People I Think Are Cool

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Jane Friedman is the author of The Business of Being a Writer. With over 20 years of experience in publishing, she is an expert in business strategies for writers. I discovered Jane's work through her blog years ago when I was about to publish my first book with HarperCollins. Her site was the only place that answered questions on every scope of being a writer, from getting your book sold, what to expect when working with an editor, and the concept of literary citizenship. I often find myself revisiting Jane's books every year as a reminder on what I can do as a writer to push forward when I feel stuck. Jane's wisdom speaks not only to new writers but also to those with decades of experience.

You can follow Jane on Twitter @janefriedman and Instagram @janefriedman.

Show Notes

Website

The Business of Being a Writer

Classes

Newsletters

Twitter @janefriedman

Facebook

Instagram @janefriedman

Goodreads

Watch on YouTube!

Jess Guise is the lead singer for the folk-pop band Guise. When I discovered her music, I fell in love with her lyrics, humor, and charm. In our chat, Jess shared her writing process and shifting gears as a creative during the pandemic.

Definitely check out her video for "The Fun Part."  It's one of the most clever music videos I've ever seen, and it truly showcases her eye for storytelling.

You can follow Jess on Instagram @jess.guise.

Show Notes

Instagram @jess.guise

Twitter @JessGuise

Bandcamp

Merch

The Fun Part music video

Brother in Arms music video

Catch the video version on our Cuddles and Rage YouTube.

Clay McLeod Chapman is one of my favorite writers. His stories are weird, wonderful, and creepy. I first discovered his writing through past guest Glenn McQuaid (ep 132) as I was binging Tales from Beyond the Pale. Clay's episode The Mattress King will make your skin crawl.

Clay is a fellow Quirk Books cousin. His new book with Quirk, Whisper Down the Lane, is out April 6. You can pre-order it now (which I totally did and can't wait!).

Show Notes

Website

Pre-Order Whisper Down the Lane

Twitter @claymcleod

Books

Amazon Author Profile

GoodReads

Russell Nohelty is a USA Today Best-Selling author, owner of Wannabe Press, and host of The Complete Creative podcast. I discovered Russell through his podcast and was pulled in by his vast knowledge of how to be successful in the world of self publishing. In this episode, Russell and I talk about publishing stats, genres with the biggest audiences, writing, and maintaining readers.

Show Notes

Website

Twitter @Russellnohelty

Instagram @russellnohelty

Podcast

Books

Courses

The Complete Creative

Wannabe Press

Georgia Kriss is an Australian based animator and writer. Similar to past guest Grant Kolton, I discovered Georgia's work on the FX show Cake! (seriously, great show and place to find the fun and the weird). Georgia's work spoke to me through its wit, fierce take on femininity, and style. In this episode, we talk pitching shows, giving projects time to breathe, and cats peeing on things. You can follow Georgia on Instagram @star_crust_lizards.

Show Notes: 

Vimeo

Instagram

Passion Pictures

IMDB

Tumblr

Welcome to part three of three for our Final Girls special! In this episode, Tracie and I chat about our pieces then I talk with artists Chloe Rice and Steph C their art.

Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls is live at Spoke Art's sister gallery, Recess! Tracie Ching and I joined forces to co-curate the show. Final Girls (for short) celebrates horror from a female/femme perspective. The group show includes 60 female and queer artists with wildly different styles, ranging from pure horror to spooky-cute.

Follow @Spoke_Art on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

View the Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls show here.

Chloe Rice

Website

Instagram @ohchloe

Steph C

Website

Twitter: @The_StephC

Instagram @thatsteph_c

INPRNT

Tracie Ching

Website

Instagram @tracieching

Twitter @tracieching

Liz Reed

Website

Instagram @cuddlesandrage

Twitter @cuddlesandrage

TikTok @cuddlesandrage

YouTube

Liz Loves Physical Media Instagram

Welcome to part two of three for our Final Girls special! In this episode, Tracie and I chat about curating the show then I talk with artists Paige Reynolds, Ellen Surrey, and Zi Xu about their pieces.

Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls is now live through 10/31 at Spoke Art's sister gallery, Recess! Tracie Ching and I joined forces to co-curate the show. Final Girls (for short) celebrates horror from a female/femme perspective. The group show includes 60 female and queer artists with wildly different styles, ranging from pure horror to spooky-cute. 

Follow @Spoke_Art on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

View the Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls show here.

Paige Reynolds

Website

Instagram @paigereynoldsart

Twitter @preynoldsart

Facebook

Ellen Surrey

Website

Instagram @yesurrey

Twitter @yesurrey

Zi Xu

Website

Instagram @ziqqix

Twitter @ziqqix

Tracie Ching

Website

Instagram @tracieching

Twitter @tracieching

Liz Reed

Website

Instagram @cuddlesandrage

Twitter @cuddlesandrage

TikTok @cuddlesandrage

YouTube

Liz Loves Physical Media Instagram

This episode is part one of a three part special! On October 29th, Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls opens at Spoke Art's sister gallery Recess! Tracie Ching and I joined forces to co-curate the show. Final Girls (for short) celebrates horror from a female/femme perspective. The group show includes 60 artists with wildly different styles, ranging from pure horror to spooky-cute. In this episode, Tracie and I chat about women in horror then I chat with artists Sara Deck and Allison Black about their pieces.

Follow @Spoke_Art on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

View the Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls show here.

SHOW NOTES

SPOKE ART

Spoke Art Gallery

Recess Gallery

Sara Deck

Website

Instagram @sara_deck_art

Twitter @thisDuality

Facebook

Allison Black

Website

Shop

Instagram @allisonblackillustration

Tracie Ching

Website

Instagram @tracieching

Twitter @tracieching

Liz Reed

Website

Instagram @cuddlesandrage

Twitter @cuddlesandrage

TikTok @cuddlesandrage

YouTube

Liz Loves Physical Media Instagram

Grant Kolton is an animator, director, writer, and so much more that my fingers might fall off if I type it all out. I discovered  Grant on Instagram while going down the animation hashtag rabbit hole. His animations first caught my eye through their loose yet controlled style. When I dove in deeper, I fell in love with his stories. They are dark, twisted, hilarious, and at times poignant. In this episode, we talk about pitching TV shows, developing shorts for FX's CAKE!, and his new animated short KILL YOUR IDIOMS (out now on Vimeo).

You can follow Grant on Instagram (@grantkoltoons), Vimeo, & Twitter (@grantkolton)

Show Notes

Kill Your Idioms Short

Black Hole Apartment Short for CAKE!

Grant's Vimeo

Grant's Website

Grant's Instagram @grantkoltoons

Grant's Twitter @GrantKolton

Spoke Art/Recess Gallery - Draw Me Like One of Your Final Girls

Brea Grant is an actress, filmmaker, writer, and co-host of the Reading Glasses podcast. She just released her new graphic novel, Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy, and I loved it. Mary (for short) is a fast-paced read full of charm, mystery, and bada** women. In this episode, we chat Mary Shelley's life, writing love & monsters, and comics. You can follow Brea on Instagram @breagrant.

SHOW NOTES: 

Brea's Website

Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

Lucky

12 Hour Shift

Reading Glasses Podcast

Warren Bernard is the executive director for the Small Press Expo (SPX). We talk comics, collecting, the SPX lottery process, and how they're taking the show online for 2020. Don't miss the action this year with the panels & Ignatz awards streaming all weekend. Follow SPX on Twitter (@SPXcomics) & Instagram (@SPXcomics). 

SHOW NOTES:

Small Press Expo Website

2020 Small Press Panels

Cartoonist Kayfabe interviews with Warren

Discussion of Master Race by Krigstein

 Warren breaking a Golden Age/WW2 Marvel out of its plastic coffin

 Jack Kirby's only work in the pulps 

The Spirit by seeing what it looks like tabloid size

the underground cartoonists tabloid work

Chris Ware's work in New City get the Kayfabe treatment.

Michael Lewis is an American photographer. His subjects range from celebrities to business moguls to captivating self portraits and more. If you can think of the person, he's probably captured their image. I discovered Michael's work on Instagram and got lost in the endless world of images on his site. His work invites you to explore new worlds and look deeper at existing spaces. In this interview we talk about his self portrait process, photographing artists from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Key & Peele, and growing as an artist. 

You can follow Michael on Instagram @ml_picture.

Show Notes: 

Website

Things Series

Self-Portraits

Tales Series

Eliaz Rodriguez is an award winning screenwriter, director, and editor. I recently caught his short film "Compartmentalization Storage Facility" at the online Chattanooga Film Festival and fell in love with his vision, humor, and take on humanity. In this interview, we chat about the online festival experience from a creator's perspective, his strategy for short films, and working on a budget. You can discover his vast array of films on his website & YouTube.

SHOW NOTES:

Website

IMDB

YouTube

Instagram

Brett Story is the documentarian behind The Hottest August. Her film explores climate change through unfiltered interviews with New Yorkers during the hot August heat of 2017. The film toured film festivals and aired on PBS. You can check it out now through Grasshopper Film.

Show Notes: 

The Hottest August

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes

Alamo Drafthouse Winchester

Gates of Heaven

Mary Kay McBrayer is a writer, podcaster, and horror enthusiast. Her new book America's First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster hits stores everywhere tomorrow (May 19, 2020). Mary Kay's telling of Jane Toppan's life goes deeper than dissecting a murderer, it also explores the conservative Victorian culture that may have created this monster. My chat with Mary Kay was a fascinating dive into history, horror, and feminism. You can follow Mary Kay  on Twitter(@mkmcbrayer), Instagram (@marykaymcbrayer), and explore her take on hot new releases and horror on Book Riot.

Show Notes: 

America's First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster

Mango Publishing

10 Compelling Books About Villains 

Book Riot

Stephanie Crawford is a freelance writer and podcaster based in Las Vegas. She loves all things physical media, John Waters, and horror. In this episode, we chat about her latest piece in Fangoria, blu-ray extras, and living with lupus. Follow Stephanie on Twitter @scrawfish. 

Show Notes: 

Website

Just the Discs Podcast

Fangoria Contributors' Crypt

The Screamcast 

David Allen is the creator behind Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity. He is the go-to-guy for all modern productivity methodologies. His work is life changing, and I wanted to share that experience with you guys. As a creative, I often get distracted and GTD helped get through major projects like writing a graphic novel and currently every day tasks that are really hard to do while we are all in quarantine. Check out our convo and get inspired. You can follow David on Twitter @gtdguy. 

Show Notes

GTD twitter

Website

Instagram

Getting Things Done Book

Making It All Work

The Workbook

London Real Interview

Alex Pardee is an artist, writer, and designer from California. His work is dark, twisted, and beautifully bright. In this episode, we talk about Brightmares, pitching TV shows, and growing from past experiences. You can follow Alex on Twitter @alexpardee & Instagram @alexpardee. 

Show Notes

Website

Twitch

Brightmares

Shop

Bunny With

Cory Kilduff is a musician based in Dallas, TX. I first came across his work when Burning Witches Records released his album When It All Gets To Be Too Much. After meeting Cory in person at Fantastic Fest this past year, I immediately wanted to know more about his creative journey into art and music. In this episode, we discuss his approach to writing new music, his LV426 rescore of Alien and its premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse, and what success really means.  You can follow Cory on Instagram (@the_neverending_cory), Spotify, and Twitter (@corykilduff). 

Show Notes: 

Cory on Spotify

Instagram

Twitter

Alien Rescore (LV426)

When It All Gets To Be Too Much

Glenn McQuaid is a writer, director, producer, and musician. He is the co-creator of the popular horror audio play & anthology series Tales from Beyond the Pale. He's also the writer and director of the film I Sell the Dead, starring Ron Perlman and Dominic Monaghan. I discovered Glenn through his music created under the name Witchboard. Glenn is incredibly talented. In this episode, we talk about working in different mediums, creating stories with Larry Fessenden, the music that inspires him, and using sound to tell scary tales. You can follow Glenn on twitter (@MrGlennMcQuaid) & instagram (@glenn_mcquaid). 

Show Notes: 

Tales from Beyond the Pale

Witchboard It's Been Emotional

I Sell the Dead

Glass Eye Pix Interview

DFN Interview with Glenn

Glenn's interview on Little Punk People