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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

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Holly Black, author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, joins us to talk about the Spiderwick movie, graphic novels, and D&D. Dave and John blame evil internet fairies for any number of things, possibly including the loss of their childhood action figure collections.

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Introduction

0:00 Introduction by Tor.com

0:38 Dave and John introduce the show

Interview: Holly Black

03:22 Interview begins

03:40 Books that made Holly want to be a writer and early influences

05:32 Growing up believing in fairies turns out to be terrifying

08:34 On meeting her collaborator, artist Tony DiTerlizzi, winner of the Caldecott Award

07:29 Holly Black rolls 20s, baby!

10:00 Regarding the movie adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles

12:15 Can we look forward to any more Spiderwick?

12:51 Holly’s upcoming graphic novels

16:06 How Holly came to the idea behind her new series The Curse Workers, the first book of which is White Cat

19:38 Holly’s short story collection The Poison Eaters

21:45 A question from Geek’s Guide friend and listener Charles A. Tan: Will Holly set any future stories in the Philippines?

22:14 Holly’s new anthology Zombies vs. Unicorns and her foray into editing

26:01 About the Borderlands series and Holly’s work on the latest anthology

30:04 The upcoming Alpha workshop, and the workshop experience

28:22 Holly’s take on urban fantasy

32:12 End of interview

Dave and John talk about dolls action figures, and why you should put peanut butter on your keyboard

32:11 The things that inspire obsessive learning

35:46 Dolls vs. Action Figures and how it relates to SF writers who claim they don’t write SF

36:44 Dave confesses to his Artisanal Action Figure history

38:21 Imagination as social currency

39:44 The joy of toys

42:09 Moms of the world, take note: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Back away from your kid’s comic collection NOW

45:46 Hey Listeners: what’s the deal with getting the rights to using action figures in stop-motion animation?

45:35 What John has in common with George R.R. Martin, and how role playing influences creativity

51:22 The peculiar phenomenon that is merchandising based on fiction

52:02 John’s recent trip to Medieval Times and what it clearly lacked

53:21 The writer’s need for a hobby

54:32 What do you do while listening to audiobooks?

56:15 No show would be complete with mentioning Robert Asprin

59:39 The Car Key Fairy, and putting peanut butter on your keyboard

01:01:57 The Comic Geek Speak podcast (it’s Episode 527 you’re looking for) and the Bowling Green degree in Popular Culture

01:03:55 Show wrap-up

Note: John was not able to photograph his miniatures properly. If he ever figures out how to take pictures of them in focus, he promises to post them.

Next week: Dan Carlin, host of the Hardcore History podcast

Thanks for listening!


John Joseph Adams (www.johnjosephadams.com) is an anthologist, a writer, and a geek. He is the editor of the anthologies By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead (a World Fantasy Award finalist), Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. He is currently assembling several other anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientistís Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He worked for more than eight years as an editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and is currently the fiction editor of Lightspeed Magazine, which launches in June 2010.

David Barr Kirtley (www.davidbarrkirtley.com) is a writer living in New York who has been called “one of the newest and freshest voices in sf.” His short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales, and in anthologies such as The Living Dead, New Voices in Science Fiction, and Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition.

Show notes compiled by podtern Christie Yant. Friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About the Author

About Author Mobile

David Barr Kirtley

Author

My short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales and in anthologies such as Fantasy: The Best of the Year and New Voices in Science Fiction. www.davidbarrkirtley.com
Learn More About David Barr

About the Author

About Author Mobile

John Joseph Adams

Author

John Joseph Adams (www.johnjosephadams.com) is an anthologist, a writer, and a geek. He is the editor of the anthologies By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead (a World Fantasy Award finalist), Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. He is currently assembling several other anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientistís Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He worked for more than eight years as an editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and is currently the fiction editor of Lightspeed Magazine, which launches in June 2010.
Learn More About John Joseph
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