Mary E. Pearson is the New York Times bestselling author of the REMNANT CHRONICLES young adult fantasy series. Last year she released DANCE OF THIEVES, which is set in the REMNANT universe. And now, she’s following up with its sequel, VOW OF THIEVES. Sparks fly in this new series when a reformed thief turned Queen’s guard becomes reluctant allies with the leader of an outlaw family on the edge of the kingdom. A turbulent romance tests their individual loyalties even as a greater, insidious threa...
Aug 05, 2019•44 min•Ep. 29
Fonda Lee is the author of JADE WAR (Orbit Books). Her early works were the acclaimed young adult science fiction novels Zeroboxer , Exo , and Crossfire . Her first adult fantasy novel, JADE CITY , kicked off the Green Bone Saga. JADE CITY won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for both the Nebula and the Locus award. The sequel, JADE WAR , continues to explore her mafia-meets-fantasy world, where magic, martial arts, and explosive action combine with the complex drama of ...
Jul 29, 2019•55 min•Ep. 28
J. Michael Straczynski is well known in science fiction fandom for creating the seminal TV series BABYLON 5, and recently SENSE8 with the Wachowskis for Netflix. His body of work includes the films Changeling and Marvel’s Thor, and acclaimed comic book runs on the Amazing Spider-Man, Rising Stars, and Midnight Nation. His latest work is a memoir called BECOMING SUPERMAN. For writers, it is a prime illustration of how the craft is more than a hobby or career pursuit – it is an opportunity to conq...
Jul 22, 2019•51 min•Ep. 27
This is the wrap-up episode for Season 3 of Fictitious. I'll be taking a short summer break to catch up on some reading, do some traveling, and work on a few projects, including updates to the show's website. Fictitious will return on Monday, July 22nd with celebrated science fiction screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski.
Jun 14, 2019•4 min
Megan E. O’Keefe is the author of the new space opera novel, VELOCITY WEAPON (Orbit Books). Gunnery Sergeant Sanda Greeve awakens aboard an unmanned enemy ship to discover she has lost a leg, lost her entire planet, and lost 230 years in stasis. Her only companion is Bero, the ship’s advanced AI, who is eager to help, but is perhaps not entirely trustworthy. Sanda’s deep space plight runs parallel with her brother Biran’s political career on their home planet, as he struggles to retrieve her and...
Jun 06, 2019•42 min•Ep. 26
Keith R.A. DeCandido is a prolific author known for his work with media tie-ins, including Alien , Star Trek , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Doctor Who , and Dungeons & Dragons . His new urban fantasy novel, A Furnace Sealed , follows his character Bram Gold, a Bronx-based freelancer tasked with investigating and containing supernatural mishaps and malefactions. When his latest job wrangling a rogue unicorn cascades into a wave of dead immortals, Bram and his compatriots must find the murderer ...
May 16, 2019•42 min•Ep. 25
Caitlin Starling is the author of The Luminous Dead. It's a paranoia-drenched sci-fi tale that follows a young woman named Gyre on a solo expedition into an enigmatic cave system on a far-off planet. Her only companion is Em, a mysterious and often untrustworthy benefactor who guides her from afar via a high tech caving suit. Em's motives, Gyre's history, and the terrifying secrets of the cave tangle in this claustrophobic and emotional decent into discovery and delirium. The Luminous Dead is av...
Apr 26, 2019•53 min•Ep. 24
Do you have a story to tell, but struggle writing that traditional novel, comic, or screenplay? Modern media presents you with extraordinary new options to tell your tale and win an audience. Whether it's a podcast, video series, webcomic, RPG, chat & text story, indie game, serialized mobile fiction, mystery box subscription, or something completely new, your potential fans are waiting! Fictitious host Adron Buske moderates this panel of writers about the evolving world of multimedia entert...
Apr 16, 2019•55 min•Ep. 23
Dan Stout is author of the debut novel Titanshade. It's a hard-boiled cop drama set in a 1970’s-esque fantasy world, where the titular corruption-infected city is kept warm by the heat of a tortured infernal god, some of the detectives have face mandibles, and the best squad cars come with 8-track players. Titanshade is available now from DAW Books.
Apr 05, 2019•48 min•Ep. 22
Kat Howard is the award-winning author of the novels Roses and Rot , and An Unkindness of Magicians . Her latest book is a collection of short fiction called A Cathedral of Myth and Bone . These stories explore mythology, fantasy, and horror as they twist through the lives of women and saints, where the seeds of ancient revels and dread spring up anew in the modern age. A Cathedral of Myth and Bone is available now from Saga Press.
Mar 26, 2019•40 min•Ep. 21
Mage Against The Machine , the debut novel from author Shaun Barger, is an explosive and emotional collision between fantasy and science fiction. It intertwines the stories of a young Magi soldier from an isolated world of government controlled magic, and a cybernetically enhanced resistance fighter struggling against a planet-conquering artificial intelligence. Mage Against The Machine is available now from Saga Press.
Mar 04, 2019•47 min•Ep. 20
Gwenda Bond's work includes a trilogy of Lois Lane YA novels, and the "Cirque American" book series, as well as the audio drama podcast "Dead Air". Her latest novel, "Suspicious Minds", is the first official "Stranger Things" tie-in and works as a prequel to the hit Netflix series. "Suspicious Minds" is available now from Del Rey books.
Feb 18, 2019•46 min•Ep. 19
Gareth Hanrahan is an author and role playing game writer/designer. His new novel, The Gutter Prayer , is a brilliant mash-up of fantasy, alchemical steampunk, and Lovecraftian horror. It follows three unlikely companions – a thief, a Stoneman and a ghoul – as they are pulled headlong into their ancient city’s hidden magical war. The Gutter Prayer is available now in stores everywhere from Orbit Books.
Feb 04, 2019•42 min•Ep. 18
Jordanna Max Brodsky's previous series, the Olympus Bound trilogy, found the ancient gods of Greece living in modern Manhattan. Her passion for history and mythology is on display again with her latest novel, The Wolf in the Whale – which follows the quest of a young Inuit shaman to defend her people, and her own identity, from the wars of men and their gods. The Wolf in the Whale arrives in stores on January 29, 2019, from Red Hook Books.
Jan 28, 2019•41 min•Ep. 17
S.A. Chakraborty is the author of The Daevabad trilogy, which includes her acclaimed debut novel The City of Brass , and its sequel, The Kingdom of Copper , which is available January 22nd, 2019 from Harper Voyager. It’s a lushly written, emotionally complex fantasy series with a fascinating, middle east-inspired mythology.
Jan 21, 2019•42 min•Ep. 16
Fleeting and unsubtle, Sylvain Neuvel's The Test is, appropriately, all about choices. What decisions will a person make when their future is on the line? How do those choices change under pressure, when the lives of others depend on them? And who are we to judge if those actions make someone good, make them worthy?
Jan 19, 2019•7 min
Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes . Her latest novel, the young adult fantasy The Gilded Wolves , arrives in stores on January 15th from Wednesday Books. It’s a fast-paced heist adventure set in a darkly glamorous version of Paris in 1889, featuring a magic system forged from a twist of biblical mythology, and a highly quotable cast of dysfunctional yet fiercely competent young thieves.
Jan 14, 2019•47 min•Ep. 15
Fictitious Bonus Book Review: Bleak, propulsive, and frighteningly plausible, Robert Jackson Bennett’s concise novella Vigilance examines an America which has embraced gun violence as inevitable and marketable. Yet the greatest weapons wielded in this warning tale are the tools of media manipulation, used to keep a diminishing populace paranoid yet eager for more corporate-sponsored bloodshed.
Jan 11, 2019•10 min
Recorded at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, this live panel discussion features super-star TV-scribe Jane Espenson, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger co-executive producer Christine Boylan, young adult breakout author Tomi Adeyemi, Marvel & DC comics writer Erica Schultz, bestselling paranormal romance author Rebecca Zanetti, and Nerdist and Geek & Sundry writer Kendall Ashley. Moderated by Fictitious host Adron Buske. If you’re interested in what makes a great villain so compelling and captivating,...
Jan 07, 2019•52 min•Ep. 14
Isaac Marion is the author of the "Warm Bodies" series, which views the zombie apocalypse from the unique perspective of one of the Dead (who is trying very hard not to be). The bestselling first novel has been translated into 25 languages and was adapted as the hit 2013 film "Warm Bodies". The series includes prequel novella "The New Hunger" and sequel novel "The Burning World", and completes with his latest book, "The Living".
Dec 14, 2018•59 min•Ep. 13
Bram Stoker award-winning author Grady Hendrix's latest novel, "We Sold Our Souls", is out now from Quirk Books. It's a paranoia-drenched dark fantasy infused with horror, suspense, and a cranked-up-to-11 volume of heavy metal. We discuss the difficulty Grady encountered shaping "We Sold Our Souls" into its final form, the impact of music on the story, and his laborious revision process.
Dec 03, 2018•49 min•Ep. 12
Tade Thompson is the author of the award-winning, near-future sci-fi novel "Rosewater" (Orbit Books), set in Nigeria in 2066. The first novel in the "Wormwood" trilogy, it will be followed by the sequel, "Rosewater Insurrection", in early 2019.
Nov 09, 2018•47 min•Ep. 11
This bonus episode features Grant Faulkner, the executive director of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The interview originally aired in 2016 on the Nerd For A Living podcast. NaNoWrimo is a program designed to motivate writers to start and complete an entire 50,000 word novel within the month of November. It’s free to join at NaNoWriMo.org, which provides tools to track your daily word count, gain badges for achievements, and take part in a community of authors.
Nov 02, 2018•33 min
Nicholas Eames is author of the breakout epic fantasy debut "Kings of the Wyld" (Orbit Books), the first in "The Band" series. The sequel, "Bloody Rose", was released in August 2018. Nick's novels combine edge of your seat action, rock 'n roll sensibility, laugh out loud humor, and a huge helping of heart.
Oct 11, 2018•41 min•Ep. 10
Recorded live at San Diego Comic Con 2018, the "Here There Be Dragons: Creating Fresh Stories in Fantasy" panel features authors Tomi Adeyemi (Children of Blood and Bone), Robert Jackson Bennett (Foundryside), Jason Denzel (Mystic Dragon), R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War), and Mary E. Pearson (Dance of Thieves). Moderated by Adron Buske of the Fictitious Podcast.
Oct 03, 2018•50 min•Ep. 9
Author R.F. Kuang talks with Adron about her debut novel, The Poppy War (Harper Voyager). They discuss her writing process for the grim fantasy, its roots in the 20th-century history of China, and the influences of modern fantasy and animation on her work.
Sep 05, 2018•45 min•Ep. 8
Hugo-nominated author Robert Jackson Bennett (The Divine Cities Trilogy) talks with Adron about the creation process for his latest fantasy novel, Foundryside, which was just released by Crown Publishing.
Aug 27, 2018•42 min•Ep. 7
Jason Denzel, the author of fantasy novels "Mystic" and "Mystic Dragon" (TOR publishing), discusses his storytelling process and influences for creating the "Mystic" trilogy. Jason is a filmmaker, and the founder of Dragonmount.com, the leading online community for Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga.
Aug 21, 2018•58 min•Ep. 6
Our guest this episode is Leigh Bardugo, New York Times #1 bestselling author and the creator of the Grishaverse, a young adult fantasy series which has sold over one million copies. The Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy , and the Six of Crows Duology . Her latest book, The Language of Thorns , collects six short, fairy tale-infused stories, all based in her original fantasy world. Inspired by myth and folklore, the stories in The Language of Thorns are intoxicating, darkly atmospher...
Sep 26, 2017•58 min•Ep. 5
We’re joined by Robin Furth, author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance and co-writer of the Marvel Comics Dark Tower series. Robin was also a consultant on the recent Dark Tower film, has produced another concordance for a different Stephen King book series, and is consulting for other media properties. And she is now writing and releasing her own short stories and novels, as well as other comic projects.
Sep 14, 2017•59 min•Ep. 4
