Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication.

For the nineteenth episode of series two, Nick sits down with Steph Tisdell, author of The Skin I’m in. They discuss the book, diversity within diversity, the many experiences First Nations people have inside and outside their community, and more.

WARNING: this podcast contains frequent strong coarse language

BOOKS:

Debut Feature:

The Skin I'm In by Steph Tisdell: https://bit.ly/3ZKSQ8a

Other Books Mentioned:

The Humans by Matt Haig: https://bit.ly/4ejq03g

Always Will Be by Mykaela Saunders: https://www.uqp.com.au/books/always-will-be

Firelight by John Morrissey: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/Y9eNkO

PRODUCTION NOTES:

Host: Nick Wasiliev

Guest: Steph Tisdell

Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev

Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz

Production Code: 2:19

Episode Number: #32

Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Candice Wyman (Pan Macmillan Australia)

© 2024 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings

‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.

Join us as we write 50,000 words in 30 days. Your hosts Dani Vee, Adrian Beck, Cristy Burns and Kate Temple with Special Guest Mark Smith

S2 E18 - Date with a Debut - Jade and Emerald by Michelle See-Tho.

We're doing NaNoWriMo. Four published authors writing 50,000 words in a month! Join us!

Claire (C. A.) Wright’s Sky Song is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson The Nightingale.

We chat about creating an appropriation, and how she wrote a character who transforms from woman to bird.

They chat about faith and politics, loneliness and finding your people.

CA Wright also shares her journey to publication.

TAKEOVER: Nick Wasiliev and Alicia Thompson on her book, Ex. Exclusively for W&N!

Christopher Cheng is an award-winning children’s fiction and non fiction author.

His most recent picture book, Dragon Folding, is a tribute to his neighbours and godson.

We chat about including personal element to stories, love and loss and why was this important to explore in a picture book. We also chat about resilience of the human spirit and a human need for community.

Everything you wanted to know about the power of art and creation.

Date With A Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication.

For the seventeenth episode of series two, Nick sits down with Mark Wales, author of Outrider. They discuss the book, transforming Australia into a war-torn landscape, the challenges of writing action on the page, working on the set of a major blockbuster, and more.

BOOKS:

Debut Feature:

Outrider by Mark Wales: https://bit.ly/3Bcuc6k

Other Books Mentioned:

Blind Man's Bluff by Christopher Drew, Sherry Sontag & Annette Lawrence Drew: https://bit.ly/47CYYSa

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy: https://bit.ly/4gps23k

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: https://bit.ly/3TACcEE

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy: https://bit.ly/4ddPcad

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy: https://bit.ly/4gu3x5d

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: https://bit.ly/4dm2sd2

PRODUCTION NOTES:

Host: Nick Wasiliev

Guest: Mark Wales

Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev

Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz

Production Code: 2:17

Episode Number: #30

Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Candice Wyman (Pan Macmillan Australia)

© 2024 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings

‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.

An assassin and a troubled young woman become unlikely allies when they land themselves in a deadly chase that could destroy their lives... even if they survive. The first book in a blockbuster thriller series from Matt Rogers, million copy bestseller and ‘a bright new talent shaking up the genre'