In our 12th episode, we welcome Carlos Hernandez, award-winning writer of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, and the Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria, writer for Marvel Comics’ characters America Chavez, Moon Knight, Spider Punk, Miles Morales, Amazing Spider Man, and Ghost Rider, as well as creator of the Negocios Infernales boardgame. We talk about staying grounded and creative during times of chaos, the danger of comparing ourselves to others, stress and productivity, the capitalistic pressure to always produce “content”, moving away from social media, writing for comics, finding hope in young people, working with scriptwriters, where to start stories and genre expectations, how his Latin culture impacts his writing, teaching writing at Clarion, the efficacy of cautionary tales, the magic of teaching kids, the optimism of children, and much more!

In our 11th episode, we invite Adrian M. Gibson to talk about burst pipes, hosting podcasts, the art of the interview, starting the SFF Addicts podcast, working with partners, writing masterclasses, paying it forward, writing mentors and finding your path, how Adrian got into writing, the Fungalverse, Mushroom Blues, how living in three different continents have shaped his fiction, how he became fascinated with fungi, The Muppet Show and psychedelics, the fungal punk genre, growing mushrooms on books and eating them, and much more! We had a blast speaking with Adrian!

In our tenth episode, your fellow nerds Mercurio and Matt discuss the topic du jour: Writing and AI! We discuss common misconceptions about writing, such as the misapprehension that the work is merely coming up with a good idea, about authorship and plagiarism, Ted Chiang’s essay in The New Yorker about choices and how they make a work of art, what defines art, methods of communication, the subtle nuances that make stories “real”, why beginning authors should avoid using AI, how AI can erase your unique voice and style, how much of AI training data is stolen, why we aren’t automating laundry, housework, and taxes, why  writers may be tempted by the shortcut that AI offers, Hollywood, advice for aspiring authors, and more! This was a fun and timely discussion!

In our ninth episode, we interview the multi-talented Clay McLeod Chapman. We discuss Halloween costumes, writing for Marvel and Spider Man, writing middle grade books for Disney, writing comics and graphic novels, creating in different media, collaboration, “discovery” writing, his forthcoming novel Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, spiritualism and seances, Civil War trauma, what draws him to horror, ghost stories around campfires, pod people culture, his work process, his story in Weird Tales and cosmic crabs, storytelling sessions, horror writing as catharsis, and more!

In our eighth episode, we interview the spectacular Jason Sanford, and we talk with him about getting exposed to the genre through his grandfather, early sales, getting pulled out of the slush pile, stories in Interzone, working as a neurodivergent person, his history being an archeologist and how that influenced his fiction, “discovery writing”, working in the US Peace Corps, his well-received “Plague Bird” stories, finding the right writing process and rhythm, why it’s okay to not write every day, how our writing processes may change as we grow, his well-received Genre Grapevine blog, the Chengdu Hugo controversy, controlling the genre narrative, writing novellas, persistence after rejections, favorite conventions & much more!

In our seventh episode, we interview the astounding Alaya Dawn Johnson! This was a fun and varied discussion about living in Mexico, 1920s-themed book parties, giant African moths, encountering WWII skulls in Japan, falling in love with New York, working in publishing, joining the Altered Fluid writing group, chiseling emu eggs, crazy writing retreats during blizzards, writing long-hand, fugue states, working with Janelle Monae, teaching in the U.S., and much more!

In our sixth episode, we discuss the favorite pastime of writers: procrastination! We talk about how to motivate and inspire ourselves, how we overcome writer’s block, the benefits of establishing good writing habits, how we cultivate ideas, and how we can carve out distraction-free times in our lives. A fun discussion!

In our fifth episode, we interview the fabulous Cat Rambo! Cat Rambo’s 300+ fiction publications include stories in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In 2020 they won the Nebula Award for fantasy novelette Carpe Glitter. They are a former two-term President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Their most recent works are space opera Rumor Has It (Tor Macmillan, Sept, 2024) and anthology The Reinvented Detective (Arc Manor, 2023), co-edited with Jennifer Brozek. We had a blast talking about writing, cooking, SFWA, teaching, and much more!

In our fourth episode, we come you you LIVE from Readercon, the “conference on imaginative literature,” held this past July in Quincy, Massachusetts. We had the pleasure of interviewing the following guests: Jeffrey Ford, A.T. Greenblatt, A.C. Wise, Scott H. Andrews, Mike Allen, A.T. Sayre, Julie C. Day, C.S.E. Cooney, William Alexander, John Wiswell, Rob Cameron, and Sophia Babai. We talk about Readercons past, what makes Readercon a truly special convention — particularly its welcoming and friendly vibe — and we talk with each guest about their recent and upcoming creative works. This was a blast to record, and we had so much fun talking to all these diverse and talented folks!

In our third episode, we discuss writing conventions! What are science fiction conventions? What’s the point of attending them? We discuss why you might attend panels, readings, and discussions, the benefits of meeting other writers and industry contacts, and much more! Mercurio and Matt discuss their very first cons, their favorite ones they like to attend, people we met at cons who went on to be very successful writers. We also share several fun stories of past conventions, and how cons can be rewarding, but sometimes overstimulating. Finally, we discuss how writing conventions might help with your development as a pro SF writer, though most importantly how much fun they can be.