Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Making Old Monsters New Again with author Christopher Buehlman. During the episode, Christopher uncovers the mysteries of old monsters, exploring examples of classic monsters, human psychology and allegory, advantages of using classic monsters, monster films and why some monsters feel dated, approaches for different genres/monsters, researching monsters, atmosphere, setting and emotion, gore vs. psychological horror, new takes on old monsters and more.
Masterclass
SFF Addicts Ep. 108: Creating Fictional Cultures with Rebecca Roanhorse (Mini-Masterclass)
Join host Adrian M. Gibson as he delves into a mini-masterclass on Creating Fictional Cultures with bestselling, award-winning author Rebecca Roanhorse. During the episode, Rebecca weaves a cultural tapestry, exploring why “culture” is important to human beings, approaches for creating a fictional culture, research and lived experience, details and sensory descriptors, characters in relation to culture, real world vs. secondary world cultures, cultural appropriation vs. inspiration and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 106: Locked-Room Mysteries with Stuart Turton (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Locked-Room Mysteries with bestselling author Stuart Turton. During the episode, Stuart unlocks the mysteries of locked-room scenarios, including the appeal of them as readers and writers, key elements of locked-rooms, containing your setting and characters, using characters to control the mystery, tools for managing pacing and tension, keeping locked-room mysteries fresh and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 104: Outlining Your Story with Veronica Roth (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Outlining Your Story with bestselling author Veronica Roth. During the episode, Veronica lays out some foundations for flexible outlines, including how she became an outliner, starting a new outline, characters/world/plot as a “soup,” outlining (and re-outlining) complex plots, how to pace using an outline, planning plot twists and foreshadowing, getting feedback during outlining, themes, flexibility and more.
Review: Demon (Archive Of The GodEater Trilogy #1) by Rob J. Hayes
Synopsis Dien Hostain was never meant to lead. She wasn’t meant to survive. Kind of heart and quick in temper, Dien expects to lead a simple life, learning her father’s trade. But unbeknown to her, he was not always a carpenter. He’s an exile, a traitor once known as the Peace Breaker. When nightmarish demons […]
SFF Addicts Ep. 102: Thieves & Rogues in SFF with James Logan (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Thieves & Rogues in SFF with author James Logan. During the episode, James dons his hood to discuss thieves, rogues and ne’er do wells, including why they’re fascinating to read and write, thieves and rogues in relation to setting, the relationship between world, characters and power dynamics, the act of negotiation, moral grayness, city settings, mood, humor and more.
Review: Deathless (Annals Of The GodEater Trilogy #1) by Rob J. Hayes
Synopsis Seven were the Godless Kings who took their war to Heaven. King Ertide Hostain was once known as the Crimson Prince. He fought side by side with angels and pegasi and defended the Sant Dien Empire against monsters. But his pact with Heaven has become strained. He has grown old, his body rots, and […]
SFF Addicts Ep. 99: Swashbuckling Fantasy with Sebastien de Castell (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Swashbuckling Fantasy with author Sebastien de Castell. During the episode, Sebastien plays the daring hero by laying out the essentials of swashbuckling, including how he defines it, famous examples of swashbuckling (like The Three Musketeers and The Princess Bride), the interaction between swordplay, action and stakes, how to pace a swashbuckling story, applying humor to swashbuckling, heroes, villains, contrast and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 97: Genre Mashups with Adrian M. Gibson (Mini-Masterclass)
Join host M.J. Kuhn as she delves into a mini-masterclass on Genre Mashups with her co-host/author Adrian M. Gibson. During the episode, Adrian picks apart the various aspects of genre mashups, including how he incorporated police procedurals and crime thrillers into Mushroom Blues, milieu and aesthetics as mashup elements, genre mashups vs. subgenres, meeting reader expectations in multiple genres at once, why authors shouldn’t force genres together and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 95: Circular Storytelling with Moses Ose Utomi (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Circular Storytelling with author Moses Ose Utomi. During the episode, Moses traces the circumference of circular storytelling, including what it is, how Moses approached it in The Forever Desert series, mythology and storytelling traditions, how to utilize circular storytelling in scenes vs. chapters vs. whole stories, managing characters, world and plot in a circular story, beginnings, endings and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 93: War in Speculative Fiction with Premee Mohamed (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on War in Speculative Fiction with award-winning author Premee Mohamed. During the episode, Premee unveils the shadowy nature of war, including how she incorporated it into her new novel The Siege of Burning Grass, good and bad examples of war in media, realism when depicting war in SFF settings, civilians and the costs of war, humanizing combatants on both sides, intimate perspectives of war, the importance of change and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 91: Connecting World & Character with Robert Jackson Bennett (Mini-Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a mini-masterclass on Connecting World & Character with bestselling author Robert Jackson Bennett. During the episode, Robert connects the dots between character and worldbuilding, including the intersections of world, character and theme, different ways to start your stories, worlds as distinct characters, how world dynamics can inform character behavior, character perspectives and description, mood, dialogue, Die Hard and more.