20 Minutes with Delilah S. Dawson

The scope and breadth of Marie Brennan’s experience is pretty remarkable. Anthropology, archaeology, languages, martial arts, music, dance… she’s pursued many passions. But the fundamental passion that has endured through out her life is writing. Author of “A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent”, The Onyx Court Series, and “Lies and Prophecy” (and so much more), she has applied her many passions like facets of a jewel to her storytelling. The result is rich authentic story worlds filled with compelling characters and captivating tales.

Joined by the splendid and insightful Marie Bilodeau as co-host, we explore the intersection of gaming and fiction, the development of a solid narrative, indulge in a bit of worldbuilding conversation, and more. This is one for the books, gang, a fabulous conversation fraught with writerly goodness… and it’s all just a click of the “PLAY” button away!

You get an idea for a story. Now what? What happens between the inspiration and perspiration? How do you prepare and develop a story idea so it’s ready to be written?

That’s what I asked seven gifted and articulate writers at this year’s Balticon 48 (sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society). The answers from Paul E. Cooley, Jared Axelrod, Maria V. Snyder, Starla Huchton, Pip Ballantine, Nobilis Reed, and Myke Cole are as diverse and inspired as the people we asked.

P.G. Holyfield is a walker of many worlds. Author and podcaster (http://www.pgholyfield.com), blogger and web architect (http://specficmedia.com/), his experience spans across most conventional media (and some unconventional ones), so we were delighted when he agreed to join us at the Roundtable for a chat. The topics of discussion for this showcase include worldbuilding, the relationship between plot and character, and the pitfalls of editing while you’re still writing.

John Anealio – musician, composer, and geek balladeer who has crafted such classics as “Steampunk Girl”, “George RR Martin is Not Your Bitch”, and so many more – is not someone you’d expect to find on a writing podcast. And yet, John’s life of exploring the creation and performance of music has given him some astonishing experiences and insights into the storyteller’s craft. On top of those credentials, he has massive geek and literary cred from his tenure as founder and co-host of the fabulous Functional Nerds podcast!

Brion and I were delighted to share a marvelous 20(ish) minutes of conversation with John, exploring the parallels of music and literature, his approach to the craft of storytelling through music, and more!

Kat Richardson – author of the Greywalker Series as well as fabulous novellas and shorter tales – takes her storytelling damned seriously. Mind you, she has a marvelous sense of humor and is a delight to chat with (as you’ll soon discover)… but when it comes to writing, she’s not messing around. She pushes herself with each story, expanding and refining her craft because it’s something she deeply loves and respects.

Joined by the marvelous Heather Welliver – friend of the RTP and vocal performer extraordinaire (check out her performance in Cybrosis by P.C. Haring) – we indulge in a fabulous 20(ish) Minutes of writerly discourse with Kat, exploring the challenges she set for herself as a writer, her process, her experience writing a “mosaic” novel, and more. Writerly inspiration awaits you, dear friends… just click that “PLAY” button!

Ada Palmer – scholar, composer, and author of the astonishing and richly-acclaimed “Too Like the Lightning” (and so much more) – returns to brainstorm a tale of political oppression, intrigue, and Lovecraftian deities.

Brion and I are joined by authors Colin F. Barnes, Alasdair Stuart, Starla Hutchton, and Stephen Godden to discuss the challenges of writing near-future scifi in a world where science fact keeps out pacing our imaginations. Along the way we manage to debunk the reported “death of cyberpunk” as well as explore the sources of the trend towards genre mash-ups.

Cerece Rennie Murphy – creator fo the Narazu Media Portal, author of The Order of the Seers trilogy, “To Find You”, and more – explores worldbuilding, her discoveries in fandom, how she develops her stories, and more.

Matthew Wayne Selznick is a storyteller in every sense of the word. He has applied the principles of story and narrative since he was a small boy, evolving epic story arcs in the sweeping battles between his vast toy collection. He continues his explorations of expression in all his pursuits as a musician, a social media marketer and (of course) as an author.

Ryan Stevenson and I thoroughly enjoyed this 20(ish) minutes with Matt, delving into many of the topics near and dear to his heart, such as the process and application of worldbuilding, the qualities of good story telling, and so much more. Writerly goodness abounds, dear friends… hit that PLAY button and enjoy!

This week, I’m delighted to have Bradley Beaulieu (BOW-lee-er)(no, really) take the Big Chair at the Roundtable for 20-ish minutes of some stellar writerly discourse. Brad is an author of sweeping epic fantasy, tales of rich authentic and intriguing characters told in lushly rendered story worlds. His works include: The Winds of Khalakovo, The Straits of Galahesh, The Flames of Shadam Khoreh, as well as “Strata”, a collaborative scifi tale with Stephen Gaskell. His stories have appeared in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Crimson Pact, and more. AND he’s the co-host (with Greg Wilson) of SPECULATE, one of the podosphere’s premiere podcasts on the writing craft.

Andrea Phillips – author of “Revision”, “The Daring Adventures of Captain Lucy Smokeheart” and some much more, returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend her diverse and refined storytelling mojo in workshopping a tale of death denied and the obsessive allure of creative success.

Our brainstorming feast is provided by creageous Guest Writer Laura Nicole (author, vocal performer, and host of the Gypsy in the Attic podcast), a tale of an obsession so powerful that it defies death… but Death can never be denied. Joined once again by the charming and insightful Dave Thompson as my co-host, we launch into tangled weave of story treads, untying knots (and making a few of our own), until we knit ourselves a tapestry of Literary Gold.

Peter Orullian – author of the Vault of Heaven series, including “The Unremembered” and the recently released “Trial of Intentions”…

Hugh Howey is the author of many tales, long and short, set in diverse environments and genres. But it is his dystopian scifi tale “Wool” that has captured the imaginations of not only of thousands of fans, but also most publishing and media industries in the free world (including Hollywood). It’s all too easy to narrow your focus of an individual when one work commands such attention… and in the case of Hugh, that would be an egregious error. His life experience as well as his persistence and dedication to his craft has given Hugh a unique perspective that distinguishes his writing and the path he’s chosen to pursue it.

Lauren Harris (of the Pendragon Variety Podcast) and myself took full advantage of our 20(ish) minutes with Hugh as we explore his insights and strategies on worldbuilding, his own strengths and assets, expanding a novelette into a full series, and so much more!

Author and writerly guru, Delilah S. Dawson – author of the Blud Series, featuring “Wicked as They Come”, “Wicked as She Wants”, and “Wicked After Midnight”, and her latest work, a YA tale titled “Servants of the Storm”, as well as being the instructor for a fabulous Worldbuilding Workshop at LitReactor (firing up Sept 10), returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to lend her writerly mojo to our brainstorming efforts.

My splendid co-host, Starla Huchton, and I are joined by creageous Guest Writer Karey Bunch who brings a tale of monsters hiding in plain sight, a monster squad assigned to dealing with them, and a young woman who gets swept up in all the adventure. The story sparks a froth of discussion as we weave our way through a catacomb of possibilities, unearthing some glittering fragments of Literary Gold along the way.