Travis interviews fantasy author Andrea Stewart about her latest novel, The Bone Shard Daughter. It's the first book in a new epic fantasy series from Orbit Books, set in an archipelago empire where the islands are slowly sinking and the reclusive emperor controls his subjects through his twisted bone shard constructs.

Andrea and Travis talk about treating magic like computer programming, what she learned from querying for 13 years, and the real-life bone shard that inspired the novel.

About Andrea Stewart:

Andrea Stewart is the daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. Her parents always emphasized science and education, so she spent her childhood immersed in Star Trek and odd-smelling library books. When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn't pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California, and in addition to writing, can be found herding cats, looking at birds, and falling down research rabbit holes.

You can find Andrea on Twitter as @AndreaGStewart or at her website, www.andreagstewart.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.

Travis interviews science fiction author Karen Osborne about her debut novel, Architects of Memory. It's the first book in the new cinematic space opera from Tor Books, set in a universe where corporations have replaced governments and humanity finds themselves at war with a truly alien species.

Karen and Travis talk about her experience playing the most sci-fi of all musical instruments, what her research on the psychology of confined spaces recommends for getting through quarantine, and why private companies will ultimately win the space race.

About Karen Osborne:

Karen Osborne is a writer, visual storyteller, and violinist. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Fireside, Escape Pod, Robot Dinosaurs, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She is a member of the DC/MD-based Homespun Ceilidh Band, emcees the Charm City Spec reading series, and once won a major event filmmaking award for taping a Klingon wedding. Her debut novel, Architects of Memory, is forthcoming in 2020 from Tor Books.

You can find Karen Osborne on Twitter as @karenthology or at her website, www.karenosborne.com. You can also support her through her Patreon, where you can get access to exclusive short stories and behind the scenes content.

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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.

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you enjoy reading fantasy books. You may also like talking about fantasy books... or at least listening to others talk about them.

This week, Calvin Park (from Under a Pile of Books) and David Walters (from Authors on a Podcast Talking Books) stopped by the Fantasy Inn to talk about how they talk about books. How exactly does one write a review? And how does the relatively formal structure of written book reviews differ from a podcast or BookTube format?

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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.

The Fantasy Inn is rather fond of fantasy books... it's in the name. But when and why do we read outside the fantasy genre? After all, there are so many truly incredible books out there.

Please note that our reading skews toward fantasy, so this is not an episode that extensively explores other genres. Instead, we examine our reading habits, the appeal of other genres, and why we sometimes find it difficult to read outside our comfort zones.

Note on Acronyms: We mention "TBRs" multiple times throughout this episode, which refers to "To Be Read" lists... essentially a list that some readers create to organize the books they plan to read in the future.

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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 week’s topic is speculative fiction titles. As in, the actual names of fantasy and science fiction books. What makes a book title jump out at us when browsing spines at the store… or lately, listings at the online bookseller of our choice? And what separates the good, the bad, and the boring?

Let's talk about fantasy book titles.

The fantasy book title generator featured in this episode was created by @paracactus from To Other Worlds and can be found here.

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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 fantasy author Django Wexler about his latest novel, Ashes of the Sun. It follows two siblings on opposite sides of a magical war, kicking off the Burningblade and Silvereye series from Orbit Books.

Django and Travis discuss the art of receiving critique, the dubious ethics of training young children to become Jedi, and how to design a fantasy world to fit the story you want to tell.

About Django Wexler:

Django Wexler is the author of flintlock fantasy series The Shadow Campaigns, middle-grade fantasy The Forbidden Library, and YA fantasy The Wells of Sorcery. His latest is epic fantasy Ashes of the Sun. In his former life as a software engineer, he worked on AI research and programming languages. He currently lives near Seattle with his wife, two cats, and a teetering mountain of books. When not writing, he wrangles computers, paints tiny soldiers, and plays games of all sorts.

You can find Django Wexler on Twitter as @DjangoWexler or at his website, djangowexler.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.

Travis interviews science fiction author Linden A. Lewis about their debut novel, The First Sister. Out today from Skybound Books, The First Sister is an epic space opera often compared to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

Linden and Travis discuss the time Linden ended up as an extra on The Walking Dead, consulting an astrophysicist to get the "science" part of science fiction as accurate as possible, and how the #MeToo movement influenced The First Sister.

About Linden A. Lewis:

Linden A. Lewis (she/they) is a queer writer and world wanderer currently living in Madrid with a couple of American cats who have little kitty passports. Tall and tattooed, Linden exists only because society has stopped burning witches.

Linden attended the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 2016, and her short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #215. She is represented by Alexandra Machinist at ICM Partners in New York City.

While there is a 95% chance Linden is a cryptid, she can often be spotted in the wild cosplaying or acting (yes, she appeared in an episode of The Walking Dead). Nowadays, she is most frequently found lurking on both Instagram and Twitter @lindenalewis, or at her website www.lindenalewis.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.

The fantasy subreddit at fantasy.reddit.com is one of the largest—if not the largest—online speculative fiction communities in the world. It recently surpassed one million subscribers and provides a place for readers, writers, and fans of all speculative media to gather and discuss the genre they love.

Joining us today are three of the r/Fantasy moderators:

We talk about the origins of r/Fantasy and how it impacts the broader industry, how readers and authors can get the most out of the community, and how to moderate a massive online forum with over a million members.

You can contact the r/Fantasy moderators by messaging them through modmail or through Twitter as @Reddit_Fantasy.

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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 podcaster Cole Burkhardt about their science fiction audio drama, Null/Void. The story follows a young woman and her friends as they defend their small town from a family of ruthless billionaires who wish to exploit and destroy it.

Cole and Travis discuss the power of audio fiction, practical advice for aspiring voice actors and sound designers, and the importance of representation in the media we consume.

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About Cole Burkhardt:

Cole Burkhardt currently resides in Washington D.C and has tried everything from streaming tabletop games on Twitch to spelunking deep underground. They are the Creator and CoProducer of the Piece of Cake Podcasting Network, a network devoted to helping people of color within the podcasting industry. He has been in a variety of podcasts including Godshead Incidental and Unplaced and is the writer and director of Null/Void. When they're not voice acting or editing audio, they are going to conventions across the East Coast, discussing gender and sexuality in video games and anime. You can find more of him on his website coleburkhardt.carrd.co/ or on Twitter as @KingColeMiner

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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 editor Jonathan Strahan about his latest fantasy anthology, The Book of Dragons. It collects stories of dragons from all over the world, written by some of the most renowned modern science fiction and fantasy writers.

Jonathan and Travis discuss some of his favorite short stories, how novice and veteran readers can approach discovering short fiction, and of course, dragons.

Jonathan Strahan (www.jonathanstrahan.com.au) is a World Fantasy Award award-winning editor, anthologist, and podcaster. He has edited more than 90 books, is reviews editor for Locus, a consulting editor for Tor.com, and co-host and producer of the Hugo-nominated Coode Street Podcast.

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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.