinct pleasure to welcome back to the show Jordan Kurella (@kurellian) to talk about his new collection, When I Was Lost, available now wherever fine books are sold! He reads a previously-unpublished story, “The Hero and the Leviathan,” out of the collection, which leads us to ponder the question: what if a spaceship had PTSD?

Things we mention in this episode:

Trepidatio Press

Mikio Murakami

“Jewel of the Vashwa,” by Jordan Kurella in Apex Magazin

Keanu Reeves

Apex Magazine

Jason Sizemore

Friends at the Table - HOUNDS

Farscape

PTSD

Aaron Rosenberg

Gen Con

The Imperial Radch trilogy, by Ann Leckie

“How the Carrion Crew Stopped Courting Death and Other Methods of Lost Hope,” by Jordan Kurella in Fusion Fragment #6

“A Promise of Dying Embers,” by Jordan Kurella in Diabolical Plots

King’s Quest III 

“The Warsong of Berra and Irrit,” by Jordan Kurella in Lamplight Magazine

Lamplight Magazine

E Catherine Tobler

Shimmer Magazine

The Deadlands

“The Air Gap,” by Hilary B. Bisenieks in Lamplight Magazine

Jacob Haddon

Mary Shelley

I Never Liked You Anyway, by Jordan Kurella

Orpheus and Euridice

Am I the Asshole?

Dead Collections, by Isaac Fellman

Archive Of Our Own

Final Fantasy XIV

MMO

World of Warcraft

Clue

The Sandman (Netflix)

Mythic Quest

Siren Queen, by Nghi Vho

Jordan’s first episode

Jordan’s website

Join us again in two weeks, when my guest will be R.J. Theodore!

This time around, it’s my delight to welcome (finally) Hugo-winning fan writer, Aidan (@adribbleofink) Moher to the show! We’re talking about his new book, Fight, Magic, Items, which just released October 4th! Aidan reads from the introduction to the book, which leads us into a deep discussion of the games that shaped our childhoods.

Things we mention in this episode:

A Dribble of Ink

Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest

The Offspring

NOFX

Warcraft II

LAN Party

Doom II

Final Fantasy VI

Xenogears

Hironobu Sakaguchi

Yuji Horii

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan

Game Boy

Final Fantasy Legend II

The Legend of Zelda

Akitoshi Kawazu

Doom

Final Fantasy III

Game Players

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Nintendo Power

Chrono Trigger

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks

Magic: the Gathering

Dragon Ball Z

Shōnen

Super NES

Playstation 1

Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy X

Grandia

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

Tales of Destiny

Visual Novels

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Final Fantasy Adventure

Mana series

Kirby’s Dream Land 2

Pokemon Red

Final Fantasy VII

The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan

Tetris

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (Game Boy game)

Carl Jung

Gnosticism

K’Nex

Metal Gear Solid

Suikoden III

Hideo Kojima

Sega Saturn

Panzer Dragoon Saga

Grandia (Sega Saturn)

Vagrant Story

Aidan’s localization piece (not published yet, link TK)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection

Power-Up, by Chris Kohler

Final Fantasy V, by Chris Kohler

Press Reset and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, by Jason Schreier

Pure Invention, by Matt Alt

Sailor Moon

Aidan’s website

fighmagicitems.rocks

Astrolabe

Patrick Klepek

Less Than Jake

Join us again in two weeks, when my guest will be Héctor González! 

In case you missed the announcement at the start of our last episode, with Neon Yang, my new game, All Our Yesterdays, is available now for pay-what-you-want on my itch! 

This time around, it’s my absolute pleasure to welcome to the show Aimee Kuzenski (@aimeekuzenski)! Aimee reads to us from her novel, Tilted, which leads us into a great discussion on the interiority of writing, thoughts about reading aloud, and how important a good fight scene is.

Things we mention in this episode:

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Viable Paradise

John Appel

Karen Osborne

Valerie Valdes

Scrivener

Third person omniscient

The Earthsea Cycle, by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Jane Austen

Karen’s twitch

“Fractured,” by Aimee Kuzenski

The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

The Locked Tomb series, by Tamsyn Muir

The Broken Earth series, by N.K. Jemisin

The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie

Blade Runner

Wow, cool robot

Hayao Miyazaki

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Shadow out of Time”, by racist uncle Howard

Beneath the Rising series, by Premee Mohamed

The Innsmouth Legacy series, by Ruthanna Emrys

Ruthanna’s episode

Dune, by Frank Herbert

“How I Became Coruscating Queen of All the Realms, Pierced the Obsidian Night, Destroyed a Legendary Sword, and Saved My Heart’s True Love,” by Baker and Dovey

No Shit, There I Was, edited by Alex Acks

Story Hour

Skies of Wonder, Skies of Danger, edited by Agner, Appel, and Miles

“The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe

Castle

Fix My Fight Scene on Twitch and Youtube

K.B. Wagers

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

Emma Thompson

Kate Winslet

Persuasion 

Clueless

What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher

The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe

Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey

As mentioned at the top of the show, I have a game out, All Our Yesterdays, which you can find on my Itch.io!

It’s my absolute pleasure, this time around, to welcome Neon Yang to the show to talk about their brand new book, The Genesis of Misery, out September 27th, 2022, from Tor books! Neon reads to us from the start of the book, which leads us into some great discussion about why doing multiple rewrites can be good, actually.

Things we mention in this episode:

Neon’s Tensorate series

Joan of Arc

Gundam

Sarah Gailey’s latest book tour

Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey

Dongwon Song

Friends at the Table PARTIZAN

Monster Hunter Rise

Devil May Cry

Elden Ring

Neon’s insta

Join us next time, when my guest will be Aimee Kuzenski!

This time around, we’re joined once again by Rem Wigmore (@faewriter), who brings us a delicious excerpt from their trunked novella, Considine’s Counsel, which leads us into a great conversation about the study of story forms, actual play podcasts, and an opportunity, as if we needed one, to just be 110% on our bullshit.

Things we mention in this episode:

Foxhunt and Wolfpack, by Rem Wigmore

Lake Taupō

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Friends at the Table

The Tiffany problem

Dungeons & Dragons

Miri’s episode

The Witcher (TV Series)

Newgrange

Passage tombs

CoNZealand

Codex writers group 

C.L. Polk

Neon Hemlock

Kai Ashante Wilson’s novellas

F&SF

“Time Bomb Time,” by C.C. Finlay

Villanelle (poetry)

And What Can We Offer You Tonight By Premee Mohamed

Premee’s book tour episode

Tor.com publishing

River of Teeth, Taste of Marrow, and Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey

The Tensorate series, by Neon Yang

Emily Tesh

The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman

K.J. Charles’ Will Darling Adventures

Kurangaituku, by Whiti Hereaka

Eat the Rich, by Sarah Gailey

Squad, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Girl and the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag

The Witch Boy, by Molly Knox Ostertag

Brennan Lee Mulligan

Escape from the Blood Keep

Critical Role

Matt Mercer

Ify Nwadiwe

Exandria Unlimited

Erika Ishii

Last Shooting 

Doctor Who

Queen of Swords Press

Rem’s previous episode

Rem’s website

Stick around next month, when my guests will be Neon Yang and Aimee Kuzenski!

This time around, I’m very pleased to welcome back one of my guests from this show’s very first season, Valerie Valdes (@valerievaldes), to talk about the conclusion of her Chilling Effect trilogy, Fault Tolerance, which just released this Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022! Val reads to us from the opening chapter, which leads us into a lively discussion of video game tropes, fanfic, screenwriting, and who Val mains in Super Smash Bros.

Things we mention in this episode:

Val’s first-season episode

Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes

Garrus

Mass Effect

Fix-it fic

Thane

Chekhov’s gun

Mario Kart

Mad Max: Fury Road

Portal

Super Smash Bros

Pokémon

Transformers

Assassin’s Orbit, by John Appel

The Memory War series, by Karen Osborne

Megan E. O’Keefe

K.B. Wagers

The NeoG series, by K.B. Wagers

Annihilation Aria, by Mike Underwood

Imperial Radch trilogy, by Ann Leckie

The Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee

D.J. Older

Mike Chen

Rebecca Roanhorse

Doctor Aphra, by Alyssa Wong

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Rarepair

Austin Walker

Five plus one fic

Harold (improv)

Conrad Verner

Tekken 2

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

Jigglypuff

Link

Zelda/Sheik

Samus

Kirby

Shang Tsung

Tron Bonne

Servbot

Roll

Jill

Marth

Mr. Game & Watch

Horizon Zero Dawn

Hades

Val’s twitch

Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)

Girl by Moonlight

Blades in the Dark

Magical girl genre

Persona series

Serial Experiments Lain

Brandon O’Brien

Mike Underwood

Iori Kusano

Jeoi Gawain Lin

ArvanEleron on twitch

Arvan Eleron’s Youtube channel

Stone the Crows, by Grant Howitt

Friends at the Table Partizan

Beam Saber, by Austin Ramsay

Scum and Villainy

Ms Marvel

Our Flag Means Death

Moon Knight

Knights and Bikes

Join us again next time, when Rem Wigmore will be returning to the show!

This time around, we’re joined by the one and only Miri Baker (@MiriBaker). Miri brings us a trunked story from ye olden days, all the way back in 2011, plus a lot of great conversation about the load-bearing parts of our personalities, cosplay, and how genuinely liking the things we like is good, actually.

This episode’s reading carries content warnings for blood, extremely unsafe handling of swords, and extremely incorrect understanding of swords. It is just under 20 minutes long.

Things we mention on this episode:

Blue at War, the cape Miri made for Amal El-Mohtar for the 2020 Hugos

Lillian Boyd

Machine of Death and This Is How You Die, edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki

The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde

Duotrope’s Digest

The Submission Grinder

Wondermark! By David Malki

Steampunk

Fence, by C.S. Pacat

Sarah Rees Brennan

The Demon’s Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan

In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan

Monstrous Affections, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant

Be the Serpent

Worldcon 76

Fullmetal Alchemist

Himoru Arakawa

Neil Gaiman’s Journal

Tumblr

Arthur, season 14, episode 4, ­“Falafelosophy”

Miss Snark’s Blog

Query Shark

George Clponey

John Scalzi’s Whatever

Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds

Mary Robinette Kowal’s My Favorite Bit

Sarah Gailey’s Stone Soup

Writing Excuses

Schlock Mercenary, by Howard Tayler

LiveJournal

Fantasy Rants

Gaia Online

NaNoWriMo

Uncanny Magazine

Viable Paradise

Sarah Gailey

River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey

Sarah’s Star Wars tweets

Amanda Cook’s episode

The Hugo Awards

Yaya Han’s ultimate bodysuit pattern

SFWA

Annalee Flower Horne

Anime Weekend Atlanta

Friends at the Table

Gravity Falls

Steven Universe

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Archive of our Own

Fanfiction dot net

Arcane

Riot Games

League of Legends

RWBY

Rooster Teeth

Red vs. Blue

Halo

Persona 5 Royal

Steam

The Locked Tomb series, by Tamsyn Muir

Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

Cybergoth freeway rave

Miri’s portfolio

Rekka Jay

This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Stick around next month for the return of Valeria Valdes and Rem Wigmore!