52. [Interview] S. Andrew Swann – Writing The Sword of the Slayer & lessons learned from publishing 26 fantasy and sci-fi books

May 5, 2020May 3, 2020 ~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

S. Andrew Swann is the pen name of Steven Swiniarski. He has published over 26 novels since 1993. His recent works include Sword of the Slayer – an interactive fiction story from Choice of Games.

Watch our video interview below, or click the links to listen in your podcast player of your choice.

Or click here to listen online.

Show Notes:

Steven’s website: sandrewswann.com

Twitter: @SAndrewSwann

Facebook: facebook.com/sandrewswann

Sword of the Slayer: choiceofgames.com/sword-of-the-slayer

Steven’s favorite books:

– American Gods

– Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files

– Peter F. Hamilton’s books

– Hyperion

– The Fireman by Joe Hill

49. [Interview] Kate Heartfield – Interactive Fiction and The Magician's Workshop

March 31, 2020March 7, 2020 ~ Jed Herne ~ 1 Comment

What does it take to write stories where readers’ decisions affect the outcome? Kate Heartfield is an author of several historical fantasy and interactive fiction stories, including The Road to Canterbury, and The Magician’s Workshop, published by Choice of Games. Her fiction has won or been shortlisted for the Nebula, Locus, Aurora and Crawford awards.

Or click here to listen online.

Twitter: @kateheartfield

Website: heartfieldfiction.com

Show Notes:

The Magician’s Workshop – her interactive fiction story set in Renaissance Florence.

Jed’s twitter: @jedherne

Jed’s email: jed.herne1(at)gmail.com

47. [Interview] Rob J. Hayes on Viking Martial Arts, Achieving Success as a Self-Published Fantasy Author, and Turning Messy Drafts into Great Stories

March 3, 2020March 2, 2020 ~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

Rob J. Hayes is the author of the Amazon Best Selling The Heresy Within, the SPFBO-winning piratical swashbuckler Where Loyalties Lie, and the critically acclaimed Never Die, amongst many other novels. After doing an episode on Never Die two weeks ago, I’m delighted to follow it up with an interview with the author himself!

Or click here to listen online.

Website: www.robjhayes.co.uk

Twitter: @RoboftheHayes

Show Notes:

My grimdark fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead, just became the #1 bestseller on Amazon’s ‘Fantasy Adventure Fiction’, ‘Sword & Sorcery’, and various other charts. Read it here: https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead

My Novel Analyst episode 46 on Never Die by Rob J. Hayes: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/46–Never-Die-by-Rob-J–Hayes—Choreographing-Excellent-Ensemble-Casts-easrko

Novel Analyst episode 41 on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/41–The-Ember-Blade-by-Chris-Wooding—Nailing-the-Opening-48-Pages-e96cua