Fictitious

About Fictitious

The Fictitious podcast, hosted by Adron Buske, delves into the craft of Science Fiction and Fantasy storytelling through interviews with authors and other professional writers. These conversations examine the writing process, techniques, and work habits of passionate creators and explore their most recent, and most popular, works.

Publisher

Adron Buske

Category

arts · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

5 Jun 2017

Latest episode

29 Nov 2023

Latest episodes

95 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Nov 2023

   Caitlin Starling, LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM author

   Caitlin Starling returns to Fictitious to talk about her new horror-tinged, sci-fi thriller, LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM.  We talk writing surreal scenes, and using a "load-bearing cat". About Last to Leave the Room The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster. As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before – and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise. But the longer the double exists, the more Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, to lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world. As her employer grows increasingly suspicious, Tamsin must try to hold herself together long enough to figure out what her double wants from her, and just where the mysterious door leads… LAST TO LEAVE THE ROOM is potent and surreal, horror-inflected science fiction available now from St. Martin’s Press: Amazon (https://amzn.to/3uCnCCQ) » Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/a/16632/9781250282613) » » Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores. About Caitlin Starling Caitlin Starling is the nationally bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, as well as Last to Leave the Room and the Bram Stoker-nominated The Luminous Dead. Her other works include Yellow Jessamine and a Vampire: The Masquerade novella, The Land of Milk and Honey (published in the collection Walk Among Us). Her nonfiction has appeared in Nightmare, Uncanny, and Tor Nightfire. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid to invent body parts. Website (https://www.caitlinstarling.com/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/see_starling) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/authorcstarling) BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/cstarling.bsky.social) Amazon (https://amzn.to/3QYBVcj) » Goodreads Previous Fictitious Conversations with Caitlin Starling The Luminous Dead interview 10 Points to Slytherin: Why Good Fans Love Evil Characters — San Diego Comic Con Panel Vampire: The Masquerade: Walk Among Us interview with Genevieve Gornichec

2. 

   4 Oct 2023

   Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey, THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN co-authors

   Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey are both powerhouse bestselling authors in their own rights. Now, they’ve merged their considerable talents in cosmic horror and urban fantasy to create the new novel, THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN. In a New York City absolutely filthy with magic—monsters and the mundane intermingle. When that cohabitation breeds horrific problems—and it always does—you need people like Julie Crews to clean up the mess. But being a coked-out, broke ass, pig-pen disaster of a magician like Julie creates as many issues as it solves. Struggling to make rent and constantly getting screwed by her clients, Julie is desperate to score some real paying work. Complicating matters is the arrival of her childhood friend Sarah, the prim and pretty opposite to Julie’s deadbeat, mage-punk lifestyle. Sarah’s brightness is just what she needs, and the vibes are way more than platonic. But Sarah brought her own baggage to the big city. When Julie’s pompous Wall Street ex-boyfriend Tyler calls, offering big money for a highly suspicious job, she can’t refuse. Getting tangled up in his lies, and the innumerable arms of a dream-eating demon, will be least of their issues, though. Because Tyler’s corporate job serves some seriously eldritch monstrosities, big ugly elder god-things on a schedule to consume their workforce. And maybe the world. This, of course, is all about to become Julie’s giant mess to solve—and make infinitely worse along the way. THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN is a visceral, violent, wickedly fun urban fantasy available now from Tor Nightfire: Amazon (https://amzn.to/3LPm4uS) » Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/a/16632/9781250867025) » About Cassandra Khaw Cassandra Khaw is an award-winning game writer and former scriptwriter at Ubisoft Montreal. Khaw’s work can be found in places like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Tor.com. Khaw’s first original novella, HAMMERS ON BONE, was a British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist, and their latest novella, NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH, was a USA Today bestseller; Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Award nominee; and an Indie Next Pick. In 2023, they won the Bram Stoker Awards Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection for BREAKABLE THINGS, a collection of short stories. Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/casskhaw/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/casskhaw) Amazon Profile (https://amzn.to/3RGdzpS) » Goodreads Profile About Richard Kadrey Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the SANDMAN SLIM supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime,” and is in production as a feature film. Some of Kadrey’s other books include THE GRAND DARK, THE EVERYTHING BOX, and BUTCHERBIRD. In comics, he’s written for Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. He’s currently partnered with Winterlight Productions for his original horror screenplay, Dark West. Website (https://www.richardkadrey.me/) BlueSky Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rkadrey/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/Richard_Kadrey) Amazon Profile (https://amzn.to/46hVN0H) » Goodreads Profile

3. 

   1 Sept 2023

   James L. Sutter, rpg co-creator of PATHFINDER and STARFINDER; author of DARKHEARTS

   In this episode we’re going to deviate a bit from the usual focus on fiction to talk about writing for tabletop roleplaying games and related media. RPGs have always been deeply interconnected with fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, and right now they are more popular and prevalent than ever before. James L. Sutter co-created the lore and story-rich fantasy RPG PATHFINDER for Paizo Publishing, which has become one of the most popular roleplaying games in the world. He then took the role of Creative Director on STARFINDER, a science-fantasy RPG that reimagined the world of Pathfinder in a space-faring future. Along the way, he’s written Pathfinder tie-in novels DEATH’S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE, RPG adventures and source books for Pathfinder, Starfinder, and Dungeons & Dragons, and a large body of short fiction, comics, and video games. His latest book, DARKHEARTS, is a departure from genre fiction—a young adult romance about estranged bandmates that must reconcile the loss of their best friend, and their unexpected attraction to each other. DARKHEARTS is available now from Wednesday Books: Amazon (https://amzn.to/3syanlE) » Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/a/16632/9781250869746) » » Some of the links above are affiliate links. Using them helps support this site and creator. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. All of the RPG work previously mentioned is available at your local game store, or wherever books are sold: Pathfinder (1st Edition) Core Rulebook (https://amzn.to/3Z2w9dA) » Starfinder Core Rulebook (https://amzn.to/3Z0UujQ) » Pathfinder Tales: Death's Heretic (https://amzn.to/47Tm4DI) » Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine (https://amzn.to/47TXh2h) » About James L. Sutter James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the Pathfinder and Starfinder Roleplaying Games. From 2004 to 2017, he worked for Paizo Publishing, starting out as an editor on Dungeon Magazine, moving on to do foundational work for Pathfinder, and eventually becoming the Creative Director in charge of launching Starfinder, as well as the Executive Editor of the Pathfinder Tales novel line for Paizo and Tor. James is also the author of the young adult romance novel Darkhearts, as well as the fantasy novels Death's Heretic—a finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel—and The Redemption Engine, which won the 2015 Scribe Award for Best Original Speculative Novel. His short stories have appeared in such venues as Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Escape Pod, and the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death. In addition, he's written comic books, essays in venues like Clarkesworld and Lightspeed: Queers Destroy Science Fiction, a wealth of tabletop gaming material, and video games. When not writing, James has performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater. He lives in Seattle. Website (http://jameslsutter.com/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/james_l_sutter/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/jameslsutter) Amazon Profile (https://amzn.to/47QylsF) » Goodreads Profile (https://www.goodreads.com/jameslsutter)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

19 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.