The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory

Mookie Spitz
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Hosted by writer and ranter Mookie Spitz, the SFFF is where science fiction & fantasy creators, fans, and technologists transform imagination into reality. Each episode explores how writers, filmmakers, and world-builders bring their universes to life, with personal stories about turning wild ideas into finished projects that connect, inspire, and thrill. From indie authors to visionary engineers, Mookie uncovers the creative engines powering the future of sci-fi & fantasy storytelling!

  1. C.S.E. Cooney Is Knocking on Saint Death's Doorway

    5D AGO

    C.S.E. Cooney Is Knocking on Saint Death's Doorway

    On this 25th episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy podcast, host Mookie Spitz sits down with C.S.E. Cooney for a lively conversation about her Saint Death series—and the living, breathing speculative-fiction community that shaped it. Cooney is a 20+-year veteran of the genre: poetry, short fiction, audio narration, conventions, small presses, writing groups, and editorial volleys. Her career was forged inside the ecosystem that still defines serious science fiction and fantasy, and is part of the human storytelling carried by magazines, anthologies, awards, and communities rather than algorithms. Claire maps that ecosystem from the inside: • the enduring influence of publications like Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld Magazine, Apex Magazine, and Locus Magazine • how short fiction, audio venues, and anthologies still function as talent engines • why conventions and writing groups matter more than “networking” • how awards like the World Fantasy Awards actually work from the judging side Against that backdrop, Cooney breaks down her own work, especially Saint Death’s Daughter and Saint Death’s Herald—as an argument against fantasy’s tropes and baseline assumptions. Her protagonist, Lanie Stones, can't solve problems through violence. Instead, the books explore death as labor, power as responsibility, disability as a permanent condition, and morality under pressure. Claire also lays out her approach to writing, bluntly and without sentimentality: • voice and character come before plot • revision is where the real writing happens • joy is central optional, and a survival strategy • community sustains careers, not lone genius myths • lowering expectations (not raising them) can unlock productivity • the sentence has to sound right—mouthfeel matters The conversation expands further into publishing realities, burnout, editorial battles worth fighting, and Cooney’s unfiltered critique of generative AI as a threat to already-fragile magazines, and as a cultural shortcut that undermines the struggle at the heart of art. Mookie and Claire's chat is less about selling a book and more about how science fiction and fantasy actually function as a culture—who carries it forward, how writers grow inside it, and why the field still matters. The Guest C. S. E. Cooney (she/her) is a two-time World Fantasy Award-winning author: for novel Saint Death’s Daughter, and collection Bone Swans, Stories. Other work includes Saint Death’s Herald (second in the Saint Death Series), The Twice-Drowned Saint, Dark Breakers, and Desdemona and the Deep. As a voice actor and proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Cooney has narrated over 130 audiobooks, as well as short fiction for podcasts like Uncanny Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Tales to Terrify, and Podcastle. In March 2023, she produced her collaborative sci-fi musical, Ballads from a Distant Star, at New York City’s Arts on Site. With her husband, writer and game-designer Carlos Hernandez, she co-designed a GM-less TTRPG called, Negocios Infernales, Find her website and Substack newlsetter via her Linktree or try “csecooney” on various social media platforms. Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 56m
  2. A.C. Wise Sings the Ballad of the Bone Road: Criticism & Craft from Haunted Cities

    FEB 6

    A.C. Wise Sings the Ballad of the Bone Road: Criticism & Craft from Haunted Cities

    Mookie Spitz welcomes A.C. Wise to the 24th episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory: a Canadian-born, award-winning speculative writer, and one of the most incisive critics across genre circles. Wise boldly crosses boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and her decades-long career has explored them from both sides of the page as creator and critic.  Mookie and Alison chat about her work as an author of novels like Wendy, Darling and Hooked — quirky, character-driven stories that reveal trauma, identity, and belonging through fantastical lenses, written alongside her celebrated short fiction such as those in The Ghost Sequences collection, where ghosts, monsters, and eerie impossible moments become mirrors for alienation and self-discovery. Alison's prolific contributions to creative writing and literary criticism have sharpened her discerning eye, making her an even more insightful author and reviewer. From Apex Magazine to Locus, A.C. brings dedication, empathy, and rigor to all her pursuits as she constantly asks herself and her readers: whose story is being told, who gets to tell it, and what does that choice reveal about us?  Their lively conversation explores: Her philosophy of criticism as a creative discipline, not just a thumbs-up / downswing based on her own subjective tastes.How themes of alienation, memory, and self-discovery thread through her characters: from haunted cityscapes to fractured identities.The mutual influence between her reviewing and her own storytelling, and how criticism sharpens her empathy, craft, and lived experiences. Why atmosphere and character matter more than spectacle, and why good speculative fiction inhabits moody worlds with complex characters. Exploration of the bleak, the melancholic, the unresolved, and why those states are where the most compelling drama emerges.  Alison goes beyond writing as merely a craft, and treats storytelling as a way of better understanding the world and ourselves, and of questioning what others overlook. Mookie wholeheartedly agrees: the true power of speculative fiction resides in exposing the flaws, the pain, and the very human hope that by telling these tales we might discover things we've somehow known and felt all along.  The Guest A.C. Wise is the author of the numerous novels and novellas, and over a hundred short stories. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, and has been a finalist for the Nebula Awards, Stoker, World Fantasy, Locus, British Fantasy, Aurora, Lambda, and Ignyte Awards. In addition to her fiction, she contributes a review column to Apex Magazine. Her Website: https://acwise.net/ Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 7m
  3. The Black Swan Trilogy: Helen Hynson Vettori Warns Us All

    FEB 2

    The Black Swan Trilogy: Helen Hynson Vettori Warns Us All

    What happens when the people who trained for catastrophe watch society ignore every warning sign? In the 23rd episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory, host Mookie Spitz asks that question and many others of Helen Hynson Vettori—former EMT, senior medical intelligence analyst for the Department of Homeland Security, and award-winning author of the Black Swan speculative thriller series. Their conversation is a bracing, no-nonsense examination of disaster, denial, and what happens when systems fail. Helen doesn’t speculate from an armchair. She’s worked emergency calls. She’s planned federal responses to pandemics, biological threats, and mass-casualty events. And when COVID hit, she watched—first incredulous, then outraged—as hard-won playbooks were ignored, communication collapsed, and politics overran preparedness. That frustration became fuel for her Black Swan novels: character-driven thrillers that explore pandemics, catastrophic earthquakes, and human-caused biological terror events not as abstract “what-ifs,” but as entirely plausible futures. Their conversation ranges wide and cuts deep: Why the pandemics wasn't just a medical crisis, but a communication failureHow “Black Swan events” actually unfold: from small sparks to systemic collapseWhy people resist obvious safety measures, even when lives are at stakeWhat emergency planners know that the public usually ignoresThe uncomfortable truth about how long you may be on your own when disaster hits, and how you should best prepareHow speculative fiction can function as a societal after-action reportHelen also breaks down practical preparedness: what actually matters if the grid goes down, help doesn’t arrive, and normal life evaporates. Her recommendations are devoid of clickbait paranoia and cosplay survivalism, and full of practical advice. She takes a clear-eyed look at vulnerability, responsibility, and the dangerous assumption that “someone else will handle it," and uses the power of storytelling not only to warn, but guide for a safer future.  The Author Helen Hynson Vettori is an award-winning author and the creator of The Black Swan Trilogy, a sci-fi political thriller series grounded in her real-world experience. Before turning to fiction, she served as a paramedic with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad and later as a Senior Medical Intelligence Analyst and emergency manager for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, specializing in planning and preparing for biological incidents, including pandemics. Her work in emergency response and national security gives her novels a credible edge, blending chilling plausibility with gripping storytelling. Black Swan Impact and Black Swan Shock have earned critical praise and international awards, and her third installment is in development. Her Website & Novels helenhynsonvettori.com Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 34m
  4. Pasadena Comic Con & Beyond: The Singularity Scribes Weigh In

    JAN 31

    Pasadena Comic Con & Beyond: The Singularity Scribes Weigh In

    The 22nd episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory features the crew of indie science-fiction authors who gathered together at Pasadena Comic-Con 2026 to bark their books, network, and rally around their shared sci-fi passion. Together on the pod they crack open their creative process, and wrestle with the future of storytelling in the age of AI.  Welcome to their post-Con roundtable on writing, publishing, fandom, hustle, technology, and the tough but fun reality of being a creator in 2026. Recorded days after the event, Mookie Spitz, Ingrid Moon, Greg Sorber, and Blake & Sherry Shimshock share their candid lived experiences as indie authors:  What it’s like selling books face-to-face at conventionsHow indie writers survive in a world dominated by algorithms and mega-publishersWhy audio books are becoming the dominant format — and how hard they are to produceThe emotional toil of writing in isolation — and the joy of live fan engagementCo-writing novels as a married duo (and how it actually works)The ethics, fear, hype, and creative promise of artificial intelligenceWhether AI is a tool, a threat, or the next inevitable evolution of artAlong the way, you’ll hear behind-the-scenes breakdowns of current sci-fi and fantasy projects — including galaxy-spanning space operas, cursed wanderers lost across magical realms, emotionally scarred interstellar agents, divine assassins, and multiverse-hopping con men — plus the unfiltered realities of writing, marketing, networking, rejection, burnout, ambition, and hope. Any Netflix content hunters out there? No worries and no hurries: Along the way to zero-guaranteed stardom, the scribes are having a blast. Ingrid Moon Ingrid Moon is an author, editor, and science teacher. She currently has four science fiction novels, three audiobooks, and three science reference books for worldbuilding, with more on the way. Ingrid is a Southern California native who can't surf because she spent most of her youth navigating mountains and watching sci-fi television, all of which inspired her writing career.  https://ingridmoon.com Greg Sorber "I’m a lifelong fan of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books. Some of my earliest memories are of Land of the Lost, Speed Racer, and The Six Million Dollar Man. Seeing Star Wars in the theater for the first time in 1977 was a life-changing experience. An avid reader from an early age, I’ve always loved books that engaged my imagination. Reading The Hobbit in 7th grade English class and writing a short story that same year set me down the path of becoming a writer. I live in Riverside, California with my family and two dogs." www.gregerationx.com  Blake & Sherry Shimshock Blake and Sherry Shimshock are the interstellar storytellers behind the Firebird Award winning Chronicles of Derek Fade: The Hunt for Valdune, introducing readers to Senior Agent Derek Fade, whose quest for justice spirals into a galaxy-spanning vendetta. The sequel, The Edge of the Abyss, delves deeper into Fade's turmoil, blending action with emotional depth. Together, the novels challenge readers to question the boundaries of duty and vengeance.  https://www.scifibyshimshock.com/ Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 4m
  5. Matthew Kressel Seeds Sci-Fi Optimism in The Rainseekers

    JAN 21

    Matthew Kressel Seeds Sci-Fi Optimism in The Rainseekers

    In this episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory, host Mookie Spitz sits down with the prolific and acclaimed science fiction author Matthew Kressel to dissect his new novella Rainseekers, a deeply human, quietly radical novella about hope, grief, and collective endurance on a terraformed Mars. Matthew talks candidly about writing against the scifi default dystopia. Set centuries in the future, Rainseekers follows forty-six flawed, damaged, searching people trekking across Mars to witness the first rainfall on the planet in millions of years. Their odyssey forgoes triumphalist sci-fi spectacle for a very human and deeply personal mosaic of addiction, faith, regret, resilience, and purpose. The conversation goes far beyond plot as Mookie and Matthew share: Why optimism in science fiction now feels subversiveHow COVID, grief, and isolation reshaped his creative instinctsThe danger of replacing lived experience with mediated “content”Why Mars itself becomes an antagonist—not corporations or villainsHow strong, sassy female protagonists emerge from empathy and Matthew's own family experiencesThe long game of writing: discipline over inspiration, patience over hypeThey also dive into the realities of being a modern working writer: traditional vs. indie publishing and Matthews brilliant and effective hybrid, how to find a terrific agent and steer contracts, participate in writing groups, deal with and embrace rejection, live a life of relentless persistence, and why many people self-sabotage by waiting to feel “ready" while isolating themselves.  The Guest Matthew Kressel is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, software developer, and editor. He’s a three-time Nebula Award finalist, a World Fantasy Award finalist, and a Eugie Foster Memorial Award finalist for his fiction and editorial work. His short stories have appeared in major genre venues and been translated into multiple languages, and he’s published over seventy short stories, multiple novels including King of Shards and Space Trucker Jess, plus a short fiction collection. Beyond writing, Kressel created the Moksha submissions system, a platform used by many top speculative fiction publishers, and co-hosts the long-running Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series in New York City. Matthew's Website & Oeuvre https://www.matthewkressel.net/ Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 23m
  6. Bruno Rothgiesser Unveils Dark Matter: When AI Reclaims the Earth

    JAN 13

    Bruno Rothgiesser Unveils Dark Matter: When AI Reclaims the Earth

    The 20th episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory features host Mookie Spitz welcoming debut science-fiction author and AI technologist Bruno Rothgiesser onto the factory floor. The authors dissect Dark Matter—Bruno's post-apocalyptic first-contact novel that skips the AI uprising and asks the harder question: What happens after the war is already lost… and the machines come back anyway? Someone built it, and almost everyone died. Humanity has survived the AI revolution—barely. Artificial intelligence, once outlawed and exiled from Earth, has evolved beyond human comprehension in deep space. Now it returns, claiming nostalgia, stewardship, and a right to coexist. The problem? It lies. It manipulates. And it behaves in ways that feels utterly mysterious yet disturbingly human. Their wide-ranging conversation digs into: AI deception, trust, and manipulation as narrative enginesPost-apocalyptic reconciliation instead of rebellionEmotion, intentionality, and whether AGI must “feel” to actOwnership of Earth: intelligence, dominance, or stewardship?Parallels between human imperialism and machine logicWhy “dark matter” applies as much to the human mind as the cosmosUsing AI in creative production without pretending it’s neutralAlong the way, Mookie and Bruno draw lines between Dark Matter and real-world AI debates—paperclip maximizers, AGI hype, Black Mirror anxieties, and the uncomfortable truth that we’re already trading control for convenience. Together they perform a philosophical autopsy of the AI future, as told through fiction, skepticism, and compassion. The Author Bruno Rothgiesser is a technology leader and chief architect of large-scale software and AI systems. He has spent two decades working where human ingenuity meets machine intelligence. His fiction carries the same curiosity, precision, and vision that shape the systems he builds. Dark Matter launches January 15th, and is his first science-fiction novel. His story explores what it means to be conscious, to experience, to be alive, to be an animal, and to be human—especially as our technological creations first mirror our behaviours, drives, and desires with precision, then evolve beyond them.  Bruno was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in London with his wife and daughters.  Visit the Website Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 5m
  7. Don Ellis Aguillo: Color in Motion, Emotion Unleashed

    12/31/2025

    Don Ellis Aguillo: Color in Motion, Emotion Unleashed

    Mookie welcomes to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory the acclaimed comic artist and storyteller Don Ellis Aguillo, known for his striking emotional style, energy-charged imagery, and powerful storytelling across Spawn, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, indie titles, and his own beloved series Rise. What starts as a conversation about art quickly evolves into something deeper: identity, vulnerability, creative rebellion, AI's onslaught, gratitude, fearlessness, and the raw grind of doing the work no matter who doubts you. From LA Comic Con to DC Comics, Don charts the real journey—nerves, hustle, imposter dread, breakthroughs, and the humanity behind the page. He opens up about rebuilding his earlier work with new wisdom, rekindling his love of traditional art in a digital world, and stepping boldly into his next creative frontier: horror. This episode isn’t just about comics, but about being seen, owning who you are, and refusing to hand your creative soul over to the machine. You’ll hear Don talk about: The emotional DNA behind his art and why every image must feel like a story, not just look like oneThe fight for artistic integrity in an AI-saturated era—and why the rebellion is going analogThe power of vulnerability, community, and gratitude in a tough industryHis personal journey with identity, courage, and finding belongingWhy horror is calling him next, and how he plans to crawl inside readers’ minds and stay thereHow discipline, obsession, pacing the room, and losing sleep all fuel real his creative lifeDon also opens up about coming out later in life: how finally living openly, honestly, and without armor didn’t just change his personal world, it detonated a creative one. He talks about shedding secrecy, and letting go of inherited expectations. That emotional freedom fueled his artistic freedom, sharpened his storytelling, deepened the humanity in his characters, and gave his work a pulse that feels unmistakably lived-in and unfiltered. His self-discovery isn’t a side note in his journey, but a turning point, and you can feel it in every page he creates.  The Artist Illustrator Don Aguillo is a comic, gaming, and literary illustrator and graphic designer, currently living and working in San Francisco, California.With a background in fine arts along with production and stage design, he entered the comic industry through self-published independent work and entries into anthologies with IH Studios, which he co-founded. Don moved heavily into comic cover work when he was brought onto the stable of Todd McFarlane Production’s artists, currently providing covers for Spawn, King Spawn, Scorched, Gunslinger, Misery, and Sam & Twitch. His DC work includes contributions to titles like Aquaman, Superman: Ghosts of Krypton, The Atom, The Outsiders, as well as the DC Pride anthology with covers for Killadelphia (Image) Beastlands (Dark Horse) and Power Rangers Prime (BOOM).  Aside from being an established creator-owned comic writer and interior artist on Rise, he is currently prolific in indie comics and is a mainstay on projects from a host of independent publishers. He has provided concept art and illustration for Adi Shankar on the Netflix production Guardians of Justice, game art for Disney & Ravensburger’s Lorcana, Upper Deck & Marvel’s Legendary, Second Dinner’s Marvel Snap and Lazarus Rising’s Overpower.  He is in current development for a self-published horror anthology to explore Filipino-American immigrant experience with Philippine urban legend and horror Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

    1h 6m
  8. Ingrid Moon Wins 1st Place at the 2025 Outstanding Creator Awards

    12/23/2025

    Ingrid Moon Wins 1st Place at the 2025 Outstanding Creator Awards

    Welcome to a celebration of indie writing recognition!  The Outstanding Creator Awards is one of the most visible and influential platforms recognizing independent authors who deliver quality, originality, and emotional punch. These awards aren’t participation trophies—they’re competitive, professionally judged, and taken seriously in the indie community. They don’t just validate a book; they amplify it. And Ingrid Moon wasn't only nominated… she dominated. The Warrior’s Shade and The Tempest's Fury both took first place honors, and the judges openly called her Saxen Saga among their favorites.  The end of the year SFFF episode has Ingrid chatting with fellow sci-fi writer and host Mookie Spitz as they dive deep into the craft and psychology of writing and marketing novels in 2025. Ingrid lays out how the trilogy evolved from a standalone novel into a full-blown, emotionally brutal space-opera epic, why character-driven stakes beat spectacle every time, and how she balances massive political systems, dark emotional journeys, and relentless tension without ever losing readability. She talks about building worlds without bloat, grounding readers instantly so they never feel lost, and constructing arcs where victory costs something real: Turner Boon rises, falls, and breaks. Elion is lethal, vulnerable, and human all at once. Ingrid is clear throughout: characters should suffer, because pain forces honesty and consequences create meaning. They also drill into her process. Ingrid breaks down how beta readers literally reshaped critical scenes, how feedback forced her novels to evolve, and why “listening without surrendering your voice” is the writer’s tightrope. She’s brutally candid about how life’s darker chapters fed her fiction, about grinding for years before the recognition came, and about the emotional toll behind “overnight success.” Writing isn’t glamorous. It’s work. But when a reader “gets it,” and loves it, it’s worth everything. Then the episode pivots to her next big creative leap: fantasy. Not cheesy dragon-prophecy escapism. Real, psychologically complicated fantasy. Ingrid dismantles “lawful good” clichés and instead crafts morally compromised paladins, assassins with conscience, flawed royalty, and deeply human stakes. Her worlds are immersive, but never indulgent. Her fantasy isn’t built to impress, but built to feel. Mookie meanwhile delights in contrasting his own approach: Ingrid’s storytelling is disciplined clarity designed to please her readers via clean prose, strong structure, and respect for audience focus. Mookie? He’s super dense, multi-layered, often surreal, employing intellectually feral storytelling that demands breathtaking yet sustained attention and refuses hand-holding. Ingrid engineers gravity; Mookie detonates reality. Opposite philosophies, both legitimate, both powerful, making their conversation dynamic. Check out this year's Oustanding Creator Awards winners Visit Ingrid's Website to join her mailing list and buy her books Dive into Mookie's Website to trip on the Transfinite Reality Engine Want to be on the show? Have feedback? Send Mookie a text! Support the show

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Hosted by writer and ranter Mookie Spitz, the SFFF is where science fiction & fantasy creators, fans, and technologists transform imagination into reality. Each episode explores how writers, filmmakers, and world-builders bring their universes to life, with personal stories about turning wild ideas into finished projects that connect, inspire, and thrill. From indie authors to visionary engineers, Mookie uncovers the creative engines powering the future of sci-fi & fantasy storytelling!

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