Interview Transcript: Kevin J. Anderson joins Mike and Mike to talk about his newest novel, The Dark Between the Stars. It’s the first of his new series, “Saga of Shadows”, which takes place 20 years after the events of his “Saga of the Seven Suns” series, with reviewers calling it “Game of Thrones, with planets”.
Cover to Cover #467: Talking About “Reading Rainbow”
Sam Roberts joins Mike and Mike to talk about LeVar Burton’s Kickstarter efforts to bring “Reading Rainbow” to new audiences using newer technologies and methods that weren’t available when the show was still airing on PBS
Cover to Cover #465: Catching Up and Moving Forward
Mike and Mike pop in for a quick visit, and have fun with not remembering anything they talked about or did for the show 2 years ago.
They chat about what’s been going on since then, and the changes that happen with stories as the writers get older and gain more experiences.
Downtown LA Intersection Renamed For Sci-Fi Author Ray Bradbury
Science fiction author Ray Bradbury was a regular at Clifton’s Cafeteria on Broadway, and was known for writing on the public typewriters in the Central Library.
John Hornor Jacobs: Rationalizing the Zombie
Horror novelist John Hornor Jacobs spent some time deep in the throes of darkness while writing his zombie novel This Dark Earth (due out in July 2012). While he was down there, he began to wonder what he would need to do to really survive a zombie uprising.
Cover to Cover #464: Understanding Character Growth
Writing Discussion: The talk then turns towards character growth, and the small things that you can add to the story to show how your characters can grow and change over time, taking into account how emotional impact can touch both character and reader.
Cover to Cover #463: Techniques for Managing the Details
Writing Discussion: Mike M talks about the difficulties in trying not to expand the story he’s currently working on and finding himself writing two different books at the same time, and Mike S delves into the usefulness of a toss ahead page, any series of story notes you can make to help you remember all of the details that need to be covered in future chapters or future novels, and modifying those items as needed.
Cover to Cover #462: Deconstructing the Story
Mike S points out that the real kidney punch to B&N was done by Apple a few weeks ago with their ebook textbook deals, and the guys talk about how these deals could change how teachers teach and how people learn.
Cover to Cover #461: Building Your Audiences
Discussion: Mike S talks about the importance of developing a private audience, separate from the groups you’re cultivating on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and other social networks.
What’s your favorite site for book reviews? Send them in, or mention them here… we’ll collect the info and compile them into a list that we will use later to help publicize the finished stories after the process here.
Cover to Cover #458: Prepping and Planning A Story
Listener Questions: Tad from Mesa is one of the few who has an old edition of Mistress of Dragons and he’s interested to see how the new version evolves, really enjoyed Stackpole’s At the Queen’s Command, and wants to know if there’s an update on the Talion Revenant sequel ebook challenge.
Remembering Anne McCaffrey
SFWA Grand Master Anne McCaffrey passed away on November 21 at the age of 85.
According to Locus Online, she suffered a massive stroke at her home in Ireland.
Remembering L. A. Banks
Leslie Ann Esdaile Banks has passed away from adrenal cancer. She was 51.
Guest Review: “Dead Reckoning” by Charlaine Harris
I get a bit exhausted for Sookie. There are always someone or some things “out to get her.” Throughout Book 11, there are constant threats from different sources, and Sookie is on high alert most of the novel. Sookie still struggles with being a good person, for her world is continually violent and evil visits her seemingly day in and day out. In Dead Reckoning, you don’t see her grow much as a character, as she doesn’t have time to do much of anything except try to stay alive.
Remembering Martin H. Greenberg
Martin H. Greenberg, academic and prolific anthology editor, passed away this weekend after a long battle with cancer. His name became one of the main reasons for me to just pick up an anthology and check out the stories within, leaning heavily towards buying it if the theme was interesting to me. The first volumes […]
Cover to Cover #455: M D Lachlan
Interview Transcript: This week, Mike and Mike chat with MD Lachlan about the first book in his new series from Pyr Books, Wolfsangel. What happens when you take a werewolf story and combine it with Norse mythology and legends? This series is one look at how that could have happened.
