MR: You are an avid reader. What is your favorite underappreciated novel?
CS: It would have to be Haven Lost and the whole Dragon’s Brood series by Josh de Lioncourt. He is a brilliant fantasy author, and a lot more people should discover his work. It’s written just as well as any traditionally published fantasy author’s work, including excellent pacing, great twists on lore, in-depth character development, and loads of action. The first time I listened to one of his books on audio, I was blown away!
She’s a great author, and Anatomy of a Darkened Heart is absolutely worth your time if it sounds like something you’d enjoy. You will not be disappointed. I’m so flattered by this coming from such a talented writer.
Currently reading Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. It’s delightfully British, genuinely funny, and blends historical fiction and sci-fi wonderfully. Only discovered after starting that it is the first entry in a rather robust series. 📚
Every year or two, I used to publish a list of podcasts that I was currently enjoying. I axed those posts when I moved my blog earlier this year, since they were pretty out of date. However, it is time to resurrect them with a new version. For some of the shows below, I’ve simply copied out what I wrote about them previously, but there are some new entries in the list as well. My tastes tend to be cyclical, so some shows come and go. Those below comprise a mix of ones which have stood the test of time for me, or are currently at the top of my must-listen priority list. I hope you can find something you’ll enjoy as well among these gems.
The Accidental Tech Podcast Is a Technology Discussion Show Hosted by the Incomparable Marco Arment, John Siracusa, and Another Guy. (Just Kidding, We All Know Who You Are Now, Casey Liss).
Automators digs deep into automation on various platforms, including macOS and iOS. It’s just too good! Even experienced users will learn a thing or two from this show, but its also a great place to start if you’re just becoming interested in automation.
The History Chicks is simply the best history podcast out there—at least as far as I’m concerned, and I listen to quite a few of them. Each episode focuses on a different woman from any part of history, giving tons of context, background, and tidbits that will keep you coming back for more. I find history podcasts to be kind of addictive in the first place, and this is the best of that genre.
Everything Is Alive is an interview-style show with one tremendous difference: all of the guests are inanimate objects. Seriously, it’s great. Go listen to it. Right now.
99 Percent Invisible explores the world of design, whether that’s architecture, clothing, musical instruments, coins, or anything else under the sun. It is fascinating.
GrammarGirl provides tips and tricks for writing, not always restricted to just grammar. Mignon Fogarty has been doing this successfully since the early days of podcasting, and is there any wonder why? This show is a fantastic resource that she manages to keep both informative and entertaining.
NPR Ask Me Another is a trivia game show for geeks by geeks, featuring the music of the talented Jonathan Coulton.
Welcome to Night Vale is very, very hard to describe. Essentially, it is an ongoing story and audio drama set in the fictional desert community of Night Vale. The show’s hero is a host on the local radio station, and each episode largely takes place during his broadcasts. The show is both hilarious and creepy. Many have described it in a variety of ways, but I like to say that it seems like what might’ve been the brain child of Stephen King and the Onion. In fact, there’ve been a few Stephen King reference throughout the series thus far. It’s brilliant!
On episode 64 of MastersCast, we discuss the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series from Dreamworks. Beware of spoilers. For the honor of Grayskull! ⚔️
I’m three episodes into the new She-Ra series on Netflix. There are definitely elements I would have done differently, but on the whole I’m thoroughly enjoying it. ⚔️
Happy Halloween! To help you get into a spooky mood, here’s an eclectic Apple Music playlist I created of my favorite songs of the season. Haunted Hits 🎃🎵
On Halloween night, 2013, I sat down at my MacBook, determined to begin writing the novel that had been kicking around inside my brain for twenty years. I was streaming the Penn State Women’s Hockey game, handing out candy to costumed kids with my then girlfriend (now wife), and pounding away at chapter one.
That all seems like a very long time ago.
I’d promised myself that if I finished chapter one that night, I’d continue writing the rest of the book throughout the month of November as a NaNoWriMo project. As it turned out, I did finish chapter one. The next day I wrote chapter two, and by the end of November I had nearly sixty thousand words, fifteen chapters, and about one-third of what would become Haven Lost written in first draft. At the time, the book was tentatively titled Haven 21. (The first person who has read the book and can figure out the significance of that original title, get in touch via Twitter, Email, or Micro.blog and I’ll send you an autographed paperback. 😉)
Five years, two novels, and one short story later, it’s amazing how many stars aligned that first night, and how many of them would go on influencing the whole Dragon’s Brood Cycle. The Penn State Women’s Hockey team offered a ton of inspiration for Emily’s character; Halloween and related themes have played heavily into the story, particularly in volume 2; and I’m still using the lessons learned from my first NaNoWriMo experience—most importantly that I could, indeed, finish writing an entire novel.
To celebrate this milestone, Haven Lost and Harmony’s Song are both available for free on Kindle for the next few days, and Haven Divided is on sale as a Kindle Countdown Deal. If you haven’t given them a chance yet, now’s a great opportunity, and I hope you enjoy them.
I want to thank all the readers who have been so supportive of my work. It has been amazing, flattering, and wonderful to share these stories and characters with all of you. I couldn’t do what I do without you, and I am eternally grateful.
A safe and happy Halloween to you all, and a magical Samhain! 🖤🎃🕷🧡
Robo political calls/texts leading up to an election when your cell phone number includes an area code for a state you haven’t lived in for nearly a decade is rather unpleasant.
