We're lying, but that's ok

Percy Shelley, George Orwell, Jack London, Roald Dahl...there's no shortage of writers with questionable values who made significant contributions to the literary world. But today we focus on two of the most severe and influential: HP Lovecraft and Robert E, Howard.

Can an author be separated from their work? Can you acknowledge a contribution without honoring the artist who made it, or without inadvertently condoning their harmful beliefs? Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety open a dialogue about these difficult and uncomfortable questions.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

Quotes from

Jason Sanford: Robert E. Howard was a racist. Deal with it.

Leeman Kessler: On Portraying a White Supremacist

RPG, miniatures, video...Today we discuss film and tv adaptations of games with a particular focus on the possible Warhammer40k TV series.

Explicit Content: May contain mature language or themes

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Are TV series just a trend, or are they better than film for adapting print? Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety discuss film and TV adaptations, and possible reasons why TV adaptations have become so popular in recent years.

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have been used to fund publishing projects for years now. But Brandon Sanderson's record breaking Kickstarter may have made crowdfunding books an even more viable option. Today we discuss why authors might choose to crowdfund and why readers should bother funding publishing projects. We also go into how Sanderson's Kickstarter may have helped self-publishing authors in general. In addition, JS Gariety announces her own Kickstarter for her debut novel coming out this March.

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

JS Gariety's Kickstarter (Funded! Closes February 8)

Black indie authors to check out:

Milton Davis

Gerald L Coleman

Do cheap/deeply discounted ebooks devalue literature as a whole? Ever since the Kindle was released, authors and publishers have been asking this question. Today, Ludlow Adams and JS Gariety discuss the impact ebooks have had other the years, how things are changing with subscription models, and how authors can take advantage of the changes (because they're happening, whether we like it or not).

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

What are the benefits of reading regularly?

Plus a couple tips for successful goal-setting.

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

Book Recommendations for your New Year book list

Year of the Witching by Alexis Hendersen

The Dawn of the Coven by Alexis Hendersen

House of Hunger by Alexis Hendersen

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Fairytale by Stephen King

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where are you? by Sally Rooney

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Sign of Seven trilogy by Nora Roberts

Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaimon

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimon

The Sandman comics by Neil Gaimon

Elfquest comics by Wendy and Richard Pini

Artesia comics by Mark Smylie

Beasts of Burden comics by Evan Dorkin and artists Jill Thompson and Benjamin Dewey

The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Do fans have a responsibility to be good fandom citizens? Today we discuss if the concept of literary citizenship extends to fans.

Fandom communities are prevalent especially in fantasy, and just like every other community experience, there are people who are kind and welcoming, and people who want to gatekeep. And then the majority of us who are trying to be good citizens, but because we're human, slip up sometimes.

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Today we'll discuss the purpose of stories in societies and why genres like fantasy and science fiction are so good at drawing people in and creating hard-core fans. Could it really just be escapism? Story "experts" like Jonathon Gottschall and Lisa Cron believe stories are more than that.

Can a story literally change lives?

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

Jonathon Gottschall TEDx talk

Today we'll discuss the purpose of stories in societies and why genres like fantasy and science fiction are so good at drawing people in and creating hard-core fans. Could it really just be escapism? Story "experts" like Jonathon Gottschall and Lisa Cron believe stories are more than that.

Can a story literally change lives?

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0

Show Notes:

Jonathon Gottschall TEDx talk

Today we peek just for a moment behind the scenes in our lives as authors.

Is higher education worth it anymore? Is an MFA necessary or even valuable? We will discuss the current world of higher education, what it means for artists, and our personal decisions to purusue our MFAs.

Explicit Content: May contain strong language

Production: Maxwell Gariety

Music: The Silent Grove by Axletree

Licensed under Attribution 4.0