Wings, bone towers, and mouth monsters, oh my! The glorious Fran Wilde returns to the podcast to discuss her new novel, Updraft.  We talk about worldbuilding, hierarchies and bone towers, and much more!

We also have an extra copy of Updraft to give away.  If you want to win, all you’ve got to do is answer the following question in the comments (or via email):

If you had wings, what kind of job would you like to have and why?

Answers are due next Tuesday!  The winner will be announced (hopefully) the following day!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 283 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

Fran’s Website

Fran’s Twitter

Updraft (BUY IT!)

“Bent the Wing, Dark the Cloud” (Fran’s new story in Beneath Ceaseless Skies)

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Last Night and finding the self in the Canadian apocalypse.

In our 9th episode, we talk about what we’ve been up to for the past month and dive into Don McKellar’s celebrated apocalypse film, Last Night.  Given that David is a Canadian and Shaun is an American, we take a look at the film’s Canadianisms, discuss its exploration of character and the meaning of “the self” in the moments before apocalypse, and much more!

We’re also still working on our Subscriber Drive so we can add a second regular episode to the show.  Help us spread the word!

Enjoy!

Download Episode 009 (Last Night)(MP3)

Show Notes:

* Last Night (1998)(IMDB)

* Resources:

* NY Times Review by Stephen Holden

* Metacritic Page

* Our next film(s):

* Near Dark (1987)(IMDB)

* The People Under the Stairs (1991)(IMDB)

 

Space cats, liver, and pratfalls, oh my!  In our second-to-last Childhood Destruction edition of Torture Cinema, Shaun, Julia, Rachael, and Paul join forces to tackle Disney’s The Cat From Outer Space!  From talking cats to hustling mafiosos to bumbling military men, this one’s got plenty of blurg to talk about!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 282 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

The Cat From Outer Space (1978)(IMDB)

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

Unicorns, editors, and cultures of empathy, oh my!  In our 281st episode, Lynne Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota join us to talk about Uncanny Magazine!  We explore how they feel about Year One, what’s in store for the magazine in Year Two, the root of a good Uncanny story, cultures of empathy, and much more!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

[http://archive.org/download/SandFEpisode281OnUncannyMagazine/Sandf–Episode281–OnUncannyMagazine.mp3]

Episode 281 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

Uncanny Magazine (read it)

Uncanny Magazine Year Two Kickstarter!  It’s fully funded, but there are so many cool stretch goals!

Michael Damian Thomas’ Stuff:

Website

Twitter

Lynne Thomas’ Stuff

Website

Twitter

Michi Trota’s Stuff:

Website

Twitter

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Hugos are over, but the controversy isn’t over.  In this episode, I talk about the results of the 2015 Hugo Awards and how the Sad Puppies have irreparably harmed whatever good message they had.  It’s not an exhaustive discussion, but it’s one I wanted to start while I had time.

If you want to learn more about what is going on, here are few useful links:

* The 2015 Hugo Awards Results

* “On the Hugo Awards:  Two Scholarly-ish Projects to Come” by ME!

* “The Obligatory Hugo Awards Recap Post” by Chuck Wendig

* “2015 Hugo Stats:  Initial Analysis” by Chaos Horizon

* “Who Won Science Fiction’s Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters” by Amy Wallace (if you want to see just how batshit some of the people running the Puppies are, this is the place to go right now)

Feel free to leave a comment below!

Please support Shaun’s Rambles by reviewing it on iTunes and Stitcher, and if you like what you hear or read on this blog, donate to my Patreon page!  You can subscribe to this show on iTunes, Stitcher, or via RSS.

You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Enjoy the episode!

 

Machines, empire, and whitewashing, oh my!  In this special edition of our discussion feature, Shaun and Rachael talk to authors Cherie Priest, Beth Cato, and Jaymee Goh about the wonders and politics of steampunk.  We cover whitewashing on covers, the subversive qualities of steampunk, and the trials and tribulations of writing the genre in a world heavily influenced by empire.  In our last moments, we have some fun by talking about steampunk films and video games.  In the end, we only scratched the surface!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 280 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

Beth Cato’s Stuff:

Website

Twitter

The Clockwork Crown by Beth Cato

Jaymee Goh’s Stuff:

Website

The Sea is Ours: Tales of Steampunk in Southeast Asia edited by Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng (Rosarium Publishing)

Twitter

Cherie Priest’s Stuff:

Website

Twitter

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (comic!)

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

In this episode, I talk about Lou Antonelli, his efforts to report David Gerrold to the police, and Sasquan’s response.

If you want to learn more about what is going on, here are few useful links:

* Pattern Matching: Lou Antonelli and the Sad Puppies by Natalie Luhrs

* Some Members are More Equal than Others by Natalie Luhrs

* Author – Antonelli, Lou by Aaron Pound

* Jim C. Hines’ FB coverage

Please support Shaun’s Rambles by reviewing it on iTunes and Stitcher, and if you like what you hear or read on this blog, donate to my Patreon page!  You can subscribe to this show on iTunes, Stitcher, or via RSS.

You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Enjoy the episode!

 

In this special episode, we’re joined by Stina Leicht and Peter Orullian to discuss writing traumatic and difficult subjects.  Why do we write them?  What are the strategies for doing so?  What value does it serve?  We explore these questions and other subjects!

Given the nature of the subject, this episode comes with a trigger warning.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 279 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

 

Stina’s Stuff:

Website

Twitter

Cold Iron by Stina Leicht (Saga Press)

Peter’s Stuff:

Website

Twitter

Trial of Intentions by Peter Orullian

Saga Press

Fat Guys in the Woods

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

How do I select what I teach in my science fiction courses?  In this episode of Shaun’s Rambles, I talk about my method(s) for picking the novels and short stories I assign in all of my literature courses, using my upcoming space opera course at the University of Florida as an example.

This episode topic was suggested by Margo-Lea Hurwicz on Twitter.

Please support Shaun’s Rambles by reviewing it on iTunes and Stitcher, and if you like what you hear or read on this blog, donate to my Patreon page!  You can subscribe to this show on iTunes, Stitcher, or via RSS.

You can download the MP3 here or stream the file below.

Intro and outro music comes from “Pyro Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Enjoy the episode!

 

The Post Office, mules, and Shakespeare, oh my!  In our fourth edition of the Torture Cinema Childhood Destruction feature, we take a stab at the infamous Costner vehicle, The Postman.  This is Mike’s movie, so we make sure to make him feel very welcome.  Oh, hell.  Who are we kidding?  Someone suffers during this episode, but it isn’t Mike…

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode 278 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

The Postman (1997)(IMDB)

Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0).

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.