Lauren McLaughlin spent 10 years in the film industry writing and producing films, but then abandoned her screen ambitions to write novels. Her first is titled: Cycler and is published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

We talked about actors behaving badly, her need for symmetry, teen and gender issues, the medicinal uses of marijuana, and her novel.

Lauren’s website and blog are at www.laurenmclaughlin.net.

 
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Jonathan BenderJonathan Bender is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Post, ESPN.com, The New York Metro, The Kansas City Star, and AOL.com, among others. Currently he is working on a book about Adult Fans of LEGO and is spending a year immersed in the culture of LEGO fans to understand their drive to build and try to learn the secrets of building with bricks.

 
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Jonathan Bender is chronicling his Lego adventures at is blog, BrickBender.

David Anthony Durham has published four acclaimed books including: Gabriel’s Story, Walk Through Darkness, Pride of Carthage, and Acacia. The first three are historical novels; Acacia is epic fantasy and it earned him the Campbell Nomination for Best New Writer in SF/F. David and I talked about his youth, his experience with Outward Bound, high school, and writing.

Visit David’s website.

 
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Jeri Smith-ReadyJeri Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, cat, and the world’s goofiest greyhound.

She is the author of four novels, the newest is Wicked Game. Jeri and I talked about vampires, people who are stuck in time, childhood reading, and football.

Visit Jeri’s website.

 
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Campbell NomineeDavid Louis Edelman is a science fiction novelist, blogger, and web programmer. His first book, Infoquake, was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel and named Barnes & Noble’s Top SF Novel of 2006. His latest novel, MultiReal, was released by Pyr in Summer 2008. He is a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer for 2008. He spoke about super heroes, his dad, and foreign toilets, among other things.

This is the third interview of the other Campbell Nominees. I say other because I am also a nominee.

Visit David’s website.

 
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Author Joe AbercrombieJoe Abercrombie is the author of an trilogy of epic fantasy novels based around the misadventures of the thinking man’s barbarian, Logen Ninefingers. Joe was nominated for the Campbell Award for the best new writer in science fiction and fantasy.

We spoke about his family editorial help, role-playing games, violence, bad reviews, and Google.

This is the second interview of the other Campbell Nominees. I say other because I am also a nominee.

 
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Mary Robinette Kowal is a professional puppeteer who does more than just moonlight as a writer. This year she had been nominated for the John W. Campbell Best New Writer Award.

Mary has performed for LazyTown (CBS), the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Pictures and founded Other Hand Productions. Her design work has garnered two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence, the highest award an American puppeteer can achieve.

Mrs. Kowal’s short fiction appears in Strange Horizons, Apex Digest and All-Star Stories: Presents Twenty Epics. She is the art director of Shimmer and a graduate of Orson Scott Card’s Literary BootCamp.

This podcast is the first in a series of Campbell Nominees.

Follow this link to Mary Robinette Kowal’s website.

A link straight to her FREE fiction!

And finally: The John W. Campbell Award Explained.

Music for the show by The Loungebots and Frank Molder.

 
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Russ Armstrong (my dad) was in the Vietnam War and played jazz at a club in Saigon. In this interview we talk about his time in the war and the weekends he spent playing at a club called The Dai Nam.

 
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Brian Dunning is the host of the very popular Skeptoid podcast, a weekly show dedicated to furthering knowledge by blasting away the widespread pseudosciences that infect popular culture.

We talk about the detoxification myth, SUVs, and super juice among other popular topics.

Visit and subscribe to Skeptoid.
And check out the Skeptoid Book. As Brian says, it’s great bathroom reading.

 
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Scott Nelson teaches history at William and Mary. His award-winning book Steel Drivin’ Man (published 2006) explores the legend and reality of railway hero John Henry. In 2007 he published Ain’t Nothing But A Man, which is based on Steel Drivin’ Man but for children.

For more information about Scott, see his website at The College of William and Mary.

 
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  • Host Jon Armstrong

  • Pages

  • Recommended Books:

    The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (P.S.)
    Ask Me No Questions
    Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog
    From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain
    Grey
    Blood Engines (Marla Mason, Book 1)
    Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry: the Untold Story of an American Legend
    Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry