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A book review podcast where we discuss how authors treat and traumatize their characters. Part of the Certain Point of View network.
Episodes
Friday Mar 26, 2021
Friday Mar 26, 2021
Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author JP Jackson, discussing his books, "Daimonion" and "Magic or Die". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. Become a Patron at any level to receive the spoiler-filled second half of the interview.
- Intro (0:00)
- Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (0:40)
- Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about the effects on your characters? (1:40)
- Have you ever started writing a trauma in one of your books, and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (7:30)
- Has a traumatic event in your books ever changed your perception of a character? (9:28)
- What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work? (11:04)
- What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (15:15)
- Do you tend to write characters with a specific orientation? Do you generally stick to depictions of queerness which match parts of your identity? (18:58)
- If you have a character whose identity doesn’t match yours, do you have an approach for how to write about them without it being about that piece of them? (23:15)
--- Wrap-Up and Outro: Included in Part 1 and Part 2 ---
- What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (29:08)
- Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (32:17)
- Do you have any queer authors and/or authors of color whose work you’d like to shoutout? (35:56)
- Where can our audience find you? (38:05) - Some of his social media handles were updated after this interview, please refer to the links below.
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Check out JP Jackson's blog for more info about his writing, you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Tumblr, or check out his Goodreads profile, Amazon Buy Link, and NineStar Press page.
The major works discussed in this interview are "Daimonion" and "Magic or Die".
The "book coming out in March" referenced in this interview is "Summoned" by JP Jackson, released April 19, 2021 by NineStar Press. Preorder it here.
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.
You can find Robin's written review of Daimonion and Magic or Die at Reviews that Burn.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Monday Mar 22, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “The Will of the Empress” by Tamora Pierce. This was the first book published in The Circle Reforged, part of the Emelan series, but we recommend reading it after "Battle Magic" and before "Melting Stones" for the best first-time experience. This series as a whole features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Sandry. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.
Book TW for mental illness, kidnapping, confinement, sexual assault (backstory).
Topic 1: Zhegorz - Mental Illness. Begins at (0:50), CW for mental illness, institutionalization, abuse, magical abuse, homelessness.
Topic 2: Sandry - Abandonment. Begins at (10:50), CW for miscommunication trope.
Topic 3: Sandry - Kidnapping. Begins at (24:14), CW for kidnapping, sexual assault mention, rape culture, claustrophobia, loss of agency.
Promo for Another Pass from the CPOV network. Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:54).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Mar 08, 2021
Monday Mar 08, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “Battle Magic” by Tamora Pierce. This was the third book published in The Circle Reforged, part of the Emelan series, but we recommend reading it before "The Will of the Empress" and "Melting Stones" for the best first-time experience. This series as a whole features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Briar. We're joined by Anna, one of the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.
Book TW for torture, death, animal death, PTSD, war, massacre.
Topic 1: Disability. Begins at (0:50), CW for ableism, disability, PTSD, death, near-death experience.
Topic 2: Death and Loss. Begins at (8:06), CW for war, PTSD, casualties of war, animal death, spoilers for Briar's Book.
Topic 3: Torture (animal death). Begins at (17:30), CW for animal death, cruelty to animals, physical torture, psychological torture, threats of harm to loved ones, descriptions of torture, mention of nudity, animal abuse, slavery, PTSD, mention of the horrors of war, mention of civilian casualties.
Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:03).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.
You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Monday Feb 22, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “Shatterglass” by Tamora Pierce. This is the fourth book in The Circle Opens quartet, part of the Emelan series. This series features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Tris. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.
Book TW for child neglect, child abuse, ptsd, violence, parental death (not depicted).
Topic 1: Glaki, Yali, and Iralima (abandonment). Begins at (0:50), CW for parental death, child abandonment.
Topic 2: Kethlun (KETH-luhn) - Near-death and disability. Begins at (15:05), CW for ptsd, cptsd, murder mention, near death experience, physical disability.
Topic 3: Tris - Powerlessness. Begins at (28:25), CW for plague, epidemic, Covid-19 mention, serial murder, helplessness, assault.
Promo for The Derek Duvall Show; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:17).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “Daja's Book” by Tamora Pierce. This is the third book in The Circle of Magic quartet, part of the Emelan series. This series features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Daja. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.
Book TW for child abuse (not depicted), death.
Topic 1: Frostpine - Child Abuse. Begins at (1:30), CW for ostracization, child enslavement, child abuse, abandonment, PTSD.
Topic 2: Polyam - Disability. Begins at (17:15), CW for Description of physical injuries, ostracization, victim-blaming (disaster survivor), PTSD.
Topic 3: Daja - Ostracization. Begins at (38:35), CW for Ostracization, bullying, queerphobia.
Promo for Midwest Meltdown; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (58:08).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Jan 25, 2021
Monday Jan 25, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow” by Orson Scott Card. These books cover approximately the same span of time and most of the same characters as each other. We focused our discussion on three events/traumas which are shown in both books from the perspective of their respective main characters. We're discussing these as books we used to love (and might still) but do not recommend to new readers.
Book TW for antisemitism, racism, homophobia, ableism, ableist slurs, assault, murder, eugenics, genocide
Topic 1: Abuse and PTSD. Begins at (1:30), CW for abuse, bullying, ptsd,
Topic 2: Murder and PTSD. Begins at (21:30), CW for murder, bullying, abandonment, emotional isolation, gaslighting
Topic 3: Genocide and Consent. Begins at (34:52), CW for violation of consent, ptsd, genocide, mental health crisis, emotional breakdown, coma mention
Promo for Book Reports Pod; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:05).
Recommended books to read instead:
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book.
You can check out Robin's written review of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Jan 11, 2021
Monday Jan 11, 2021
This fortnight we’re discussing “The Raven Tower” by Ann Leckie, with special guest Andrew of Bea Nostalgic.
Book TW for brief transphobia, discussion of infanticide, discussion of suicide, anti-twin prejudice in a fictional culture, massacre, parental death, major character death.
Topic 1: Oskel and Okim - Microaggressions. Begins at (1:30), CW for suicide, infanticide, child sacrifice, microaggression descriptions.
Topic 2: Eolo - Dissociation and Dysphoria. Begins at (18:00), CW for dysphoria, misgendering.
Topic 3: The Raven’s Lease - Advocated Suicide as Honorable Volunteer Sacrifice. Begins at (41:10), CW for suicide, society-advocated suicide, self-sacrifice, self-harm, murder.
Promo for Pretty Nice Podcast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (1:03:35).
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.
You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Please enjoy the spoiler-free portion of our interview with author Aurora Lee Thornton, discussing xyr book, "All or None". Timestamps are marked for the interview questions.
- Intro (0:00)
- Tell us a little about “All or None” as a book and “Star Stories” as a series. (1:20)
- Can you talk a little about the way trauma works in your writing? (2:05)
- Do you put more thought into the trauma itself or the aftermath when thinking about the effects on your characters? (2:58)
- Have you ever started writing a trauma in (one of) your book(s), and had it take over or have more of a story impact than originally intended? (3:55)
- How do you decide what a character's reaction to traumatic events is going to be while writing them? (6:05)
- Do you tend to write characters with a specific orientation? Do you generally stick to depictions of queerness which match parts of your identity? (7:00)
- When depicting types of queerness that you do not share, what do you use to guide those depictions? (8:35)
- Have you ever had a character surprise you with their identity after you started writing? (9:05)
- What is your approach to incorporating characters of color in your work? (10:10)
- Have you ever had a character surprise you with their appearance/identity after you started writing? (14:00)
- What is your approach to incorporating characters with disabilities in your work? (15:00)
- Do you tend to write disabilities based on a specific set of references, or do you tend to write cultures that hide disabilities? (16:10)
- Have you ever had a character surprise you with a disability after you started writing? (16:40)
- Do you consider your characters’ body image when depicting them and their traumas? (17:10)
- Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (19:10)
- What parts of your identities do you notice making appearances in your writing more than you intended? What parts of your identities do you notice seeping into your work unintentionally? (21:50)
- Do you write in trauma for background characters without planning for it to have an impact on the story, and if so does it ever leak into the story? (27:18)
- Have you ever had to stop writing a book or character because of the trauma they were going through? (29:00)
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Check out xyr Twitter, find xem on Facebook and Instagram, and visit xyr website. You can find All or None at xyr Universal Buy Link and xyr Amazon Buy Link.
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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview.
You can find Robin's written review of All or None at Reviews that Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Dec 28, 2020
Monday Dec 28, 2020
This fortnight we’re discussing “Destiny: Child of Sky” by Elizabeth Haydon.
Book CW for violence, murder, massacre, cannibalism, death of a child, discussion of sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor.
Topic 1: Khaddyr - Death. Begins at (0:50),body horror, dismemberment.
Topic 2: Rhapsody and Ashe - Gaslighting. Begins at (18:50), CW for gaslighting, rape, possession, pregnancy, slavery, coercion.
Topic 3: Rhapsody - Boundaries. Begins at (34:45), CW for self-harm, toxic coping methods, unhealthy boundaries, possession, rape
Promo for The BackTracker History Show; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (46:50).
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You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
This fortnight we’re discussing “Prophecy: Child of Earth” by Elizabeth Haydon.
Book CW for violence, murder, massacre, cannibalism, death of a child, discussion of sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor.
Topic 1: Ashe - Bodily Autonomy. Begins at (0:50), rape mention, murder, ritual sacrifice mention, theft of body part, mutilation of body part, guilt of over other people's actions.
Topic 2: Weaponization of female bodies against their loved ones. Begins at (12:37), CW for rape, cannibalism.
Promo for Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:35).
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You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.
Find all our links on our Carrd.
Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.