Caitlin Starling, LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM author
Fictitious
Caitlin Starling returns to Fictitious to talk about her new horror-tinged, sci-fi thriller, LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM. We talk writing surreal scenes, and using a "load-bearing cat". About Last to Leave the Room The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster. As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before – and one night, it opens to reveal an exact...
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Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey, THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN co-authors
Fictitious
Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey are both powerhouse bestselling authors in their own rights. Now, they’ve merged their considerable talents in cosmic horror and urban fantasy to create the new novel, THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN. In a New York City absolutely filthy with magic—monsters and the mundane intermingle. When that cohabitation breeds horrific problems—and it always does—you need people like Julie Crews to clean up the mess. But being a coked-out, broke ass, pig-pen disaster of a magician like Julie creates as many issues as it solves. Struggling to make rent and constantly...
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James L. Sutter, rpg co-creator of PATHFINDER and STARFINDER; author of DARKHEARTS
Fictitious
In this episode we’re going to deviate a bit from the usual focus on fiction to talk about writing for tabletop roleplaying games and related media. RPGs have always been deeply interconnected with fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, and right now they are more popular and prevalent than ever before. James L. Sutter co-created the lore and story-rich fantasy RPG PATHFINDER for Paizo Publishing, which has become one of the most popular roleplaying games in the world. He then took the role of Creative Director on STARFINDER, a science-fantasy RPG that reimagined the world of Pathfinder in a...
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Greta Kelly, THE QUEEN OF DAYS author
Fictitious
Greta Kelly returns to Fictitious to talk about her new fantasy novel, THE QUEEN OF DAYS. We discuss its origin as a NaNoWriMo project, developing a tightly-contained fantasy setting, and maintaining emotional drama in a fast-paced heist story. THE QUEEN OF DAYS is breakneck-paced fantasy adventure coming October 24th from Harper Voyager. Order it now at: » » » Some of the links above are affiliate links. Using them helps support this site and its writers. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will...
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Matt Wallace, SAVAGE CROWNS author
Fictitious
Matt Wallace talks about his epic fantasy trilogy, THE SAVAGE REBELLION — which includes SAVAGE NATION, SAVAGE BOUNTY, and SAVAGE CROWNS, all available now from Saga Press. We discuss the series's examination of empire, historical influences, impact of sensitivity readers, and challenging editorial process. Savage Legion » Savage Bounty » » Savage Crowns » » » Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores. About...
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Fictitious Returns from Hiatus!
Fictitious
After a two-year hiatus, Fictitious returns to your podcast feeds. Host Adron Buske explains the reason for the break, and the return, and how the show will evolve going forward. For all my interviews, show info, and more, visit: Right now, the best social media platform for Fictitious is Instagram:
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Zen Cho, BLACK WATER SISTER author
Fictitious
Zen Cho discusses her latest book, BLACK WATER SISTER, an urban fantasy of ghosts, grandmas, and gangsters set in Malaysia. We talk about crafting authentic regional dialects, writing "fantasy" using real world religious lore, and exploring cultural idiom in world-building. BLACK WATER SISTER is out now from ACE Books.
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Josh Malerman, GOBLIN author
Fictitious
Josh Malerman (author of BIRD BOX) talks about his book GOBLIN, a dark fantasy novel comprised of 6 individual but connected novellas. We discuss his prolific writing process, finding the rhythm for a story, exploring themes of obsession, and making a city the main character of his novel. GOBLIN is available in hardcover now from Del Rey Books.
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Marissa Levien, THE WORLD GIVES WAY author
Fictitious
Marissa Levien, author of THE WORLD GIVES WAY, talks about her dystopian apocalypse story set on an interstellar generation ship. We discuss the cat-and-mouse chase plot, exploring character's perception of their 'world', and how to use different POVs to set tone and audience expectation. THE WORLD GIVES WAY arrives June 1st from Red Hook.
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Marina Lostetter, THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT author
Fictitious
THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT author Marina Lostetter discusses her mystery-infused dark fantasy novel. We dig deep into her elaborate world-building and object-based magic system, how she discovered the story's themes, and her messy, start-at-the-end plotting methodology.
info_outlineI’m joined in this episode by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of SON OF THE STORM. In the thriving but socially stratified city of Bassa, a young scholar named Danso struggles with family expectations and cultural pressures. Worse, he’s discovered lost historical lore at odds with the approved political narrative—knowledge he’s sworn to forget, but cannot let go of.
The course of his life alters when he encounters a skin-changing warrior who, by all accounts, shouldn’t exist. The journey that follows sets Danso against an enormous conspiracy, of violently suppressed histories, elicit magic, and forbidden lands. Their efforts could reshape an empire—or cost them everything.
The first book in THE NAMELESS REPUBLIC fantasy series, SON OF THE STORM arrives May 11th from Orbit Books:
» Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores.
Mentioned in this Interview
Read Suyi’s Goodreads post about terms used in this story and their cultural origins.
About Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction and general speculative fiction inspired by his West-African origins. His godpunk fantasy debut novel David Mogo, Godhunter (Abaddon, 2019), won the 2020 Nommo Ilube Award for Best Speculative Novel by an African. His shorter fiction and nonfiction have appeared internationally in periodicals like Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, and anthologies like Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda (Marvel/Titan, 2021) and Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (Saga, 2020).
As a speaker and instructor, Suyi teaches college-level writing, earning his MFA at the University of Arizona. He has guest-lectured public workshops at venues like the Piper Writing Centre at ASU and the Tucson Festival of Books, as well as appeared at various conferences, conventions, readings and school visits, including at the University of Washington and the University of Chicago. His work has earned him features in the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR and a Carl Brandon Society scholarship.
Follow Suyi Davies Okungbowa
About SON OF THE STORM
From one of the most exciting new storytellers in epic fantasy, Son of the Storm is a sweeping tale of violent conquest and forgotten magic set in a world inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.
In the ancient. city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.
But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.