UpperPen Podcast

Author Frances White joins UpperPen to discuss her latest novel, The Bone Door. We explore writing dark fantasy through the eyes of a hopeful child, building a story within a labyrinth of interconnected worlds, and balancing horror with hope. You can find Frances White atfrances-writes.com/Instagram @franceswhiteauthorBluesky @franceswrites

Author Molly Tanzer joins UpperPen to discuss her science fiction novella And Side By Side They Wander, exploring AI, selfishness, art, and what humanity means in speculative fiction.

I found many parallels with Tanzer's novella and older science fiction literature. She seems to be asking similar questions about the mean of humanity. The novella does this through the lens of art, love, android romances, and an art heist in space!

Whether you’re a fan of classic science fiction, philosophical AI stories, or character-driven speculative fiction, this conversation explores what machines reveal about people.

You can find Molly Tanzer on:

Instagram @molly_tanzer

Bluesky @mollytanzer.bsky.social

mollytanzer.com/

Shannon Chakaraborty joined me for the second time to talk about The Tapestry of Fate, book two in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. She is such a wonderfully talented writer. Shannon easily places me in time and gives enough (but not too many) details to fill out Amina's world. Her work is very research driven, but not to the detriment of the story. I loved The Tapestry of Fate and I really hope you will too.You can find Shannon Chakaraborty at sachakraborty.com where you can follow her newsletter, or @sachakrabooks on Instagram. I would normally leave somewhere to buy a signed copy, but I think everywhere is out, so, good luck!

Martha Wells is one of the best science fiction writers of the 21st century! I pick up every Murderbot book she writes, even the short stories you can find on Tor.com. She is such a wonderful writer.

I was lucky enough to get to talk with her about the 8th Murderbot Diaries book, Platform Decay. During this interview we steered away from Platform Decay spoilers, and instead focused on themes throughout the series, such as corporate control, AI, and how she got started writing these amazing stories.

You can find her at MarthaWells.com, on Instagram @marthawellswriter, BlueSky @marthawells, and marthawells.dreamwidth.org.

If you would like a signed copy, go to HyperboleBookstore.com and request a signed copy.

If you are ever in the Upper Peninsula, make sure to stop in at Snowbound Books and pick up a free UpperPen bookmark!

Authors Rachel Aaron and Travis Bach join UpperPen to discuss Death Has Joined the Party, a LitRPG novel inspired by free DnD rules, imaginative dungeon design, reality show storytelling, and working with your significant other.

Book description:

Welcome, sentient races one and all, to the centennial season of the greatest collaboration between mortals and gods! The most thrilling, most deadly, most watched spectacle ever put on in any realm…Mana Runners!

The infinite dungeon below Whitepeak, the famous City of Wizards, has reset itself once again, bringing new traps, new monsters, and new, never-before-seen challenges to this historic event. All of your favorite champions from Season Ninety-Nine are back and ready to face what is sure to be the most difficult season of Mana Runners ever attempted. From the lowest Copper Tier to the Platinums who shine at the top, every Runner is ready to lay down their lives defending you from the monsters that lurk beneath the mountain.

All of their sacrifices shall be recorded in the pages of history, but only those blessed with unique powers from the gods can reach the deepest floors. It’s the event that brings sentient races from all over the world together! The spectacle no one can afford to miss! And you can watch it all live thanks to Whitepeak College of Wizardry’s revolutionary sendernet: the only Sending spell network that broadcasts the can’t-be-missed action of Mana Runners straight into your home!

(The Mana Runners Centennial Season is produced by the Whitepeak Dungeon Committee and the Coalition of Rightfully Aligned Gods. Remember, the gods are always listening, so be sure to pray for your favorite Mana Runner to earn them blessings as they battle the unthinkable dangers of the Endless Dungeon!)

Author Kiersten White joins UpperPen to discuss The Fox and the Devil, exploring its nonlinear structure, inspiration from Dracula, the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, and the evolving space for queer horror.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/mWshT6KCeP8

UpperPen.com

Hugo Award-winning author John Chu joins UpperPen to discuss The Subtle Art of Folding Space, a "science-fiction" novel about a Taiwanese-American family trying to prevent the collapse of the universe while navigating complex family relationships. Sort of.

John Chu has an interesting take on how to classify his work later in the episode, so stick around to find out what he says.

The Subtle Art of Folding Space is out on April 7th, 2026

You can find John at:

johnchu.net

mastodon.social/@[email protected]

bsky.app/profile/johnchu.bsky.social

Please let me know what you think of the episode by rating this interview and following UpperPen!

Author Jennifer Mandula joined UpperPen to discuss The Geomagician, a novel inspired by Mary Anning, exploring magic in 1820s England, science and religion in the 19th century, and the overlooked contributions of women (Mary specifically) in history.

I loved this book so much and hope you enjoy Jennifer's enthusiasm for history as much as I do!

You can get signed copies from Mac's Backs: macsbacks.com

Jennifer can be found at https://www.jennifermandula.com/ and on Instagram @jennifermandula

Author S. L. Rowland joins UpperPen to discuss his shift from LitRPG (Sentenced to Troll) to cozy fantasy (Tales of Aedrea), the rise of cozy fantasy as a genre, and the realities of Kickstarter publishing, and attending book conventions.Did you know he also sells his books on his website slrowland.com for less than you would buy them for at other *cough*Amazon*cough* sites?I really want all of his signed Tales of Aedrea books! The cover art is all hella awesome as are the audiobooks.*I used AI to stretch an image from his website. Just FYI. I do not own any images in the thumbnail.

Author Nicole Glover joins UpperPen to discuss The Starseekers, exploring NASA, the influence of Hidden Figures, the history of African Americans in public television, and how magic intersects with real-world history.I found that this book literally combined my favorite topics! Nicole basically rooted around in my brain and pulled out everything, except the horror. The Starseekers is preceded by The Conductors, The Undertakers, and The Improvisors. You can find so much extra information about the Rhodes family on Nicole's website: https://nicole-glover.com/.

Also, I cannot stress how much I loved the audiobook. Shout out to the narrator Bahni Turpin!