Helen Fray (she/her) is an author of Fantasy Romance books with fated, yet fatal, love stories and life-or-death, secret society situations. She lives in Manchester, England, with her children and unpredictable, fluff-ball cat. She likes to put her English degree to good use, writing novels whilst relying on her editor to fix her commas. Transcendent, […]
Interview
SFF Addicts Ep. 210: Cover Art & Book Design with Jeff Brown, Rachel St Clair, Philip C. Quaintrell & Scott Palmer (Indie Appreciation Month)
Join host Adrian M. Gibson and guest authors/artists Jeff Brown, Rachel St Clair, Philip C. Quaintrell and Scott Palmer for an Indie Appreciation Month panel on Cover Art & Book Design. During the panel, Jeff, Rachel, Philip and Scott discuss what cover and book design are, creating a visual brand, the importance of typography and fonts, interior formatting and design, what makes a good vs. bad piece of art, due diligence and art/design no-nos, cover legibility and visual impact, evolving cover trends, setting reader expectations, commissioning artists, book titles, costs/budgeting, communication, timelines and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 209: Portal Fantasies with Seanan McGuire & Micaiah Johnson (Masterclass Panel)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly for a masterclass panel on Portal Fantasies, featuring guest authors Seanan McGuire and Micaiah Johnson. During the panel, they open the door to portal fantasies, discussing what a portal fantasy is, the appeal of this subgenre, fundamental elements of portal fantasies, age markets and genre fatigue, portal sci-fi and secondary worlds, who has access to portals, establishing the rules of your portal, differentiating the “real” world and the “other” world(s), revealing the “new” of the portal world to readers, reflecting our own world through alternate worlds and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 208: Incorporating Music into SFF with Peter Orullian (Writing Masterclass)
Join host Adrian M. Gibson as he delves into a writing masterclass on Incorporating Music into SFF with author/musician Peter Orullian. During the episode, Peter strikes a narrative chord, discussing the intersection of music and storytelling, novelizing concept albums for bands, lyricism and the musicality of prose, copyright and including songs or lyrics in a story, adding music/songs to audiobooks, writing characters who ARE musicians, music in our world vs. secondary worlds, musical magic systems and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 207: Peter Orullian talks Songs of the Dead, Collabing with Brandon Sanderson, Xbox & More
Join host Adrian M. Gibson as he chats with author Peter Orullian about his new novel Songs of the Dead, collaborating on the book with Brandon Sanderson, rock and metal culture, history and multi-layered worldbuilding, musical magic and factions of the living vs. the dead, creative fluidity, video games and working at Microsoft/Xbox, the publishing industry and corporate culture, Unbroken and Kickstarter success, the triumphs of community, Christmas movies and sincerity, understanding your antagonists, metalheads, starving artists and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 206: The Art of the Short Story with Isabel J. Kim (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson & Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on The Art of the Short Story with award-winning author Isabel J. Kim. During the episode, Isabel gets to the short of it, discussing what a short story is, examples of masterful short stories, short fiction as a testing ground, comparing short-form vs. long-form fiction, approaching theme, plot and structure in short stories, characterization/worldbuilding in a condensed word count, conciseness and pacing, editing and trimming stories down, selling your short stories on the professional market, the role of short story collections and anthologies and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 205: Isabel J. Kim talks Sublimation, Immigrant Experiences, Technothrillers & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson & Greta Kelly as they chat with award-winning author Isabel J. Kim about her debut novel Sublimation, fleshing out a short story into a novel, the immigrant experience, writing multiple versions of the same characters, tech corporations and technothrillers, writing 2nd-person perspective, book deals and bidding wars, TV adaptations, weird internet culture, studying copyright law and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 204: Drawing from Global History with Shannon Chakraborty (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson & Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Drawing from Global History with bestselling author Shannon Chakraborty. During the episode, Shannon traverses the world, discussing global interconnectedness across time, using SFF to shine a light on history, deciding on a historical time/place for your story, knowing when to deviate from history, author responsibility and intentions, accessible approaches for research, historical authenticity, academics/historians and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 203: Shannon Chakraborty talks The Tapestry of Fate, Older Protagonists, Found Family & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson & Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Shannon Chakraborty about her new novel The Tapestry of Fate, writing a more mature, middle-aged protagonist in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi series, portraying motherhood on the page, blood family vs. found family, Middle Eastern poisoners and demons, balancing science with the occult, writing complex antagonists, the value of day jobs, breaking into publishing and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 202: Writing for the Reader Experience with Sunyi Dean (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn & Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Writing for the Reader Experience with bestselling author Sunyi Dean. During the episode, Sunyi caters to the reader, discussing why authors should consider the reader experience, putting yourself in the “beginner’s mindset,” offering value to the reader, promises and hooking them from the outset, delivering information at the right time, simple vs. complex prose, writing for yourself vs. the reader, author voice, revision and more.
SFF Addicts Ep. 201: Sunyi Dean talks The Girl with a Thousand Faces, Chinese Ghosts, Publishing Rodeo & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn & Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Sunyi Dean about her new novel The Ghost with a Thousand Faces, Chinese ghosts and folklore, Cantonese humor, Kowloon Walled City and the horrors of war, juggling multiple storylines, the Publishing Rodeo Podcast and transparency about publishing, living around the world and experiencing different cultures, persistence and community, autism and representations of neurodivergence in SFF, balancing work with family, messy first books, agent rejections and more.
ANNOUNCING: Book Tour for ‘A Murder Most Fungal’ by Adrian M. Gibson
Back in March, the official cover and release date for A Murder Most Fungal were revealed, ushering readers back into the moldy depths of Neo Kinoko and The Fungalverse. And now, leading up to the June 16th launch of this standalone novel, I’m excited to announce my virtual book tour!