The Worldshapers: interviewing science fiction & fantasy authors

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022

Episode 116: Lawrence M. Schoen

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long chat with Lawrence M. Schoen, Hugo- and Nebula-nominated author of the Barsk series and much more, and founder of the Klingon Language Institute.

Website
www.lawrencemschoen.com

Facebook
@lawrencemschoen
The InstituSchoen (public group)

Twitter
@kllingonguy

YouTube
@klingonguy

Lawrence M. Schoen’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. He spent ten years as a college professor, doing research in the areas of human memory and language. This was followed by seventeen years as the director of research for a medical center in Philadelphia that provided mental health and addiction services.

He’s also the founder of the Klingon Language Institute, and since 1992 has championed the exploration and use of this constructed tongue throughout the world. In addition, he works occasionally as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. And, too, he is a cancer survivor.

In 2007, he was a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. He received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story in 2010 and Nebula Award nominations for Best Novella in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018, for Best Novelette in 2019, and for Best Novel in 2016.

Some of his most popular writing deals with the ongoing humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist named the Amazing Conroy and his companion animal, Reggie, an alien buffalito that can eat anything and farts oxygen.

His Barsk series represents his more serious work and uses anthropomorphic SF to explore ideas of prophecy, intolerance, political betrayal, speaking to the dead, predestination, and free will. It’s also earned him the Cóyotl Award for Best Novel of 2015, and again in 2018.

Lawrence lives near Philadelphia with his wife, Valerie, who is neither a psychologist nor a Klingon speaker.

A small selection of books by Lawrence M. Schoen.

August 13, 2022August 13, 2022

Episode 115: Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

A one-hour chat with Dawn Greenfield Ireland, award-winning author of novels, nonfiction books, and screenplays, running the gamut from science fiction and fantasy to cozy mysteries.

Website
dawngreenfieldireland.com

Facebook
@dawn.ireland.18

Twitter
@dawnireland

Instagram
@dawngreenfieldireland

Dawn Greenfield Ireland’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

Dawn Greenfield Ireland is the award-winning author of novels, nonfiction books, and screenplays. She has twenty-four published books consisting of five series (cozy mystery, sci fi/fantasy, billionaire shapeshifters, and dystopian), and a stand-alone sci-fi romantic adventure story

Her former day job as an award-winning technical writer played a major role in her fiction writing. She is detailed-oriented, the organizational queen of the known universe, and never misses a deadline. Dawn has a certificate from the Professional Program in Screenwriting from UCLA.

July 24, 2022July 24, 2022

Episode 114: Honor Raconteur

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long chat with Honor Raconteur, author of multiple series, mostly in the fantasy genre, including The Case Files of Henri Davenport, the Advent Mage series, the Ancient Magicks series, and more. Her latest novel is Rise of the Catalyst.

Website
www.honorraconteur.com

Facebook
@hraconteur

Honor Raconteur’s Amazon Page

Ever since Honor Raconteur was a toddler, she has been making up stories. She would entertain anyone willing to listen to her wild fantasies about unicorns and gargoyles and amazing people. At 13, she started writing the stories down. At 23, she finished the first book that was good enough to publish.

She put Jaunten out as an ebook, created a website and forum so that fans could communicate with her, and spread the word as best she could. Within three months, Jaunten was selling internationally. Within five months, Honor was making enough to quit the day job and sit at home, writing full time.

Honor has continued to write and publish the rest of her books through Raconteur House. When she’s not writing or editing, Honor likes to go out into the community and give presentations of how to be an author. Even if Honor abruptly stopped selling books tomorrow, she would still continue to write. Creating characters and worlds is that much fun.

July 10, 2022July 10, 2022

Episode 113: Holly Black

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long conversation with New York Times bestselling fantasy author Holly Black about her creative process, with a focus on her first adult novel, BOOK OF NIGHT (Tor Books).

Website
www.blackholly.com

Facebook
@HollyBlackFan

Instagram
@Blackholly

Twitter
@hollyblack

Holly Black’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Novels of Elfhame, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and her adult debut, Book of Night.

She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

June 17, 2022July 10, 2022

Episode 112: R. S. Mellette

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long chat with R.S. Mellette, author of the Billy Bobble middle-grade science fiction novels and the new YA science fiction novel Kiya and the Morian Treasure, and writer of the first web-to-television intellectual property, “The Xena Scrolls,” for Universal Studio’s Xena: Warrior Princess.

Website
rsmellette.com

Facebook
@MelletteRS

Twitter
@RSMellette

R.S. Mellette’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

R.S. Mellette, originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, now lives in San Clemente, California, where he toils away at turning his imaginary friends into real ones. While working on Xena: Warrior Princess, he created and wrote “The Xena Scrolls” for Universal’s New Media department and was part of the team that won a Golden Reel Award for ADR editing. When an episode aired based on his “Xena Scrolls’” characters, it became the first intellectual property to move from the internet to television.

Mellette has worked and blogged for the film festival Dances With Films as well as the novelist collective, From The Write Angle, and he is on the board of the L.A. region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators.

June 6, 2022June 6, 2022

Episode 111: Jean-Louis Trudel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-plus conversation with Jean-Louis Trudel, author of twenty-nine books in French for both young adults and adults, more than a hundred short stories in French and English, and one-half with Yves Meynard of the nom de plume Laurent McAllister.

Blog
culturedesfuturs.blogspot.com

Facebook
@jeanlouis.trudel.3

Jean Louis Trudel’s Books on Goodreads

The Introduction

Jean-Louis Trudel is the author of twenty-nine books in French for both adults and young adults, as well as a history of science fiction in Quebec (among other works of science fiction criticism). He is also the author of more than a hundred short stories in French published in magazines such as imagine… and Solaris, as well as in Canadian, French, and Belgian anthologies. He has collaborated with Canadian writer Yves Meynard on several stories, in French and in English, writing under the pen name Laurent McAllister.

In English, he is the author of short stories published in multiple anthologies and magazines, including Asimov’s and ON SPEC. A few more stories have appeared in English translation. Finally, he is the author of a handful of poems, most recently “Summer Encroaching, Winter Yielding”, a 2022 Rhysling Award nominee.

He’s also translated, into French, stories by Canadian author John Park and, into English, stories by French author Jean-Claude Dunyach, among others. He was the translator, from the French, of the novel The Dragon’s Eye (Tor, 1999) by Joël Champetier. His translations into French of the young adult novels of Monica Hughes’ Isis Trilogy came out in 2002 and 2003.

Jean-Louis Trudel has been an Aurora Award finalist and winner many times since 1992, a Prix Boréal finalist and winner more than once since 1994, and one of the three finalists in 1994, 1995, 1999, and 2001 for the Grand Prix de la Science-Fiction et du Fantastique québécois, winning in 2001. In 1996, he was among the finalists for Ontario’s Trillium Book Award in the French-language category. His stories have been translated into English, French, Russian, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, and Romanian. He has organized or helped organize science fiction conventions and festivals including Boréal and the World Science Fiction Convention.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Ottawa, a master’s degree in astronomy at the University of Toronto, a second master’s degree in history and philosophy of science and technology at the University of Toronto, and a doctorate in history from the Université du Québec à Montréal. He has taught in five different universities.

May 15, 2022May 15, 2022

Episode 110: David Boop

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-plus chat with author, editor, screenwriter, and award-winning essayist David Boop.

.Websites
davidboop.com
longshot-productions.net

Facebook
@dboop.updates

Twitter
@david-boop

David Boop’s Amazon Page

David Boop is a Denver-based speculative fiction author and editor. He’s also an award-winning essayist and screenwriter. Before turning to fiction, David worked as a DJ, film critic, journalist, and actor. As Editor-in-Chief at IntraDenver.net, David’s team was on the ground at Columbine, making them the only internet newspaper to cover the tragedy. That year, they won an award for excellence from the Colorado Press Association for their design and coverage.

David’s debut novel is the sci-fi/noir She Murdered Me with Science from WordFire Press. A second novel, The Soul Changers, is a serialized Victorian Horror novel set in Pinnacle Entertainment’s world of Rippers Resurrected.

David was editor on the bestselling and award-nominated weird western anthology series, Straight Outta Tombstone, Straight Outta Deadwood, and Straight Outta Dodge City, for Baen. He’s currently working on a trio of Space Western anthologies for Baen starting with Gunfight on Europa Station.

David is prolific in short fiction, with many short stories and two short films to his credit. He’s published across several genres, including media tie-ins for Predator (nominated for the 2018 Scribe Award), The Green Hornet, The Black Bat and Veronica Mars.

Additionally, he does a flash fiction mystery series on Gumshoereview.com called The Trace Walker Temporary Mysteries (the first collection is available now.) He does a quarterly comic strip about a new author’s experiences with Sign Here, Please, and runs an author-themed t-shirt shop called Author-Centric Designs by Longshot Productions.

David works in game design, as well. He’s written for the Savage Worlds RPG for their Flash Gordon (nominated for an Origins Award) and Deadlands: Noir titles.

He’s a Summa Cum Laude Graduate from UC-Denver in the Creative Writing program. He temps, collects Funko Pops, and is a believer. His hobbies include film noir, anime, the Blues and History.

May 3, 2022July 10, 2022

Episode 109: James Van Pelt

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long chat with award-winning science fiction and fantasy short-story writer and novelist James Van Pelt.

Website
www.jamesvanpelt.com

Facebook
@james.vanpelt.14

James Van Pelt’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

James Van Pelt is a former high school English teacher who is now a full-time science fiction, fantasy and horror writer (among other things). His short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Asimov’s, Analog, Talebones, Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, and others. He has eight books out, including six short story collections, Strangers and Beggars, The Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories, The Radio Magician and Other Stories, Flying in the Heart of the Lafayette Escadrille, The Experience Arcade, and The Best of James Van Pelt. His two novels are Summer of the Apocalypse and Pandora’s Gun.

He has been a Nebula finalist and a John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer finalist and has been nominated for Pushcart prizes. His first collection was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and his last collection won the Colorado Book Award. Many of his short stories have appeared in various Year’s Best collections.

April 17, 2022April 17, 2022

Episode 108: Roy M. Griffis

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour-long conversation with award-winning writer Roy M. Griffis, author of historical, alternate-history, and the humorous Cthulhu, Amalgmated fantasy cycle, as well as poetry, plays, and screenplays.

Website
www.roymgriffis.com

Facebook

Roy M. Griffis’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

Roy “Griff” Griffis calls himself a “Storyteller” for a lot of reasons.

He decided to be a writer when he was ten and never looked back. Along the way, he’s done all the usual starving artist jobs (janitor, waiter, bookstore clerk) and a few unusual ones (he was the 62^nd Aviation Rescue Swimmer in the US Coast Guard––he doesn’t just write action-adventure, he lived a little of it himself).

He’s written poetry, plays, and screenplays. He’s also the author of twelve novels, including the epic historical fiction saga By the Hands of Men and the alternative history series The Lonesome George Chronicles, as well as the comic fantasy Cthulhu, Amalgamated cycle. In 2018 he received the first The John Milius Screenwriting Award for his original film script Cold Day in Hell.

April 3, 2022April 3, 2022

Episode 107: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

An hour’s chat with New York Times #1 and internationally bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of numerous popular series, with more than 70 million books in print worldwide.

Website
sherrilynkenyon.com

Facebook
@MySherrilyn

YouTube
@DarkHunterSeries

Twitter
@mysherrilyn

Pinterest
@sherrilynkenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Amazon Page

The Introduction

Defying all odds is what #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn McQueen writing as Sherrilyn Kenyon does best. Rising from extreme poverty as a child that culminated in being a homeless mother with an infant, she has become one of the most popular and influential authors in the world (in both adult and YA fiction), with dedicated legions of fans known as Paladins–thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her numerous genre-defying series.

Since her first book debuted while she was still in college, she has placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats and genres, including manga and graphic novels, and has more than 70 million books in print worldwide. Her current series include: Dark-Hunters®, Chronicles of Nick®, Deadman’s Cross™, Eve of Destruction™, Nevermore™, Lords of Avalon® and The League®.

Over the years, her Lords of Avalon® novels have been adapted by Marvel, and her Dark-Hunters® and Chronicles of Nick® are New York Times bestselling manga and comics and are #1 bestselling adult coloring books.

A Small Sampling of Covers