The Nerd Count Podcast

In our 16th episode of The Nerd Count Podcast, we welcome Theresa DeLucci to talk about the inside secrets of the publishing industry. We talk about how she got started working in publishing as a marketer, how people are still reading, especially genre, but the numbers of places to buy books have shrunk, how we first met Theresa, writing short fiction, selling a story to Ellen Datlow, the gratifying hard work of working in publishing, the struggles of a shrinking industry, traditional publishing and indie authors, how she markets books, how she helps authors market themselves, how author publicity events can sometimes “move the needle”, how there is no “formula” for success, self-promotion for authors, the brutality of the “Algorithm”, the benefits of writing an “author letter”, her non-fiction reviews of media, reading for the Year’s Best Horror, some upcoming books she’s excited about, pansting vs. plotting, her love of oysters!, and more! Theresa’s Non-Fiction at Reactor: https://reactormag.com/author/theresa-delucci/ Theresa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tdelucci/?hl=en

In our 14th episode, we welcome the multitalented actor, author, and filmmaker Shiva Kumar! We speak with Shiva about The Lanka Chronicles, growing up in different countries, his childhood as an “outsider”, going to boarding school, his first forays into directing in Bhutan, how a health crisis started him on the writing path, his documentaries on the Holocaust, how he was inspired by Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Indofuturism, how he was interested in working heroes from Indian myths into his fiction, India’s role in the future of humanity, his science fictional retelling of the Ramayana, how acting and writing affects his writing, his thoughts on AI, writing dialog for a screenplay vs. novels, why coffee cups are always empty and no one ever eats food on a plate in TV and film, playing the Prime Minister of Pakistan and head of the Pakistani Secret Service, how acting translates into inhabiting characters in fiction, writing villains, his writing process, writing during stressful periods, doing what he loves, dealing with rejection as an actor, his experience at Appalachian State University, how it takes time to understand the human condition, narrating his own audiobook, and lots more! Books Mentioned The Lanka Chronicles by Shiva Kumar – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Shiva-Kumar/author/B0993XCG5P Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny – https://bookshop.org/p/books/lord-of-light-roger-zelazny/c41678bf1dbdd1a7?ean=9780060567231&next=t

In our 12th episode, we welcome Carlos Hernandez, award-winning writer of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, and the Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria, writer for Marvel Comics’ characters America Chavez, Moon Knight, Spider Punk, Miles Morales, Amazing Spider Man, and Ghost Rider, as well as creator of the Negocios Infernales boardgame. We talk about staying grounded and creative during times of chaos, the danger of comparing ourselves to others, stress and productivity, the capitalistic pressure to always produce “content”, moving away from social media, writing for comics, finding hope in young people, working with scriptwriters, where to start stories and genre expectations, how his Latin culture impacts his writing, teaching writing at Clarion, the efficacy of cautionary tales, the magic of teaching kids, the optimism of children, and much more!

In our tenth episode, your fellow nerds Mercurio and Matt discuss the topic du jour: Writing and AI! We discuss common misconceptions about writing, such as the misapprehension that the work is merely coming up with a good idea, about authorship and plagiarism, Ted Chiang’s essay in The New Yorker about choices and how they make a work of art, what defines art, methods of communication, the subtle nuances that make stories “real”, why beginning authors should avoid using AI, how AI can erase your unique voice and style, how much of AI training data is stolen, why we aren’t automating laundry, housework, and taxes, why writers may be tempted by the shortcut that AI offers, Hollywood, advice for aspiring authors, and more! This was a fun and timely discussion!

In our eighth episode, we interview the spectacular Jason Sanford, and we talk with him about getting exposed to the genre through his grandfather, early sales, getting pulled out of the slush pile, stories in Interzone, working as a neurodivergent person, his history being an archeologist and how that influenced his fiction, “discovery writing”, working in the US Peace Corps, his well-received “Plague Bird” stories, finding the right writing process and rhythm, why it’s okay to not write every day, how our writing processes may change as we grow, his well-received Genre Grapevine blog, the Chengdu Hugo controversy, controlling the genre narrative, writing novellas, persistence after rejections, favorite conventions & much more!