Ethan Freckleton's Blog, page 4

Fun Cowriting with Janci Patterson & Megan Walker

Janci Patterson and Megan Walker are hybrid authors who have hit their stride as a cowriting team. 

Despite early successes, they they were each feeling stuck in their writing journeys before they connected. They decided to collaborate in a way that plays to their strengths. Megan’s “superpower” is the first draft, while Janci’s is revision. 

It clearly worked, because together they have co-published fifteen romance and epic fantasy no...

Comedic Fantasy with Robert Bevan

Robert Bevan writes and publishes grown-up comedic novels inspired by the likes of Dungeons & Dragons and Goosebumps. 

In this episode, you’ll hear how today’s guest got started with writing and how self-publishing has allowed him to make a career writing satire and parody on his own terms.

As Robert says: “The wonderful thing about self-publishing is the weird voices can be heard.”

To learn more, be sure to listen to today’s episode o...

Imperfect Take on Head Trips

Once upon a time, I was hustling to become a gatekeeper-approved singer/songwriter.

So, when a mentor figure offered public praise and testimony at a music industry conference, going so far as to call me “the next big thing in Alternative Rock,” I was sent along on a head trip that lasted years. 

Get my Imperfect Take on receiving praise, the head trips that follow, and why seeking the approval of others is a mixed bag. 

About The Fear...

The Artist’s Job with filmmaker Mike Disa

Mike Disa is a film director, screenwriter, and animator, who describes himself as “working class Hollywood.” 

Growing up in Chicago with immigrant roots, Mike spent his childhood watching and deconstructing films with his father. He moved to Hollywood—not to work in an assembly line, but to be an Artist (with a capital ‘a’). 

After years of working in animation for the likes of Steven Spielberg and Disney, he slowly began to “grow mis...

Success Conventions with Kacey Ezell and Griffin Barber

Kacey Ezell and Griffin Barber are the co-authors of Second Chance Angel, a sci-fi noir thriller published by Blackstone Publishing.

After meeting at LibertyCon in 2016, today’s guests quickly bonded over their shared backgrounds and mutual interest in noir. In fact, both willingly attribute their successes thus far almost exclusively to attending and networking at professional conventions.

Kacey is an active duty USAF helicopter pilot...

The Heroine’s Journey with Gail Carriger

Gail Carriger is a 13-time NYT Bestselling hybrid author. Not bad for someone who always considered writing a hobby. 

It was only when she needed a distraction from her PhD work in Archaeology that she decided to try her hand at writing a novel. That book went on to become SOULLESS, the first of five books in her bestselling Parasol Protectorate series.

With thirty-plus books in her backlist, the common foundational element to all of h...

Permission to Fly with Layng Martine Jr.

Laying Martine Jr. is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and author of the memoir, Permission to Fly.

For today’s guest, it all started with the thrill of hearing an $80 demo of his first song. For the next 45 years, he was hooked on the process of writing and pitching songs. 

But who gave him permission to fly in the first place? 

Layng credits his mother, who never put him down and always gave him the leeway to try th...

Modern Mythology with Christopher Ruocchio

A fan of asking big questions, Christopher Ruocchio must’ve been right at home studying English Rhetoric and Classics in college. 

So, what could be better than than getting a job as a published author or editor of science fiction and fantasy after graduation? How about getting both jobs at the same time? 

By the time he’d graduated from college, Christopher had his first traditional book deal—and he’d managed to land a job as an edito...

Evoking Emotion with Nitanee Paris

Nitanee Paris is an award-winning songwriter. She’s also the Director of A&R at ArtistMax (in partnership with legendary producer Ken Caillat). 

Like many, today’s guest started out in the corporate world and came to realize that something was missing. Soul searching and exploration led Nitanee to try a songwriting class at UCLA and she’s been hooked ever since.

With a focus on lyrics and melody, collaborations are at the heart of her ...

Creating Dialog with Aaron Wolf

Aaron Wolf is an actor and director of the production company, Howling Wolf Productions. 

Thanks to his grandfather, a rabbi from Nazi Germany who promoted interfaith, Aaron credits growing up with people of all colors, faiths, and creeds around his dinner table as a major influence on his subsequent storytelling career. 

His award-winning first feature film tackled the topic of learning disabilities and helped create dialog in schools...