INSIGHTS: Margaret Dunlap and Brian Francis Slattery

Brand Gamblin is a storyteller who aggressively pursues the evolution of his craft, striving always to push the limits of his ability and expand his comfort zone. His works to date include Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternate Future (see? He’s making this stuff up, people!) and Science Fantasy (see?). He’s also possessed of a dark humor as evidenced by his wildly successful “Calls for Cthulu” video series. We spent a fabulous 20(ish) minutes with this marvelous weaver of tales discussing his transition from programmer to writer, and from outliner to pantser… we even dig into what Spec Fic really means. There’s writerly goodness behind that PLAY button, friends… click it!

Seth Skorkowsky is a multi-disciplined storyteller. He crafts rich, nuanced tales of urban fantasy (The Valducan Series: Damoren, Hounacier, and Ibenus), pulp fantasy adventure (The Tales of the Black Raven), and more. He’s the host of a fabulous YouTube channel featuring his insights and analysis of the RPG experience. Those diverse passions make him a unique and inspired voice in the spec fic community.

Joined by APN colleague and co-host, Marie Bilodeaux, we delve into 20(ish) minutes of writerly discourse with Seth, exploring his perspectives on pulp fiction hero narrative, telling stories through non-fiction video, charting the course of writerly pursuits, and more. Writerly goodness awaits you… just click that PLAY button!

Robyn Bennis Robyn Bennis – author of “The Guns Above” and the soon to be released “By Fire Above” – joins the APN crew to wax rhapsodic on organizing book research, creating a “writing space”, crafting an effective conflict character, and more!

Robyn Bennis – author of “The Guns Above” and the soon to be released “By Fire Above” – returns to the Big Chair in the APN virtual studios to workshop a tale of future steampunk, alien invasion, the fate of a planet.

The tale is offered up by creageous Guest Writer, Christopher Michael, a tale of a loyal naval officer – struggling to overcome the shadows of her parents’ deeds- who is drawn into a conspiracy of global (and possibly galactic) consequences.
 
Marie Bilodeau rocks the co-host chair once again and together we fire up the aethyr engines, hoist the mainsail and set course for LITERARY GOLD!

Michael R. Underwood returns to the APN! Joined by co-host Marie Bilodeaux, we indulge in (way more than) 20 minutes of writerly discourse exploring Michael’s astonishing new project, the “Born to the Blade” story world serialized by Serial Box… how it began, the nuances of the collaboration between him and his co-writers, the notion of “post-cynical optimism”, and more!

Clint Gaige tells stories with light and sound. He’s a film maker with dozens of titles gracing screens (silver and digital) around the world and a life time of experience in the world of media storytelling. His “Shotgun Mythos” series has been picked up by several television stations, his latest endeavor – “A Clean Exit” (from Growth Media Productions) – is making the festival circuit now, and he’s far from finished. His insights into the process of storytelling for film transcend media, opening new perspectives for artists of all disciplines.

Joined by the remarkable Marie Bilodeau – author of the Nigh series, as well as “Hellmaw: Eye of Glass”, and more – we indulge in a exceptional 20(ish) Minutes of writerly discourse with Clint, exploring the considerations for storytelling in film, the value of doing it and the bane of “perfection”, the keys to successful collaboration, and more. Writerly inspiration awaits you, dear friends… just click that “PLAY” button!

This week, I’m delighted to have Bradley Beaulieu (BOW-lee-er)(no, really) take the Big Chair at the Roundtable for 20-ish minutes of some stellar writerly discourse. Brad is an author of sweeping epic fantasy, tales of rich authentic and intriguing characters told in lushly rendered story worlds. His works include: The Winds of Khalakovo, The Straits of Galahesh, The Flames of Shadam Khoreh, as well as “Strata”, a collaborative scifi tale with Stephen Gaskell. His stories have appeared in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Crimson Pact, and more. AND he’s the co-host (with Greg Wilson) of SPECULATE, one of the podosphere’s premiere podcasts on the writing craft.

Kelly Robson – author of the Nebula-nominated “Waters of Versailles” (published by Tor.com) and many other marvelous tales – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend her brainstorming-fu to a tale of egyptian intrigue, magic, and tangled destinies across time.

Cerece Rennie Murphy returns to the Big Chair in the APN studios to add her storytelling mojo to brainstorming a tale of a magician who doesn’t believe in magic, a priest who doesn’t believe in god, and a warrior who doesn’t believe in war.

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!

Andrew Weston has been busy since the last time he appeared on the Roundtable. His creations in the world have expanded to…

Emma Newman – author of “20 Years Later” and “From Dark Places” and the soon-to-be-released “Between Two Thorns”, crafter of marvelous tales short and long, and record holder for the longest bout of Writers Block ever – has been bringing the delights (and dark things) of her imagination to the page for most of her life.

Her fiction transforms the mundane into the marvelous… and she performs the same magic with this 20(ish) minutes of conversation. Emma generously shares her insights into the nature of writing advice, the distinction between long and short fiction, her unique process, the cyclical nature of post-apocalyptic fiction, and more!

Tobias Buckell has lived an adventurous life, not in the sense of plundering ancient tombs or fighting ninjas, but a life of extraordinary circumstances, opportunities and challenges. He says, “Fear of something is always an indicator of something I should do”… with that philosophy, he has blazed his own trail, exploring his craft – creating compelling tales like “Crystal Rain”, his exploration of his own craft in “Nascence”, and the recently crowd funded “Apocalypse Ocean” – and infusing his tales with a profoundly unique voice that has earned him a space on the New Yourk Times Best-Selling List and nominations for Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus, and Campbell awards.

This 20(ish) minutes of conversation is rich with Tobias’s refreshing perspective on so many aspects of the wrting process, including loving what you do, dealing with fear and the challenges of life as a writer, the secret of endings, and much more! The writerly goodness here here for the taking, so hit that “PLAY” button and dig in!

Kelly Robson – author of the Nebula-nominated “Waters of Versailles” (published by Tor.com) and many other marvelous tales – joins for a marvelous conversation exploring the qualities of fine non-fiction and its value to a writer, struggling with self-doubt and giving yourself permission, golden nuggets of writerly wisdom acquired from others, the secrets of scene-craft, and more.

J. Robert King has told hundreds of stories, including “The Incubus Tweets”, “Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny”, “Angel of Death”, and more… and with each story, he seeks a truth. What he finds is rarely what he set out looking for, but he persists in following his stories faithfully and honestly. That makes him a badass in our book.

Joined by veteran podcaster, storyteller, and former Guest Host, John Mierau, we engage in a most intriguing 20(ish) minutes of writerly discourse with Rob, exploring the nature of evil in fiction (and ourselves), the end of the “age of the author”, and more. There’s writerly goodness (and maybe one or two epiphanies) awaiting you, friends… it’s all just a “PLAY” button away