So I'm Writing a Novel...

Trailer

Sat, 05 Jun 2021 12:39:33 -0400

A brief intro to the host and concept of the show, So, I'm Writing a Novel...

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep1 So, I'm Writing a Novel...

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 13:38:43 -0400

Meet host Oliver Brackenbury as he introduces the podcast, himself, and the titular novel "Untitled Sword & Sorcery novel". He also discusses the genre of sword & sorcery, then shares his experience working with an editor on the short story which become the first chapter of the novel.

It can be lonely writing a novel, and Oliver would love some company. Maybe, through the podcast, you'll join him?

Want to see inside The Denim Notebook Oliver mentions, the one where he's outlining the novel? Check out this public blog post over on the show's Patreon!

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep2 My Protagonist

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver shares with you the path he took from being inspired by a famous painting, through to his creating the protagonist of "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Voe, roughly nine years later. He also answers a listener question about best practices when soliciting and receiving feedback on your work.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep3 Brainstorming Stories

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver discusses what a short story cycle is in novel form, his initial brainstorming of stories to include in his novel, and reclaiming dry or even dispiriting material from your school days as a source of pleasure later in life.

This episode's listener question comes off of episode two's discussion of protagonists, with Oliver answering in further detail how Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter inspired him, and why he's been drawn to write several protagonists birthed from that inspiration.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep4 Compare & Contrast: People of the Black Circle vs Conan the Buccaneer

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Concerned about just creating a shallow expression of the genre, and wanting to better understand what he likes about sword & sorcery before going further in outlining "Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel", Oliver compares and contrasts Robert E. Howard's The People of the Black Circle with Lin Carter & L. Sprague De Camp's Conan the Buccaneer to see what he can learn from it. You, dear listener, may wish to read the former (available for free online), but absolutely don't have to in order to enjoy this episode.

In the listener question segment Oliver speaks more about anxieties that have made writing difficult, and how he overcomes them (most of the time). At the absolute end of the episode, Oliver also reads his favourite scene from People.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep5 Outlining My Outline

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver discusses how, after the initial sugar rush of brainstorming for the novel, he stepped back to make several important decisions that would help keep him from getting lost while finishing the outline of the novel, as well as writing the dang novel itself! This involves choosing tense, perspective, primary POV, theme, all that good stuff, as well as discussion of having a healthy attitude toward writing advice, and your own ever-evolving approach to writing.

In the listener question segment he discusses when to call on the services of a story editor, and how he's found the ones he's worked with.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep6 The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode I share the essay I found that helped me envision the ending of the novel, an almost anti-sword & sorcery essay, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K Le Guin. First I read it to you (click here if you want to read it yourself), then get into how it helped me see the story I want to tell so much more clearly.

Then in the listener question segment I discuss how I discovered, and was drawn to work with, a remarkable speculative fiction archive, The Merril Collection. In this I promise some links, which are as follow:

The Merril Collection: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/merril/

The Merril Collection Digital Archive: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?Erp=20&N=38537+38532&view=grid

Friends of Merril: https://friendsofmerril.org

Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection podcast: https://unknownworlds.podbean.com

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep7 Rereading ”Voe”

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Okay, NOW I read to you the short story that birthed this novel writing project, "Voe". I'll also explain why I've waited this long, provide commentary on my decision-making while writing "Voe", and discuss how this episode marks an important point in the progress of both podcast & novel.

I will also reveal my greatest strength, which is also my greatest weakness.

In the listener question segment I'll discuss ways I've worked out which idea I want to write when I feel stuck between several, and get into the "Study the Market vs Write What You Want" debate.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep8 Language & Race in Speculative Fiction

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver gets into universal translators and "The Common Tongue", Robert Howard's prose, reads a few cool paragraphs by Howard and a handful of his S&S contemporaries, gets into writing while not being entirely aware of the precise terminology for the techniques you're using, our old friend racism, and doing your best to avoid the inherent potholes in representing large groups as separate species instead of simply humans with a different culture.

In the listener question segment Oliver answers a request for details on how many short stories will make up Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel and how much variety there will be between them in length & tone.

And here's, as promised in the episode, a link to where you can read The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith for free.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep9 Choosing Seventeen Stories

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode Oliver gets down to the task of choosing exactly what stories are going to go into this short story cycle of a sword & sorcery novel, discusses the importance of order of information, figuring out the word count he wants to aim for and more.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep10 The Red Man And Others w/ Angeline B. Adams & Remco van Straten

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In the show's first interview, Oliver speaks with two authors whose work - The Red Man and Others - not only entertained him, it provided him with a great deal of hope for his own novel-in-progress and the future of sword & sorcery in general. Aside from Red Man, they discuss being a couple who also write together, what they like & dislike in author's public presences, the very concept of writing advice, and more.

Buy The Red Man and Others on Amazon in paperback & eBook formats. Doesn't matter what country you're in, you can get it from Amazon.ca, .uk, etc

You can also check out their blog, Turnip Lanterns, as well as find both Remco and Angeline on Twitter. Their linktree is also a good hub for all links related to them and their work.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep11 Sword and Planet

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver looks at the risky proposition of mixing some scifi in with his fantasy via the sub-sub-genre known as Sword and Planet, explores S&P and makes some recommendations, then walks you through the thought process that got him to the kind of S&P story he'd like to tell in his Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel. He also tries to be "a good podcast boy", whatever that is!

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 12 Interview with Howard Andrew Jones

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Author of the recently concluded Ring-Sworn trilogy, editor of the most excellent sword & sorcery magazine Tales of the Magician's Skull, and teacher of a heroic fantasy writing class Oliver recently attended (the next session just opened to registration), Howard Andrew Jones has been a source of inspiration, knowledge, and encouragement for Oliver while our earnest podcast host has worked on his book.

In this conversation they cover a lot of ground about the sword & sorcery genre and writing in general, including Howard's personal definition of S&S, when origin stories are necessary or just tacked on, Robert E. Howard's classic Conan short story The Tower of the Elephant, and a whole lot more!

You can find Howard on Twitter, Facebook, and his personal website. His new book is When the Goddess Wakes.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep13 Research for Writing Fiction

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver chats with you about how easy it is to miss putting Zelda lore in your non-Zelda stories, the deadly disease known as "Wikipedia Mouth", and other aspects of how he handles research for writing fiction.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep14 The Woman Who Floated Through Time

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Outlining the rest of the book has begun! Oliver walks you through how he outlined the second story in the novel, currently called "The Woman Who Floated Through Time", which includes discussion of whether or not characters should change over the course of a story, templates vs writing prompts, when its time to really break down who your protagonist is, "poop pipes", and more.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep15 Monstrously Slow

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 06:00:00 -0400

This time around we're outlining story number three in our sword & sorcery short story cycle!

Oliver introduces you to the marvelous book which made him want to tell this story, thrusting his protagonist Voe into the middle of a mighty battle between empires in the absolute meat grinder of a canyon floor with arrows raining down from either side! He then goes on to dissect the mentor/mentee relationship, share a formative story from his very Canadian youth (yes, it involves ice skating), and Ursula K Le Guin rears her head once more as Oliver looks to one of her better quotes for a great theme to explore, in which the very idea of deserving is framed as a fake idea.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep16 The Boy and the Blacksmith

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 06:00:00 -0400

This time around we're outlining story number four in our sword & sorcery short story cycle!

Oliver sets out to write a sword & sorcery love story, but is that what he ends up with? He also gets into that time the rural Canadian mafia murdered Oliver's brother because his parents wouldn't give them gold, knowing when to break your own format, the dangers of trying to will what you want into existence, and, as always, more.

Ep17 Disgrace the Stone

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400

With this, the fifth short story, we've reached the end of the first act! In Disgrace the Stone, the outlining of which Oliver will share with you, Voe is finally a "hero" as she's struggled to be but the events of this story will change her mind about that being what she wants.

The brainstorming for this story involved an unexpected intersection between the webcomic Achewood, Leonard Cohen, and the pandemic (though this isn't a plague story, have no fear). This sent Oliver off on a journey that involved putting the this tale down for an entire year before coming back to finish it, providing unexpected benefits as well as a lesson in why it's important to always make very clear notes so that future-you can easily pick up where they left off...no matter how long it's been.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep18 Interview with Christine Brackenbury

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400

We're kicking off a block of interviews with a chat with Oliver's mum, about her relationship to creativity as both parent and "pre-parent", the book she wrote, the book Oliver's dad says he'll finish, what it's like for both Oliver and Christine to look back on his decision to try making writing what he does for a living, and more. Oh and of course they cover the time she struck back at workplace sexism with a picture of a big ol' penis.

If you'd like to see the jewelry Oliver's parents make together, you can check out at www.brackenbury.ca

Ep19 Interview with J.M. Frey

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver has a long, highly informative chat with author, actor, and voice actor J.M. Frey about her experiences as a writer, including what happens when your book grows to around the 200K word mark, self-publishing, the challenges of author exhaustion (incl. frank discussion of how the economics of publishing deals have evolved), when she received her first piece of fan art based on her work, and more! Jess is terribly knowledgeable, and we strongly recommend you check out her site not only for all the great advice it contains, but also to study how Jess presents herself online.

Jess's Author Page

Jess on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Youtube / Tumblr / Wattpad / Radish

Also mentioned in this episode: Print Run Podcast, and Writer Beware.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep20 Interview with Milton Davis

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In this interview we're speaking with author and publisher, Milton Davis. Oliver and Milton have plenty of laughs talking about what it's like being both a writer and a publisher, knowing Charles Saunders and what's going on with the Imaro TV adaptation, when the history nerds come for you, origin stories, designing and playtesting an RPG, and so much more!

www.miltonjdavis.com (Facebook and Twitter)
A Sword and Soul Primer, blog post by Milton.
MVmedia, Milton's publishing company.
Sword and Soul Adventures FB Group, run by Milton.
Nyumbani Tales (Short stories by Charles Saunders).
Milton's Sword & Soul Worldbuilding video.
A Look at Milton Davis' Changa's Safari
Ki Khanga Sword and Soul Role Playing Game: Basic Rules
Ki Khanga FB Group
Griots: Sisters of the Spear

Ep21 Interview with Matt John of Rogues in the House

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Oliver speaks with a host from the popular sword & sorcery podcast Rogues in the House, Matt John, about the genre, gatekeeping vs helping the S&S scene thrive, the trials of buying books online when you're Canadian, working sword & sorcery and role-playing games into the classroom, Army of Darkness hot takes, He-Man, "Good Rudes", letting go of the things you don't want to write and just writing the things your inner child wants to write, good and bad nostalgia, and "more"!

Rogues in the House Podcast / Facebook / Twitter
Matt's author page on Amazon
Matt's essay on Robert E. Howard, Sword & Sorcery, and Grimdark
The actual Robert E Howard story, Rogues in the House

Some other things we mentioned:
Brian Murphy's Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery
Rude Tales of Magic "The only RPG actual play Oliver listens to"
The Whetstone Discord server, a great place to chat about sword & sorcery!
Imaro by Charles Saunders
Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection (Oliver's other podcast)
Cromcast
Conan Gaming Group
Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" Goodreads group
Tales From The Magician’s Skull submission guidelines

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep22 Interview with Ngo Vinh-Hoi of the Appendix N Book Club

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Oliver and Hoi discuss fantasy book cover art, the origin story of the Appendix N Book Club, the conservative faction of S&S fandom, finding S&S outside the usual Anglo sphere, podcast show notes (do people read them??? ARE YOU READING THIS???), figuring out how to keep the momentum going with longform creative projects, what makes a good podcast guest, thinking critically about genre fiction or "low art", the Thor belly body shaming fiasco, form and substance in genre writing (and emulation), representation in writing S&S, iconic vs dramatic heroes, fantasizing about being an author when it was possible to make a living writing short stories, destroying your influences, writing to pay the rent, the vanished publishing midlist, creative writing MFAs, Game of Thrones having come out George R.R. Martin's rpg sessions, and soooo much more!

The Appendix N Book Club / Twitter / Patreon
Gary Gygax's original Appendix N Reading List
Hoi's Adventures in Fiction Articles on Goodman-Games.com: Andrew J. Offutt, John Bellairs, Lin Carter, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and Jack Williamson.
Hoi on Twitter
After the interview, Hoi remembered he'd actually written two books back in the 90's! Those were The Martial Arts Almanac (Goodreads) & Martial Arts Masters: The Greatest Teacher, Fighters, and Performers (Goodreads).
The episode of The Appendix N Book Club where Oliver was the guest!

Some other stuff that comes up in the interview:
Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff
Swords of the Four Winds: Tales of Swords and Sorcery in an Ancient East That Never Was
by Dariel Quiogue
Harold Lamb
52 short stories in 52 weeks
Appendix N Book Club episode covering Micheal Shea's Nifft the Lean
Brain Murphy's Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery
Pulp by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Whetstone Magazine and the new cosmic horror magazine by the same guy, Witch House
Imaro by Charles Saunders

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep23 Interview with Julian Bernick

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Julian Bernick has written across a wide variety of mediums, so Oliver discusses with him getting burnt out on novels, the Appendix N Reading List, writing for role-playing games, Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, writing lyrics as the lead singer of several bands, and more - but the focus of this interview is poetry, gothic horror, and how Julian combined the two in his most excellent book Castle Bash: A Record of the Most Unfortunate Doings at Castle Bash - As Told by an Unnamed Poet who was Never Seen Again!

A narrative poem in the Romantic tradition, Castle Bash is Byronic in character, Gothic in atmosphere, Romantic in outlook and Lovecraftian in scope. When a bastard poet is given safe haven and patronage at the tenebrous Castle Bash, mystery, passion, and the forces of hell converge upon its benighted inhabitants.

Spellburn Podcast / iTunes / Twitter
Whistling Shade Magazine, where Julian serves as an editor of poetry.
Julian's RPGeek page
Some of Julian's earliest storytelling can be found in this Dungeons of Yesteryear feature.
If you'd like to hear Julian talk more about his game design career...
and
Here's three contemporary poets Julian recommends:
Chelsea Minnis
Freddie Seidel
Michael Robbins

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep24 Interview with Michael Curtis

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Michael Curtis, while Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories have been a great source of inspiration for Oliver's novel-in-progress, you better believe he was excited to talk with Michael about: Why people should read the Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories, how these characters so defined by their friendship were born of a real life bromance, what defines Leiber's writing style, what makes F&GM's home - Lankhmar - the ultimate fantasy adventure city, how Michael made writing RPGs his career, what it was like poring over Leiber's original papers at an archive in Houston, and more!

Michael Curtis on Patreon
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG products by Michael Curtis
Michael also writes articles for Goodman Games, such as this one on Lord Dunsany
The Society of Torch, Pole, and Rope - Michael's game design blog may be dormant but it still contains many fascinating things to pore over.
Michael Curtis Visits Leiber’s Legendary Lankhmar Library in Houston
Lankhmar 101 - A video panel discussion about DCC: Lankhmar, led by Michael Curtis.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep25 – Act Two, Part One

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

A lil' recap of the podcast & novel is followed by Oliver sharing how he figured out the most top-tier planning of his novel's middle, particularly its first half, and how it would fit into the novel as a whole!

This includes discussion of "how much inspiration do you want to take from another author's works?", how to keep your thoughts organized when you finally get to a part of writing a story that you've been looking forward to for ages, gauging how ambitious you might want to be with breaking The Rules, who Oliver sees as the most influential sword & sorcery heroes after good old Conan, the difficulty in choosing perspective for this part of the novel or even nailing down Fritz Leiber's approach to perspective, being both your instructor and your student, and more.

That publicly available, image-heavy Patreon post OIiver mentions, that's all about the notebook he outlines the novel in.
The first episode of So I'm Writing a Novel
Episode #7: where Oliver reads you the short story that grew into this novel & podcast.
The Cultural Iceberg model.

Ep26 Creating a Co-Protagonist

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Oliver takes you with him through the process by which he designed a new best friend for his novel's protagonist, a co-protagonist for the next four stories he has to outline, when Voe and this new best buddy will have swashbuckling, thieving adventures loosely inspired by the Fafhrd & Grey Mouser stories of Fritz Leiber!

The writing book Oliver mentions in this episode, and has mentioned before, is Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep27 (World)Building a Fantasy City

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Will Oliver succeed in finally naming his dang fantasy city by the end of the episode??? Oliver takes you through the process that got him to where he felt he knew enough about the fictional city where he'd be setting no less than four of his novel's stories in. He covers repurposing research from an older project, choosing when and how to shape setting with theme, when he decided a novel wasn't the story for him to write, figuring out what you need to figure out about a setting/city, feral cities, hyperdense research texts, an interesting lesson he took from his role-playing game hobby that applies here, leaving room for later inspiration, another pertinent Ursula K Le Guin quote, Karl Edward Wagner's Bloodstone, and more!

That book I mention a lot: Imaginary Cities: A Tour of Dream Cities, Nightmare Cities, and Everywhere in Between by Darren Anderson

www.soimwritinganovel.com

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Ep28 Kinship in Kholtum

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

In this episode Oliver tells you all about how he outlined the origin story for his protagonist's new friendship, a friendship that would be at the heart of a whole quarter of the novel's stories.

This involves discussion of consulting others when you're feeling lost trying to make a vital decision, puppetry (and avoiding obvious metaphors), elements by which two friends might bond, differing attitudes toward killing for your protagonists, what if DUNE's Bene Gesserit wanted to sell weed, the ol' "They meet in a tavern..." routine, Beer Street and Gin Lane, Bound 2 (?), using index cards to help keep everything you need in front of you, hitting a major progress point in the novel, and more!

Plus there's a LISTENER QUESTION, gosh we like those, to do with how far up the line of human history you can set a story (or base the secondary world setting of a story on) and still have it feel like sword & sorcery.

Mentioned in Oliver's answer is Howard Andrew Jones' breakdown of how he defines sword & sorcery as a genre.

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Ep 29 Sacred Thievery

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

In three acts, Oliver shares the outlining of this second story in the sword & sorcery novel's second quarter, an escalating farce built around the theft of a saintly relic from one church within the same religion as the other, who has hired Voe & Tiravam to perpetrate said theft. Ah, if only it were so straightforward as all that...

Oliver covers the joys of finding the piece of research which unlocks your story for you, interesting historical details of medieval relic theft, judging when the tone of an idea you love doesn't just doesn't fit with your work as a whole, balancing inspiration against directly imitating a story you love, courtroom drama, juggling lies & secrets, knowing when you've figured out enough for now, "horny is great for funny", and more!

There's also a listener question, asking Oliver for advice in researching markets for SciFi short stories. In his answer, Oliver mentions The Submission Grinder and Authors Publish. Finally there's some end of 2021 news, thanks, and announcements!

The show's Twitch channel, worth subscribing to as we have plans for it in 2022!
Want to support the show? Here's a page with useful ideas and links.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
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Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 30 Story Consultation with Nathaniel Webb

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 20:22:09 -0500

Trying something new for the show, Oliver is sitting down with author Nathaniel Webb to consult him on his latest work-in-progress, a sword & sorcery short story! After a reading of the story so far, and a little getting-to-know-you, you'll get to listen in on a proper story consult where Oliver will discuss Nat's story, focusing in particular on his main concern - how to best weave fun worldbuilding and character backstory info into the story itself.

They also discuss how short stories can turn out to be harder than you'd expect, heist story traditions, considering word counts against prospective literary markets, both Howard's The Tower of the Elephant and Leiber's The Two Best Thieves in Lankhmar, outlining vs seat-of-your-pants writing, the very legit desire to write a story like one you've greatly enjoyed, wanting to show off your worldbuilding, finding nuance in "write to please yourself, not a hypothetical audience", "Progression Lit", placing a character geographically not only with description but with placement of that description, weaving worldbuilding into the action, "the portrait shot", first drafts as essentially very detailed outlines, giving a character's backstory in the scene where they're introduced, a motivational poster from Oliver's grade 10 English class, does a character having a secret create an undesirable distance between them and the reader, "protagonist brain", and MORE.

Nathaniel's author site
Nathaniel on Twitter
Check out a sword & sorcery short story by Nathaniel in the latest issue of Whetstone magazine - for free!
The then-latest issue of Tales From The Magician's Skull that we mention is #6
That The Adventures of Alyx book we chat a bout a bit, with my Goodreads review
The writing book Nat mentions: The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird

And then we have that combined list of sword & sorcery markets we mention:
That The Adventures of Alyx book we chat a bout a bit, with my Goodreads review
The writing book Nat mentions: The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird

And then we have that combined list of sword & sorcery markets we mention:
Clarkesworld
Unreal Magazine
Podcastle
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
Strange Horizons
Fantasy Magazine
Skelos
Common Tongue Magazine
Rogue Blades
Starward Shadows
https://www.literaryrebel.com/savage-submissions/
https://www.swordsandsorcerymagazine.com/submissions.html
https://cirsova.wordpress.com/cirsova-magazine/submission-guidelines/
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2020/10/20/announcing-open-call-for-sword-sorcery-fiction-for-tales-from-the-magicians-skull/
https://farthertrees.wordpress.com/queerblades/
http://thebizarchives.com/content-guidelines/
hthttp://stupefyingstories.com/
http://pulp-modern.blogspot.com/
https://www.ossgames.com/ares-home
https://ralan.com/m.pay.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Hero_Press
http://paralleluniversepublications.blogspot.com/p/submissions.html
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/10/27/write-up-a-storm-in-the-mortal-realms-black-library-submissions-are-open-now/

Ep 31 Story Consultation with Matt John

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 20:15:00 -0500

In this story consult, featuring a personal sword & sorcery tale by Matt John, we discuss a story which was very polished, then submitted to a magazine and...rejected. Happens to pretty much all stories, but what do you do when it happens to you? Matt sought out an editor, Oliver, and in this episode you can hear them discuss strategies for Matt to consider in the next draft of his story. Hey, did you know Oliver's now offering editing services?

In this conversation they discuss working through personal tragedy and difficult emotions in your stories, the "that" test and removing other filler words, good and bad editing/teaching philosophies, being a new writer working with an editor, how there's just so much to remember in terms of writing rules, how nobody on Earth can write perfectly without an editor, Alan Moore's love of tentacles, managing the distance between reader and protagonist, adding specificity to your stories, how it can be better not to name monsters, Stephen King's On Writing, proper nouns as names in genre stories, Encanto and trauma producing magic, spotting when something you wrote works for you but is unlikely to work for a reader, how deeply felt emotions can fuel but also cause lapses in writing, Cormac McCarthy's wife, thematic statements, writing exercises looking beyond your ending, PUBERTY, good old (literary) rejection, back matter and behind-the-scenes info in novels, what writing sex scenes and fight scenes have in common, HOW OLIVER'S NOW OFFERING EDITING SERVICES, learning to be comfortable showing your work to someone for critique, holding onto notes on your stories, and MORE.

Check out Matt on Rogues in the House, the sword & sorcery podcast he co-hosts!

Ep32 Interview with Jordan Smith of Dark Crusade

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:30:00 -0500

This episode will introduce you to fantasy & horror author Karl Edward Wagner, as well as his iconic sword & sorcery supervillain, Kane!

Oliver and Jordan discuss subjects like The Carcosa Papers, the magic of seeing author's original notebooks (and fantasizing about others feeling that way seeing yours), getting deep into why Kane stands out from other well read S&S protagonists, Kane as villain, as manipulator; as being almost secondary to his own stories, erotic horror, how Wagner's psychiatry education enhanced his writing, reading an author's personal issues in their work and then connecting them to your own, and a whole lot more!

Oliver is also made to feel a non-zero amount of video game shame.

The Dark Crusade podcast (DC on Facebook, on Instagram)
The Spine of Night - A totally awesome, new rotoscoped sword & sorcery film featuring Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt, Richard E. Grant, annnnnd Jordan Smith!
Jordan Smith's professional editing site

What was Oliver talking about with The Noid?

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Ep33 Interview with Jason Ray Carney of Whetstone Magazine

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver speaks with the editor of "Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword & Sorcery", covering a wide variety of subjects germane to running a semi-pro literary magazine, online community, and good old sword & sorcery.

Oliver and Jason get to some INTERESTING places in their far-reaching discussion, including subjects like: writing workshops, working class literature, modernist literature, R.A. Salvatore as a literary gateway drug, starting a literary magazine & the origin of Whetstone, why he feels you shouldn't send your best work to Whetstone, "mid-list exposure", submitting for ultra low acceptance rate magazines, elevated language, Clark Ashton Smith, grading English papers by engineers, Jason's role as academic coordinator for the Robert E. Howard foundation, Walter Benjamin, how a genre rooted in our past like sword & sorcery can give people an inspiring vision of something new, Elie Wiesel's The Trial of God, defending fiction, defining your identity by speaking back to power, how sword & sorcery can help you get through a rough patch (or at least how it helped Oliver), how a World of Warcraft guild inadvertently birthed a vibrant Sword & Sorcery online community, what people generally mean when they say "no politics!", what make a Discord server function well as a community, the digital humanities, Gather, advice on starting a writing community online or IRL, best principles for same, self-promo human spambots, the difference between useless negativity and letting someone know when they're stepping into a tar pit, writing conventions, formative experiences with teachers good and bad, tools over dogma, the possibility that the American style of creative fiction workshops homogenizes fiction, when compliments are worse than criticism, Jay's recent opera project, and....MORE.

Jason on Twitter (@jrcarney52)
Spiral Tower Press
Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword & Sorcery
The Whetstone Discord Server
Witch House: Amateur Magazine of Cosmic Horror
How Sword & Sorcery Brings Us to Life by Jason
1932, The Year of Conan: Sword and Sorcery and Historical Pessimism (mentioned in the interview) also by Jason
Bride of Cyclops Con - Best of Sword and Sorcery panel (Feat. Jason as a panel member)
The Black Gate interview with Jason that I cite in one question - it covers lots of neat stuff that we didn't get to.
An essay Jason wrote about the opera he was involved in, The Trial of God

That creative writing book, all about rethinking how we teach writing craft, that Oliver mentioned - Craft in the Real World by Mathew Salesses
The MUSE Writers Center
The Program Era by Mark McGurl

Ep34 Interview with Dariel Quiogue

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver chats with Philippine author Dariel Quiogue about his sword & silk novel, "Sword of the Four Winds"!

Their discussion covers portrayal of war elephants in history and stories, Alexander the Great being a war criminal to some, Carter & De Camp (and Nyburg) Conan tales, Howard Lamb's Khlit the Cossack stories (a huge influence on Robert E Howard), drawing from Asian history for his stories - including an intriguing alternate path for Genghis Khan, wanting to write more fiction based in where you're from, being anxious about a lack of experience to the world limiting your fiction, how late in history Dariel feels you can set a story and still have it feel like sword & sorcery, the "Sword & Sorcery attitude", portrayal of sorcery in fiction and childhood fears, the cynicism of some classic S&S, Shōgun by James Clavell & Frank Herbert's Dune, the Howardian cycle of civilization and barbarism, "can you be better than a monster?", how his work as a photographer influences his writing, playing the Conan soundtrack while writing, gore levels in S&S, Homer, how much detail to put in a fight scene, how Conan is often misrepresented as one who triumphs through strength rather than wits, what makes a grand military battle scene captivating, Mount & Blade: Warband, staying in the zone when you write, The Age of the Warrior by Hank Reinhardt, playlists to write by, writing on paper vs screen, Scrivener, the fantasy writing scene in the Philippines, Charles Saunders, the Savage Sword of Conan, and more!

Dariel's author website.
Dariel's Ko-Fi which, as of this blog post, is funding toward the goal of commissioning cover art for his next novel.
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, which Dariel mentions, free on Gutenberg
Those comic links we promised in the interview:
https://www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=alfredo-alcala--62810916
https://www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=nestor-redondo--3242129
www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=alex-nino--99372500
www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp?Page=rudy-nebres--32795352
The artist who illustrated SOFW for Dariel, Raymund Bermudez: https://www.deviantart.com/mccat

Ep35 Interview with Ryan North

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver has a fun, informative discussion with author Ryan North, whose new book "How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain" is now available for pre-order.

They discuss having one footnote for each day of the year, cramming more jokes in the margin to make a comic have more bang for your buck, experimenting with the limits of what a format can do, why they're "choosable-path" adventures that he's written, the benefits of working in a younger medium that isn't fully explored, having unlockable characters in your book, white elephant books, publishing a book that may provide a guide to doing dangerous things, knowing when to stop doing research, when one chapter should be two, the cult of Scrivener (of which Oliver is a member), apps that help you focus when writing, working "in a distracted way", Ryan's method if integrating handwritten notes with his mostly digital process, knowing when a cool fact is usable in your work, the biosphere experiment, Jon Lomberg and the Voyager Golden Record, originality, how novel's are fine THEY'RE FINE, how working in an unpopular medium can be a safety net, things to try for and try to avoid when writing a popular science book, The Core (2003), optimizing workflow as a writer, methods of learning which work best, wasted keystrokes, productivity, work/life balance, trying to separate your sense of self-worth from your work, social media, steak-umms and the bleakest thing Ryan has ever seen in his life, the best time to post about your parent's death so as to increase the viral impact, "content", how the work has to interest you, grindset, trying to appear cool & productive at all times, how Ryan doesn't like to be conscious for more than six hours at a time, task-switching between a variety of projects, Lev Grossman on how forgiving fans can be of plot holes, how the concept of a "real author" is a fake idea, Ryan's life philosophy re: fate and control over one's life, Vonnegut, the core value of most characters in his work, how Ryan definitely isn't DB Cooper, and there's even a wee cameo by Ryan's dog Noam Chompsky.

You can also see a couple of babies in an interview from 2008, which Oliver may have still been figuring out his interview style...(Part one, part two).

Ep36 Interview with Cora Buhlert

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 06:00:00 -0400

Cora Buhlert is a Hugo-nominated author and genre scholar who Oliver was lucky enough to meet through his research for the novel, and he'd love for you to meet her too!

Oliver and Cora discuss her falling in love with the very American body of work known as pulp fiction while she grew up travelling the world, the survival of dime novels in modern Germany, the irresistible pull of forbidden fiction, Thundarr and He-Man, "the best thing that happened in Germany in 1989", European sword and sorcery comics, a book store that "must have been designed by time-lords", mediocre movie tie-in fiction, the potential future of sword & sorcery, how S&S heroes are usually outsides who aren't chosen ones - they choose themselves, marginalized characters and identity, the "token Irishman in space", how people often miss that Grey Mouser isn't white..., the whitening of S&S heroes of color in the cover art, "he's not black, it's solar rays!", a trans sword and sorcery protagonist and other characters we'd like to see, the historical precedent for trans S&S protagonists, how The Witcher has many stories which qualify as sword & sorcery, She-Ra as sword and sorcery, the Lancer Conans and the last time sword & sorcery had a big revival, Grimdark, Brian Sanderson, short & sweet sword & sorcery as an alternative to bloated epic fantasy tales, mosaic and fix-up novels, Lin Carter should get his due as an editor, Cora's intriguing character Richard Blakemore aka The Silencer, The Shadow with Alex Baldwin, writing two novels a month (!), the Lester Dent pulp writing formula, Batman: The Animates Series and The Grey Ghost, how the pulps brought us Batman (and superheroes in general), how Batman (1989) stole its plot from a Spider novel published in 1934, writing a story written by a character you created, keeping your history straight while also having fun when writing a period protagonist, writing a pulp character who falls in love with his own genre, putting more modern storytelling elements in tales framed as having been written long ago, sexual violence and censorship in the old pulps, C.L. Moore writing about sex and drugs as an UNMARRIED woman (!) in the 1930s, weighing creative impulses against what a genre suggests should happen, Galactic Journey, winking at the present when your writing from the perspective of the past, linguistics and writing, THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT CANADIANS AND THEIR BILINGUALISM, advice on self-publishing, looking outside the Amazon ecosystem, selling literature like ham at a deli, and what makes "a Cora Buhlert story".

Cora's Author Page
Her self-publishing imprint, Pegasus Pulp Books
Cora on Twitter as @corabuhlert

The Sword & Sorcery round table discussion Oliver mentions
Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery by Brian Murphy
Galactic Journey

Interested in those European sword & sorcery comics Cora mentioned?
After the interview she provided me with the following list:
- Aria by Michel Weyland from Belgium: Aria is a warrior woman with a very 1970s haircut who fights evil and also winds up adopting a little girl. Started in 1979 and is still going on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aria_(Belgian_comic) Not to be confused with the Image comic of the same name.

- Storm, art by Don Lawrence, writted by Dick Matena, Martn Lodwijk and others including Roy Thomas, from the Netherlands: This is actually sword and planet, but it might as well be sword and sorcery. The titular hero is an astronaut who gets lost in time and winds up in a post-apocalyotic Barbarian future and hooks up with a local warrior woman whom I know as Roodhaar (Redhair), but who's apparently called Ember in English language editions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_(Don_Lawrence) Started in 1977 and is also still ongoing.

- Thorgal by Jean Van Hamme and Grzegorz Rosinski, also from Belgium. This is basically the Viking Superman, a humanoid alien raised and found by Vikings. Thorgal is also a family man and has a wife and several children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal Started in 1979 and is still ongoing as well.

- Alix by Jacques Martin, also from Belgium: This is more historical than S&S, but the aesthetics are similar. Alix is a young Gaul sold into slavery, who winds up being adopted by a Roman Patrician and is perpetually torn between Rome and Gaul. This is basically a serious version of Asterix. Started way back in 1948 and still has new adventures coming out, though Jacques Martin has passed away by now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Alix

- Ghita of Alizarr by Frank Thorne. This one is actually American, though I first encountered it in Dutch translation. This was Frank Thorne going further than the Comics Code allowed him to do with Red Sonja. Early Franco-Belgian-Dutch comics can be very prudish, but by the late 1970s no one cared about bare breasts and vague sex scene, so it wound up on the same shelf as the others. Started in 1978. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ghita-of-alizarr/4005-1348/

- Eric de Noorman (Eric the Norseman) by Hans G. Kresse from the Netherlands: Eric is a Viking who has fantastic adventures. He's also a family man and has a wife and a son. I encountered it via reprint collections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_de_Noorman

- De Rode Ridder (The Red Knight) by Willy Vandersteen and others, also from Belgium. Johan is a wandering knight who has adventures, many of which are supernatural. Started in 1946 and is still ongoing as well, though Vandersteen passed away around the time I discovered the series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Rode_Ridder

Ep37 Interview with Chase A. Folmar

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Author, and Associate Editor of Witch House magazine, Chase A. Folmar joins Oliver to discuss his upcoming sword & sorcery novella, Frolic on the Amaranthyn.

Chase and Oliver discuss his sword & sorcery and creative writing origin story, that sweet spot of horror and action, mood and plot, finding your voice as an author, the importance of reading outside the genre you write most, elevator pitching, writing a story centered on an established romantic couple, finding that right combination of the unique and the familiar, beauty & horror and the uncanny valley, the Decadent Movement, good old civilization vs barbarism, what do morals mean at the absolute end of time, why Frolic is not a novella and not a short story or a full length novel, 500 page fantasy door wedges, the strengths of the novella format, the benefits of constraining your writing, the singular focus and very personal stakes of sword & sorcery, Robert E. Howard's The Hour of the Dragon, the problem with the world always ending, scifi as the literature of ideas and fantasy as the literature of settings, weaving the world of a story into the action of the plot, how audiences are about as genre savvy as they've ever been in human history, how long it took to make the novella a reality, the joy and frustration of editing, beta readers and feedback, use of language and accessibility vs trying to create the sense of entering another world, Branden Sanderson (who I keep calling "Brian"...) and that big ol' Kickstarter of his, heavy metal and sword & sorcery, broad appeal vs niche interest, defining success on your own terms, trends in cover art, literally judging a book by its cover and how that's a pretty fair thing to do when looking at self-published work, Ballantine Fantasy covers, and more.

Frolic on the Amaranthyn is available in ebook and softcover from Amazon
Sable Star Press Facebook Group
Chase's author site
Goran Gligovic - cover artist for Frolic
Witch House magazine

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Ep38 Flyting Fancy

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver also gets into an outlining snarl which is solved by his trying a whole new method of working out what happens, when it happens, and what the reader learns when it happens.

Tom McHenry comic whose fourth panel Oliver mentions.
Chalicotherex is a fun follow on Twitter.

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Ep39 Carry Me From Kholtum

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver takes you through the end of a friendship in this outline of the final Voe & Tiravam story for the novel. Among other things he discusses an epiphany he had which caused him to look at how his outlining had evolved over this first half of the novel, plotting an emotional journey for the reader, and being reminded of how there are certain things you're only able to discover in writing prose!

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Ep40 Founding a Literary Magazine with Nat Webb

Sun, 08 May 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Returning champion Nat Webb joins us to discuss his recent founding of a literary magazine, Wyngraf!

Their discussion covers alternate titles for the magazine, defining cozy fantasy & backpack fantasy, conflict in stories and other things that can drive story, writing delicious food scenes, the cozy fantasy scene on Reddit and elsewhere, getting into short stories, his first submission and rejection and what he learned from it all, self-publishing a novel, discovering a love for the technical side of publishing, taking submissions in for the first time, putting one of your own stories in your own magazine, being transparent about the numbers behind your business, paying forward all the writing advice you've been given, working with an artist on a cover commission, choosing to pay authors and how much, deciding how often to release new issues, the importance of actually finishing a project, knowing when to stop with a project, Legends and Lattes and other reading recs, refreshing sincerity vs ironic distance, "coffee shop AU" explained, "numbies" explained, how sometimes the thing you bang out quickly resonates with people far more than the thing you slaved over forever, ins and outs of the Kindle Select program, the merits of publishing flash fiction, and more!

www.wyngraf.com
Wyngraf on Twitter
The cover artist for issue #1 of Wyngraf is Sâmara Lígia (her other Instagram).
The swashbuckling magazine Nat announced like five days after we recorded is called Rakehell.
Nat's Author Site
Nat's previous appearance on the show, where Oliver consulted him on a work-in-progress.
Some magazines Nat mentions that he likes: Tales from the Magician's Skull, Whetstone Magazine, and Tales and Feathers.
That Harry Otto Fischer origin story for Grey Mouser can be found here on page 28.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

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Ep41 Sword & Sorcery & Feminism, with Nicole Emmelhainz

Sun, 22 May 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver and Nicole Emmelhainz discuss her essay on feminism and sword & sorcery, "A Sword-Edge Beauty as Keen as Blades: The Gender Dynamics of Sword-and-Sorcery"!

This covers things like Weird Tales Magazine, Robert E. Howard and Conan, Jirel as "Alice in Wonderland with a big sword", Howard and Lovecraft's correspondence with each other as well as fellow Weird Tales writers like Moore, S&S writing as "an opportunity to expose gender as fundamentally performative in nature", growth and change in Conan, the flexibility of sword and sorcery, what Nicole sees as the necessary qualities for an S&S story to be feminist, defying gender roles, the body as a vessel for victory, S&S as a very body-centric genre, good old barbarism vs civilization, queer possibilities in S&S, an intriguing ambiguity in the ending of Black God's Kiss, what might be a "trans utopic space" in sword and sorcery?, the potential for expanding the space of sword & sorcery along lines of gender & sexuality, cozy fantasy, and more!

Nicole's Essay
Gollancz collection of all six Jirel of Joiry Stories
Read Black God's Kiss for free here
Dehumanizing Violence and Compassion in Robert E. Howard’s “Red Nails”, an essay Nicole mentions, written by her husband Jason Ray Carney
The Whetstone Tavern Discord
The Dark Man Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies
That cool trans-centric "zombie" apocalypse novel Oliver mentions, Manhunt
The episode of The Appendix N Book Club focused on Jirel of Joiry, featuring friend of the show Cora Buhlert. Good if you want to hear different angles on the story Black God's Kiss, hear more about the other Jirel tales, and consider the TTRPG possibilities in those stories.

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Ep42 Writing Anxiety with Mike Harrington

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver discusses with Mike the ways anxiety has affected them when trying to write, and how Mike overcame a thirty year block to end up making his first ever short story submission!

Subjects they cover include playing Dungeons & Dragons leading to creative writing, the potential long-term impact of complimenting your child's creativity, the validation brought by writing, a state of flow found when writing and the peace found within it, the merits of escapism, the editor in the back of your head, nurturing empathy through writing and reading, when writing anxiety first truly manifested for Mike, conflating an author's writing in a character's voice with the author's own self, how writing anxiety can manifest and be triggered, the whole "always have a notebook handy" thing, outlining, the fallacy of seeking the One Right Method, "well, that isn't realistic...", feeling "behind" other writers or on your reading, comparing ourselves to what others show of themselves, the myth of the "self-made man", the compulsion to tell stories, how Mike got over thirty years of writer's block, the importance of finding a good writing community, learning to accept where you are, the advice Mike would give the Mike of a year ago (when he was still stuck), writing as a process of discovery and self-discovery, what kind of writing makes Oliver anxious, "REAL writers write every day...", the story Mike wrote for his first ever submission, the importance of reading broadly, and more!

Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Vettius and His Friends by David Drake
Since recording, Mike has dared to make an author Twitter account for himself!
The Whetstone Tavern Discord
Black Gate
The Silver Key (Brian Murphy's blog!)
Howard Andrew Jones' author page
Imaginary Cities: A Tour of Dream Cities, Nightmare Cities, and Everywhere in Between by Darran Anderson

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep43 So I’ve Been Doing this Podcast for a Year...

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 20:30:00 -0400

It's the one year anniversary show! What have I learned? How have I benefited? What's coming up next?

Feat. Behind the scenes stuff on my launching this podcast/novel project, and how it's been this past year, including details on the technical stuff, promotion, the Patreon, a listener question about liking your antagonist more than your protagonist, and more.

Wanna support the show? There's Patreon, Ko-Fi, Paypal, and even an Amazon wishlist of research materials. There's also sharing the show online and writing a review on Apple Podcasts. Everything helps, and everything's appreciated.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep44 Interview with David C. Smith (Part One)

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 20:30:00 -0400

David C. Smith is an author whose career began in the 1970’s during the second wave of sword & sorcery, he still writes to this very day, and Oliver felt very lucky to get the chance to have this epic, first-ever two-part interview with him!

In this first part we cover David's original aspirations to work in film, the incredible role having the right English teacher can play in your life, discovering Conan, the real life model for Norman Bates, how Lord of the Rings helped David see Robert E Howard more clearly, the grounded nature of sword & sorcery and how it contrasts to make the weird elements shine brighter, too many elephants in too many towers, "when everything is special than nothing is", the 70's fanzine community and the role it played in David's career, zine letter's pages as the "online" forums of the pre-internet era, David's first time selling one of his stories, getting his first rejection out of the way, the value of feedback with rejections and getting roasted in the letters column, selling his first novel - Oron, using zines to promote sword and sorcery today, how David distinguishes S&S from Heroic Fantasy, trying to attract fans of the romance genre to S&S, how only having serious musclemen protagonists and stories limits things, when there was a midlist in publishing, the second wave of sword and sorcery, how the Esoteric Order of Dagon played a key role in David's career, potentially finding direct influences on Lovecraft's invention of weird cultist language, David's line between fan fiction and true pastiche, the Greek style heroic arc, the truth behind a rumor Oliver heard about David being called in to finish a Karl Edward Wagner novel, Black Vulmea, and more!

David's Author Site
David on Goodreads

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep45 Interview with David C. Smith (Part Two)

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:30:00 -0400

David C. Smith remains a lovely and talented author with whom Oliver spoke for so long we decided to split the interview into two parts. Here's that second part!

In this half we discuss the 80's sword & sorcery publishing implosion, the importance of adapting to changing tastes and not just telling the same limited range of stories ad infinitum, how expanding something - like a genre's possibilities - means more and doesn't take away what's already there that people like, the fallacy of thinking you can write a story with no theme or message or opinions or "politics" in it, David's latest novel (Sometime Lofty Towers), avoiding the white savior pitfall and otherwise best practices when writing fictional indigenous peoples, the history of The Other in western civilization, cultural appropriation, writing outside
"the usual sword & sorcery template", silent film and westerns, Unforgiven, earning the trust of the reader so they'll follow you through dark passages (of writing), philosophy in sword & sorcery starting right at the beginning with Robert E Howard, asking yourself if there's enough meat on a character's bones, how David's writing style has evolved since he wrote the first Oron book, David's influences, the exercise of typing up stories by a beloved author, David's plans to republish his Oron novels, the importance of reading widely, learning by teaching, diagramming sentences, what has kept David writing all these years, David's opinion on where to start if you want to begin exploring his work, and more!

David's Author Site
David on Goodreads
The Gonji series David mentions
David's silent era film mystery novel "Bright Star"
Tales of Attluma and Sometime Lofty Towers
Dark Muse

Ep46 Fresh Blood and New Thunder! Bringing New Readers to Sword & Sorcery, with Sof Magliano

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver experimented with sending six S&S tales to a younger, contemporary fantasy fan, then got her reactions, and discussed promoting sword & sorcery to younger, more diverse audiences.

Among other things, we discuss the work of Robin Hobb, the dilution of the term "sword & sorcery" and other branding issues, living in a character's head, struggling to connect with Tower of the Elephant, reading trope-setting classics as a contemporary reader, connecting more with emotion-driven sword & sorcery, backfiring magic, quick-moving plots and pacing, how Sof felt S&S has a unified feel and how it differs from the broad trends of contemporary fantasy, Brian Murphy's definition of sword & sorcery, short stories as a break from the 500+ page installations of trilogies or longer, the evolution of Sof's own writing, how DO we recommend S&S to people who don't read it - young and old, why telling someone something is short isn't actually a great selling point, how S&S's outsider protagonist tradition primes it for more diversity in its protagonists and appealing to people outside the classic white cishet male demographic, best online platforms for reading younger audiences and the challenge of self-reinforcing popularity, the importance of making books look pretty on social media, the strong art tradition of sword & sorcery, the "convincing you to read based on aesthetic" TikTok format, author newsletters, the fallacy of expecting self-published authors to do everything a publishing house can do, changing trends in fantasy cover art, this thing called "Google", Sof's own novel she's working on, Elizabeth Olsen's early film "Martha Marcy May Marlene", and more!

Sof's Bookstagram!

The six stories I assigned Sof to read for our discussion. You don't have to read them, but maybe you'll want to?
1) Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard (Free!)
2) Black God's Kiss by C.L. Moore (Free!)
3) Mzee by Charles Saunders (Flick through to page 60)
4) Return of the Sorceress by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
5) The Second Death of Hanuvar by Howard Andrew Jones (Featured in Tales from the Magician's Skull issue #3)
6) The Gate of Mist by Cora Buhlert (Absolute last story in this free magazine)

Ep47 Interview with Kirk A. Johnson

Sun, 07 Aug 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver has a great time talking with Kirk A. Johnson about his new sword & soul story collection, The Obanaax and Other Tales of Heroes and Horrors.

We cover the afternoon movies which helped form Kirk's idea of what heroes should be, his own first collision with Conan and Frazetta, why martial arts films were such a big thing in the black community back in the day, is Robin Hood S&S?, Fafhrd & Grey Mouser in The Wire, the film Thief remade as S&S, S&S and the hard boiled crime genre, periods of great economic strife being ripe for S&S, the folly of trying to write a story that "isn't political", Kirk's first short fiction sale (to Milton Davis' firs Griots anthology) and his journey developing as a writer, Charles Saunder's Imaro, his first rejection and the importance of the feedback given within, what he's proudest of in how his craft has evolved since his first publication, Kirk's approach to using violence in his stories and necessary limits with gore, MONDO VIDEO, sword & sorcery as a genre of the body, "The Big Book of Sword & Sorcery Farts", a key scene in The Northman, Kirk's attitude on when to speak more plainly and when to turn the prose a brighter shade of purple, working people from life into your out there fantasy genre tales, the joys of being published with or having your work shared by authors you admire, the real life African cultures Kirk drew from in his worldbuilding, mixing invented language in with real ones, Jack Vance's "The Dragon Masters" and the importance of using context to help your reader absorb invented language without needing to check a glossary, the journey of writing his new book, "Spear & Fang", the animated series "Primal', Kirk's experience so far with self-publishing, tells us about BookBaby, self-promotion and how it can be difficult to ask people for help, contributing to the tradition of sword and sorcery, the importance of diverse representation in all media, how the art available to you - all of you/us - is so much wider and more colorful than we sometimes realize, realizing the demographic who enjoys something is much wider than you thought - or that gatekeepers are willing to acknowledge, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Black Panther, Korean Historical Dramas like Age of Heroes, Fela Kuti and "wonderfulment", Shaft and Blaxploitation in general, remixing Shakespeare and which Blaxploitation movie is the most Shakespearean, and more!

Buy the book!
Far Afield Press' site (on Facebook, and on Instagram)
Kirk on Twitter
The State of Black Science Fiction-NYC, a group Kirk is a member of which you too may wish to join.
Beef, Wine and Shenanigans - a fun podcast Kirk co-hosts!

Ep48 Interview with Steve Babb of Glass Hammer

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver finally dives into the musical side of sword & sorcery by speaking with author & composer Steve Babb, of the band Glass Hammer!

https://stephenrbabb.com (FB)
www.glasshammer.com (Twitter, Youtube)
Buy Skallagrim – In The Vales of Pagarna
The Lay of Lirazel

Ep49 Interview with Alasdair Stuart

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Alasdair Stuart is a professional enthusiast, pop culture analyst, and writer behind the award-nominated weekly newsletter, The Full Lid, as well as a multiple Hugo finalist and co-owner of the Escape Artists podcast network. He's also a really kind and fascinating man, whom Oliver greatly enjoyed chatting with about building your own podcast empire, financing such an empire, balancing writing with other creative pursuits, best practices when trying to promote diversity within the genre writing scene, and a whole lot more!

AlasdairStuart.com (Twitter)
EscapeArtists.net
The Full Lid - Alasdair's weekly, popular pop-culture newsletter.
Both PseudoPod episodes mentioned in the interview, 1 and 49, can be found here.
The terrifying live TV event from the mid-90's that Alasdair mentions is on Youtube, of course.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep50 My People

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:07:51 -0400

Oh ho! And thus we enter the third quarter of Oliver outlining Untitled Sword & Sorcery Novel with this novella-length love letter to his favorite Robert E. Howard tale of Conan the Cimmerian, People of the Black Circle.

Read People of the Black Circle for free.
Read THE LEGEND OF GWÂSHBRÂRI, THE GLACIER-HEARTED QUEEN, the myth Oliver mentions in the recording, also for free.
Episode 4 of the podcast, where I break down People of the Black Circle in detail, comparing it with Lin Carter & L Sprague de Camp's Conan the Buccaneer, a nautical tale which is too similar not to be inspired by People.

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep51 Voe Loses It

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:30:00 -0400

In this story Voe is faced with an important choice similar to one from a previous story, and the decision she makes will echo throughout the entire rest of the novel!

Among other things, Oliver discusses how to tell what's good or maybe not so good to kick down the road for Future You to deal with, the challenge of avoiding creating bad pastiche, and how focusing on character can really help with figuring out all the other facets of your story.

Read Rogues in the House by Robert E. Howard for free.
Read The Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard for free.

Ep52 The Gibbet

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Voe hits rock bottom, hung high in an iron cage hanging from a post by a major road! How will she get out of this, and what will be left of her?

Among other things, Oliver discusses how to tell when there's enough "there" there, the difficulties of keeping a story interesting in a "bottle episode" , the difficulties of knowing you want to evoke an author's style without just doing a bad imitation, and more!

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep53 New Edge Authors Say Hello

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver talks with the authors behind all six original Sword & Sorcery short stories featured in New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine in a round-robin of mini-interviews! Did....did we mention he's the editor of a brand new magazine, who's first issue just came out?

Get the magazine...
FREE ePub/PDF on Payhip
Softcover ($4usd) & Hardcover ($12usd) on Amazon.com (but also available through most other domains)
Super-low intensity mailing list to find out when there are new issues or crowdfunding for new issues.

Ep54 Weird Fiction & Sword & Sorcery with Scott Dorward

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 20:30:00 -0400

Weird Fiction is a term from the days which birthed Sword &Sorcery, arguably a key ingredient in the genre, but what is it exactly?

To discuss this curious intersection of horror, science fiction, and S&S, Oliver sits down with Scott Dorward, an experienced horror TTRPG author, podcaster, and scholar of fiction both weird & Weird...

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias (Scott's podcast he co-hosts)
Beyond Lovecraft (Oliver's other interview with Scott, over on Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection)
The Tale of Satampra Zeiros (The Clark Ashton Smith story whose name you'll hear Oliver fail to recall...)
Under the Spell of Keith Taylor’s Bard Songs by Brian Murphy (Quoted in the interview)

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 55 – Writing Workshops with Christopher Rowe

Sun, 06 Nov 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver talks with author and writing teacher Christopher Rowe about writing workshops, such as The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, where he recently taught. What exactly does a workshop involve? How do you get into one, and what can you expect to get out of it? How, if at all, are they changing with the times? They discuss all this, and more.

Christopher Rowe's author site (Socials: IG, FB, Twitter)
Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses
The Whetstone Tavern Discord

Ep 56 – Interview with Scott Oden

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver sat down with author Scott Oden to discuss the challenges of writing in another person's voice, especially one as well known as Robert E. Howard, and spiraled off into a wide variety of topics related to the life of a writer.

Scott's Author Page (FB, Twitter)

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 57 – Publishing and Promotion with Sean CW Korsgaard

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 20:30:00 -0500

How do publishers promote their author's books, and what kind of decision-making goes into that? Why don't they just press the big red button marked "Instant Best Seller"?

Wanting answers, we recorded Oliver's conversation about all this with Sean CW Korsgaard, who works on the promotion side of Baen Books in his roles as Assistant Editor and Media & Military Liason.

Baen Books ( Facebook, Twitter)

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 58 – Worldbuilding with J.M. Frey

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:30:00 -0500

Worldbuilding is one of the most enjoyable aspects of genre writing, but it can also be quite daunting. Luckily J.M. Frey, author and giver of nearly ten years worth of talks on the subject, is releasing a new book to help!

Check out the book on Jess' author site
Architect Breaks Down “Bridgerton” Mansions | Architectural Digest

New Edge Sword & Sorcery Mailing List, FB, Twitter, IG, and the site itself.

Oliver’s Other Podcast ”Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection”

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 12:04:37 -0500

In which I discuss Climate Fiction with scifi luminary Kim Stanley Robinson.

Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection (Also available everywhere people find podcasts)
The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy
The Friends of Merril

New Edge Sword & Sorcery (that magazine Oliver mentions he's making)

New Edge Sword & Sorcery Kickstarter is LIVE!

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

Click these magic words to go to the Kickstarter! We made a very cool video and campaign page with all the details...

Ep 59 – Old Moon Quarterly

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 20:30:00 -0500

It's "Magazine Month" on SIWAN this February, which we're kicking off by interviewing Graham and Caitlyn, two thirds of the people behind a new Sword & Sorcery magazine which debuted in the summer of 2022 - OLD MOON QUARTERLY!

Their Website (Twitter and Instagram)

BONUS EPISODE - Gemma Files on Horror, Sword & Sorcery, The Weird Tales 100th Anniversary, and more!

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 20:30:00 -0500

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oliverbrackenbury/new-edge-sword-and-sorcery-magazine

Ep 60 – Broadswords & Blasters

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 20:30:00 -0500

Magazine Month (tm) continues here at SIWAN as we speak with Matthew Gomez of Broadswords & Blasters about the life, death, and rebirth of the SFF magazine he co-edits.

Broadswords & Blasters (Facebook)
Matthew Gomez's author site (Twitter)

BONUS EPISODE - Sword & Soul Roundtable with Milton J. Davis, Kirk A. Johnson and Sarah Macklin

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 20:30:00 -0500

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oliverbrackenbury/new-edge-sword-and-sorcery-magazine

Ep 61 – Swords in the Shadows with Cullen Bunn

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver sits down with comic book superstar Cullen Bunn to discuss his putting on his editor hat for the prose Sword & Sorcery & Horror anthology "Swords in the Shadows"!

Swords in the Shadows Kickstarter
www.cullenbunn.com

Ep 62 – Interview with Jonathan Maberry

Sun, 02 Apr 2023 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver recently talked with author Jonathan Maberry, discussing his duties as editor of the birthplace of Sword & Sorcery - Weird Tales Magazine, how he manages an incredibly full & productive writing schedule, writing techniques he uses in his epic fantasy Kagen series, and a whole lot more.

Jonathan's Website (FB, TWITTER, IG)
Weird Tales magazine
Swords in the Shadows Kickstarter (Runs until 11am on Thurs, April 17th, 2023).

Ep 63 – Solarpunk Magazine

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 20:30:00 -0400

"Sometimes the protest comes in the form of literature."
Oliver speaks with Abriana Tuller from Solarpunk Magazine about this social issue driven, solution-focused scifi subgenre, the magazine named after it, and more.

https://solarpunkmagazine.com

Ep 64 – Interview with Charles E. Gannon

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 20:29:08 -0400

As an author and a reader, Oliver's interests include science fiction, alternate history, fantasy, game design…author Charles E. Gannon has written them all, so you better believe when we got the opportunity to speak with him, we leapt on it.

His most recent publication is “Into the Vortex”, the second in his first ever fantasy serial, the Vortex of Worlds series, so of course we talked about that, but Charles has the kind of mind that travels far and absorbs everything, so we think anybody listening will get to learn something of interest to them!

Charles' author site (Twitter, Facebook)

www.soimwritinganovel.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 65 – Interview with Oliver Brackenbury

Sun, 14 May 2023 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver was recently approached by a 5th grader looking to interview an author as part of a school project. The results were pretty fun, and perhaps even helpful for those looking to write themselves!

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 66 – Queen of Swords Press, with Catherine Lundoff

Sun, 28 May 2023 20:30:00 -0400

When most of us think about publishing we tend to think of one of the Big Five (Four? How many are we down to now?), but there is a whole world of smaller, independent publishers to explore!

Wanting to learn more about that world, Oliver spoke with Catherine Lundoff about her own experiences launching and running Queen of Swords Press.

https://queenofswordspress.com (Twitter, Facebook, Patreon)

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 67 – So I’m Still Writing a Novel...

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 20:30:00 -0400

In which Oliver discusses the status of the novel, the revamp of our Patreon, how publishing New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine has benefitted his writing, and more!

Check out the first ever published Voe story, "Something Oath-like" over in a Book of Blades Vol. 2!

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 68 – Hanuvar with Howard Andrew Jones

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 20:30:00 -0400

Returning guest of the show, Howard Andrew Jones, is kicking off an amazing Sword & Sorcery book series starring his most excellent character - Hanuvar!

Join us for a craft-centric discussion of Howard's writing techniques & development, as seen through the lens of his exciting new series.

Check out the book!
www.howardandrewjones.com

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Short Story Chat #1 - The Second Death of Hanuvar by Howard Andrew Jones

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 20:30:00 -0400

https://newedgeswordandsorcery.com/
Recorded Aug 23, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editors Graham Wilcox (Old Moon Quarterly) and Jay Wolf to discuss the sword & sorcery short story "The Second Death of Hanuvar" a modern classic in the making from Howard Andrew Jones.

Find out more about the author discussed here: https://www.howardandrewjones.com/

Short Story Chat #2 - Dog in The Corner by Stephen Graham Jones

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 20:30:00 -0500

Recorded Sep 19, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "Dog in the Corner" by horror author Stephen Graham Jones for the Cullen Bunn edited Sword & Sorcery anthology Swords in the Shadows, being released to the public by Outland Entertainment on Oct 24, 2023.

Find out more about the author discussed here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Stephen-Graham-Jones/151691780

Short Story Chat #3 - The Wolves of Winter Road by author T.A. Markitan

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 20:30:00 -0500

Recorded Oct 18, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "The Wolves of Winter Road" by author T.A. Markitan for the Sword & Sorcery anthology A Book of Blades Volume II, a publication from the Rogue In The House Podcast which was released on June 28, 2023.

Find out more about the author discussed here: https://www.facebook.com/T.A.Markitan/

Short Story Chat #4 - Evil Honey by James Enge

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 10:54:28 -0500

Recorded Nov 22, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guests Matt John of The Rogues in the House podcast, and Old Moon Quarterly editor Graham T. Wilcox to discuss "Evil Honey" by author James Enge for magazine Old Moon Quarterly #3 a magazine that is currently running a Kickstarter to increase the word count of stories and insert black & white illustrations for the magazine in 2024.

Find out more of the author here: https://jamesenge.com/

Old Moon Quarterly: https://www.oldmoonpublishing.com/

Old Moon Kickstarter till Nov 30, 2023 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Short Story Chat #5 - Dara’s Tale by Mark Rigney

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 20:30:00 -0500

Recorded Dec 13, 2023, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf and special guest Matt Holder, reviewer at Strange Horizons, to discuss "Dara's Tale" by author Mark Rigney for the Sword & Sorcery magazine Tales From The Magician's Skull, a publication from Goodman Games which was released on August 1, 2022.

Find out more about the author discussed here: https://markrigney.net/

Matt Holder's reviews at Strange Horizons: http://strangehorizons.com/author/mat...

Download our free New Edge Sword & Sorcery issue #0 at our website! https://newedgeswordandsorcery.com/

Short Story Chat #6 – Elric 1961 and 2023

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

Recorded Jan 9, 2024, New Edge Sword & Sorcery editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by fellow editor Jay Wolf, New Edge social media coordinator Kevin Beckett, and author Christopher Rowe, to compare & contrast Elric's first appearance ("The Dreaming City" in Science Fantasy issue 47, June 1961) with his latest ("The Folk of the Forest", in New Edge Sword & Sorcery #1, Nov. 2023).

New Edge Sword & Sorcery #1 is available here, in three formats: https://newedgeswordandsorcery.com/product-category/new-edge-sword-sorcery/issue-1/

"The Dreaming City" can be found in many incarnations across decades of different Elric collections, but the original can be read here on The Internet Archive.

New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2024 Crowdfund is Live!

Sat, 17 Feb 2024 17:14:58 -0500

As I type this we're at 98% funding! WILL YOU BE OUR HERO?
https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/new-edge-sword-sorcery-2024?ref=SIWAN

Short Story Chat #7 – "Cock and Bull" by Kirk A. Johnson

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 20:30:00 -0400

Recorded Feb 27, 2024 New Edge Sword and Sorcery Editor Oliver Brackenbury is joined by NESS Copy Editor Valerie Valdes, Editor Jay Wolf, and special guests to discuss "Cock and Bull" by Kirk A. Johnson.

This was part of the ongoing crowdfund for issues #3&4 of NESS, which ends at 8am EST, on March 16th: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/new-edge-sword-sorcery-2024?ref=SIWANkirk

Ep 69 – The Return of Jirel! An interview with Molly Tanzer

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:01:02 -0400

As part of the successful New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2024 crowdfund, Oliver sat down with Molly Tanzer in a livestream interview focused on C.L. Moore's most famous creation, Jirel of Joiry!

Ep 70 – Crossover Episode: Two Books, Two Bros

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Please enjoy this dual interview by a pair of pals, each with new books to share!

Oliver's Book: THE BEATING HEARTS & BATTLE-AXES CROWDFUND IS LIVE NOW!

Matt's Book: TO WALK ON WORLDS - Oliver designed the cover!

Ep 71 – Interview with Matt Holder

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver sits down with Matt Holder, author of the first book in the Keen Blades line - "HURLED HEADLONG FLAMING or, the Bishop's Tale".

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

Ep 72 – Oliver & Jay Discuss Editing

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver Brackenbury and the editor of Beating Hearts & Battle-Axes, Jay Wolf, discuss the art of editing short fiction. This was originally a livestream as part of the crowdfund for Beating Hearts!

PATREON: www.patreon.com/soimwritinganovel
BUY OLIVER'S BOOKS: https://www.oliverbrackenbury.com/store
SO I'M WRITING A NOVEL... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/so_writing
OLIVER'S TWITTER: https://twitter.com/obrackenbury

Oliver's Link Tree (For everything else): https://linktr.ee/obrackenbury

NESS Book Club #1 - The Tower of the Elephant

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 09:52:35 -0400

CHECK OUT DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD & SORCERY BEFORE OCT 19TH: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/double-edge-sword-sorcery?ref=SIWAN

Join Timeaus Bloom, Valerie Valdes, Jeremy Pak Nelson and Kirk Johnson for a discussion of Robert E. Howard's 'The Tower of the Elephant' for Cimmerian September! As Short Story Chats cover contemporary S&S, so the Book Club will cover classic S&S with an extra helping of participation from the chat.

You can read Tower for free here: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/060... and join in with the discussion by posting comments and questions - see you there!

Ep 73 – Double-Edged Interview with Bryn Hammond

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 10:48:59 -0400

(AUDIO FROM THE FOLLOWING LIVESTREAM)
Our Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery book is inspired by the old ACE Doubles. Two novellas back-to-back: WASTE FLOWERS is by Bryn Hammond, cover art by Goran Gligović. Flip the book over for WALLS OF SHIRA YULUN by Dariel Quiogue, cover art by Artyom Trakhanov.

Follow the link for more details and exclusive perks: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/double-edge-sword-sorcery?ref=SIWAN

Ep 74 – Double-Edged Interview with Dariel R.A. Quiogue

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 11:48:44 -0400

Please enjoy this audio from a recent livestream interview with author Bryn Hammond, done as part of the Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery crowdfund that is running until noon EST, Oct 19th!

Our Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery book is inspired by the old ACE Doubles. Two novellas back-to-back: WASTE FLOWERS is by Bryn Hammond, cover art by Goran Gligović. Flip the book over for WALLS OF SHIRA YULUN by Dariel Quiogue, cover art by Artyom Trakhanov.

Follow the link for more details and exclusive perks: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/double-edge-sword-sorcery?ref=SIWAN

Ep 75 – Double-Edged Short Story Panel Discussion

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 21:17:10 -0400

Join us for a discussion of short stories by Bryn Hammond and Dariel R.A Quiogue!

These stories are connected to the novella in our Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery book, crowdfunding now! Follow the link for crowdfund exclusive perks and add-ons: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/double-edge-sword-sorcery

NESS Book Club #2 – The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 21:26:33 -0400

We discussed 'The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth' by Lord Dunsany, a proto-Sword & Sorcery tale.
You can read it for free here: https://sacred-texts.com/neu/dun/swos/swos10.htm
Free Audiobook: https://ia802904.us.archive.org/17/items/sword_of_welleran_1409_librivox/swordofwelleran_10_dunsany_128kb.mp3

Panelists:
Jay Wolf - https://linktr.ee/mdanielmcdowell
Luana Saitta - https://bsky.app/profile/minillajovov...
Steve Westenra - https://stevewestenra.com
Brent Lambert - https://www.brentclambert.com
June Orchid Parker - https://breadsonja.wordpress.com
A.P. Thayer - https://www.apthayer.com

Ep 76 – Shatter the Sun with Dave Ring

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:03:56 -0400

Dave Ring of Neon Hemlock Press joins us to discuss his upcoming queer Sword & Sorcery anthology.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davering/shatter-the-sun-queer-tales-of-untold-adventure
https://www.neonhemlock.com

NESS Book Club #3 – The Dark Eidolon

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 12:06:56 -0500

Valerie Valdes, Molly Tanzer, Prashanth Srivatsa and JM Clarke for a discussion of Clark Ashton Smith's classic story The Dark Eidolon.

You can read the story here: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/212/the-dark-eidolon
Valerie Valdes: https://candleinsunshine.com
Molly Tanzer: https://mollytanzer.com
Prashanth Srivatsa: https://prashanthsrivatsa.com
JM Clarke: https://www.facebook.com/J.M.ClarkeAuthor/

Ep77 - Interview with Graham Thomas Wilcox

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 20:30:00 -0500

Oliver speaks with Old Moon Quarterly editor about his Gothic Fantasy novella, Contra Amatores Mundi, that grew out from a story he published in the magazine.

Ep78 – The Final Act

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 20:30:00 -0500

THE NOVEL RETURNS! Yes, in this episode we provide a refresher on the novel and its contents so far, then do an overview of what the final act is about, and what Oliver needed to figure out before drilling down into its individual stories that will tell a tale of cosmic horror and Voe's indebted servitude to a mysterious entity...

Ep79 – Inner Sea

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 20:30:00 -0500

"How do you create a warning which will outlast your own language?" is the question at the heart of this first tale in Voe's final act, the story which introduces us to her new life of cosmic debt slavery by taking her deep, deep underground in an irradiated world to search for a cure to a virulent poison running through her veins...

Ep80 – Love Letter to a Sailor

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 20:30:00 -0500

In which Oliver writes a love letter/homage to Sailing to the Future, the first third of Michael Moorcock's most excellent Sailor on the Seas of Fate starring Elric of Melniboné. In this way Voe finds herself to encountering multiverse fatigue, an Eternal Champion labour union, a nihilist scientist, and more!

Ep81 – An Imported God

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:30:00 -0500

Sword & Planet time! In which Voe fends off cosmic callousness as she rides strange beasts through a blend of colorful high adventure with grim thematic underpinnings.

Ep82 – The Eyrie

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 20:30:00 -0500

THE PENULTIMATE STORY OUTLINE
THE LAST STORY OUTLINE EPISODE FOR...PROBABLY QUITE A WHILE
Voe and Oliver dive into The Weird by way of a "Zone Story", as both seek a way for Voe to escape cosmic debt slavery to a still-mysterious entity! What does all that mean? Listen to find out!

Ep83 – Interview with Charles Tyra

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 20:30:00 -0400

In which Oliver sits down with a fellow publisher who is about to launch their second magazine.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crtyra/goblins-and-galaxies-magazine
https://goblinsandgalaxies.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570266211248

Ep84 – Interview with Curtis Ellett

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 20:30:00 -0400

Oliver sits down with the editor of the longest running, still-extant S&S magazine, Swords & Sorcery Magazine, Curtis Ellett!
https://swordsandsorcerymagazine.com