754. P. Djèlí Clark (a.k.a. The Historian) — Abeni’s Song
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-754-pdjeli-clark/SandF_754_PDjeliClark.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSLost family, fabulous worldbuilding, and salamanders, oh my! Shaun Duke and Daniel Haeusser are joined by the wondrous P. Djèlí Clark for a fabulous interview about Abeni’s Song! Together, they discuss Clark’s turn to middle grade fantasy, his approach to worldbuilding, the complexities in using historical analogs, and so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
743. Shakirah Bourne (a.k.a. Master of Possibilities) — Nightmare Island (2023)
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-743-shakirah-bourne/SandF_743_Shakirah_Bourne.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMovie scores, weird doctors, and Douen, oh my! Shaun Duke is joined the profoundly wonderful Shakirah Bourne to talk about her new middle grade novel, Nightmare Island! Together, they discuss Shakirah’s approach to writing scary stories, incorporating history and folklore in Nightmare Island, and exploring the role of music and sound in our understanding of what makes people, well, people. Plus, there’s much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
The Next Book: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste!
As part of our #AudienceAssemble initiative, we’re going to try to be more active on our Patreon page and social media accounts. With that in mind, we’re announcing that our next book discussion will be on Tracey Baptiste’s fantastic middle grade novel, The Jumbies. And we’re inviting you to share your thoughts about it via our Twitter, Patreon page (and its related Discord server), and Facebook! Think of it as a kind of makeshift Skiffy and Fanty book club! You can get the book directly from Scholastic or where fine books are sold. It’s a quick read, so if you want to read along with us and share your thoughts, get started! We intend to record our podcast discussion on the 8th of July. In the future, we’d like to give a lot more lead time on our discussions, so stay tuned for some shifts in communications. Enjoy!
Guest Post: Switching Between Lanes, by Stephanie Burgis
I think that every writer who’s ever read publishing advice online has probably come across at least one article on the importance of “branding.” Apparently, to be really smart, writers ought to be figuring out the one thing that they’re best at — or the one thing that connects the most with potential readers — and then sticking to it no matter what, so that fans will know exactly what they’ll get from every new novel by that author. I know I sound a little snarky in that description, but I’m actually not arguing with it as a strategy. I’m sure that it is a smart, practical way to build a successful career. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much good at sticking to my own lane. There are too many wonderful genres that I love as a reader, and I get frustrated whenever I try to shut out all but one of them in my writing life. Before I sold my first books, I published dozens of adult f/sf short stories, and I drafted full-length novels for both adults and kids. Then my first agent, back in 2005, took me on with an adult historical fantasy manuscript, and it felt like my first big step onto the publishing ladder. Aha! I’m almost there!
