Books That Burn

Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Seanan McGuire discussing several of her books, "Into The Drowning Deep", "Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day", "Middlegame", the Toby Daye series, and the Incryptid series. Other works mentioned include Newsflesh (series), Ghost Roads (series), "Rolling in the Deep", and Parasitology (series). Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. This interview was recorded several months prior to the 2021 Hugo Awards.

Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.

• Intro (0:00)
• Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:20)
• Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (3:00)
• What parts of your identities do you notice making appearances in your writing more than you intended? What parts of your identities do you notice seeping into your work unintentionally? (6:20)
• What is your approach to incorporating visible queerness in your work? (10:05)
• How does setting influence queerness in your stories? (12:40)
• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (16:25)
• Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references or do you tend to write cultures that hide disabilities and all that they entail? (22:00)
• When building your characters’ identities, what aspects did you intentionally include? (25:00)
• Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (26:20)

--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---

• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (29:57)
• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (31:46)
• Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (32:49)
• Where can our audience find you? (36:15)

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Check out Seanan's website for more about her writing. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

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At each link you can find Robin's written reviews of Seanan's work under her own name, her writings as Mira Grant, and as A. Deborah Baker.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Kevin Klehr discussing three of his books, "Social Media Central", "Midnight Angel", and "Winter Masquerade". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.

• Intro (0:00)
• Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:55)
• Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about how it affects the characters? (6:50)
• Have you ever started writing a trauma in (one of) your book(s), and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (10:30)
• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (24:12)
• What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (37:45)

--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---

• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (42:35)
• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (45:41)
• Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (47:40)
• Where can our audience find you? (49:55)

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Kevin's LinkTree has all his links. Check out Kevin's website for more about his writing, you can also find him on his NineStar Press page. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, or look up his author page on Goodreads. Our Australian audience can find his work on BookTopia.

The major works discussed in this interview are "Social Media Central", "Midnight Angel", and "Winter Masquerade".

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You can find Robin's written reviews of Social Media Central, Midnight Angel, and Winter Masquerade at Reviews that Burn.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author JP Jackson, discussing his books, "Daimonion" and "Magic or Die". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.

• Intro (0:00) 
• Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:40) 
• Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about the effects on your characters? (1:40) 
• Have you ever started writing a trauma in one of your books, and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (7:30) 
• Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (9:28) 
• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (11:04) 
• What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (15:15)
• Do you tend to write characters with a specific orientation? Do you generally stick to depictions of queerness which match parts of your identity? (18:58)
• If you have a character whose identity doesn’t match yours, do you have an approach for how to write about them without it being about that piece of them? (23:15)

--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---  

• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (29:08)
• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (32:17)
• Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (35:56)
• Where can our audience find you? (38:05) - Some of his social media handles were updated after this interview, please refer to the links below.

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Check out JP Jackson's blog for more info about his writing, you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Tumblr, or check out his Goodreads profile, Amazon Buy Link, and NineStar Press page.

The major works discussed in this interview are "Daimonion" and "Magic or Die".

The "book coming out in March" referenced in this interview is "Summoned" by JP Jackson, released April 19, 2021 by NineStar Press. Preorder it here.

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.

You can find Robin's written review of Daimonion and Magic or Die at Reviews that Burn.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Aurora Lee Thornton, discussing xyr book, "All or None". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions.

• Intro (0:00)
• Tell us a little about “All or None” as a book and “Star Stories” as a series. (1:20)
• Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (2:05)
• Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about the effects on your characters? (2:58)
• Have you ever started writing a trauma in (one of) your book(s), and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (3:55)
• How do you decide what a character's reaction to traumatic events is going to be while writing them? (6:05)
• Do you tend to write characters with a specific orientation? Do you generally stick to depictions of queerness which match parts of your identity? (7:00)
• When depicting types of queerness that you do not share, what do you use to guide those depictions? (8:35)
• Have you ever had a character surprise you with their identity after you started writing? (9:05)
• What is your approach to incorporating characters of color in your work? (10:10)
• Have you ever had a character surprise you with their appearance/identity after you started writing? (14:00)
• What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (15:00)
• Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references, or do you tend to write cultures that hide disabilities? (16:10)
• Have you ever had a character surprise you with a disability after you started writing? (16:40)
• Do you consider your characters’ body image when depicting them and their traumas? (17:10)
• Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (19:10)
• What parts of your identities do you notice making appearances in your writing more than you intended? What parts of your identities do you notice seeping into your work unintentionally? (21:50)
• Do you write in trauma for background characters without planning for it to have an impact on the story, and if so does it ever leak into the story? (27:18)
• Have you ever had to stop writing a book or character because of the trauma they were going through? (29:00)

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Check out xyr Twitter, find xem on Facebook and Instagram, and visit xyr website. You can find All or None at xyr Universal Buy Link and xyr Amazon Buy Link.

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.

You can find Robin's written review of All or None at Reviews that Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

• Intro (0:00)

• Can you tell us a little about your book? (0:35)

• Can you talk a little bit about the way trauma works in your writing? (1:08)

• Do you feel that trauma for the sake of trauma is valid for characters to go through or be put in stories or does it always need to be plot related? (2:24)

• Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (4:10)

• How do you decide what a character's reaction to traumatic events is going to be while writing them? (5:48)

• When depicting types of queerness that you do not share, do you check them with members of those communities? What do you use to guide those depictions? (9:03)

• How do you approach incorporating “visible” queerness in your work? (10:45)

• Do you have a thought process on approaching ace or [aro] characters? (12:20)

• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? What do you do to make it go beyond social coding (or not)? (17:20)

• Have you ever had a character surprise you with their appearance/identity after you started writing? (18:38)

• What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? What do you do to make it go beyond social coding (or not)? (21:20)

• Do you consider your character’s body image and/or physical description when depicting them and their traumas and how others treat them? (23:45)

--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---

• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (27:48)

• Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shout-out? (29:54)

• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (30:06)

• Where can people find your work? (31:46)

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Check out Hannah Abigail Clarke's website for more info about his writing, You can follow them on Twitter and Instagram, or check out her Goodreads profile.

The major work discussed in this interview is Hannah Abigail Clarke's debut novel, "The Scapegracers".

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview. 

You can find Robin's written review of The Scapegracers at Reviews that Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd. 

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

 

Please enjoy the spoiler-free (or at least spoiler-light) portion of our interview with author Shaina Krevat. Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. 

Introductions (0:00)

Brief description of books written by Shaina Krevat (Tales of Mundane Magic). (0:15)

Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (2:10)

Do you plan traumatic events ahead of time for your characters or do they just unfold as you write the story? (3:17)

Do you ever put in traumas for representations sake, to work through things you've experienced or to "flesh out" a character? (4:40) 

Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (7:55) 

Do you have a good example of a marginalized culture in your books? (9:20) 

What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color? (12:05) 

 Have you ever had a character surprise you with an aspect of their identity after you started writing? (16:08) 

(Building on the last question) Have you ever had that happen with appearance or with racial or cultural identity? (17:58) 

When building your characters’ identities, what aspects did you intentionally include? (20:00) 

Do you consider your character’s body image when depicting them and their traumas? (22:10) 

Bridget has one mundane eye and one eye that only sees magic. Is there a difference in how she navigates the world when she's in mundane areas vs areas with concentrated magic? (26:42) 

Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references (either that exists in our world or under specific rules in your world)? (29:30) 

What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your published books? (36:20)

Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (37:55)

What types of books are you interested in reading more of? (39:18)

Pluggables and Outro (40:00) 

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Check out Shaina Krevat's website for more info about her writing, Tales of Mundane Magic also has a website. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook,  Instagram, and Tumblr, or check out her Goodreads profile. 

Major works by Shaina Krevat discussed in this interview: "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume One", "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume Two",  "Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume Three". 

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview. 

You can find Robin's written reviews of Tales of Mundane Magic;  Part One; Part Two; and Part Three at Reviews that Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd. 

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Please enjoy the spoiler-free (or at least spoiler-light) portion of our interview with author M. D. Neu. Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. 

• Introductions (0:10) 
• Personal history and brief overview of books written by M. D. Neu. (1:10) 
• Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (8:25) 
• What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work?
• What do you do to make it go beyond social coding, or not? (10:15) 
• When depicting types of queerness that are not your identity, do run them by members of those communities? (20:00) 
• How does setting influence depictions of disabilities in your stories? (26:08) 
• Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (31:35) 
• What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (34:00) 
• Do you have any queer authors or authors of color whose work you’d like to shout out? (37:35) 
• Where can our audience find you? (39:10) 

Outro (44:30) 

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Check out M. D. Neu's website for more info about his writing. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, look up his Youtube channel, or check out his Goodreads profile. 

Major works by M. D. Neu discussed in this interview: "Contact", "Conviction", "TAD". 

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview. 

You can find Robin's written reviews of Contact, Conviction, and TAD at Reviews that Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd. 

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.