20 Minutes with Peter Orullian

Returning Guest Host Jilly Dreadful – founder and director of the remarkable  Brainery Workshop – returns to the Big Chair to lend her…

We asked thirteen authors, podcasters, and content creators if they thought talent was something we’re born with or something we acquire over time. In this episode, we cover the final. Their answers are as intriguing as the people themselves and Brion and Dave riff extensively off them.

Michael R. Underwood – a veteran of the APN and Literary Alchemist behind the Geekomancy and Genrenauts series, as well as the immanent “Born to the Blade” serialization from Serial Box Publishing – returns to the Big Chair at the APN to brainstorm a tale of grief, art, and magic.

The tale is offered up by creageous Guest Writer Val Griswold-Ford, the story of a grieving woman who discovers her art is able to create true magic in the world. With Marie Bilodeau as co-host, together we through some jet fuel into the Literary Alchemy Machine and crank it up to 11!

Andrea Phillips – author of “Revision”, “The Daring Adventures of Captain Lucy Smokeheart” and some much more, returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend her diverse and refined storytelling mojo in workshopping a tale of death denied and the obsessive allure of creative success.

Our brainstorming feast is provided by creageous Guest Writer Laura Nicole (author, vocal performer, and host of the Gypsy in the Attic podcast), a tale of an obsession so powerful that it defies death… but Death can never be denied. Joined once again by the charming and insightful Dave Thompson as my co-host, we launch into tangled weave of story treads, untying knots (and making a few of our own), until we knit ourselves a tapestry of Literary Gold.

So, there I was: writing the first scene of the first draft of Hapax. I was bright-eyed and innocent, the scene zipping along beneath my fingers. My monks were preparing to hold vigil to see if the Apocalypse was nigh (spoiler: it was). I had a plot outline, I had character notes, I had worldbuilding…

And then, I realized.

I had forgotten to figure out the monks’ hierarchy. I had no idea who or what their leader was.

Oops.

Don’t Panic

Jared Axelrod is the quintessential creator. Costuming, theater, art, literature, podcasting… each artistic challenge he sets before himself is met with passion, dedication, and an instinct for grand scope and epic presentation (and his latest triumph, “The Battle of Blood and Ink”, is a powerful testament to that craft). We were delighted to be able to enjoy 20(ish) minutes with this dynamic personality, discussing his own strengths as a creator, the ways and means of prioritizing creative endeavors, his own transition from uncertainty to boldness, and more! Your week’s supply of Writerly Goodness awaits!

Dan Sawyer – consummate storyteller, media producer, and creative visionary – was our first Guest Host. One year ago, nervous and uncertain, Brion and I interviewed Dan and launched a podcast, starting a journey that has led to so many discoveries, friendships, and opportunities to explore the creative process. Dan is the ideal catalyst for such a journey, given his diverse and extensive experience in the art of expression.

During this celebratory 20(ish) minutes of conversation, we delve a bit deeper into Dan’s writing process, discuss the pros and cons of genre-jumping, uncover some strategies to keep your audience guessing, and more.

“There are people who appear to be able to invoke creativity on command.  They sit down and BAM, creative inspirations…

“…though we often soliloquize about writing being a solitary existence with coveted ideas held closer to the chest than Bluebeard’s…

I asked thirteen authors, podcasters, and content creators if they thought talent was something we’re born with or something we acquire over time. We cover the first six in this episode. Their answers are as intriguing as the authors themselves and Brion and Dave riff extensively off the gold they find there.

Hugh Howey – a storyteller who’s pen has scribed many marvelous tales, including the astonishing dystopian scifi tale “Wool” that continues to impact the literary world in the most delightful ways – returns to the big chair at the Roundtable to workshop a very cool mid-grade scifi story idea offered up by the inventive and inspired Holli Mintzer.

Holli’s tale of deep space generational ships and alien first contact (and first abduction) is fraught with intriguements that set us to exploring all the nooks and crannies of Holli’s universe. Along the way, we scarf up a metric ton of Literary Gold!

Jilly Dreadful – with a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California, Associate Editor of NonBinary Review and Unbound…

Hugh Howey is the author of many tales, long and short, set in diverse environments and genres. But it is his dystopian scifi tale “Wool” that has captured the imaginations of not only of thousands of fans, but also most publishing and media industries in the free world (including Hollywood). It’s all too easy to narrow your focus of an individual when one work commands such attention… and in the case of Hugh, that would be an egregious error. His life experience as well as his persistence and dedication to his craft has given Hugh a unique perspective that distinguishes his writing and the path he’s chosen to pursue it.

Lauren Harris (of the Pendragon Variety Podcast) and myself took full advantage of our 20(ish) minutes with Hugh as we explore his insights and strategies on worldbuilding, his own strengths and assets, expanding a novelette into a full series, and so much more!

Patrick E. McLean isn’t really all that interested in how things have been done. Sure, it’s useful for a sense of context and perspective, but if you’re going to imagine a new future, you simply can’t let “convention” get in the way. As the author of “Unkillable” and the “How to Succeed in Evil” series of fiction as well as the founder of “Good Words (Right Order)”, Patrick has stepped boldly off the path and, in doing so, discovered a wealth of insight and inspiration.

During this 20(ish) minutes of discourse he shares generously of both with Ryan Stevenson and myself, discussing the “work” of creativity, the value of performance in the context of writing, how things go right (and wrong) and so much more!

To have Delilah S. Dawson join us at the virtual Table is the podcast equivalent of plummeting down a water slide riding an alpaca (without the bleating and flailing of hooves).

Author of deliciously wicked tales for adults (including the Blud Series, featuring Wicked as They Come, Wicked as She Wants, and Wicked After Midnight) and honest no-punches-pulled tales for teens (like Servants of the Storm), Delilah is blazing her own path through the literary world.