Brunch on biscuits and gravy with Keith R.A. DeCandido as we discuss how the kids TV show <em>The Electric Company</em> made him a Marvel fan, the serendipitous way he sold his first short story (and how it was all thanks to Spider-Man), what we each learned from working with Stan Lee, how he was given the chance to write his first novel in lieu of being given a raise, which of the more than 30 franchises he's written tickled his inner child the most, whether the bias against writers of tie-in work has lessened, the novel which put more money in his pocket than any other, what surprised him the most during his <em>Next Generation</em> rewatch, the debt he owes fan wikis, his advice on crowdfunding and for those who want to join him in the world of tie-in writing, plus much more.
Nibble fried noodles with John Edward Lawson as we discuss the birth of the bizarro horror subgenre (and the surprisingly democratic way in which it was named), the reason <em>Alien</em> both repelled and attracted him, how trying to sell screenplays led to him publishing his first short fiction instead, the story of his which was the most emotionally difficult to write, how he won a poetry award only after giving up on poetry, the unexpected gift he was given when starting his own publishing company, his initial doubts about naming his press Raw Dog Screaming, how he survived the 2008 financial meltdown which sank so many small presses, why he loves watching people bicker, the reason he became known as "the forgotten black man of horror," and much more.