Travis interviews author Gabriela Houston about her debut novel, The Second Bell. This standalone fantasy novel from Angry Robot follows a young striga fighting to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her. Gabriela and Travis discuss Slavic folklore, the portrayal of women in fantasy, and how to make time for writing when time for yourself is hard to come by. Want us to read your message on the podcast? Find out more here. About Gabriela...

I (Travis) am going to be a dad in September and have been thinking on how to restructure the podcast given my soon-to-be nonexistent free time. With that in mind, the podcast will be moving back to our original bi-weekly schedule, with new episodes releasing every other Tuesday. We're also restructuring our Patreon tiers and goals. The podcast has been a great distraction from the pandemic and my enthusiasm for it has led to us already achieving several of our audio quality goals, so we...

We love talking about books, and it makes our week to hear someone picked up a book based on us promoting it. So how do we promote books? Which methods and mediums are the most effective? The Inn attempts to lay out their thoughts on promoting books. Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or purchasing an ad? Find out more here. What We're Reading: Sara: The Unbroken by C.L. Clark The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Tam: Rhythm of War by...

It's time for our second bonus episode! This time, we asked authors to share some of their favorite stories from conventions they've attended. There's everything from meeting your heroes to accidentally taking part in a very different sort of con. Thank you so much to all of our Patrons, who make running this podcast possible. In addition to this bonus episode, we'll now be hosting quarterly book giveaways on social media, so keep an eye on our Twitter for some free books! Interested in...

Travis interviews author Elizabeth Knox about their latest fantasy novel, The Absolute Book. This bewitching epic fantasy from Penguin Michael Joseph is about a revenge killing, a mysterious scroll box that has survived centuries of fires, and the book that changed everything. Elizabeth and Travis discuss the unlikely origin story for the Absolute Book, her contribution to the mythology of Purgatory, and the future of The Vintner's Luck series. Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or...

Travis interviews author C. L. Clark about their debut fantasy novel, The Unbroken. In this epic fantasy from Orbit Books, two women clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire. Cherae and Travis discuss post-colonial war narratives, editing audio short stories for PodCastle, and of course, the secret behind Touraine's killer biceps. Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or purchasing an ad? Find out more...

Travis interviews author E. J. Beaton about her debut fantasy novel, The Councillor. This Machiavellian fantasy from DAW Books follows a scholar’s quest to choose the next ruler of her nation amidst lies, conspiracy, and assassination. E. J. and Travis discuss building character through fight scenes, the difficulty in removing the patriarchal elements of society, and that amazing yet underrepresented fantasy creature: the chimera. Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or purchasing an...

This week we're joined by podcasters Elena Fernández Collins and Wil Williams. Between the two of them, they wear the hats of podcast critic, host, line editor, voice actor, sound designer, and more. They've helped shape the state of modern podcasting and are continuing to shape its future. They share their thoughts on the current state of fiction podcasting, the direction in which its heading, and the important conversations we all should be having about this developing medium. Interested...

Travis interviews author Sarah Gailey about their latest book, The Echo Wife. This standalone thriller from Tor Books features a brilliant scientist who catches her husband having an affair with her clone after stealing her research. Sarah and Travis discuss the wonders of vine ripened tomatoes, pushing back against narrative ableism, and how our identities are defined by the people around us. This episode was sponsored by SYGNAL. The varied texts of SYGNYL have at times been lost, found,...

Travis interviews author T. Frohock about her latest book from Harper Voyager, A Song With Teeth. It's the third novel in the Los Nefilim series, which follows the half-angel Nefilim through the political strife of the Spanish Civil War and World War 2. Teresa and Travis discuss the women spies of World War 2, the Nazi attempt to create super soldiers with methamphetamine, and the struggle to research historical fascism in a world that uncomfortably mirrors the past. About T. Frohock: T....

Dan and Luke from the Don't Call it a Book Club podcast join Travis to discuss Zen Cho's novella, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. We'd love to say we had a deeply intellectual conversation, but then again, that's why we don't call it a book club. Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or purchasing an ad? Find out more here. Find Don't Call it a Book Club Online: Website Twitter Reddit Facebook Find Us Online: Blog Discord Twitter Instagram Support Us: Become a...

This week the hosts of A Fictional Conversation join Travis to discuss the 1985 film Legend. This episode covers full spoilers! Interested in sponsoring a podcast episode or purchasing an ad? Find out more here. Find Bobby Online: Twitter Find Daniel Greene Online: YouTube Channel Twitter Discord Server Find Us Online: Blog Discord Twitter Instagram Support Us: Become a Patron Buy Us a Coffee Music: Intro: "The Legend of Iya" courtesy of https://philter.no Outro: "A Quest...

Editors play a crucial role in creating the books we love. They acquire books for publishers and help authors polish their manuscripts into the wonderful stories we pick off the shelves. And that's far from all they do. Joining us this week are Diana Pho (Story Producer at SerialBox) and Nivia Evans (editor at Orbit Books). They explain the ins and outs of editing, offer advice to writers, and predict where the future of the speculative industry is heading. Find Diana Pho...

Travis interviews science fiction author Mike Chen about his latest book from MIRA books, We Could Be Heroes. It's a standalone story where a superhero and supervillain accidentally meet in the same support group and decide to become friends, and it's every bit as lovely as that sounds. Mike and Travis discuss how to make the most of the Save the Cat plotting method, tricks to writing compelling and natural dialogue, and the thrill of writing an official Star Wars story. Listen to the audio...

Travis interviews authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms about their latest book from Orbit Books, The Mask of Mirrors. Marie and Alyc are writing the Rook & Rose trilogy under the joint name M.A. Carrick, and their masterful worldbuilding shines through in this story of con artists, nobles, and vigilantes. The discussion takes a deep dive into worldbuilding, touches on tabletop games that spiral out of control, and just might feature some truly terrible accents. Things Mentioned: A...

After at least a decade, 2020 is over! With a little luck, 2021 will be a better and brighter year for all of us. If nothing else, there are certainly a lot of great books to look forward to! The Inn attempts to narrow down the dozens of books they're excited about for 2021, as well as set some reading goals for the upcoming year. What We're Reading: Sara: Squire Archie's Rectory Christmas by Harper Fox Jenia: Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge Kop: Vaseline Buddha by Jung Young Moon,...

`Tis the season... for Best Of lists! We'll be posting a separate blog post for our collective favorite reads of the year later, but for now we have Sara, Jenia, and Travis sharing their favorites with you here. To get the standard disclaimers out of the way, these are simply the books we read during 2020 that we enjoyed the most. We don't pretend this list is objective or comprehensive in any way. After all, what list is? What We're Reading: Trav: We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen Jen: The...

Travis interviews actor and podcaster Jordan Cobb about her newest audio fiction show, Primordial Deep from No Such Thing Productions. The show's tagline is "There's no such thing as extinct" and follows a crew as they descend to the depths of the ocean floor to research the sudden reappearance of prehistoric creatures. Jordan and Travis discuss the differences in performing on stage and behind a mic, making the most of creative burnout, and adorable prehistoric monsters. About Jordan...

Travis interviews fantasy author Sam Hawke about her latest book, Hollow Empire, out now from Tor Books. This concludes the Poison War duology, which stands out for its mystery elements, political intrigue, and optimism toward humanity. Plus, poison. So much poison. Sam and Travis discuss her contractual obligation to bring her fellow lawyers cake, the difficulty of rewriting an entire book from scratch, and the pure joy that comes with poisoning your friends. About Sam Hawke: Sam...

Travis interviews podcaster and author Jonathan Sims about his debut novel, Thirteen Storeys from Gollancz. The book follows the tenants of a haunted building who are invited to a dinner party with the billionaire who lives in the penthouse on the top floor. At the end of the party, the host is dead... and none of the guests will say what happened. Jonny and Travis discuss how horror writers evoke fear, how societal fears change over time, and his future career in horror. About Jonathan...

This year has seen an explosion of online science fiction and fantasy conventions. Existing conventions were forced to switch to a virtual format, new conventions were formed, and fringe programming provided content for those of us unable to attend conventions. While most of this was out of necessity (thanks, 2020), these online events will likely stay around for the foreseeable future. Since this is an area that hasn't been around long enough to have widely implemented standards, now is the...

Travis interviews author V.E. Schwab about her latest book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue from Tor Books. The book follows the story of an immortal woman cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets as she attempts to leave her mark on the world. Victoria and Travis discuss the time she was arrested for hitchhiking in France, the behind the scenes details of the Addie LaRue film, and holding onto defiant joy in the year that is 2020. About V.E. Schwab: VICTORIA “V.E.” SCHWAB is the...

Travis interviews fantasy author Anna Stephens about The Stone Knife, the first book in The Songs of the Drowned trilogy from Harper Voyager. It's set in a Central American inspired jungle world where a magical empire is attempting to conquer its neighboring tribes, who happen to be a bit busy fighting the reptilian siren monsters lurking in the water. Anna and Travis discuss dealing with imposter syndrome, historical Italian longsword fighting, and why grimdark fantasy books should never be...

Travis interviews author and sound designer Essa Hansen about Nophek Gloss, her debut space opera from Orbit Books. It has a bit of everything: an epic quest for revenge, a vast multiverse full of alien creatures, and a wholesome crew that becomes a found family. Essa and Travis discuss sound designing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, how to write found families, and the process of creating a bubble multiverse that bends the laws of physics. About Essa Hansen: Essa Hansen grew up in...

Travis interviews author Christopher Paolini about To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, the first Fractalverse novel from Tor Books. Paolini's debut science fiction novel is a massive standalone space opera following a xenobiologist. It has first contact gone wrong, meticulously researched faster than light travel, and an epic adventure across the universe. Christopher and Travis discuss the secret Eldest film that almost was, what readers can expect for the future of the Fractalverse, and perhaps...