Brian McClellan's Blog, page 2
May 3, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 39 : Brian Staveley
The thirty-ninth episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is epic fantasy author Brian Staveley.
Brian is known for his award-winning Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, the first book of which was The Emperor’s Blades, which came out in 2014.
Brian and I talk about the solitary life of a writer, coming up with book titles, living in the countryside, and the challenges presented by different books in a series. We get into Brian’s past life as a poet and teacher, and his love of writing characters who are constantly bettering themselves. We also discuss our doppelganger careers, from sharing an agency to winning or being nominated for all the same awards.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on Patreon
April 12, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 38 : Naomi Novik
The thirty-eighth episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is fantasy author Naomi Novik.
Naomi is best known for her massively successful Temeraire series in which dragons fight in the Napoleonic Wars and was, as I recount in the episode, an early inspiration for my own writing. She’s also written the Scholomance trilogy, standalone novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and a host of short fiction.
Naomi and I talk about international travel and attending conventions, Naomi’s love of fan fiction, her early work in video games, and writing characters—including non-humans—who think differently from modern people.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonApril 4, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 37 : Samantha Shannon
The thirty-seventh episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is fantasy author Samantha Shannon.
Samantha’s career began at the age of twenty-one when she published the internationally-bestselling The Bone Season with Bloomsbury Publishing. There have been three more books in that series, as well as Samantha’s acclaimed stand-alone, The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Samantha and I talk about authorial input into behind-the-scenes decisions, their unhealthy addictions, book length and complexity, and being thrust in front of crowds as introverts. We also chatted about Samantha’s relationship with the media attention around her debut novel, and the pressure that comes with being a young success.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonMarch 29, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 36 : Brandon Sanderson
The thirty-sixth episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.
For the very few of you who don’t know him, Brandon is one of the most prolific and successful authors working in science fiction and fantasy today. He is known for his massive interconnected Cosmere in which many different fantasy worlds exist in the same universe—including Mistborn, Elantris, and the Stormlight Archive. As of recording this intro, his Kickstarter for four secret novels has passed thirty million dollars and is by far the most successful Kickstarter in the history of the platform. Please note this interview was recorded before that went live, so we don’t cover the Kickstarter in this episode.
Brandon and I talk about the overwhelming nature of success, running a massive business, his experience working with co-authors, his desire to leave touring behind, and plenty more!
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonMarch 22, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 35: Janet Forbes
My guest this week is author and streamer Janet Forbes. Janet is the CEO of World Anvil, an online worldbuilding platform for roleplayers and writers that she founded with her husband. She also streams Dungeons and Dragons for Wizards of the Coast, records writing and RPG advice on Youtube, and works as a freelance worldbuilder and author.
Janet and I talk abut the genesis of World Anvil, writing for roleplaying games, dealing with the rapid growth of a company, and her background as a classically-trained musician and singer. We also talk about being a good game master, cooperative story-telling, and the occasional cultural differences you find playing RPGs.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonMarch 16, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 34: Evan Winter
The thirty-fourth episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is epic fantasy author Evan Winter.
Evan is a former filmmaker whose first novel Rage of Dragons was named as one of Time Magazine's 100 best fantasy books of all time in 2020. The third book in his Burning series is out in 2023.
Evan and I talk about his experiences with music videos, the side work of being a creative professional that distracts us from actually creating, how his background in marketing helped him launch his first book, and the psychological toll our work can take on us.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonPage Break Podcast: March 2022 Supplemental
Hey everyone! Here's your very first Page Break Supplemental - just a quick catchup of everything going on in the Brianverse at the moment.
Kern Country Library Event - March 18th 2022 at 8pm
Preorder links for IN THE SHADOW OF LIGHTNING
Brian's March TV/Film pick: The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon
Brian's March gaming pick: Deep Rock Galactic
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonMarch 8, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 33: Steve Fisher
The thirty-third episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is is intellectual property agent Steve Fisher
Steve began his career in the research department of World News Tonight before becoming an agent and ultimately joining APA where he’s been since 1999. Steve’s specialty is working out deals that bring your favorite existing properties to TV and film.
Steve and I talk about his career, the sheer scope of the TV and film industry compared to publishing, and of course the process with which a book becomes a show or film. We dig into the business side of page and screen and talk about rookie mistakes from property holders and the complications with dealing with artistic egos. We even touch on the Powder Mage deal that Steve facilitated for Brian!
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonPage Break Podcast Episode 33 - Steve Fisher
The thirty-third episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is is intellectual property agent Steve Fisher
Steve began his career in the research department of World News Tonight before becoming an agent and ultimately joining APA where he’s been since 1999. Steve’s specialty is working out deals that bring your favorite existing properties to TV and film.
Steve and I talk about his career, the sheer scope of the TV and film industry compared to publishing, and of course the process with which a book becomes a show or film. We dig into the business side of page and screen and talk about rookie mistakes from property holders and the complications with dealing with artistic egos. We even touch on the Powder Mage deal that Steve facilitated for Brian!
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on YouTube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on PatreonMarch 4, 2022
Page Break Podcast Episode 32: Chuck Wendig
The thirty-second episode of my new podcast Page Break is now out! In this episode, my guest is author, comic writer, screenwriter, and blogger Chuck Wendig.
Chuck’s early career began as a freelance RPG writer for over a decade before he broke into the novel scene with Blackbirds, Blue Blazes, Shotgun Gravy, and the Heartland Trilogy. He was tapped to write the Aftermath Trilogy to kick off the new canon in Disney’s Star Wars, bridging the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Chuck is also known for his ranting blog, Terribleminds.
Chuck and I chat extensively about the internet: the early days, the strange sort of celebrity it spawns, and the way it changes constantly under your feet. We also discuss writing long books and the secrecy behind writing Star Wars.
Listen NowPage Break with Brian McClellan is a collection of casual conversations between me and fellow creative professionals—like two friends sitting down over lunch to discuss career, craft, family, and hobbies.
Authorhood is a quiet sort of minor fame where the person behind the words is often obscured by the works they’ve created. I aim to use this podcast to find out more about my friends and colleagues.
Look forward to weekly conversations with creators like TV writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, epic fantasy author Robin Hobb, science fiction author Pierce Brown, Twitch streamer Mark Hulmes, and many more!
Listen on Youtube Spotify Podcasts Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Early Access + Ad-Free Episodes on Patreon
