What makes a character an orphan? Deadbeat parents? DEAD parents? Plot convenience? All of the above?!

Val and Kira call upon Rosa, Courtney, and Clarke to discuss those parentless characters who nevertheless have been called upon for ADVENTURE. We discuss worldbuilding, motivation, and *familial trauma* and that's just the start! >:3

Last of Us spoilers ~35:00

Erika is joined by Kassidy, Ashley, and Rosa to discuss the forms of narrative conflicts that don't involve "villains," such as conflicts involving pitting the character against nature, society, time, their environment, or the character's self. We finally get to see Rosa during the daytime, the Professor regales us with several examples from her own books, and Kassidy updates us on her ass status!

TW: Medical Things ~35:00

Editor's Note: Jess has since sent Rosa her email. Sorry about that!

Introducing.......Kyle Lockhaven (aka K.R.R. Lockhaven), author of the Azure Archipelago Trilogy! This is the first time we've gotten Kyle to join the podcast, and we're very excited!

Join Val, Erika, and Ashley in getting some insider info on Kyle's inspirations and interests!

The entire Azure Archipelago Trilogy is available NOW! Go get them for yourself and read all about pirates, capybaras, and the importance of...BIRD REPRODUCTION.

It's a free-for-all day! Erika and Val are joined by Az, Rosa, Kassidy, and Brittany in a casual hang out! Led loosely by our MC Kass, we touch on everything from emotional support gators to smut and pizza!

And remember...no ejaculating dialogue!

(TW? : medical talk/shots 56:00)

Sunshine Noir, cults, and tentacled gods...oh yesss.

Today, Jess, Erika, and Val welcome back Eric Avedissian, a multi-published author and local sass master of the House, to talk about his upcoming book, The Ocean Hugs Hard.

An intriguing murder mystery, The Ocean Hugs Hard follows reporter Harman Bass as he tries to uncover the dark secrets surrounding the murder of the daughter of a prominent family...

With tentacles, eerie supernatural mysteries, and conspiracy murders, what's not to like? The Ocean Hugs Hard is available NOW, so get your copy!

Time for some cathartic cozy with the next Shadow Spark's Anthology chat! Today we introduce our Cozy-ish anthology. In typical Shadow Spark fashion, we have a mix of comfy, sweet, and tentatively murder-y stories...the best combo, honestly.

Join Val, Erika, Ashley, Jade, Kassidy, Kori, Eric, and Mariah in a chat about Anarchy, dance-offs, jazz music, and the angriest town in America: PHILADELPHIA

Oh no, the HORROR!

Today we're back with our EMOTIONS series to talk about the greatest emotion of all...fear! Val is joined by some of SSP's resident horror writers, Kaitlin and Tom, to discuss what fear looks like in their writing and the importance of it in our media. Expect tangents and adoration of various horror stories and characters! And maybe...some readings from our books!

Here we go for episode 69, the surely long-awaited Shadow Spark Podcast episode! And of course, we're here to talk about....

Cinnamon rolls! You know, the sweetest, purest characters who exist in media.

What else did you expect??

Join the Chaos Squad in gushing about some of our favorite, sickeningly sweet characters (except Edge Lord Val...will she change her mind about cinnamon rolls by the end? Find out!)

Spoilers:

solo leveling 37min

JJK 1:09:00

Fruits basket 1:19:10