Speculate!

Welcome to Episode 171 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we chat with author Michael J. Martinez about works past, present, and future. During our discussion we talk about Mike’s Daedalus Trilogy and Majestic-12 series, his love of history in both real and alternate forms, and the ways in which his long career in journalism has influenced his writing…and how he’ll happily buy everyone a beer if he’s allowed to write in the Star Wars universe.  If you like what you hear, remember to check back soon for our next show, and please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level to get access to even more content.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 170 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers, and Fans.  In this episode we talk about our schedule through the end of 2016 before getting into the show proper, a discussion of Lauren Beukes‘s upcoming short story collection (due out in November) Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing, focusing in particular on the stories “Algebra,” “Unathi Battles The Black Hairballs” (it’s as good as it sounds!), and the essay “All The Pretty Corpses.”  We talk about Lauren’s irreverent, unsparing, sometimes brutal writing style, her honesty in rendering her characters and themes, and her commitment to justice both in real life and in her fiction–and even make a couple of suggestions about how authors can apply some of her strategies to their own work.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back soon for another episode exploring the genre of speculative fiction, and if you haven’t done so already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron yourself so you can get access to even more content as our show continues to grow. Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 168 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Chuck Wendig, looking at his new novel Invasive.  We chat about anxiety in fiction, the nature of messages and themes in stories, the specifics of Chuck’s unique style (and how he carries that from book to book), and his particular love of insects of all creepy kinds…and how writing in a shed is better than it sounds.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our final show of the triptych as we look at some of the writing techniques used in the novel–and if you’d like access to that show, please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show! ADDITIONAL NOTE: Brad, Mike, and Greg have something cooking for later this year which we think will be of great interest to Speculate fans.  Stay tuned for all the details in the weeks and months to come!

Welcome to Episode 167 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we talk about a couple of upcoming projects before beginning our next triptych, this one on Chuck Wendig‘s Invasive.  This book, due out on August 16th, follows futurist and FBI consultant Hannah Stander as she tries to uncover the mystery behind a bizarre murder…and unravel her imagined fears from the real threats she faces.  Part disaster tale, part horror, and part thriller, Invasive is a lot of fun, and we talk about the book’s style (which is all Chuck), the message being sent behind the story, the speed of the read, and many other things.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll talk with Chuck Wendig himself about the book.  And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron yourself so you can get access to even more content as our show continues to grow.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 165 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Daniel Jose Older, looking at his acclaimed YA novel Shadowshaper as we speak with the author himself.  We chat about music, Brooklyn, cultural representation, characters of color, and many other topics in a really fascinating discussion with Daniel, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our final show of the triptych as we look at some of the writing techniques used in the novel–and if you’d like access to that show, please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 164 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans. In this episode we talk about Mike’s successful Genrenauts Kickstarter and the new arrival in Greg’s family–the new youngest Speculate podcaster!–along with coming travel plans before beginning our next triptych, this one on Daniel Jose Older‘s Shadowshaper.  This book, about a young Puerto Rican woman from Brooklyn who learns about her family’s ability to use spirits, is our first YA novel in a while, and it’s one which has attracted an enormous amount of critical attention over the past year.  We talk about the book’s really engaging protagonist Sierra, the well-done sense of place (this is the actual Brooklyn, not the hipster one we hear about so often), and the interesting magic system, among other things.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll chat with Daniel Jose Older himself about the book.  And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron so you can get access to even more content as our show continues to grow and develop.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 162 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Aliette de Bodard, looking in particular at her award-winning and critically acclaimed novel The House of Shattered Wings, as we speak with the author herself (for the second time).  She talks about the influences which go into the book, her sense of the characters and their development, and the joys (and potential pitfalls) of blending different religious, mythological, and cultural traditions into the fascinating world described in The House of Shattered Wings.  We really enjoyed chatting with Aliette as always, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our final show of the triptych as we look at some of the writing techniques used in the novel–and if you’d like access to that show (and others, like the Good, Bad, and Ugly segments), please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 161 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we talk a bit about the current state of the Hugo Awards and two projects of our own–Mike’s upcoming Kickstarter for The Genrenauts and Greg’s recently released graphic novel Icarus–before beginning our next triptych of 2016 with our reader response to multiple award-winning author (and former Speculate guest!) Aliette de Bodard‘s The House of Shattered Wings.  This is a really interesting look at a post-apocalyptic Paris run by competing houses controlled by fallen angels–a book which feels a bit like Game of Thrones mixed with Vampire: The Masquerade–and we talk about the book’s fascinating environment, its political intrigue, and its myriad influences, among other things.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll chat with Aliette de Bodard herself about the book.  And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron so you can get access to even more content as our show continues to grow and develop.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 160 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode, we continue our second joint production of Speculate and Greg’s Twitch channel (under the moniker Arvan Eleron) as we discuss the world of Numenera and writing for video games in general with bestselling author and inXile Entertainment‘s Torment: Tides of Numenera contributor Patrick Rothfuss.  In the first part of the show, we talked more about Numenera specifically with Monte Cook and Shanna Germain; here, we continue that conversation with Pat, but also get into more depth about video games as a storytelling medium, the communal vs. the solitary experience of storytelling, and comic writing.  This was a really fascinating conversation, and as always Pat is extremely engaging and thoughtful; we hope you find it as interesting as we did!  If you’d like to see the video version of this, head to Greg’s Twitch YouTube channel, and if you liked what you saw and heard, don’t forget to check back soon as we get ready to start on a new triptych of shows. Thanks for supporting us here and via our growing Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

      Welcome to Episode 159 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode, our second joint production of Speculate and Greg’s Twitch channel (under the moniker Arvan Eleron), we return to the world of Numenera and inXile Entertainment‘s Torment: Tides of Numenera as we speak with world designer Shanna Germain, world creator Monte Cook, and bestselling author and Torment contributor Patrick Rothfuss.  Having already looked at some of the gameplay and mechanics in our first Numenera episode, here we concentrate more directly on the parts of the world connected to writing and narrative, focusing on worldbuilding, character development, and the translation of a world from tabletop RPG to literature to video game and back again.  This conversation was so much fun and gave us so much material, we had to split it into two parts, the second almost exclusively with Pat alone.  If you’d like to see the video version of this, head to Greg’s Twitch YouTube channel, and if you liked what you saw and heard, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll post part two of the show.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show! ADDITIONAL NOTE: The time for Hugo nominations is just about over, and we’re pleased to see that Speculate has made several long lists for Best Fancast.  We would dearly love to see the show get nominated for that honor this year, and so we wanted to remind all of our loyal listeners that if you have enjoyed what we do over the years and are so inclined, we would welcome your support. If you’re a member of last year’s, this year’s, or next year’s Worldcon, you’re eligible to nominate, and can do so here—but only before the end of the day on Thursday, March 31st.  So please go and nominate now, and if we’re on your list under the Best Fancast category, we would be most grateful!

Welcome to Episode 157 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Emmi Itaranta, looking in particular at her novel Memory of Water, as we speak with the author herself.  She discusses her process of writing the manuscript simultaneously in Finnish and English, the environmental concerns which drive her, and her belief that there’s hope woven throughout her work–and why that hope is so important.  This was a really interesting conversation with an interesting writer, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our final show of the triptych as we look at some of the writing techniques used in the novel–and if you’d like access to that show and our Good, Bad, and Ugly segments (including a new one from Emmi), please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show! ADDITIONAL NOTE: The time for Hugo nominations is upon us and rapidly passing, and we’re pleased to see that Speculate has made several long lists for Best Fancast.  We would dearly love to see the show get nominated for that honor this year, and so we wanted to remind all of our loyal listeners that if you have enjoyed what we do over the years and are so inclined, we would welcome your support. If you’re a member of last year’s, this year’s, or next year’s Worldcon, you’re eligible to nominate, and can do so here—but only before the end of the day on Thursday, March 31st.  So please go and nominate now, and if we’re on your list under the Best Fancast category, we would be most grateful!

Welcome to Episode 156 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we chat a bit about upcoming work before beginning our second triptych of 2016 with our reader response to Emmi Itaranta‘s Memory of Water, a quiet and beautiful book about a dystopian future where water has become an increasingly scarce resource–and those who control the water control the power.  We talk about the gorgeous prose style and its similarities to the water which dominates the narrative of the book, the push for social and environmental change reflected in the work, the rather unusual protagonist at the center of the tale, and other aspects which really interested us.  We definitely enjoyed this book, despite the darkness of its setting, and we’re looking forward to examining it in even more detail over the coming weeks.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll chat with Emmi Itaranta herself about the book.  And if you haven’t already, please check out our Patreon and consider becoming a patron so you can get access to even more content and we can continue to develop and expand the show in fascinating and productive ways.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show! ADDITIONAL NOTE: The time for Hugo nominations is upon us, and we’re pleased to see that Speculate has made several long lists for Best Fancast.  We would dearly love to see the show get nominated for that honor this year, and so we wanted to remind all of our loyal listeners that if you have enjoyed what we do over the years and are so inclined, we would welcome your support. If you’re a member of last year’s, this year’s, or next year’s Worldcon, you’re eligible to nominate, and can do so here—but only before the end of the day on Thursday, March 31st.  So please go and nominate now, and if we’re on your list under the Best Fancast category, we would be most grateful!  

   Welcome to Episode 155 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode, our first ever joint production of Speculate and Greg’s Twitch channel (under the moniker Arvan Eleron), we chat with veteran computer game developers and writers Colin McComb and George Ziets, from inXile Entertainment, about their upcoming computer game Torment: Tides of Numenera. Although our show remains focused on writing, story, and narrative, there are many games which are beginning to focus on those elements, and Torment (the spiritual successor to the phenomenal Planescape: Torment) is in the vanguard of that movement, emphasizing story above combat and many other RPG standards.  We talk about that with Colin and George, along with many other aspects of game design as it applies to a world as bizarre and wide-ranging as Monte Cook‘s Numenera, all while Greg plays through an early build of the game on stream.  This was a wonderful experience, and we’re looking forward to doing a few more of these joint shows in the future.  If you’d like to see the video version of this, head to Greg’s Twitch YouTube channel, and if you liked what you saw and heard, don’t forget to check back in a few weeks when we’ll have one more Torment related show with several other guests.  And make sure to stop by for our new triptych of shows coming soon on Emmi Itaranta‘s Memory of Water!  If you haven’t done so already, please consider supporting our Patreon, where you can get even more content from Speculate every month.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

      Welcome to Episode 154 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode, part of our Paths to Publication series, we chat with two veterans of speculative fiction who have seen the industry from many different perspectives over the years: Aaron Rosenberg and Lawrence Schoen.  We look at the differences between small and larger presses, what’s involved with media tie-in work and the crossover potential between that work and original fiction, writing for games as opposed to writing literature, and many other topics, and in general we found this to be a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion.  If you enjoyed it as we did, don’t forget to check back soon for a conversation recorded live with some authors at the Farpoint convention in Baltimore, another triptych, and a couple of brand-new live recording events the details of which we can’t wait to share…and if you haven’t done so already, please consider supporting our Patreon, where you can get even more content from Speculate every month.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon page, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!

Welcome to Episode 152 of Speculate! The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans.  In this episode we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Katherine Addison, focusing on her novel The Goblin Emperor, as we talk to the author herself (real name Sarah Monette).  Among many topics, Sarah talks about her academic background, her engagement with fans on and offline, the nature of social change in her fantastic world, and what inspires her about her characters–and why she thinks an alternative to grimdark fiction can be a reasonable approach, at least once in a while!  We really enjoyed this chat about a really intriguing book, and we hope you find it as interesting as we did.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for our final show of the triptych as we look at some of the writing techniques used in the novel–and if you’d like access to that show and our Good, Bad, and Ugly segments (including a new one from Sarah), please head to our Patreon page and support us at the $5 or higher level.  Thanks for supporting us here and via our Patreon, and thanks as always for listening to and spreading the word about the show!