* click HERE to download *

Hello, folks! I hope you had a relaxing week, because this episode is a special treat for the post holiday return of the Dead Robots. Today we had the extreme pleasure of interviewing both Philippa Ballantine AND Tee Morris as they promote their 08/08/08 Amazon preorder event for the release of both their books. We also discuss Dragon*Con, as well a few other off-topic jaunts. So, sit back, grab a dring, and enjoy! Oh. and Amanda is here too! Squee!

Pip’s Website

Whispers From The Edge Podcast

Erotica Ala Carte

Tee’s Website

* click HERE to preorder “Digital Magic” on 08/08/08 *

* click HERE to preorder “The Case Of The Pitcher’s Pendant” on 08/08/08 *

Dragon*Con

SARAH Twitter

Today’s writer I’m going to talk about is Bill Willingham. Now, I’m sure that almost none of you know who he is. Up until just recently, I hadn’t either. But, several months ago I started getting back into comic books, and one title that people mentioned to me over and over again was “Fables.” Figuring it was worth a shot, I picked up the first trade collection, and within seconds I was in love. “Fables” is an incredibly well written book, and the inventiveness of it makes me so jealous.

Basically, “Fables” puts forward the idea that all of the stories that we grew up with (Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Pinocchio, etc.) are all real, and once upon a time they lived in a faraway place called the Homelands. But, a terrible power rises that they call The Adversary, and they all have to flee the Homelands to live here in our world. Now they live in a borough of New York called Fabletown, living lives much like we do, though of course with a twist. The series follows their struggles in our world, with their war with the Adversary coming to a head as well. The dialogue is sharp as a knife, the characters are all well drawn (pardon the pun), and their adventures are a delight to read. I look forward to each and every trade as they come out (Volume 10 just dropped, and it’s sitting next to me, waiting…).

Anyway, every time I read Bill Willingham’s words I find myself elated and inspired. I can only hope to one day be as good as he is.

Hey everybody. Justin here. Today I set up a voice mail phone number for those people who would like to call and leave us a message, a question, or whatever else. If you leave us a message, I promise that we’ll listen to it as soon as possible, and if it’s something you want on the show, we’ll make sure and do that too. So, here it is:

206-203-2486

Hey robots, I thought that an interesting exercise woud be to make a list of ten writers who have greatly influenced me, who have given me the drive to hit the keyboard, and who astound me by their level of creativity and talent. This is by no means an exhaustive list, nor would I dare to say that these are the ten greatest writers ever born. This is just a list of people I admire and enjoy from a variety of fields. I also won’t be putting them in a descending order of appreciation either. I’m just going to post them up. Feel free to post your comments.

Now, on with the show…

For my first writer, I want to surprise you and go with someone that we probably have never talked about on the show. That person is Charlie Kaufman. He is a movie writer, and some of the scripts he’s penned include “Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation,” “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Kaufman’s scripts are always intriguing and inventive, but it’s “Eternal Sunshine” that, for me, puts him near the top of the Hollywood heap. It is just a brilliant and searing story, one that I will never forget.

For those who’ve never seen it, “Eternal Sunshine” is a story about a man named Joel (played so incredibly by Jim Carrey) who decides that he wants to have the memory of his relationship with former girlfriend Clementine (played by Kate Winslet, one of my actress crushes) erased from his mind. In the world of this story, there is a company that can do that, and early on he finds out that Clementine had him erased from her mind. So, in a fit of anger and sadness, he goes to have the same process performed. The rest of the movie follows Joel as his memories are erased, and we watch as he realizes how much he cherishes those memories, even if they hurt. He fights so hard in the film to hold on to them, to keep his love and pain, only to have them taken one by one. By the end of the film, I was as devastated as he was, but even there, in the final minutes, you realize that there’s hope. Just an incredibly story told masterfully well, and I think it will haunt me (in a good way) for the rest of my life.

And isn’t that what good storytelling is all about? So thank you, Mr. Charlie Kaufman. Thank you very much.

Justin wrote:

My weekend started out pretty darn poor. On Wednesday (which is my “Friday,” so to speak) I had to stop and get some gas, and while I was filling up the tank I thought that it might be time to introduce something a little more solid to my diet. Truth be told, I was just [...]

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Amanda wrote:

In light of the fact that I’m A) lazy and B) slow as molasses in February, I’ve switched Dreamfall off of a weekly schedule and onto more of a two-week release schedule. These episodes are a lot longer and require more editing than I’d originally planned on, so it seems fair that I give them the attention they need instead of constantly trying to force myself to crank out a new one every week. Also, just so you know, I’ve finished Episode 4, but it won’t be posted for a little while longer. What I’ve got now is the rough draft, so I need to polish it a little before letting it loose on the world. I thought it would only be fair, though, if I made some kind of announcement so that y’all know I’m not totally dead and gone. Sorry, but work keeps me pretty busy. When I’m not hauling groceries to and fro, I’m so exhausted from hauling groceries that all I feel like doing is sleeping, eating, and watching TV. Bright side: I’m a human being with a working brain and as such I can do things like make the choice to listen to podcasts instead of watching TV, so that at least I can pretend to know what the heck is going on in the world around me instead of living under my dark, albeit comfortable, rock. So I’m catching up, I promise, but it’s slow going. Bear with me, though. I’m trying really hard to get back into the writing groove and I’m determined to make it. [insert picture of a small terrier sinking its teeth into a chew toy and hanging on for grim death here]

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