All posts by Vance

03Dec/21

Mike Keren

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December 3, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Mike Keren as the guest on Season 6, Episode 48 – A Funny Book About Death & Dying!

Mike Keren brings us his memoir Four Funerals, No Marriage. We discuss his unique perspective as a health professional, caregiver, and patient as he unfolds his sense of humor relating to facing the end of life.

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Bio:

Mike Keren is a clinical psychologist with advanced training in psychoanalysis and family therapy. He currently maintains a private practice for adults and couples in central New Jersey, though in the past he worked in a variety of community and correctional facilities. Although he has a general practice, he has a particular interest in working with caregivers as well as helping families talk about end-of-life issues.

Mike enjoys a challenge in his free time and has explored the world of competitive gay tournament bowling (several trophies and a bit of prize money), golf (bored to tears), and stand-up comedy. His foray into stand-up even became the subject of a friend’s senior thesis at film school. He eventually decided to leave the stage to the younger folks and channeled his humor into writing.

Mike is supported in his endeavors by his loving husband, Tom, and their two canine children, Carley and Clyde. They divide their time between central New Jersey and the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiofQZi1JFs[/embedyt]

26Nov/21

J Warren

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November 26, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome J. Warren back as the guest on Season 6, Episode 47 – There Will Be A Quiz Later!

J. Warren returns to share his latest novel, Tygers. We look at an alternate timeline where the ultra-conservative element in the world has radicalized queer individuals.

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Bio:

J. Warren is a scholar, an author, a comic book reader, a lover of all things science fiction, a drinker of Belgian beers, and transgressive fiction fanatic.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdOjg5ZvfMc[/embedyt]

August 14, 2020

It gives us great pleasure to welcome J. Warren back as the guest on Episode 281 – A Minor Character Named Sharkey!

J. Warren is a scholar, an author, a comic book reader, a lover of all things science fiction, a drinker of Belgian beers, and transgressive fiction fanatic.

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Bio:

J. Warren is a scholar, an author, a comic book reader, a lover of all things science fiction, a drinker of Belgian beers, and transgressive fiction fanatic.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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July 21, 2017


It gives us great pleasure to announce J. Warren as the guest on Episode 121: So That’s a Thing!

This week J. Warren joins us to discuss his latest novel, Remains, the allure of transgressive fiction, and the echoes of Greek myth in his horror.

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*** At one point in the interview, Joe said “The Lost Boys by Burroughs.” It should have been: “The Wild Boys by Burroughs.”
*** At another point, Baz said “Brian Fischer” while referencing Star Trek Discovery on CBS. It should have been: “Bryan Fuller.”
All three of us apologize for missing it before the audio went live! ***

Bio:

J. Warren is a scholar, an author, a comic book reader, a lover of all things science fiction, a drinker of Belgian beers, and transgressive fiction fanatic.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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12Nov/21

Rem Wigmore

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November 12, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Rem Wigmore as the guest on Season 6, Episode 45 – Queer As Hell!

Rem Wigmore joins us to share their solarpunk, hopepunk, future fantasy-scifi novel Foxhunt! We delve into a discussion of subgenres that have come from climate change fiction and satisfying romantic arcs.

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Bio:

Rem Wigmore is a speculative fiction writer based in Wellington, New Zealand, and author of the queer solarpunk novel Foxhunt. Their previous works include the 2020 novella Riverwitch and their first novel The Wind City (2013). Their short fiction appears in several places including the Capricious Gender Diverse Pronouns Issue, Baffling Magazine, and the second Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy anthology. Rem’s probably a changeling, but you’re stuck with them now. The coffee here is just too good.

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05Nov/21

Marcus Tallberg

Featured Guest

November 5, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Marcus Tallberg as the guest on Season 6, Episode 44 – So That’s Fika!

Marcus Tallberg joins us to share his novels My Queer Teen Life and Being Alice, and we cover a range of topics including international publishing, telling own-voices stories, and writing authentic stories about characters who identify differently than the author!

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Bio:

The young, Swedish entrepreneur Marcus Tallberg is a multifaceted man. He’s a writer, a publisher, a lecturer and an inspirer. Marcus is specifically dedicated to issues related to mental illness, minorities, sexuality and gender identity.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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22Oct/21

The National LGBT Help Center & Hotline

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October 22, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Roger from the National LGBT Help Center as the guest on Season 6, Episode 42 – It’s Okay to Have Questions

Roger from the National LGBT Help Center and Hotline joins us to share the scrappy DIY history of the Help Center, inform us of the services they offer, and point out they are a great first step if you have any questions related to orientation, identity, safer-sex practices, bullying, family concerns, relationships, and so much more!

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Bio:
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) National Help Center, founded in 1996, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides vital peer-support, community connections and resource information to people with questions regarding sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Utilizing a diverse group of LGBT volunteers, we operate three national hotlines, the LGBT National Hotline, the LGBT National Youth Talkline, and the LGBT National Senior Hotline as well as private, volunteer one-to-one online chat, that helps both youth and adults with coming-out issues, safer-sex information, school bullying, family concerns, relationship problems and a lot more.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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08Oct/21

Rue Sparks

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October 8, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Rue Sparks as the guest on Season 6, Episode 40 – A Bit of a Weird Genre!

Rue Sparks joins us to share their upcoming novel, The Fable of Wren. We also talk about loss, grief, genre, and the normalcy of non-binary and genderqueer characters.

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Bio:

A widow, disabled, and a member of the queer community, Rue Sparks traverses the equally harsh and cathartic landscape where trauma and healing align to create stories that burrow into the hearts and minds of their readers. In addition to The Stars Will Guide Us Back, Sparks has authored the novella Daylight Chasers, writes the web serial The Dragon Warden, and will be releasing the contemporary mystery novel The Fable of Wren later in 2021. They live in Noblesville, Indiana in the USA with their sweet senior support dog and still draw and paint when they’re physically able.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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01Oct/21

The Taste Curators

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October 1, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome The Taste Curators – Lish Steiling and Abbey Cook as the guests on Season 6, Episode 39 – Out To Inspire!

Lish Steiling and Abbey Cook share how they merge food, fashion and design to build emotional experiences through their new brand – The Taste Curators!

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Bio:

For over 24 years, Lish Steiling has worked in the culinary arts. For the past seven years she held the position of VP of Culinary Operations and Production for the celebrity chef, Giada De Laurentiis. While working in this role, Lish won an ‘Outstanding Culinary Program’ Emmy for being the culinary producer for Giada Entertains.

Lish’s career started in restaurants before she expanded to food styling and recipe development for places such as Food Network, New York Times, Gourmet magazine and the Today Show.

She competed on the TV show, Chopped, and walked away with the win. Lish has also been featured in the book Chef’s Ink and Elle Sweden magazine for her unique food tattoos and recipes. She was recently a guest judge on Food Network’s Vegas Chef Prizefight. Lish is currently a culinary consultant, food stylist, culinary instructor and contributor to Giadzy. Lish has also been a repeated guest on the Epicurious YouTube series called “Pro Chef vs. Home Cook” and will have a new episode coming out soon.

Abbey Cook has been a trend forecaster for over 15 years and has traveled to 50+ countries in order to seek out and create lifestyle and fashion trends. She sees the big picture and connects emerging ideas in culture that are created into understandable stories for the future.

Abbey has predicted some of the most influential trends and social movements of the past decade including the hipster effect and the rise of skinny jeans. She was also a key player in creating the cult color that defined a generation, Millennial Pink. She has presented her research and forecasts to Fortune 500 companies around the world. As a keynote speaker she has been featured at international trade shows in Paris, Shanghai and Medellin.

Abbey developed her career in Paris designing fabrics for Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier at the textile atelier, Malhia Kent. She has worked at Martha Stewart Living, Kohler, The Color Association of the U.S. and Cotton Incorporated. She is currently a consultant, creating custom fashion and design forecasts for trend, experiential marketing and branding agencies. She has also recently been a repeated guest lecturer on trend forecasting at The School of New York Times.

Together they are working on building our new brand The Taste Curators, where we are merging food, fashion and design.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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24Sep/21

Blake Allwood

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September 24, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Blake Allwood back as the guest on Season 6, Episode 38 – Playing In The Weeds!

Blake Allwood returns to share the final in his Romantic Renovations series, the announcement of his Coming Home series, and invite you to his F.U. Covid virtual party!

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Bio:

Blake Allwood was born in west TN, then moved to Kansas City MO after attending college in Iowa. He met his husband in 1995 and they officially married in 2015, once the United States legalized gay marriage.

In 2017, he and his husband sold their home, purchased an RV and began traveling the country with their two dogs. Their travels provide the inspiration and settings for many of his novels.

Typically, Blake can be found writing in the RV or by the fire with his laptop and their Jack Russell Terrier, Buddy, curled up between his legs or demanding his attention. Denver, their Siberian Husky mix is often asleep at his feet or playing tug of war with Blake’s husband.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):

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May 28, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Blake Allwood as the guest on Season 6, Episode 21 – From An Authentic Place

Blake Allwood drops in to share his latest book Love’s Legacy. We dive into M/M Romance written by gay men and discuss selling everything to live the RV life.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Bio:

Blake Allwood was born in west TN, then moved to Kansas City MO after attending college in Iowa. He met his husband in 1995 and they officially married in 2015, once the United States legalized gay marriage.

In 2017, he and his husband sold their home, purchased an RV and began traveling the country with their two dogs. Their travels provide the inspiration and settings for many of his novels.

Typically, Blake can be found writing in the RV or by the fire with his laptop and their Jack Russell Terrier, Buddy, curled up between his legs or demanding his attention. Denver, their Siberian Husky mix is often asleep at his feet or playing tug of war with Blake’s husband.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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10Sep/21

Anthony Hand

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September 10, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Anthony Hand as the guest on Season 6, Episode 36 – She’s Dyna Bolical!

Anthony Hand shares the kickoff of his Maxxie La Wow – Drag Super-Shero project with us. He talks about the inspiration for a drag hero and shares the kickstarter where you can be a part of it all happening!

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Bio:

Anthony Hand is a product designer and former entrepreneur in Silicon Valley where he puts his storytelling skills to use on a daily basis. Anthony has seen every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race since Season 1, frequents local and national cabaret and theater, and is a recovering comic book geek. Drag legend Dina Martina is his spirit totem. Anthony is the president of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
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03Sep/21

Alex Woolfson

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September 3, 2021

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Alex Woolfson as the guest on Season 6, Episode 35 – An Unlimited Special Effects Budget!

Alex Woolfson joins us to talk comics for people like us. He introduces us to his Artifice and The Young Protectors projects, and then gives a masterclass on working with artists!

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Bio:

Alex writes and publishes gay male action-romance comics for cool people. As a gay kid growing up, he never got to see what he wanted to see – science-fiction and action stories with heroes, real heroes, who just happened to like other guys. So, after a successful career as a filmmaker, he started making these comics. In particular, he wants to make comics that are just as good as what the straight boys get, but for us. Now, with the support of readers on Patreon, it’s his full-time job! He also loves to talk about sci-fi, productivity apps and other geeky stuff.

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