Editors play a crucial role in creating the books we love. They acquire books for publishers and help authors polish their manuscripts into the wonderful stories we pick off the shelves. And that's far from all they do.

Joining us this week are Diana Pho (Story Producer at SerialBox) and Nivia Evans (editor at Orbit Books). They explain the ins and outs of editing, offer advice to writers, and predict where the future of the speculative industry is heading.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews science fiction author Mike Chen about his latest book from MIRA books, We Could Be Heroes. It's a standalone story where a superhero and supervillain accidentally meet in the same support group and decide to become friends, and it's every bit as lovely as that sounds.

Mike and Travis discuss how to make the most of the Save the Cat plotting method, tricks to writing compelling and natural dialogue, and the thrill of writing an official Star Wars story.

Listen to the audio trailer for Mike Chen's Star Wars short story "Disturbance".

About Mike Chen:

Mike Chen is the author of Here And Now And Then (a finalist for Goodreads Choice - Best Sci-Fi, CALIBA Golden Poppy, and the Compton Crook Award) and A Beginning At The End ("a brilliant, fragile path through the darkness" -- Library Journal). His short fiction is featured in Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View -- The Empire Strikes Back, and he has covered geek culture for sites such as Tor.com, The Mary Sue, and StarTrek.com. In a previous life, he covered the NHL for Fox Sports, SB Nation, and other outlets. A member of SFWA, Mike lives in the Bay Area with his wife, daughter, and rescue animals.

You can find him on Twitter, Instagram, and at his website mikechenbooks.com.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms about their latest book from Orbit Books, The Mask of Mirrors. Marie and Alyc are writing the Rook & Rose trilogy under the joint name M.A. Carrick, and their masterful worldbuilding shines through in this story of con artists, nobles, and vigilantes.

The discussion takes a deep dive into worldbuilding, touches on tabletop games that spiral out of control, and just might feature some truly terrible accents.

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About M.A. Carrick:

M.A. Carrick is the joint pen name of Marie Brennan (author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent) and Alyc Helms (author of the Adventures of Mr. Mystic). The two met in 2000 on an archaeological dig in Wales and Ireland — including a stint in the town of Carrickmacross — and have built their friendship through two decades of anthropology, writing, and gaming. They live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Find M.A. Carrick on Twitter, Facebook, or at their website www.macarrick.com.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

After at least a decade, 2020 is over! With a little luck, 2021 will be a better and brighter year for all of us. If nothing else, there are certainly a lot of great books to look forward to!

The Inn attempts to narrow down the dozens of books they're excited about for 2021, as well as set some reading goals for the upcoming year.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

`Tis the season... for Best Of lists! We'll be posting a separate blog post for our collective favorite reads of the year later, but for now we have Sara, Jenia, and Travis sharing their favorites with you here.

To get the standard disclaimers out of the way, these are simply the books we read during 2020 that we enjoyed the most. We don't pretend this list is objective or comprehensive in any way. After all, what list is?

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Our Favorite Books of 2020:

Sara

Travis

Jenia

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews actor and podcaster Jordan Cobb about her newest audio fiction show, Primordial Deep from No Such Thing Productions. The show's tagline is "There's no such thing as extinct" and follows a crew as they descend to the depths of the ocean floor to research the sudden reappearance of prehistoric creatures.

Jordan and Travis discuss the differences in performing on stage and behind a mic, making the most of creative burnout, and adorable prehistoric monsters.

About Jordan Cobb:

Jordan is a New York City based actress and writer. She trained at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied at the Experimental Theatre Wing, Classical Studio and Stonestreet Studio and minored in creative writing.

After graduating, she founded two production companies—Black Lace and Laser Beams, and No Such Thing Productions—which focus on the development of new and innovative audio drama podcasts. Jordan works as head writer and producer for both companies, and she voices the characters in numerous audio fiction shows.

You can find Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, or at her website www.jordanvcobb.com.

Like Jordan's work? Support her an Ko-Fi or Patreon.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews fantasy author Sam Hawke about her latest book, Hollow Empire, out now from Tor Books. This concludes the Poison War duology, which stands out for its mystery elements, political intrigue, and optimism toward humanity. Plus, poison. So much poison.

Sam and Travis discuss her contractual obligation to bring her fellow lawyers cake, the difficulty of rewriting an entire book from scratch, and the pure joy that comes with poisoning your friends.

About Sam Hawke:

Sam Hawke considered several careers (including zookeeper) before choosing law, getting a black belt in jujitsu and starting writing. She grew up and still lives in Canberra, Australia, where she and her husband are currently raising two small ninjas and two idiot dogs.

You can find Sam on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or at her website https://samhawkewrites.com.

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This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews podcaster and author Jonathan Sims about his debut novel, Thirteen Storeys from Gollancz. The book follows the tenants of a haunted building who are invited to a dinner party with the billionaire who lives in the penthouse on the top floor. At the end of the party, the host is dead... and none of the guests will say what happened.

Jonny and Travis discuss how horror writers evoke fear, how societal fears change over time, and his future career in horror.

About Jonathan Sims:

Jonathan Sims is a writer, performer and games designer whose work primarily focuses on the macabre, the grotesque, and the gentle touch of creeping dread. He is the mind and the voice behind acclaimed horror podcast The Magnus Archives, as well as story-game design duo MacGuffin & Co., and some of your favourite nightmares. He lives in Walthamstow with the two best cats and an overwhelming backlog of books that he really should get round to.

You can find Jonathan on Twitter, YouTube, or at his website jonathan-sims.com/.

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The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

This year has seen an explosion of online science fiction and fantasy conventions. Existing conventions were forced to switch to a virtual format, new conventions were formed, and fringe programming provided content for those of us unable to attend conventions.

While most of this was out of necessity (thanks, 2020), these online events will likely stay around for the foreseeable future. Since this is an area that hasn't been around long enough to have widely implemented standards, now is the time to look back and reflect on what went well and what could be improved.

Joining us this week are L.D. Lewis (director of FIYAHCON), Allie Charlesworth (co-chair of MultiverseCon), and Adri Joy (CoNZealand Fringe).

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The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

Travis interviews author V.E. Schwab about her latest book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue from Tor Books. The book follows the story of an immortal woman cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets as she attempts to leave her mark on the world.

Victoria and Travis discuss the time she was arrested for hitchhiking in France, the behind the scenes details of the Addie LaRue film, and holding onto defiant joy in the year that is 2020.

About V.E. Schwab:

VICTORIA “V.E.” SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, Villains series, This Savage Song, and Our Dark Duet. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post and more, translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been optioned for television and film. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

You can find Victoria on Twitter, Instagram, or at her website veschwab.com.

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The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.