Stay ConnectedPage Break is a collection of casual conversations between epic fantasy author Brian McClellan and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies. Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. Brian aims to use this podcast to find out more about his friends and colleagues.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Copyright: © Brian McClellan
Brian's guest is author Brent Weeks. Brent is known for the Night Angel Trilogy and Lightbringer series, two acclaimed and best-selling epic fantasies.
Brent and Brian dig pretty deep into the world of an epic fantasy writer – they talk about the bloat experienced by most long series; how writing dark scenes can affect mental health; what Brent is up to next; and how to choose what to remove and what to leave in a story. Enjoy Brian's conversation with Brent Weeks!
Find Brent on Twitter or his website. Pick up one of his books from Amazon or your favorite bookseller!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon, direct from his bookstore, or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian's guest this week is YA author Aprilynne Pike. Aprilynne burst onto the scene with her debut novel Wings, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list on its second week of release back in 2009. She’s also written the Earthbound Series, the Charlotte Westing Chronicles, and the Kingdom of Versailles.
Brian chats with Aprilynne about being a parent as a professional creative; their childhood fears; and where your career goes after you start off at the top. Enjoy Brian's conversation with Aprilynne Pike!
Find Aprilynne on Twitter or her website. Pick up one of her books on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon, direct from his bookstore, or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian's guest is novelist and comedy writer Robert Brockway. Robert got his start during what many listeners will think of as the golden age of Cracked.com, editing and writing funny articles that were read by hundreds of thousands of people every week. Robert’s comedy chops have since moved on to co-found 1900HotDog.com. Robert is also the author of the post-apocalyptic horror novel Carrier Wave and the Vicious Circuit, an urban fantasy series from Tor Books.
Robert discussed his early days at Cracked.com; the responsibility of making people laugh; the difficulty of managing mental and physical health while creating, and the horrors of being thrown into the deep end of public speaking as a new author.
Find Robert on Twitter and at 1900HotDog.com. Pick up one of his books from Amazon or your favorite bookseller.
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon, direct from his bookstore, or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian's guest is bestselling novelist and screenwriter Pierce Brown. Pierce is known for his excellent Red Rising space opera. During their chat, Pierce dissects Brian's childhood and they philosophize about the headspace of writing as well as their mutual love of video games. They talk about screenwriting, and Pierce even gives a bit of an update on the much-anticipated book six of the Red Rising series and his thoughts on the TV show.
Follow Pierce on Twitter and Instagram. Find his books on Amazon or your favorite bookstore!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon, direct from his bookstore, or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian’s guest is horror and science fiction writer, Dan Wells. Dan is the author of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed I am Not a Serial Killer, which was turned into a major motion picture in 2016. He’s also written the Partials Sequence, the Mirador series, the Audible Original Zero G, and a number of other novellas, short stories, and stand-alone novels.
Brian talks with Dan about authorial branding; supporting his family during the pandemic as a professional game master; some of the ins and outs of their business, and about Dan's current collaboration with their mutual friend Brandon Sanderson.
Find Dan on Twitter and Instagram. Hire him as a game master, or buy one of his books from Amazon or Audible!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon or wherever books are sold! You can find those signed bookplates on his website store.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian’s guest is the venerable science fiction and fantasy author Maggie Ogden – better known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm. Robin is best known to fantasy readers for her multiple series set in the Realm of the Elderlings. These include, but are not limited to, the Farseer Trilogy and the Liveship Traders Trilogy.
Brian and Robin discuss her long career, starting in children’s literature and all the way up to the recent announcement that she would be receiving the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. They talk about her use of pen names, her farm and grandkids, and her current writing habits.
Follow Robin on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up one of her books from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore.
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian’s guest is Twitch streamer, youtuber, performer, professional tabletop roleplayer, and all-around content creator Mark Hulmes. Mark is the creator of the very successful dungeons and dragons Twitch show, HighRollers, and has had numerous guest spots as both a player and dungeon master on shows all over the internet—including Critical Role.
The two talk about Mark's career; the state of roleplaying when they grew up versus where it is today; building a positive interactive community; and managing players as a gamemaster.
Follow Mark on Twitter and Instagram, and find his fantastic show HighRollersDnD on Twitch or Youtube.
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon or wherever books are sold!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian’s guest is multi-genre novelist and comic writer Delilah S. Dawson. Delilah is known for her widespread work with tie-in fiction including Star Wars, Spiderman, Rick and Morty, Hellboy, and Firefly. She writes fantasy under the name Lila Bowen with the Shadow series, and comedy fantasy in partnership with Kevin Hearne on the Tales of Pell series. Her next book—a middle grade horror novel called Mine—is out on August 10th, 2021.
Delilah and Brian talk about exercise as a form of creative inspiration, the grueling schedule of a comic writer, and Delilah’s experience working on Star Wars.
Follow Delilah on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up her latest book, Mine, from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon or where ever books are sold.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian's guest is software engineer and award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Aliette de Bodard. Aliette has been published in magazines, ezines, collections, and in long form by major publishers across a prolific career. She has either been nominated for or outright won many of the big awards in genre publishing.
Aliette and Brian talked about history and conflict; about writing and rewriting, and how working with translators and being multilingual change the way writers think about our stories.
Follow Aliette on Twitter or her website. Look for her books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite bookstore.
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon or where ever books are sold.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brian's guest is podcaster, tech journalist, and author Tom Merritt. Tom has a wildly prolific career, starting in local radio and working for CNET, the Twit.tv network, and numerous freelance radio, writing, and podcast gigs. He currently hosts the Daily Tech News Show and Cordkillers, as well as the science fiction and fantasy podcast Sword and Laser.
Brian asks Tom about his storied career across multiple media; the intersection of audiobooks and podcasting; as well as Tom’s forays into science fiction.
Follow Tom on Twitter and check out all his projects on his website. Look for Tom's books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite online bookstore!
Find Brian at his website, on Twitter and Instagram, or find his books on Amazon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
