Today’s guest, Kacey Ezell, was born in South Dakota and grew up around the world on various military bases. When she was seven, her mother gave her a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragondrums, and shortly thereafter, Kacey decided that she wanted to be a dragonrider when she grew up. From the time she was a small child, Kacey made up stories to tell to her friends and family.

Kacey’s emotionally-fueled fiction includes alternate history, fantasy, noir, and science fiction. She’s a master in emotional resonance and character building! Join us in learning the tips and tricks to build characters with believable emotional arcs.

In Part One, We Discuss:

• Every villain is the hero of their own story; writing unpopular characters

• Every hero is probably the villain of someone else’s story

• Redemption arcs

• Characters we love to hate

• How worldbuilding impacts characters and vice versa

• Tools to track details

Resources and Guest Links:

• https://kaceyezell.net/

• Newsletter and free short stories: https://kaceyezell.net/the-dragons-horde/

• Psyche of War: https://kaceyezell.net/book-series/the-psyche-of-war/

• World Anvil: https://www.worldanvil.com/

• Notion: https://www.notion.com/

Join us in thanking Kacey! She’s a great author and an even better friend, and we’re grateful she took time out of her relaxicon to interview and give us the inside scoop on how she crafts excellent characters.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

Join your Worlds Asunder host, 'Shady' David Shadoin, and several of his author friends (H.Y. Gregor, Kacey Ezell, Melissa Olthoff, Casey 'Moops' Moores, Mark Stallings, and Jon R. Osborne) on their misadventures in Jackbox's Fibbage 3. This is the pilot episode of a whole different show! Don't worry, we will still have our normal worldbuilding podcast but this has been chilling in a vault for too long and needed to see the light of day. Open your eyeholes!Shady - davidshadoin.comHailey - hygregor.comKacey - kaceyezell.netMelissa- melissaolthoff.netMoops - caseymoores.netMark - markstallings.comOz - jonrosborne.comThanks to FASS Sounds for putting out another awesome lofi chill song to license and use. Go find them on patreon and support if you enjoy this music or our other show's music. Thanks also to Matt Shadoin for designing our awesome logo! Find him on instagram and facebook!

Our latest guest is J.T. Evans, fantasy, science fiction, and horror author and former president of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group and Pikes Peak Writers. Today he brings his expertise and experience in both writing and gaming to help us dig into the nitty gritty of fantasy city building.

When not writing, he keeps computers secure at the Day Job, spends time with his family, and plays way too many tabletop games. J.T. joined the Gnome Stew Crew in March of 2016. Since that time, he has written dozens of articles for the site and has earned three Gold ENnie awards (2016, 2017, and 2018) as part of the team at Gnome Stew. He is the author of the Modern Mythology and Flashing Blades series and is hastily working on more right now.

In Part Two, We Discuss:

• Reasons and implications for city locations and environments

• City resources and the role of standardization and

• Natural disasters and character reactions to their surroundings

• Governing bodies, including some of their flaws

• Maps!

Resources and Guest Links:

• https://jtevans.net/

• The Flashing Blades series: https://jtevans.net/publications/flashing-blades/

• Modern Mythology series: https://jtevans.net/publications/modern-mythology/

• Newsletter subscription: https://jtevans.net/about/contact/

• Gnome Stew: https://gnomestew.com/

• Stay tuned for links to JT’s maps and other photo resources!

Join us in thanking JT! We’re fortunate to claim him as a writing colleague and a friend. We’re seriously grateful he lent us his expertise for this episode and loved digging into the nitty-gritty of city building with him.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

Our latest guest is J.T. Evans, fantasy, science fiction, and horror author and former president of Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group and Pikes Peak Writers. Today he brings his expertise and experience in both writing and gaming to help us dig into the nitty gritty of fantasy city building.

When not writing, he keeps computers secure at the Day Job, spends time with his family, and plays way too many tabletop games. J.T. joined the Gnome Stew Crew in March of 2016. Since that time, he has written dozens of articles for the site and has earned three Gold ENnie awards (2016, 2017, and 2018) as part of the team at Gnome Stew. He is the author of the Modern Mythology and Flashing Blades series and is hastily working on more right now.

Resources and Guest Links:

• https://jtevans.net/

• The Flashing Blades series: https://jtevans.net/publications/flashing-blades/

• Modern Mythology series: https://jtevans.net/publications/modern-mythology/

• Newsletter subscription: https://jtevans.net/about/contact/

• Gnome Stew: https://gnomestew.com/

• Stay tuned for links to JT’s maps and other photo resources!

Join us in thanking JT! We’re fortunate to claim him as a writing colleague and a friend. We’re seriously grateful he lent us his expertise for this episode and loved digging into the nitty-gritty of city building with him.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

So, I lied...I forgot Spotify does video now...so here is the pilot of our new project!

Join your Worlds Asunder host, 'Shady' David Shadoin, and several of his author friends (H.Y. Gregor, Kacey Ezell, Melissa Olthoff, Casey 'Moops' Moores, Mark Stallings, and Jon R. Osborne) on their misadventures in Jackbox's Fibbage 3. This is the pilot episode of a whole different show! Don't worry, we will still have our normal worldbuilding podcast but this has been chilling in a vault for too long and needed to see the light of day. Open your eyeholes!Shady - davidshadoin.comHailey - hygregor.comKacey - kaceyezell.netMelissa- melissaolthoff.netMoops - caseymoores.netMark - markstallings.comOz - jonrosborne.comThanks to FASS Sounds for putting out another awesome lofi chill song to license and use. Go find them on patreon and support if you enjoy this music or our other show's music. Thanks also to Matt Shadoin for designing our awesome logo! Find him on instagram and facebook!

Just what do you do with a PhD in the History of Science? Write novels–science fiction, urban fantasy, and thriller. Our guest today is Steve Ruskin, PhD. He’s the author of the nonfiction popular history novel America’s First Great Eclipse and countless academic writings, and also of the ExoRok Rebels science fiction series and Trina Piper magical thrillers.

Steve’s unique background in academics and fiction give him great insight to author resources, creativity, and bringing character-driven fiction to life.

In Part Two, We Discuss:

• Painting targets around the points you want to hit in your plots

• On-location research and

• Detail writing, and using the five senses to set a scene

• Worldbuilding and story development in someone else’s shared universe

• Pulling story inspiration from history and integrating it into other genres

• Organization and juggling multiple projects

Resources and Guest Links:

• Steve Ruskin: https://www.steveruskin.com/

• Steve’s Newsletter: https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/f424f312-0fb9-11ee-938d-7f884ddf8bd0

• America’s First Great Eclipse: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-First-Great-Eclipse-Scientists-ebook/dp/B0716GT8FH

• ExoRok Rebels: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1BMNQQ1

• Trina Piper Thrillers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9KGPCSS

• Extinction by Douglas Preston: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Extinction-A-Novel/dp/B0C31M5X6V

Huge thanks to Steve for coming over to record at our dining room table. We love being able to bring field specialists onto the show, and he’s no exception. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

Just what do you do with a PhD in the History of Science? Write novels–science fiction, urban fantasy, and thriller. Our guest today is Steve Ruskin, PhD. He’s the author of the nonfiction popular history novel America’s First Great Eclipse and countless academic writings, and also of the ExoRok Rebels science fiction series and Trina Piper magical thrillers.

Steve’s unique background in academics and fiction give him great insight to author resources, creativity, and bringing character-driven fiction to life.

In Part One, We Discuss:

• Worldbuilding in historical and popular history writings

• Nonfiction worldbuilding and research

• Writing character-driven nonfiction

• Where to start historical research and how to reach out to professionals

• “Secret histories”: Finding the balance between historical accuracy and fictional liberties

• Maintaining a timeline and the differences between historical fiction and alternate history

• The Village Idiot Approach

Resources and Guest Links:

• Steve Ruskin: https://www.steveruskin.com/

• Steve’s Newsletter: https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/f424f312-0fb9-11ee-938d-7f884ddf8bd0

• America’s First Great Eclipse: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-First-Great-Eclipse-Scientists-ebook/dp/B0716GT8FH

• ExoRok Rebels: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1BMNQQ1

• Trina Piper Thrillers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9KGPCSS

• Extinction by Douglas Preston: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Extinction-A-Novel/dp/B0C31M5X6V

Huge thanks to Steve for coming over to record at our dining room table. We love being able to bring field specialists onto the show, and he’s no exception. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim

Sorry we’re late this week! Shady got trapped in a server when they shut Anthem down…and by that, we mean, he decided to relive the glory of the freelancers one last time…but at least it’s still Tuesday!

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but let's face it--you only get one first impression. A good cover needs to be eye-catching, signal your genre, give clues to your story, have an engaging and readable title treatment, and make readers want to know more.

Easy, right?

If only! The trouble is, authors aren't always the best at breaking their stories down into one or two compelling visuals. Where words fail us, enter Jake Clark and J Caleb Design. The artistic mind behind countless covers, J Caleb focuses on badass covers for badass stories. He lent us his expertise for this episode! Join us in discussing what exactly goes into making a book cover great, from concept and brief to final product.

In Part Two, We Discuss:

• More Lucky Charms

• A Cover Brief Story

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Artists and Writers working together.

Resources and Guest Links:

• J Caleb Design: https://www.jcalebdesign.com/

Help us thank Jake! Covers are tricky, and we’ve been so excited to share this episode and give people insights from such a talented artist and creator.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim