Invaders From Planet 3

The Invasion takes us back to Dublin for the second Voice of the Fans episode recorded at the 2019 World Science Fiction Convention! Joining us to share their stories about their first loves in sf are: Performer and artist Galina Rin of Death Ingloria www.deathingloria.com www.Facebook.com/deathingloria Author D. A. Lascelles https://dalascelles.co.uk Author Kim ten Tusscher www.kimtentusscher.com Author J. Sharpe www.jsharpebooks.com and Author and narrator R. B. Watkinson https://rbwatkinson.wordpress.com   Stay tuned for more regular-length interviews and Voice of the Fans episodes in the weeks ahead. To listen to Invaders From Planet 3, or to subscribe, visit Libsyn, iTunes, or your other favourite podcatching service. Be sure to rate and review us while you're there!  

Author, editor, blogger and activist Cory Doctor joins us for this episode. Cory shares his thoughts on speculative fiction that made an impression on him at an early age, including Doctor Who — and specifically, TV Ontario's presentation of Doctor Who episodes along with introductions by sf legend Judith Merril (who, along with Tanya Huff, would later become one of Cory's mentors) — and Star Wars. He also discusses his ongoing love of the works of Stephen Brust. We also talk politics, from current affairs in Ontario, to his father's repurposing of Conan stories into "sword and socialism" tales for Cory's daughter. Cory also tells us about how his politics and activism inform his writing. From there, we get into a discussion about his writing process, including his current effort to enhance his ability to revise his work. And we talk about his professional balancing act and how he allocates time to writing, activism, journalism, and other endeavours. And Cory gives us a look at some of his upcoming stories, i

I'm doing something a bit different in this episode: instead of the usual interviews with authors, editors, performers, artists, fans and others, I'm posting a short radio play I've put together with some friends. Why? As some of you know, I'm currently taking a Bachelor of Education degree, and one of my course assignments is to write something and publish it. Last summer, a friend and I were kicking around the possibility of doing a radio play. We talked about doing a take on HG Wells' The War of the Worlds, except from the Martian perspective. And, since we're both former newspeople, we talked about presenting it as a nightly newscast on Mars, updating its citizens on the progress of the invasion. When I had to start thinking about the assignment for my course, I decided to see what I could do with the radio play idea, and since I've got this podcast channel already, I have a place to post it. Admittedly, I was a little pressed for time in putting the radio play together, so the editing isn't quite as tigh

Season 4 of Invaders From Planet 3 launches with an all-new "Voice of the Fans" episode, recorded at the Dublin Worldcon this summer. In fact, there were so many fans who came out to share their stories about their first loves in science fiction, fantasy, comics and all points in between, that I had to expand it to three "Voice of the Fans" episodes! In this first instalment, we'll hear from Ed Beecher, Dr. Wanda Kurtcu, Scott "Kludge" Dorsey, and Octocon co-chair Janet O'Sullivan. Stay tuned for more "Voice of the Fans" episodes in the weeks ahead, as well as our regular, full-length interviews!

Author and podcaster Minister Faust returns to lead the Invasion once again in the season 3 finale of Invaders From Planet 3! We talk about The Coyote Kings vs. the Myconauts of Plutonium City — his new, serialized novel — and his plans to unite all of his stories within the single, overarching MFU (the Minister Faust Universe). As part of this, we also discuss why he decided to keep this instalment in the adventures of the Coyotes in the 1990s, rather than bringing our heroes up to date. Minister also shares some of his thoughts about writing, including mining old, half-developed ideas for material that can be refurbished and combined with other content into something new and compelling; how a writer decides when a story's time has come; and how deciding to publish a new novel as a serial, rather than a single, finished book, is a source of pressure, but also offers a lot of positive opportunities. He talks about the importance of letting the real world provide the conflict in a story, rather than its artifi

Comic book artist Dan Schoening joins us for this episode of the Invasion. Dan talks about some of his genre first loves that influenced his decision to become an artist, including the 1980s video game Dragon's Lair, Disney's Alice in Wonderland, and various Saturday morning cartoons. He discusses how he initially studied animation before turning to comic artistry, and how a project with Cereal Geek Magazine's James Eatock that ultimately didn't pan-out opened the door for Dan to work with IDW. From there, Dan tells us about working on IDW's Ghostbusters for the last seven years with writer Erik Burnham and colourist Luis Delgado. He shares his thoughts about having a team that can read each other's minds, flushing out the look of the Ghostbusters world by adding Easter eggs, how to keep things fresh and not get bored after a long story arc, and the importance of planning ahead. Dan also teases a couple of projects he's got on the go for 2019, as well as his upcoming appearance at the Ghostbusters Fan Fest in

Sad news: Mike Cleaver, a veteran broadcaster and the man who provided the opening voiceover for the Invaders From Planet 3 podcast — becoming the herald for our Invasion — died on Sunday, February 10, 2019. In this episode, we pay tribute to a good friend.  

Author, editor and professor Nalo Hopkinson joins us for our first episode of 2019. Nalo talks about her first loves in speculative fiction, including Harlan Ellison's "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin", Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain, and Kurt Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House". And she shares what it was like having the freedom to read what she wanted when she was growing up, with her library technician mother loaning Nalo her library card and letting her explore the stacks at work; and her mother and actor/poet/playwright/high school English teacher father letting her choose from their collection of books at home. We also talk about an early reading experience that didn't work out so well: her encounter with an Alfred Hitchcock anthology. And she tells us how her desire to become a writer was first sparked by a collection of Clarion short stories. Our conversation then turns to the subject of diversity, with Nalo reflecting on Caribbean voices in the stories she encountered growing up. She talk

In this episode, we're joined by author Charles Stross who talks about discovering his love of sf when he was 5 and started reading Andre Norton's books at his local library. By the time he was 15, he'd read everything in the genre. Charlie also reflects on how growing up in Britain of the 1970s — a place he describes as a "malfunctioning society" — affected his perception of the American speculative fiction he read. He also discusses the shift that took place in British culture  in the 80s, and how that steered him towards a career as a pharmacist — at least until he shifted to computer science and then technical writing. Charlie tells us about his development as a writer, from his beginnings at age 12, to his first attempts to get published in his teens, to selling stories in his 20s, including a novel. He goes on to discuss how working as a pharmacist and in computers gave him insight into how organizations of different sizes function (or malfunction), leading to an understanding of bureaucracy as a villai

We're joined by author and editor Matthew Hughes in this episode. Matt talks about his first love in sf: Jack Vance's "The Dragon Masters", as well as Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton, along with his discovery of Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury and AE van Vogt. He also discusses some of the historical fiction novelists who influenced him, such as Geoffrey Trease, Henry Treece and Rosemary Sutcliff. Matt talks about being "a guy just passing through" as he shares stories from his early years, starting with an unstable home life where his father, trying to stay one step ahead of money problems, occasionally uprooted the family at a moment's notice — sometimes in the middle of the night to move half-way around the world. There's the story of his teenaged knife fight. And he tells us how taking LSD made him a nicer person. We also hear about Matt's evolution as a writer, from the teenager writing stories, to the newspaper reporter and editor, to the go-to speechwriter for Canadian federal politicians, their provincia

Author, editor and kung-fu mathematician James Alan Gardner joins us in the latest episode of the podcast! Jim starts off by talking about how comics were his first speculative fictional love, especially Marvel's The Avengers and DC's Crisis on Earth One! and Crisis on Earth Two!, leading eventually to science fiction like Heinlein's juveniles, and later, in university, to fantasy by Tolkien and Stephen R Donaldson, and horror by Stephen King. We talk about his decision to study Math at university, and how a student work internship in Toronto with nothing to do at night gave him the opportunity to start developing his abilities as a writer. Jim tells us about how a writing workshop in Banff allowed him to further hone his skills and find his own voice, and we later discuss how this differed from his experience at Clarion. We also talk about Jim's early work writing science fictional stage plays and radio plays, like Curio (a paranormal investigative series predating The X-Files) and Percy Pulsar, Space Accoun

Author Mark Barrowcliffe (also known under his pen names MD Lachlan and Mark Alder) joins us in this episode. Mark tells us about his first loves in sf, including Alan Garner, Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea series, Tolkien, Moorcock, and Andre Norton. He talks about his enjoyment of Tolkien and Garner injecting mythology into their fantasy, and Moorcock's ability to challenge his readers by posing difficult questions. When discussing his own writing, Mark reflects on the exhilaration of letting his characters tell their own story, and how this helps when writing characters that come from different backgrounds than his own. He also shares his thoughts on how his experiences practicing boxing, martial arts and fencing give him insight into the scariness of fighting, and how youthful experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs provided inspiration for writing the unreality of a werewolf's state of mind. And he talks about using the trappings of fantasy in storytelling without descending into escapism, and why it's im

Comedian, author, podcaster and performer Sean Cullen joins the Invasion for this episode. Sean talks about how his love for speculative fiction started with works such as Tolkien's The Hobbit, Mr Bass's Planetoid by Eleanor Cameron, Stephen R Donaldson's Lord Foul's Bane, and Asimov's Foundation and Robot stories. We discuss the ups and downs of following a series, especially a long-running collection. And he talks about what makes a good story. Sean and I dissect the Star Wars franchise, especially the prequel trilogy and the latest stand-alone focussing on Han Solo. We also talk about Space 1999 and Star Trek, and how science fiction is often a product of its time, and whether it's possible to go back to and enjoy your first loves in the genre. We then get into a discussion of more recent favourite books, including the works of Neal Stephenson, Dan Simmons, and Kim Stanley Robinson. And we reminisce about the madcap fun of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. We also talk about the books Sean has written

Author Chris Beckett joins us in this episode, where he talks about his first loves in sf, including Heinlein's Starman Jones, CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth. He describes the importance of being able to explore his father's book collection and coming from a family with a scientific background, and what his father thought of his eventual decision to become a writer. We also chat about how Chris' career as a social worker has influenced both his own writing and his views on other science fiction. As part of this, we talk about the connection between the science fictional mindset and that of social work, and sf's value as escapism. Chris also discusses his latest novel, America City, and drops a hint about his next, as yet untitled, work. Our interview took place in June 2018 via a Skype connection (and I apologize in advance for audio dropouts or Skype artifacts in the recording) between Chris' home in Cambridge, UK, and my location in the Lair of

The Invasion has resumed! Season three of the Invaders From Planet 3 podcast kicks off with a new Voice of the Fans episode, where I interview a group of fans about their first loves in science fiction, fantasy, video games, comics, movies, TV — whatever! My guests include Ryneld Starr, Sarah Corbeil, Jose Palacios, and Sam McCreath. Our interviews took place over the summer of 2018 via Skype calls between their homes and my studio in the Lair of bloginhood, currently located in a pillow fort in your mom's basement. And because every fan's voice is important, I'd love to hear from you too! Leave a note in the Comments section below telling us about your first love in speculative fiction. And if you'd like to be part of next year's Voice of the Fans episode, contact me at talktobloginhood@gmail.com. Meanwhile, don't forget to tune in over the coming weeks for the next episodes of the show. I've got interviews with some cool authors, performers and artists coming up this season, and I think you'll enjoy these c

For the final episode of season 2 of Invaders From Planet 3 (posted on the final day of 2017) we're joined by author, editor, columnist, podcaster and musician Spider Robinson. As we jump into our conversation, already in progress, Spider shares his thoughts about the loss of his wife and sometime collaborator, Jean; the passing of his daughter; and facing one's own mortality. He recounts his experience of dealing with a medical condition in his youth that caused his lungs to collapse frequently, the painful surgical procedure to cure it, and how listening to a Duke Ellington marathon on the radio got him through it. On the science fiction front, Spider talks about his longstanding love for the works of Robert A. Heinlein, starting with Rocket Ship Galileo. He also mentions some of his other favourites, ranging from the classics to more recent fare, like James Alan Gardner's All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault. He also discusses writers' block, and what Theodore Sturgeon once said about an extended

We're joined by author John Jantunen in this episode. John starts off by telling us about his early influences, including David Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr series, Stephen King, old Hammer horror vampire films starring Peter Cushing, and post-apocalyptic movies like The Road Warrior, Escape from New York, A Boy and His Dog, The Quiet Earth, and Night of the Comet. We also talk extensively about John's love for the works of Philip K Dick, especially Counter-Clock World; Valis; A Scanner Darkly; Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said; and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? He also discusses watching Bladerunner when it first hit the theatres, what it's like rewatching it now versus his experience as a kid, and how it compares with 'Androids. While John talks about how Dick's weird ideas and the fundamental desperation of his writing were the biggest influence on his own development as a writer, he also discusses the slippery slope of reading too much PKD. And we go into detail about John's love of the post-ap

Author Alyx Dellamonica joins us in this episode of the podcast. She tells us about her first loves in the genre, including Spider-Man comics, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man. We'll also talk about how she grew up in a home where, from a very young age, she was free to read anything, from children's books like Island of the Blue Dolphins, to more adult fare like Jaws. We'll also talk about her development as a writer, starting with her first attempts at "Dr. Seuss-inspired doggerel" during childhood, to submitting stories to magazines at 16, and her eventual success in getting published. Alyx tells us about how being steeped in the world of theatre helped her writing, and what other writers can learn from the dramatic arts. She also talks about why she feels most at home writing speculative fiction, and we discuss some of her work, including her Hidden Sea Tales trilogy, and her contribution to the 007-inspired anthology License Expired: The Unauthorized James Bon

In this episode, we're joined by author Kelly Robson. We talk about her first love in the genre, Star Wars — how it was big, exciting and sexy, but also an escape from family drama at home; and what it's like to look back on the movie now as an adult and a professional speculative fiction writer. We talk about other early sf pleasures, like the original Battlestar Galactica; books by Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, and others; and the genre magazines of the 70s and 80s. Along the way, we also discuss the early superhero Zorro (and specifically the George Hamilton movie Zorro — The Gay Blade), and why you may have to read Heinlein before a certain age in order to enjoy his stories. Turning to her own career, Kelly tells us how the Connie Willis story "Blued Moon" reprogrammed her brain and made her want to become a writer. She talks about the positive aspects of starting her career in middle age, and how, despite writing being a selfish line of work, she's still able to be happy as an

Author and editor David Nickle joins us for this episode. He tells us about works of speculative fiction that influenced him early on, including the TV series Lost in Space (and what it has in common with Larry Niven's Ringworld), Lester del Rey's novel The Runaway Robot, and the stories of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, Harlan Ellison, and Stephen King. On the subject of enjoying King, David talks about how he and his wife, author and editor Madeline Ashby, read a chapter of Salem's Lot out loud every night before bed. But also in our discussion of the giants of the genre, he also explains why Robert A. Heinlein isn't among his favourites. On the subject of being an author, David recounts the tale of his first stab at writing: dictating Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons fanfic to his mother for transcription when he was four. He talks about how being a journalist has helped his writing. And David shares his thoughts on whether national identity plays a role i