It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 36: K.D. Edwards!
KD Edwards shares his series The Tarot Sequence. We talk about the books that are already out – The Last Sun, The Hanged Man, The Hourglass Throne, and The Eidolon – which leads us to conversations about family, platonic love vs romantic love, and rethinking mythology for urban fantasy!
Bio:
K.D. lives and writes in North Carolina, but has spent time in Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado, New Hampshire, Montana, and Washington. (Common theme until NC: Snow. So, so much snow.)
Mercifully short careers in food service, interactive television, corporate banking, retail management, and bariatric furniture has led to a much less short career in Higher Education.
The first book in his urban fantasy series THE TAROT SEQUENCE, called THE LAST SUN, was published by Pyr in June 2018. The third installment, THE HOURGLASS THRONE, was released in May 2022, and THE EIDOLON, the first official companion novel, was released in February 2023.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 35: Len M. Ruth!
Len M. Ruth shares his works, Beneath the Dark Water, Spectral Seduction, Star Haven Rising, and Unnatural Desires. He embraces many fiction genres: Dark Noir, Young Adult, Speculative Fiction, and even Supernatural Erotica, all while writing queerness in a way that matters… and we discuss them all!
Bio:
Len M. Ruth writes dark speculative fiction about people grappling with grief, loss, and the hard choices that follow when things unravel. His work blends literary sensibility with genre thrills. He’s written The Pull, The Unrecovered, Rachael’s Apocalypse Diary, Beneath the Dark Water, and Tales of the Doomed. He also co-authors the Spectral Seduction series with Devora Gray, a paranormal dark romance saga with weird mystery and dark humor woven through. His stories tend toward found family, characters who refuse easy answers, and the moments that remake you. He lives in Las Vegas with his partner Emory and their dog Cooper.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 33: Louis Flint Ceci!
Louis Flint Ceci shares his novel The Cross Quarter Mysteries. We discuss writing a suspenseful murder that explores multiple meanings of “mystery.” Plus the magic of the setting, the impact of trauma, and finding love and peace.
Bio:
Louis Flint Ceci is an author, educator, and retired software engineer. His published works include poems, short stories, autobigraphical essays, and a novel. He has also published scholarly works on poetics, linguistics, and artificial neural networks. He is a masters swimmer, having competed in the past four Gay Games, the FINA World Championships in Perth and Montreal, and numerous IGLA meets. He won the gold medal in the Poetic Justice poetry slam at the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 32: Andy Barrow!
Andy Barrow shares his debut novel Peter in Progress. We discuss coming out later in life and facing self-shame as well as other people’s scrutiny, plus finding joy in wellness, queer friendships + situationships, and embracing a life of growth.
Bio:
Andy Barrow is a New York-based writer whose debut novel, Peter in Progress, draws inspiration from his own later-in-life gay awakening. Despite the challenges of a thirty-something reckoning, Andy counts his coming out—and ongoing “second” adolescence—as his most wonderful life chapter. His return to writing fiction, which was a passion in his younger years, has been no small part of that joy. Gay life has been too big, beautiful, delirious, and complicated to not pick up the pen!
While embracing life as a gay man and author, Andy somehow manages to maintain a day job; he’s a proud educator who has taught, designed and led middle and high schools, and now consults with schools and districts. He has won awards from Harvard University and Teach for America for his teaching, and his writing on education has been published in both popular periodicals (Chalkbeat, Grown and Flown) and academic journals (Penn, UCLA). He holds a doctorate in curriculum, instruction, and innovation from the University of Virginia, and his dissertation on the relationship between student struggle and deeper learning won the departmental award.
When not writing or teaching, Andy is likely perfecting his backhand, nabbing last-minute theater tickets, or making up for lost time on the dance floor—preferably with ‘90s icons (Crystal, CeCe, Whitney…) on rotation.
An unabashed extrovert, Andy is always looking to expand his network and to connect with fellow creatives—especially queer ones.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 31: Rob Costello!
Rob Costello shares his debut YA novel An Ugly World for Beautiful Boys. We discuss past trauma, facing shame, and why the young adult genre can be dark. We then talk about his anthology We Mostly Come Out at Night, and the queer joy he and the contributors share through monsters.
Bio:
Before Rob Costello discovered writing, he cleaned toilets and flipped burgers for a living. He dealt cards in a casino. He processed trade documents for an international bank. He dispatched police and emergency services, and answered 911 calls. He’s been a receptionist, a secretary, and a chief of staff. He was a social media manager for a while and even a speechwriter.
In 2012, he earned his MFA degree in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He’s proud of that, but let us know it doesn’t mean he knows how to write any better than anybody else. It just means he tried really hard and did his best.
Rob’s also an alumnus of the Millay Arts, a beautiful and secluded retreat for artists and writers located on the former estate of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. It’s an amazing place he highly recommends!
In addition to writing short stories and novels, he also teaches.
In June of 2023, Rob launched R(ev)ise and Shine! (with co-founders Lesa Cline-Ransome, Jo Knowles, and Jennifer Richard Jacobson), an online writing community where passionate writers come together to learn, grow, & thrive.
He and his husband live on top of a wide and windy hill in the countryside of upstate New York, where they dutifully take orders from their four-legged overlords who graciously allow them to live there. And feed them. And walk them twice daily. And pick up their poo.
Rob is an active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and a full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 30: Benjamin Feliciano!
Benjamin Feliciano joins us to announce the release of his novel Bound: For Greatness. We discuss our joy of endless summer adventures with kids on bikes, growing into a sense of one’s self while facing the supernatural, hunting down the right cover artist, and the future of growing up with the series.
Bio:
Benjamin Wesley Feliciano is an author, lead singer of the band Younger Than Neil, founder of The Ideology Art Collective, painter, and a conceptual performance artist. His work has been exhibited in Memento Mori Gallery, Blue Tile Gallery, and 40 West Gallery.
He hosts a free monthly art club every first Sunday at Memento Mori Gallery & Tattoo.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 29: Abigail de Niverville!
Abigail de Niverville returns with the rerelease of I Knew Him and the companion novel Be True. We discuss bi-erasure, prejudice, friendship, and character growth through discomfort. We then delve into talking about crafting contemporary romances and overcoming a writing slump
Bio:
Abigail de Niverville is a Moncton-born author living in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2017 with a Master’s of Composition. While studying music, Abigail would escape the daily stresses of university life by writing stories and novels. Her experiences in theatre performance and production often influence her creative works. She continues to dedicate her free time to writing novels, poetry, and songs.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
October 9, 2020
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Abigail de Niverville back as the guest on Episode 289 – They Went There!
Abigail de Niverville returns to share her latest novel, We Go Together, and we discuss healing from abuse, bi-representation, a trans love interest, and music’s role in a story. A great discussion all the way around.
Abigail de Niverville is a Moncton-born composer and author living in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2017 with a Master’s of Composition, having studied with Alexander Rapoport. She has previously studied with Kevin Morse at Mount Allison University. While studying music, Abigail would often escape the daily stresses of university life by writing stories and novels. Her experiences in theatre performance and production often influence her creative works in all mediums. In 2019, her debut novel I Knew Him was released by NineStar Press. She continues to dedicate her time writing novels, poetry, and songs.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
OR Watch On YouTube!
April 26, 2019
It gives us great pleasure to welcome Abigail de Niverville as the guest on Episode 213 – Unnecessarily Mysterious!
Abigail de Niverville joins us to discuss her new novel, I Knew Him, as well as how her musical composition informed her work and her take on YA literature.
Abigail de Niverville is a Moncton-born composer and author living in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2017 with a Master’s of Composition, having studied with Alexander Rapoport. She has previously studied with Kevin Morse at Mount Allison University. Her experiences in theatre performance and production often influence her creative works.
Recent musical works include: Letters (for tenor and piano), Let Me In (for Ensemble Atlantica), and October 4th, 1967 (a mini opera).
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 23: Chris Holcombe!
Chris Holcombe shares his latest Hidden Gothem novels: The Naughty List (standalone short) and The Big Timer (book 4). We discuss the evolution of his novels, more queer Harlem history, the Rainbow Readers Cruise, and Chris’s park walks.
Bio:
Chris Holcombe is the author of the Hidden Gotham series, LGBTQ+ noir that readers call “Honest-to-goodness pulp fiction at its gayest and most glamorous!”
Set in the Queer clubs of 1920s NYC, Hidden Gotham exposes and explores that fabulous yet gritty life during The Decade That Roared.
Chris’s work features engaging characters, whip-smart dialogue, and page-turning plots. He also infuses real Queer history and at least one “seriously, WTF?!” Prohibition factoid into every book. All written in an immersive, atmospheric writing style.
He is currently hard at work on his next book, and he asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
June 14, 2024
It gives us great pleasure to present a Season 9, Episode 23 Interview – Chris Holcombe
Chris Holcombe returns to share his Hidden Gotham series. He then teases the upcoming book 4, and shares his Pride Month Short Story!
Chris Holcombe is the author of LGBTQ+ historical crime fiction called The Hidden Gotham Series, which showcases New York’s lively but criminally under-represented queer world of the 1920s. His first novel The Double Vice was released in 2021 to great acclaim, with Queer Writers of Crime calling it “one of the best I’ve read all year! I can’t recommend it highly enough!” His second novel The Blind Tiger was released in 2022, and it continues the story of gay speakeasy owner Dash Parker and his Queer friends in Greenwich Village and in Harlem. Readers heralded it as “honest-to-goodness pulp fiction at its gayest and most glamorous!” The third novel in the series The Devil Card was released in 2023, with readers saying it was Holcombe’s best one yet. He is currently hard at work plotting and planning the next Hidden Gotham novel. He asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
June 16, 2023
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 8, Episode 25: Chris Holcombe + Our Review of ABC’s “Soul of a Nation: The Freedom to Exist!”
Chris Holcombe brings his fun energy as we talk about The Devil Card, the third in his Hidden Gotham series. We discuss his diverse cast and the real-world WTF facts from queer and prohibition history that shaped his setting. Then Baz and Vance rate and review ABC’s important “Soul of a Nation: The Freedom to Exist” and close by sharing who won their weeks!
Bio:
Chris Holcombe is the author of LGBTQ+ historical crime fiction called The Hidden Gotham Series, which showcases New York’s lively but criminally under-represented queer world of the 1920s.
He asks that you send gin and chocolate for encouragement.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 21: Donna Minkowitz!
Donna Minkowitz returns with the new edition of her memoir, Growing Up Golem. We discuss her journey from feeling “constructed” toward feeling like a person. Donna’s style introduces dark topics and growing pains with intellect and fierce fantasy.
Bio:
Donna Minkowitz is a writer of fantasy, memoir, and journalism lauded by Lilith Magazine for her “fierce imagination and compelling prose.” Science fiction great Terry Bisson called her writing “rich and wild, dark and funny, as fearless as her legendary journalism and as scary as a fairy tale.” And she’s proud that Kirkus has praised the “defiant and playful energy” of her work.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
Or Listen/Watch Right Here:
March 14, 2025
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 10, Episode 9: Donna Minkowitz!
Donna Minkowitz joins us to share her first fiction novel: Donnaville. We discuss backdrops of the mind, growth of the self through the parts of self, character struggles, and yes… there are authoritarians who are trying to bring about a stricter society.
Bio:
Donna Minkowitz is a writer of fantasy, memoir, and journalism lauded by Lilith Magazine for her “fierce imagination and compelling prose.” Science fiction great Terry Bisson called her writing “rich and wild, dark and funny, as fearless as her legendary journalism and as scary as a fairy tale.” And she’s proud that Kirkus has praised the “defiant and playful energy” of her work.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 20: Russ López!
Russ López shares his novel, Provincetown Stories. We discuss him finding a home in Boston/Provincetown, the inspiration for the amazing characters that inspire his work, and then writing a fun collection of short fiction stories as a love-letter to this amazing area.
Bio:
Russ López is the author of Provincetown Stories, a collection set in the Portuguese fishing village/gay tourist mecca on the tip of Cape Cod. He’s written six nonfiction books including The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown, and Beyond. He is the editor of Latin eLit, an online magazine that publishes fiction by and about Latinx people, and his work has appeared in The Fictional Café, Somos en escrito, Northeast Atlantic, Discretionary Love, Night Picnic, The Gay and Lesbian Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and many other places. López has also written numerous academic articles, book reviews, and works in many formats, and has presented at numerous book festivals, podcasts, and special programming on books and literature. Originally from California, Russ has degrees from Stanford, Harvard, and Boston University. He splits his time between Boston and Ptown year-round.
This Podcast episode is available on these channels (in order alphabetical):
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 36: K.D. Edwards!
