Writers, After Dark Summer Brooks

Fantasy author L. L. McKinney talks about concluding her Nightmare-Verse trilogy, the possibility of revisiting the world later, and writing other stories.

She talks about her love for this world & its characters but also looking forward to moving on to new stories (but maybe only for a while), the adventures in getting the second & third books published, finding the right artist to capture Alice and the Nightmare-Verse, and more.

Elle also talks about her love for Nubia and how she rallied for being able to write for those comics, and the impact of the stories and their reflection of what’s going on in the world (or not) on the kids reading them who want more stories that they can relate to.

Website: llmckinney.com

Instagram: @ll_mckinney

Twitter: @ElleOnWords

TikTok: @elleonwords





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Old Norse and Old English lecturer and researcher Dr Tom Birkett stops by to talk about his latest, “Legends of Norse Mythology”, an illustrated middle grade reference.

Tom goes into how he got into teaching medieval literature, Old English and Old Norse, and how that led to his interest in Viking history and Norse mythology. His studies led him to creating this book on Norse mythology for middle grade readers, and he talks about how he chose which heroes and legends to include in this book, helping Isabella Mazzanti find references in order to create the illustrations for these figures, and more.

Website: Tom Birkett (University College Cork, English Department)

Twitter: @NorseinCork

Book: Legends of Norse Mythology: Enter a world of gods, giants, monsters, and heroes by Tom Birkett, illustrated by Isabella Mazzanti

What histories behind the fiction you read would you enjoy discovering more about? Let us know! Send Summer an email, or have your say in the comments below!

Chat with Summer on Bluesky! @sliceofscifi.com

Chat with Summer on Twitter! @WriteAfterDark

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Author and journalist Tom Huddleston talks about his new book “The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert”, a detailed exploration of the influences behind the worlds and world-building of Dune.

Tom talks about researching the sources and history that Frank Herbert was referring to and reading about while he was writing “Dune”, and about organizing this book into a cohesive and readable form for fans and new readers alike. We also wander into comparing the various film and television adaptations, with differing opinions on those.

Quoting the book’s description: “Herbert’s boundless imagination was sparked by a dizzying array of ideas, from classical history to cutting-edge science, from environmentalism to Zen philosophy, and from Arabic texts to Shakespeare’s tragedies.”

Website: tomhuddleston.co.uk

Twitter: @TomHuddleston_

Quarto Books: The Worlds of Dune

What histories behind the fiction would you enjoy reading about? Let us know! Send Summer an email, or have your say in the comments below!

Chat with Summer on Bluesky! @sliceofscifi.com

Chat with Summer on Twitter! @WriteAfterDark

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Learn how you can support Writers, After Dark and Slice of SciFi through Patreon and Paypal

Editors Shane Hawk and Ted Van Alst Jr are here to to talk about their new collection, “Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology”, how the anthology came together, the search for established and new voices to include, and more.

They also talk about their hopes for the future of promoting Indigenous fiction from as many tribes and cultures as we can include, and in mediums beyond prose fiction.

Shane Hawk: shanehawk.com, (Twitter) @shanehawkk

Theodore Van Alst, Jr: (Twitter) @TVAyyyy

What fables, myths, and legends from cultures around the world would you want to read more about? Let us know! Send Summer an email, or have your say in the comments below!

Chat with Summer on Bluesky! @sliceofscifi.com

Chat with Summer on Twitter! @WriteAfterDark

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With the new movie Oppenheimer in theaters enthralling audiences, award-winning science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer is here to talk about the newly released trade paperback edition of his alternate history / secret history novel “The Oppenheimer Alternative”.

He talks about the inspiration for this story coming more from “A Life Inside the Center” by Ray Monk rather than from “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and picks at some of the story choices Christopher Nolan made for the feature film, and how he used some of those events in his book, creating a secret history of scientists of The Manhattan Project after the bombs had been used.

We also take a short side trip into talking about the TV series “FlashForward”.

Website: Robert J. Sawyer

Link: “Oppenheimer” Bibliography

Are there any events from history around the world you’d want to read a secret history about? Let us know! Send Summer an email, or have your say in the comments below!

Chat with Summer on Twitter! @WriteAfterDark

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Producer-Director-Author Paul Salamoff is here to talk about the process in adapting his own story from a novel into a graphic novel, seeking a way to tell this story in the best way possible, and what it has been like to to explore different creative ways to tell the story in an ever-expanding way.

The life of “The Silent Planet” began as a screenplay for a movie Paul wanted to make, but budgetary concerns led to a rethinking what might be the best way to tell this story. He goes into how he develops stories, how he got into a groove working with co-writer Oren Nichols, and more.

Don’t miss the continuation of this interview over at Slice of SciFi: Paul Salamoff: Adapting Comics, and Teaching for Hollywood

Website: Paul J. Salamoff: Writer/Producer/Director

Twitter: @pauljsalamoff

YouTube: youtube.com/@pauljsalamoff

Are you a fan of graphic novels? Let us know! Send Summer an email, or have your say in the comments below!

Chat with Summer on Twitter! @WriteAfterDark

Apple Podcasts: Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts!

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Learn how you can support Writers, After Dark and Slice of SciFi through Patreon and Paypal