S&L Podcast - #265 - Zombies and LARPers: The Nerdist Inkshares Winners!

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We talk with Dave Barrett, author of Inkshares book It's All Fun and Games and Zac Linville author of Inkshares book Welcome to Deadland. One has zombie-like inhabitants based on theme park patrons and the other finds a LARP outing becoming all too real. 

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.

You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.

Download directly here!

 

S&L Podcast - #252 - Andrew Mayne’s Magical Writing Secrets

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Magician and TV star Andrew Mayne has managed to become a successful published author. How? Not magic. Well some magic. But magic isn’t required. Plus Tom loves his latest novel Station Breaker.

Download directly here!

Wordfire Press Humble Bundle to raise money for the SFF Writers emergency fund and Challenger Center for science education.

S&L Podcast - #249 - Secrets of All the Birds in the Sky w/ Charlie Jane Anders

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We’re joined by Charlie Jane Anders to wrap up her book, All the Birds in the Sky. Did you know Kevin has a secret history? What anime inspired Ernesto? These things, as well as all the winners of all the awards on this episode.

Download episode here!
    
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Irish Car Fuse (Carolan's Creme and Jameson's)    
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye    
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Ramez Naam's Apex Is The Winner Of The Philip K. Dick Award  
Reminder: Hugo Award Nominations Close March 31st
WINNERS: 2015 Aurealis Awards    
WINNERS: 2016 Ditmar Awards
WINNERS: 2015 BSFA Awards
    
Louie: Andy Weir wrote fan fiction* for Ready Player One, and it is now canon. You can read "Lacero" here. Although, spoilers for Ready Player One.   

Joanna: The Warrior's Apprentice is being reprinted for its 30th anniversary. It came out June of 1986, which means that if you count from publish date, I'm only a week or so older. Considering that it's still my favorite all-time scifi series, this makes me happy. 
    
This episode of Sword and Laser is brought to you by Scott Sigler and his new book ALIGHT, Book II of the Generations Trilogy. Listen to an excerpt of ALIVE, the first book in the series, and watch the book trailer!


BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
BIG thanks to everybody who voted in the march madness tournament!    
    
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab    
We'll kick them off in two weeks OR if you pledge $5 an episode at patreon.com/swordandlaser you can get the book briefing right now. 
    
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

ADDENDUMS

Tom has a book on Inkshares called Pilot X!    
    
Our show is made possible by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser    
    
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks    
    

S&L Podcast - #244 - It's OK to Like Junk Fiction Sometimes

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Sometimes some people just want a story you can take your brain off and enjoy. If that's not you, keep your rain off my cotton candy. Also an awesome new effort to Kickstart an Ursula K. Leguin documentary and more great books becoming TV shows!

Download directly here!

QUICK BURNS

Paul: Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, author of "A Darker Shade of Magic" and the upcoming "Gathering of Shadows", among others, has announced that the TV rights for her "A Darker Shade of Magic" series have been acquired and she will be writing the pilot for it.

Stephen: Are you having a hard time keeping up with Hugo nominations as regards to Novelettes, short stories and the like, like me ? The good folks at Rocket stack rank have listed those they feel are the most worthy.

Tamahome: The Women Who Helped Revive Doctor Who Are Making a New Fantasy Show based on Deborah Harkness's books.

Aaron: There is a documentary of Ursula K. Le Guin's life on Kickstarter. 25 days left and already well above their target funds.

Sandra: Syfy announces that The Magicians will be renewed for a second season.

Trike: Bryan Fuller named showrunner of the new Star Trek TV series.

Rob: The script for the new Harry Potter plays will be released in book form.

BARE YOUR SWORD

Audible virgin looking for help

BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION

Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

SoS: Why I like reading Junk Fiction (like SoS)

Special BONUS! Interview with James SA Cory from the "It's Spoilerin Time" show at cordkillers.com

ADDENDUMS

We'll be interviewing the first two authors in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection coming out soon

Questions for J-F Dubeau author of The Life Engineered

Questions for Jim McDoniel author of An Unattractive Vampire

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.

You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.

S&L Podcast - #241 - A.I. Animal Flesh Carvers

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We talk to three of the leaders in the Inkshares Sword and Laser collection contest. From animal people to lonely AI to epic flesh carvers have they got some stories for you!

Download directly here!

Joseph Asphahani, The Animal in Man    
An artifact of immense power puts Maxan in the middle of a secret war between mighty guilds. To overcome the resourceful and sinister masters who would use him, use everyone, as puppets, he must decide which nature defines him. Animal, or man?
    
Matt Sobin, The Last Machine in the Solar System    
The story of The Last Machine in the Solar System is about a robotic artificial intelligence that has outlived human civilization by multiple billions of years. The machine has had an incomprehensible length of time to consider the demise of man and his own existence.
    
Craig Munro, The Bones of the Past
Life twisting magic, demonic possession and immortals who have outlived many of the gods themselves come together in this epic fantasy inspired by the likes of Glen Cook and Steven Erikson.
    
Go order a book at the Inksahres contest!
    
ADDENDUMS    
    
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.
    
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.   
 

 

S&L Podcast - #237 - Charles E. Gannon and Big Idea Books

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Author Chuck Gannon joins us on the show this week to talk about his most recent work in the Caine Riordan series (Raising Caine), as well as helping the government figure out the future as part of SIGMA. This is one busy guy, let me tell you.

Download direct link here and subscribe in iTunes!

S&L Podcast - #235 - The Practical Effects of Mallory O'Meara

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We interview Mallory O'Meara, producer and screenwriter for Dark Dunes Productions, about Yamasong: March of the Hallows, a movie about an automated girl and tortoise warrior, with puppets, Nathon Fillion’s voice and more. We also discuss her love of horror fiction, and how weird it is that her grandparents have a torture shack in the woods!

Download directly here!

S&L Podcast - #231 - Can an Author Spoil Herself?

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We have a delightful conversation with Catherynne M. Valente about decopunk, book awards, and why she fears spoiling herself about her own stories while she’s writing them.

Her decopunk book Radiance is out now!

Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.

You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks/. Download this episode directly here!

S&L Podcast - #227 - Cherie Priest and the Caverns of Inspiration

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This weekend at DragonCon 2015 in Atlanta, we had the great fortune of chatting with Cherie Priest for an hour in front a live audience of Sword & Laser enthusiasts! Listen in to hear Cherie's rise from goth to glorious, the proper way to distinguish steampunk from goth, and why Lizzie Borden is not who you thought.

Then go buy her books!
Download direct show file here.

S&L Podcast - #225 - Why You Should Welcome the Robots

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We chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered about why we should keep calm and build more robots. Also the good news of more Game of Thrones coming to TV thrilled the live audience at Nerdtacular 2015 as did our surprise host-swap! And thanks to Matt Avery of The Tadpool for the album art inspiration, and Greg Skinner for the original photo!

Recorded before a live studio of nerds, and thanks to Jeff Cannata of We Have Concerns for joining in! Download link here.

QUICK BURNS
    
Sandra: Game of Thrones news HBO Planning Eight seasons now, and maybe a prequel season?   
    
Paul:    Didn't want to start a whole thread for this but I took my wife to 
Barnes and Noble for fan girl Friday and they were giving away free 
copies of Drive...the Expanse prequel short story to advertise the 
upcoming TV show. If your interested its worth it to add to your collection check if they have it at your local store.
 
Interview     
J-F Dubeau author of Life Engineered      
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Next Month: Uprooted by Naomi Novik    
Uprooted by Naomi Novik official site
 

S&L Podcast - #218 - Why There's No Such Thing as Writer's Block

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Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series The Vault of Heaven, get the scoop on his all-time favorite music, and hear why Peter believes there is no such thing as writer's block.

Download direct link here!

Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series The Vault of Heaven, get the scoop on his all-time favorite music, and hear why Peter believes there is no such thing as writer's block.

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S&L Podcast - #214 - Discworld's Inner Rage

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Rucksack Universe Author and Pratchett Enthusiast, Anthony St. Clair joins us to wrap up our reading of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters. Is Granny Weatherwax a conduit for Pratchett's righteous anger? Does Tom live next to Nanny Ogg? All these mysteries and more revealed.

Download directly here!

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: The Dalmore 12 year old    
Veronica: Bulleit Bourbon   
Anthony: A delicious coffee stout of some description.
    
QUICK BURNS
    
Joanna:  It looks like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is going to come out soon. 7-part miniseries     

Clyde: A passage which was cut from A Wrinkle in Time has been found by Madeleine L'Engle's granddaughter and published by the Wall Street Journal.    
    
Tamahome: Don't know if you covered the Arthur C. Clarke award nominees. It's a juried award, different from the Hugo's, and different from Arthur C. Clarke novels as well.    
    
Dara: Gollancz acquires sequel to Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s A Meeting with Medusa, written by Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter
    
Dara: Cover reveal for Charlie Jane Anders's debut novel All the Birds in the Sky was posted on Tor. Coming Feb. 2, 2016
    
Sky: Mark Lawrence (Empire of Thorns, Red Queen's War) has a new 3 book deal from Harper Collins for "Red Sister", this one featuring a female protagonist.
    
BARE YOUR SWORD
    
Hi Tom and Veronica,    
    
Just wanted to drop a note quick and say that Tom I immediately thought oh man this is like Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy for fantasy too as I got into this book. It really has that same vibe and I also had no idea Pratchett's work was like that. Fun stuff.    
    
Also I am listening to the audio version and it appears to be an older recording so I could see why that has put some off but I am kind of enjoying the old school vibe.    
    
Thanks,    
Drew R. 
    
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION    
    
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett   
Study guide
io9 Guide to Discworld    
      
Next month: Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett - discussion on how to obtain it in Goodreads.   
Audiobook
Used copies    
EBook (Under the name Sea-Kings of Mars)    
Wikipedia article    

ADDENDUMS    
    
 Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser    
    
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks    

S&L Podcast - #207 - Crowdfunding an Abomination with Gary Whitta!

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Gary Whitta is an award-winning screenwriter who wrote The Book of Eli and worked on the first Star Wars standalone film. So when he had an idea for a dark historical fantasy story he wrote a book. Why? We ask him that, about successfully crowdfunding his novel, and much more on this episode! 

Direct download here!

Oh, and yes. We ask him about Star Wars too.