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Caine asks: “So… how much of a Gregg Taylor fan are you, really?”

This episode sponsored by BundleRabbit 

Resources Mentioned:

Dogonomics

Black Jack Justice by Gregg Taylor

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Ian asks: “I have a private eye novella that’s trying to turn into an immense crime soap opera. How do I shape the material?”

Resources Mentioned

Questions 540: Serials In Disguise

And Then She Was Gone by J. Daniel Sawyer

The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson

Babylon 5

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Black Jack Justice by Gregg Taylor, audio drama and novel

Red Panda Adventures by Gregg Taylor, audio drama and graphic novel

2001 by Arthur C. Clarke

The Big Lebowski

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler

Lost

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Simon asks: “What are the genre rules for space opera?”

Resources Mentioned:

The Ring Cycle by Wagner

The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles

King Lear by Shakespeare

I, Claudius by Robert Graves, and miniseries

The Foundation by Isaac Asimov

The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson

The Mistress by Danielle Steele

The Ender Quartet Orson Scott Card

A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Mote in God’s Eye by Niven and Pournelle

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

Methuselah’s Children by Robert A. Heinlein

Earth Search by James Follet

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Robert asks: “How would an intelligence without a body differ from a human character, and how would a lack of a body affect a character’s perspective?”

Resources Mentioned:

The Mystery of Consciousness by John Searle

Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett

The Republic by Plato

Minority Report and Other Short Stories by Philip K. Dick

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Caine asks: “What can a content creator expect from the content producer/owner in a work-for-hire arrangement?”

Resources Mentioned:

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

Tom Swift by Victor Appleton II

Manhunt by James Patterson with James O. Born

Tom Clancy Power and Empire by Marc Cameron

The Patriot Attack by Robert Ludlum (sort of)

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Robert asks: Should descriptions of weather be overt or subtle? Is bad weather in a dystopia a cliche? If the weather is the antagonist, how do I keep the characters from thinking only of survival?

Resources Mentioned

Dune by Frank Herbert

1491 by Charles C. Mann

1493 by Charles C. Mann

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall

American Nations by Colin Woodard

The Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan

The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate by Robert D. Kaplan

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Tammy asks: My attempts at writing first person are very stream-of-consciousness, and I end up taking out a lot. Is there a better way than writing 150,000 words to get 90,000?

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Kristine asks: How can a writer engage with current events while being neither preachy or dated?

Resources Mentioned

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

True Blood

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

1984 by George Orwell

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Simon asks: I’m starting to get bored with predictable second novels in series. Is this normal for writers?

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Caine says: I think it makes sense to an extra layer of production (music, effects) to audiobooks so the electronic voice of an e-reader can’t compete. What do you think?

Resources Mentioned

Q-In-Law, by Peter David. Audiobook read by John DeLancie and Majel Barrett