SFF Addicts Podcast | FanFiAddict

SFF Addicts Ep. 160: Malka Older talks The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, Cozy Fiction, Sherlock Holmes & More

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 160 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they chat with author Malka Older about her new novel The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, Mossa and Pleiti as her Holmes and Watson, cozy vs. comforting fiction, Sherlock Holmes influences, writing realistic character romance/relationships, expanding characters and worldbuilding across a series, working for the non-profit Global Voices, humanitarian work and giving back, writing across different formats, luck and chance in publishing, pantsing and much more.

NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Malka. Stayed tuned next week for her writing masterclass on Future Power Structures & Systems.

Malka Older an aid worker, sociologist, executive director of Global Voices, as well as the author of The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti and more. Her latest release is The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, which you can purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Malka on ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠, ⁠Global Voices⁠ and ⁠her personal website⁠.

Episode 160 is available to stream and download on:

You can also watch the episode below via the FanFiAddict YouTube channel or on Spotify, and the full episode archive for the show is available here. Check out the SFF Addicts Twitter or Instagram accounts for more frequent updates.

SFF Addicts Ep. 159: Infusing Politics into SFF with Kate Elliott (Writing Masterclass)

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 159 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Infusing Politics into SFF with author Kate Elliott. During the episode, Kate deconstructs the meaning of politics in sci-fi and fantasy, including why SFF and politics meld so well, choosing political themes for your story/world, revealing politics through characters, political biases, nuance and empathy, in-groups/out-groups and “otherness”, using environment and geography to convey politics, “access” as a foundation for political structures and more.

NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Kate. Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to check out part one.

Kate Elliott is the author of The Sun Chronicles, the Crown of Stars series, the Spiritwalker series and more. Her latest release is The Witch Roads, which you can purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Kate on ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠her personal website⁠.

Episode 159 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 158: Kate Elliott talks The Witch Roads, Burnout, Story Pacing & More

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 158 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Kate Elliott about her new novel The Witch Roads, how SFF publishing has changed since the 1980’s, artificial intelligence and art, burnout and perseverance, experimenting with genre and form, magic and fungi in worldbuilding, character relationships and family dynamics, pacing and learning from different genres, Alexander the Great’s badass sister, Korean dramas and much more.

NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Kate. Stayed tuned next week for her writing masterclass on Infusing Politics into SFF.

Find Kate on ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠her personal website⁠.

Episode 158 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 157: Constructing an Alternate History with P. Djèlí Clark, Mary Robinette Kowal & Sophie Burnham (Masterclass Panel)

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 157 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly for a masterclass panel on Constructing an Alternate History, featuring authors P. Djèlí Clark, Mary Robinette Kowal and Sophie Burnham. During the panel, they lay out the foundations of alternate history stories, discussing what an alternate history is, what these stories can achieve, the divergence point, cause and effect, balancing real history vs. imagined history, bringing modern ideas/concerns into an alternate history, the legitimacy of history, historical research and more.

P. Djèlí Clark is an academic historian and the award-winning author of Ring Shout, A Master of Djinn, The Black God’s Drums, Abeni’s Song and more. Find Phenderson on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠his website⁠.

Mary Robinette Kowal is the award-winning author of The Lady Astronaut series, The Glamourist Histories series and more. Find Mary Robinette on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠her website⁠.

Sophie Burnham is the author of Sargassa, her debut novel. Find Sophie on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠her website⁠.

Episode 157 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 156: Reading to Become a Better Writer with Evan Leikam (Writing Masterclass)

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 27 May 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 156 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they delve into a writing masterclass on Reading to Become a Better Writer with author/content creator Evan Leikam (AKA Book Reviews Kill). During the episode, Evan examines the relationship between reading and writing, including how reading shapes us, how to read as a writer, finding the time to read, reading however (and wherever) you can, reading for enjoyment vs. learning, improving your writing through the books you read, applying lessons and breaking the rules, writing craft books and more.

NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Evan. Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to check out part one.

Evan Leikam is the author of Anji Kills A King, his debut novel, and a content creator/podcaster known as Book Reviews Kill. You can purchase Anji Kills A King ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Evan on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 156 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 155: Evan Leikam talks Anji Kills A King, Crappy Jobs, Video Games & More

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 20 May 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 155 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and M.J. Kuhn as they chat with author/content creator Evan Leikam (AKA Book Reviews Kill) about his new debut novel Anji Kills A King, video games and storytelling, working crappy jobs and perseverance, structure and writing as a JOB, touring as a musician, shocking inciting incidents and setting the tone for a story, writing a character-driven story, gratitude, edibles and much more.

NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Evan. Stayed tuned next week for his writing masterclass on Reading to Become a Better Writer. And for more on Evan’s content creation as Book Reviews Kill, check out Ep. 119 ⁠here⁠.

Evan leikam is the author of Anji Kills A King, his debut novel, and a content creator/podcaster known as Book Reviews Kill. You can purchase Anji Kills A King ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Evan on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 155 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 154: How to Write Unlikable Characters with Joe Abercrombie (Writing Masterclass)

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 154 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on How to Write Unlikable Characters with bestselling author Joe Abercrombie. During the episode, Joe unpacks the core traits of unlikable characters, including what makes an unlikable character likable, why readers are fascinated by awful people, the process of creating an unlikable character, the importance of character voice, conveying character details through dialogue, morally gray character arcs, active vs. passive characters, revealing character vulnerabilities and flaws, reader investment, morally gray worlds, external conflict and more.

NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Joe. Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to check out part one.

Joe Abercrombie is the bestselling author of The First Law trilogy, The Age of Madness trilogy and more. His latest release is The Devils, which you can purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Joe on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠his personal website⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 154 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 153: Joe Abercrombie talks The Devils, Grimdark, Ensemble Casts & More

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 06 May 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 153 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Joe Abercrombie about his new novel The Devils, first attempts at writing, working in film, TV and music video editing, the world of The First Law and gradual success, his opinions on grimdark, writing (absurdist) alternate history Europe, going down historical research rabbit holes, creating an eclectic ensemble cast, writing multiple POVs, giving characters distinct voices and much more.

NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Joe. Stayed tuned next week for his writing masterclass on How to Write Unlikable Characters.

Joe Abercrombie is the bestselling author of The First Law trilogy, The Age of Madness trilogy and more. His latest release is The Devils, which you can purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Find Joe on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠his personal website⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 153 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 152: Writing for Different Mediums with Luke Arnold (Writing Masterclass)

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 152 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Writing for Different Mediums with author/actor Luke Arnold. During the episode, Luke breaks down his approaches to four different mediums (prose, comics, screenwriting and video games), including expressing your creativity through various mediums, learning from other mediums, researching and understanding your medium, as well as comparing story structure, pacing, expectations, character development and worldbuilding across mediums.

NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Luke. Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to check out part one.

Luke Arnold is the author of The Fetch Phillips Archives and an actor best known for his role as Long John Silver on Black Sails. His latest release is Whisper in the Wind, which you can purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. You can also wishlist his video game Shoot for the Moon on ⁠Steam⁠.

Find Luke on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠his personal website⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 152 is available to stream and download on:

SFF Addicts Ep. 151: Luke Arnold talks Whisper in the Wind, Acting, Noir & More

Adrian M. Gibson — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Episode 151 of SFF Addicts has arrived!

Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they chat with author/actor Luke Arnold about his new novel Whisper in the Wind, the pros and cons of writing a series, character development in The Fetch Phillips Archives, his nostalgia for films and video games, lessons learned from acting, audiobook narration and voice acting, noir inspirations and tropes, urban fantasy and genre mashups, creating compelling mysteries, keeping setting/themes fresh and much more.

NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Luke. Stayed tuned next week for his writing masterclass on Writing for Different Mediums.

Find Luke on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠his personal website⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 151 is available to stream and download on: