Ken Lowery is a tabletop roll-playing game (TTRPG) writer most well-known for writing the fantastic game VOID 1680 AM. He stopped by Ledger to discuss his journey in starting Bannerless Games and the process of writing VOID as well as other games like Lighthouse At the End of the World and Hell Grinders.

We chat about the community aspect of VOID 1680 AM, including how he actually has his own AM radio broadcaster from which he broadcasts player creations, plus the perceptions (and some hesitations) of playing solo tabletop games. His newest game is No-Tell Motel, a more narrative-focused mystery game that is currently on Crowdfundr - https://crowdfundr.com/notellmotel?ref=ab_75SIUaHJrtV75SIUaHJrtV - so make sure you check it out.

Visit Bannerless Games on Itch to find more of what Ken has written - https://bannerlessgames.itch.io/ - and then maybe go play a game tonight!

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Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by austinRwilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction.

You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire.

Head over to my Itch.io page to read my newest story, Dynasty of Blood. Volume one is live now, with more on the way, including some ORIGINAL NEW art. Thank you so much! https://austinrwilson.itch.io/

Brian Allen Carr is a novelist originally from Texas, author of the books Sip; Opioid, Indiana, and his newest book, Bad Foundations, which is out via Clash Books as of January 23, 2024.

It is a peek into a hidden and ignored world beneath the feet of midwesterners, a world that literally supports their entire lives. The narrator is a man named Cook, someone who will essentially become a coworker to readers as they open this book.

Brian chats with Ledger about the importance of setting, how he utilizes and thinks of genre (one of Ledger's favorite topics; but in this case there are sharks leaping out of puddles), and how he is currently working as a foundation inspector like his book’s protagonist.

One of the bigger topics in this episode is success and, specifically, what happens when you win a big short story contest? Brian won the inaugural Texas Observer Short Story Contest in 2011, which was judged by Larry McMurtry.

Make sure you check out Bad Foundations out from Clash books. Thank you so much to Brian for chatting and thank you for listening!

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Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people if you think they'd like it. Swing by AustinRWilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire.

Debut novelist David Connor joins me to chat about his book Oh God, the Sun Goes which is out TODAY, August 1st, 2023 from Melville House.

Although this is his first novel he has in fact always been writing, which we talk about for sure. He has an undergrad degree in neuroscience and during that time in school he took a writing workshop with Maggie Nelson. Things changed after that.

Also, what’s becoming a touchstone for the show, he mentions the genesis of his novel came out in a few sentences on his phone.

We talk about the perspective of the story, specifically how “close” or “distant” the third person narrative hews, how he utilizes the passage of time and our perception of that phenomenon, and whether this is metafiction or not? Is it? IS IT? Well…yeah, is it?

We do tiptoe up to some topics David says he doesn’t want to dive too deeply into, for fear of giving away the magic trick, including psychedelics. His book is a strange, fantastical journey into perception and time featuring noir sensibilities...that was maybe was influenced by psychedelics?

Grab David’s book wherever books are sold, or over at my affiliate link on Bookshop.org. That’s a great way to support the show and get some fantastic new reading material. If I’ve interviewed someone and their work is available via that site, it’s on my list.

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Please rate and review the show wherever you can - Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, all of them - and tell people you think would like it. Swing by AustinRWilson.com to see my publishing credits, to contact me, or to read free fiction. You can also check out my work on Medium, including my weird sci-fi publication Shibboleth, which features aliens, government conspiracies, and maybe even sentient fire.