Tag: podcast

A Plethora of Podcasts

July 9, 2021 / fionagreywrites

There’s been a ridiculous amount of things going on, so I ran off with the bison herd for a while. Ever had a buffalo try to stick her head in your car?

What I’m Writing:

I’m working on several things, including book two of Peter and June’s story, Paladin’s Legacy.

I’m hopping through time with these two, as I’m also writing the story of their wedding. Spoiler: Bridezilla is not the creature to fear.
And, of course, Summer Solstice Shenanigans is live! Obviously I’m biased, but I haven’t found a tale I didn’t enjoy yet. If you haven’t yet, check out my short story in the Professor Porter universe, The Fire Crown.
I did, however, accidentally skip the writing prompt last week, because I forgot what day it was. Will the brain provide a twofer? We’ll find out soon.

What I’m Reading:

I’m reviewing/editing a friend’s very cool story about Alice’s granddaughter…yes, that Alice, with the grinning cat! It’s a highly creative and entertaining take on a familiar world with a number of twists. I can’t wait for her to publish it, and I’ll keep you posted.
Summer Solstice Seduction. This is the paranormal romance sister to the urban fantasy anthology I’m in and linked to above. Can you shiver and steam at the same time? Because you definitely will.

What I’m talking about: It’s a plethora of podcasts!

I swear I’m not drunk – I had to travel for work and was exhausted. I only realized after a lot of sleep just how incoherent I had been…but hey, it’s probably funny, right? So entertain yourself and check this interview out. Thanks to Jamie Davis for the invite. He did a fantastic job keeping my rambling on track and making me sound less like a weirdo. Which I am, obviously.
You can do a comparison with my articulation skills just a day later in another interview here, this time with the military scifi author and veteran JR Handley. Thanks, JR!
Imagine what I’d sound like after even more sleep! …but who needs sleep?

What I’m making:

What the heck do you do with 25 pounds of peaches? Among everything you can think of and a whole lot more, you make peach streusel muffins. A delicious sweet counterpoint to dark, bitter coffee.

Limited Evil

March 20, 2021 / fionagreywrites

I’m not a huge podcast fan, because I can read far faster than I can write. More than a few minutes, and I stop paying attention and wander off in my head.

That means I really like Writing Excuses, because their tagline is “Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.”

Don’t let that scare you off. They add plenty to the conversation, in pithy, bite-sized chunks. Which happens to be the perfect amount of time for meal prep. So I’m working my way through the archives, stopping on whatever catches my attention.

Chicken pot pie lending itself to a longer prep time, yesterday I listened to a twofer on deliberate discomfort that was exceptionally thought provoking. It touched on sexism, racism, cultural adaptation to a new land, writing sex scenes, swearing, and the exceptionally uncomfortable experience of writing live while rabid fans watch with foaming – wait, that might not quite have been exactly as described.

Everyone has limits on what they’re comfortable reading. Some history books give me issues – World War II in particular, as it should. After a few memorable episodes, The Guy requested I refrain from binge-reading certain historical time periods. Might’ve been something about whacking him with a pillow at two AM. Might’ve been something about a sleepless wife being exceptionally grumpy.

I still read history regardless, just more slowly and interspersed with neural fluff and brain candy. Urban fantasy, space opera, and the occasional foray into romance buys the squishy wetware inside my skull additional processing time without getting caught in a synaptic downward spiral.

But then there’s being uncomfortable when writing, and the podcasts go into a number of different examples. Research and personal experiences can inform and add realism, but the vast majority of research on other topics doesn’t make it into a story. I’m not writing nonfiction here, so how much is too much before turning off readers?

There’s a book I started a couple years ago, inspired by nightmares and continued by TSA’s special brand of airport fun. When you have 15 hours of travel time, what else to do but start typing? I only work on this tale when I’m in an exceptionally bad mood.

In a moment of serious snark, I even subtitled this tale The Book of Torturing Characters for Fun and Potential Profit.

And that story may never make it into the light of day, because I can’t decide if it crosses a line or bares my soul more than I’m comfortable exposing to the world. Probably both. I put the protagonist through some serious hell, and she’s not the only one in that book.

This world has enough evil in it without adding to it. And yet – without those experiences, the characters are bland and boring, without depth or growth or development.

Looking back, I drew strength from characters in books as a kid, learning lessons from stories without having to experience full pain. There’s value in that, more than I’d ever imagined as a young reader. Stories told well can be a stepping stone to substitute for real experiences, or to have an expectation of what might happen before plunging blindly into the unknown.

As a writer, it’s about knowing your personal redlines, the story that needs to be told, and your characters. These particular characters won’t get to a happy ever after without first experiencing significant pain.

As for sharing it with the world, well. Maybe later.

Check out Writing Excuses‘ podcasts on deliberate discomfort here (part I) and here (part II).

In Which I Talk Funny and Say “Um” a Lot

January 23, 2021 / fionagreywrites

Podcast! Check it out here. Thanks to Joshua Bass of FinalxLegends Podcasts for the opportunity.

Also, here’s how to properly pronounce tsukumogami, because I got nervous and butchered it even after a lot of practice.

And if you’re so inclined, check out Paladin’s Sword and NEW short story Glitter.

Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.

New Release!

January 22, 2021 / fionagreywrites

Long story, but in talking about chainmail on the book of faces, I wound up doing a podcast. Kind of a rushed and surprised thing, definitely something new. I talked up More Odds Than Ends, too. I’ll post the podcast link when it’s done.

I also burrowed until I found the first Peter and June story, blew the dust off, and expanded it a touch. Definitely still a short story, but thought it’d go well together.

Plus, I got to play around with covers (thanks for the feedback, Becky and Jennie and Nik!). I don’t think I’ll ever be fantastic at them, but I was happy with this one.

Blurb for now: Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.