Tales from the Trunk

Episode 46: C.L. Clark – The Bitch of Maradon

It’s my distinct pleasure, for this, our post-NaNo episode, to welcome C.L. Clark (@C_L_Clark) to the show! Cherae reads a pair of excerpts from their trunked novel, The Bitch of Maradon, which leads us into a great conversation about formal and informal writing education, interrogating our biases, and how awkward it can be to revisit our old writing in the context of actually reading it out loud. Cherae also shares the story of her journey from NaNoWriMo to publication for their amazing novel, The Unbroken.
 
Things we mention this episode:
 
The Unbroken, by C.L. Clark
Héctor’s episode
My episode with Sharon Hsu
George Carlin
NaNoWriMo
Brandon Sanderson
Scrivener
Podcastle
Frodo it is done dot gif
#DVPit
Just Like Home episode
The Faithless, by C.L. Clark
Writers of the Future
Tor.com
“Sisyphus,” by C.L. Clark
Queers Destroy SF
Seanan McGuire
Lockie Hunter
Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Wonderbook, by Jeff Vandermeer
The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey
The Godkiller, by Hannah Kaner
Small Gods and Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett
Cherae’s website and insta
Maslowe’s Hierarchy of Needs
The Skeleton War
“SFF’s Big Fat Problem,” by R.K. Duncan
 
Join us next month, when I’ll be talking to Annalee Newitz and Juliet Kemp, plus our annual awards roundup!

Episode 45: R.J. Theodore – Flotsam

Happy NaNoWriMo, for all of you who observe! This time around, we’re joined once again by R.J. Theodore (@bittybittyzap) to talk about the crazy act of writing a novel in a single month and the freedom that comes with actually deciding to finish a thing. Rekka brings us a compare and contrast reading of two different beginnings of their novel, Flotsam, first from the NaNo when she first finished the book and the second from the version you can go and buy for yourself!
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
NaNoWriMo ML
Rekka’s book tour
We Make Books
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Pumpkin Landing
xkcd 483
Neal Stephenson
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Rekka’s first episode
The Peridot Shift series, by R.J.Theodore
Murderboard podcast episode
Writing book three of a duology with Premee podcast episode
Stephen King
Sarah Gailey
Coffee shop AU
Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
Our Flag Means Death
John Wiswell
Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey
Bridge to Elsewhere, edited by Alana Joli Abbott & Julia Rios
Neon Hemlock Press
Quick Sip Reviews
Robot Dinosaur Press
Chipped Cup Collective
Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
Sarah Loch
Andi C. Buchanan
Novae Caelum
Nia Quinn
Carlie St. George
Juliet Kemp
Rekka’s website, insta, and patreon
 
Join us next month, when I’ll be talking to C.L. Clark!

Book Tour 22: Jordan Kurella – When I Was Lost

This time around, it’s my distinct pleasure to welcome back to the show Jordan Kurella (@kurellian) to talk about his new collection, When I Was Lost, available now wherever fine books are sold! He reads a previously-unpublished story, “The Hero and the Leviathan,” out of the collection, which leads us to ponder the question: what if a spaceship had PTSD?
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
Trepidatio Press
Mikio Murakami
“Jewel of the Vashwa,” by Jordan Kurella in Apex Magazin
Keanu Reeves
Apex Magazine
Jason Sizemore
Friends at the Table - HOUNDS
Farscape
PTSD
Aaron Rosenberg
Gen Con
The Imperial Radch trilogy, by Ann Leckie
“How the Carrion Crew Stopped Courting Death and Other Methods of Lost Hope,” by Jordan Kurella in Fusion Fragment #6
“A Promise of Dying Embers,” by Jordan Kurella in Diabolical Plots
King’s Quest III 
“The Warsong of Berra and Irrit,” by Jordan Kurella in Lamplight Magazine
Lamplight Magazine
E Catherine Tobler
Shimmer Magazine
The Deadlands
“The Air Gap,” by Hilary B. Bisenieks in Lamplight Magazine
Jacob Haddon
Mary Shelley
I Never Liked You Anyway, by Jordan Kurella
Orpheus and Euridice
Am I the Asshole?
Dead Collections, by Isaac Fellman
Archive Of Our Own
Final Fantasy XIV
MMO
World of Warcraft
Clue
The Sandman (Netflix)
Mythic Quest
Siren Queen, by Nghi Vho
Jordan’s first episode
Jordan’s website
 
Join us again in two weeks, when my guest will be R.J. Theodore!

Episode 44: Héctor González – v o i d j u n k

This time around, it’s my distinct pleasure to welcome Héctor González (@Mexicanity) to the show! Héctor reads a pair of spooky, voidy stories from the latest issue of v o i d j u n k , which leads us into a wide-ranging conversation about kindness, viscera, technology, chairs, and fandom.
 
This episode’s readings carry content warnings for descriptions of viscera, possession, and transformation, and for sexual themes. If you would like to skip them, the two readings are from 3:50 to 8:05 and 15:15 to 19:31.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
v o i d j u n k
dave’s episode
Sarah Loch
Héctor’s linktree
“Gracias, Orlando: A Genre Film and a Queer Body Awakening,” by Héctor González
Hector of Troy
Spider-Man
Batman
Superman
Bachan
Frank Miller
Xanga
John Picacio
Worldcon 76
Mexicanx Initiative
John Scalzi
Alejandro Jodorowski
George R.R. Martin
Isaac Asimov
Robert Heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke
Hugo Loser’s Party
Aidan Moher
Sarahs Gailey and Hollowell
The Dot-Com Bubble
Sarah Gailey’s Personal Canons
Héctor’s essay
Momo challenge
Momo and The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende
Terry Pratchett
The Dispossessed, by Ursula K Le Guin
River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, by Sarah Gailey
Unmasking Autism and Laziness Does Not Exist, by Devon Price
We’re Here 2020, edited by C.L. Clark and Charles Peyseur
Charles Peyseur
C.L. Clark
“The Captain and the Quartermaster,” by C.L. Clarke
Babel, by R.F. Kuang
Superliminal (game)
Portal
Key & Peele
Nope
Dave Chapelle (fuck that guy)
Reboot
Buster Keaton
Paul Rudd
Héctor’s insta
 
Tune in next month, when my guests will be Jordan Kurella and R.J. Theodore!

Book Tour 21: Aidan Moher – Fight, Magic, Items

This time around, it’s my delight to welcome (finally) Hugo-winning fan writer, Aidan (@adribbleofink) Moher to the show! We’re talking about his new book, Fight, Magic, Items, which just released October 4th! Aidan reads from the introduction to the book, which leads us into a deep discussion of the games that shaped our childhoods.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
A Dribble of Ink
Final Fantasy
Dragon Quest
The Offspring
NOFX
Warcraft II
LAN Party
Doom II
Final Fantasy VI
Xenogears
Hironobu Sakaguchi
Yuji Horii
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
Game Boy
Final Fantasy Legend II
The Legend of Zelda
Akitoshi Kawazu
Doom
Final Fantasy III
Game Players
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Nintendo Power
Chrono Trigger
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks
Magic: the Gathering
Dragon Ball Z
Shōnen
Super NES
Playstation 1
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy X
Grandia
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Tales of Destiny
Visual Novels
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Final Fantasy Adventure
Mana series
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
Pokemon Red
Final Fantasy VII
The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan
Tetris
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (Game Boy game)
Carl Jung
Gnosticism
K’Nex
Metal Gear Solid
Suikoden III
Hideo Kojima
Sega Saturn
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Grandia (Sega Saturn)
Vagrant Story
Aidan’s localization piece (not published yet, link TK)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
Power-Up, by Chris Kohler
Final Fantasy V, by Chris Kohler
Press Reset and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, by Jason Schreier
Pure Invention, by Matt Alt
Sailor Moon
Aidan’s website
fighmagicitems.rocks
Astrolabe
Patrick Klepek
Less Than Jake
 
Join us again in two weeks, when my guest will be Héctor González! 

Episode 43: Aimee Kuzenski – Tilted

In case you missed the announcement at the start of our last episode, with Neon Yang, my new game, All Our Yesterdays, is available now for pay-what-you-want on my itch! 
This time around, it’s my absolute pleasure to welcome to the show Aimee Kuzenski (@aimeekuzenski)! Aimee reads to us from her novel, Tilted, which leads us into a great discussion on the interiority of writing, thoughts about reading aloud, and how important a good fight scene is.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Viable Paradise
John Appel
Karen Osborne
Valerie Valdes
Scrivener
Third person omniscient
The Earthsea Cycle, by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Austen
Karen’s twitch
“Fractured,” by Aimee Kuzenski
The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells
The Locked Tomb series, by Tamsyn Muir
The Broken Earth series, by N.K. Jemisin
The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie
Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
Blade Runner
Wow, cool robot
Hayao Miyazaki
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The Shadow out of Time”, by racist uncle Howard
Beneath the Rising series, by Premee Mohamed
The Innsmouth Legacy series, by Ruthanna Emrys
Ruthanna’s episode
Dune, by Frank Herbert
“How I Became Coruscating Queen of All the Realms, Pierced the Obsidian Night, Destroyed a Legendary Sword, and Saved My Heart’s True Love,” by Baker and Dovey
No Shit, There I Was, edited by Alex Acks
Story Hour
Skies of Wonder, Skies of Danger, edited by Agner, Appel, and Miles
“The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe
Castle
Fix My Fight Scene on Twitch and Youtube
K.B. Wagers
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility
Emma Thompson
Kate Winslet
Persuasion 
Clueless
What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher
The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe
Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey

Book Tour 20: Neon Yang – The Genesis of Misery

As mentioned at the top of the show, I have a game out, All Our Yesterdays, which you can find on my Itch.io!
 
It’s my absolute pleasure, this time around, to welcome Neon Yang to the show to talk about their brand new book, The Genesis of Misery, out September 27th, 2022, from Tor books! Neon reads to us from the start of the book, which leads us into some great discussion about why doing multiple rewrites can be good, actually.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
Neon’s Tensorate series
Joan of Arc
Gundam
Sarah Gailey’s latest book tour
Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey
Dongwon Song
Friends at the Table PARTIZAN
Monster Hunter Rise
Devil May Cry
Elden Ring
Neon’s insta
 
Join us next time, when my guest will be Aimee Kuzenski!

Episode 42: Rem Wigmore - ”Considine’s Counsel”

This time around, we’re joined once again by Rem Wigmore (@faewriter), who brings us a delicious excerpt from their trunked novella, Considine’s Counsel, which leads us into a great conversation about the study of story forms, actual play podcasts, and an opportunity, as if we needed one, to just be 110% on our bullshit.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
Foxhunt and Wolfpack, by Rem Wigmore
Lake Taupō
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Friends at the Table
The Tiffany problem
Dungeons & Dragons
Miri’s episode
The Witcher (TV Series)
Newgrange
Passage tombs
CoNZealand
Codex writers group 
C.L. Polk
Neon Hemlock
Kai Ashante Wilson’s novellas
F&SF
“Time Bomb Time,” by C.C. Finlay
Villanelle (poetry)
And What Can We Offer You Tonight By Premee Mohamed
Premee’s book tour episode
Tor.com publishing
River of Teeth, Taste of Marrow, and Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
The Tensorate series, by Neon Yang
Emily Tesh
The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells
The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman
K.J. Charles’ Will Darling Adventures
Kurangaituku, by Whiti Hereaka
Eat the Rich, by Sarah Gailey
Squad, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
The Girl and the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag
The Witch Boy, by Molly Knox Ostertag
Brennan Lee Mulligan
Escape from the Blood Keep
Critical Role
Matt Mercer
Ify Nwadiwe
Exandria Unlimited
Erika Ishii
Last Shooting 
Doctor Who
Queen of Swords Press
Rem’s previous episode
Rem’s website
 
Stick around next month, when my guests will be Neon Yang and Aimee Kuzenski!

Book Tour 19: Valerie Valdes - Fault Tolerance

This time around, I’m very pleased to welcome back one of my guests from this show’s very first season, Valerie Valdes (@valerievaldes), to talk about the conclusion of her Chilling Effect trilogy, Fault Tolerance, which just released this Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022! Val reads to us from the opening chapter, which leads us into a lively discussion of video game tropes, fanfic, screenwriting, and who Val mains in Super Smash Bros.
 
Things we mention in this episode:
 
Val’s first-season episode
Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
Garrus
Mass Effect
Fix-it fic
Thane
Chekhov’s gun
Mario Kart
Mad Max: Fury Road
Portal
Super Smash Bros
Pokémon
Transformers
Assassin’s Orbit, by John Appel
The Memory War series, by Karen Osborne
Megan E. O’Keefe
K.B. Wagers
The NeoG series, by K.B. Wagers
Annihilation Aria, by Mike Underwood
Imperial Radch trilogy, by Ann Leckie
The Machineries of Empire, by Yoon Ha Lee
D.J. Older
Mike Chen
Rebecca Roanhorse
Doctor Aphra, by Alyssa Wong
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Rarepair
Austin Walker
Five plus one fic
Harold (improv)
Conrad Verner
Tekken 2
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Jigglypuff
Link
Zelda/Sheik
Samus
Kirby
Shang Tsung
Tron Bonne
Servbot
Roll
Jill
Marth
Mr. Game & Watch
Horizon Zero Dawn
Hades
Val’s twitch
Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)
Girl by Moonlight
Blades in the Dark
Magical girl genre
Persona series
Serial Experiments Lain
Brandon O’Brien
Mike Underwood
Iori Kusano
Jeoi Gawain Lin
ArvanEleron on twitch
Arvan Eleron’s Youtube channel
Stone the Crows, by Grant Howitt
Friends at the Table Partizan
Beam Saber, by Austin Ramsay
Scum and Villainy
Ms Marvel
Our Flag Means Death
Moon Knight
Knights and Bikes
 
Join us again next time, when Rem Wigmore will be returning to the show!

Episode 41: Miri Baker - ”DUEL”

This time around, we’re joined by the one and only Miri Baker (@MiriBaker). Miri brings us a trunked story from ye olden days, all the way back in 2011, plus a lot of great conversation about the load-bearing parts of our personalities, cosplay, and how genuinely liking the things we like is good, actually.
This episode’s reading carries content warnings for blood, extremely unsafe handling of swords, and extremely incorrect understanding of swords. It is just under 20 minutes long.
 
Things we mention on this episode:
Blue at War, the cape Miri made for Amal El-Mohtar for the 2020 Hugos
Lillian Boyd
Machine of Death and This Is How You Die, edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki
The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde
Duotrope’s Digest
The Submission Grinder
Wondermark! By David Malki
Steampunk
Fence, by C.S. Pacat
Sarah Rees Brennan
The Demon’s Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan
In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Monstrous Affections, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
Be the Serpent
Worldcon 76
Fullmetal Alchemist
Himoru Arakawa
Neil Gaiman’s Journal
Tumblr
Arthur, season 14, episode 4, ­“Falafelosophy”
Miss Snark’s Blog
Query Shark
George Clponey
John Scalzi’s Whatever
Chuck Wendig’s Terrible Minds
Mary Robinette Kowal’s My Favorite Bit
Sarah Gailey’s Stone Soup
Writing Excuses
Schlock Mercenary, by Howard Tayler
LiveJournal
Fantasy Rants
Gaia Online
NaNoWriMo
Uncanny Magazine
Viable Paradise
Sarah Gailey
River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey
Sarah’s Star Wars tweets
Amanda Cook’s episode
The Hugo Awards
Yaya Han’s ultimate bodysuit pattern
SFWA
Annalee Flower Horne
Anime Weekend Atlanta
Friends at the Table
Gravity Falls
Steven Universe
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Archive of our Own
Fanfiction dot net
Arcane
Riot Games
League of Legends
RWBY
Rooster Teeth
Red vs. Blue
Halo
Persona 5 Royal
Steam
The Locked Tomb series, by Tamsyn Muir
Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
Cybergoth freeway rave
Miri’s portfolio
Rekka Jay
This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
 
Stick around next month for the return of Valeria Valdes and Rem Wigmore!