Reader/Writer

We talk to our first Hugo-nominated guest Justin Landon of Staffer's Book Review and the host of the new podcast from Tor.com, Rocket Talk. We talk about the Hugos, how his Hugo-nominated book came to be, and giving a good review.

Our Audible picks this month:

Ben and Mary Ellen review Scott Sigler's newest book Pandemic. If you don't want spoilers, stop listening after the promo for Farlost from John Mierau.

Another panel from ConFusion 2014 in Detroit, MI. Panelists Anne Gray, Candra Gill and Mark Oshiro discuss diversity in comics and Spec Fic in general.

From the programme:

"Many of us love superheroes because as kids we wanted to be like them, but what happens when you don't see any superheroes or creators who look like you?"

Promo for Way of the Buffalo Podcast.

We talk to Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine about The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, The Shared Desk and Kickstarter campaigns.

Promos for Farlost and Tales From the Archives.

We are asking our listeners to help out and support the show by donating on our Patreon page. Visit http://www.patreon.com/readerwriter to help out.

Our picks for this month:

Ben talks to Matthew Pizzolato from The Western Online about writing westerns.

Ben is on his first convention panel at ConFusion 2014. From the programme:

Catherine Shaffer, Brian Gray, Ben Delano

"Marvel Entertainment recently announced the "Be the next Jane Foster" STEM mentoring program and contest, and even hygiene products are getting in on the act (AXE's "Be an Astronaut" contest). Can speculative media franchises boost interest in the sciences, especially for underrepresented groups?"

Promos for Canada Reads and Way Of The Buffalo

We talk with author and graphic artist Starla Huchton about her upcoming book Evolution: Angel, marketing strategies for independent authors, and book covers.

Promos for Scott Sigler's Pandemic and Tales from the Archives: Vol. 3

We are asking our listeners to help out and support the show by donating on our Patreon page. Visit http://www.patreon.com/readerwriter to help out.

Our picks for this month:

The MacGuffin is often a maligned element of storytelling. Most of the time, when you hear it mentioned, you are meant to tread carefully, if not avoid the trope.

However, at ConFusion 2014, Ben asked a few authors how you can use a MacGuffin well. These are the responses from Brad Beaulieu, Howard Tayler, John Scalzi, Laura Resnick, Michael R. Underwood, Myke Cole and Peter V. Brett. Of course, what would be a One Question episode without Dave Robison?

It's the return of the Dumb Questions panel from ConFusion! Myke Cole moderates again this year with guests Jacqueline Carey, Nancy Fulda, Sam Sykes and Laura Resnick. It's the one panel where smart questions are discouraged.

Includes promo for The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Podcast

We have a chat with Matthew Wayne Selznick about his upcoming project, Reading the Amazing Spider-Man, theme, and Selznick Serials.

Promos for The Guild of the Cowry Catchers and Scott Sigler's Pandemic.

Matthew has offered a $4 discount to our listeners who pre-order Reading the Amazing Spider-Man. You can order either the EPUB or MOBI (Kindle) versions of the book by clicking. You must pre-order before Feb. 9!

Our picks for this month: