Show Notes for Ep. 19 "Delia and Ellen, Pt. 1"
Mary Anne and Ben catch up with old friends Delia Sherman and Ellen Kushner. In the first half of the episode, the hosts of MRAH speak to Delia about her balladic influences, formula fiction, and the process of writing Freedom Maze. In the last half of the episode, Ellen switches with Delia to talk about her book Swordspoint, the intricacies of collaborative writing, and more.
Recorded 6 June 2021 / Published 23 August 2021
Contents
- 0:00:00: Notice for Frozen and My Best Friend’s Wedding Spoilers
- 0:00:15: Introduction to Delia and her works
- 0:05:20: On fiction based on ballads and fairy tales
- 0:08:50: On formula fiction
- 0:18:55: On how Frozen shook up the fairy tale formula
- 0:21:15: On the question of structure
- 0:27:27: On the process of writing Freedom Maze
- 0:35:00: On how Delia does research for her work
- 0:37:13: Mary Anne’s business question on writing for certain age groups
- 0:42:55: On changelings
- 0:47:27: On writing outside your own experiences
- 0:55:26: Intermission
- 0:56:16: Ellen’s introduction
- 0:57:50: Starting discussion on Ellen’s Swordspoint
- 1:00:45: On writing-choose-your-own-adventure books
- 1:04:34: Back to Swordspoint
- 1:15:20: On Tremontaine
- 1:20:26: On collaborative writing projects
- 1:28:26: Mary Anne’s question on Ellen and Ben’s Jewish culture
- 1:39:09: Ellen’s recommended Jewish writers
- 1:41:19: On writing for white audiences
- 1:45:09: Ellen on framing Swordspoint
- 1:48:57: On Ellen’s newest books and projects
- 1:54:54: On writing for YA
Notes and Links
- Terri Windling’s anthologies
- The Ramayana
- Sita Sings the Blues, based off of The Ramayana
- Goblin Market poem
- Charles de Lint, Canadian author
- Charles Vess, American Artists
- Save the Cat, Blake Snyder
- Guy Gavriel Kay, Canadian author
- Welcome to the Temptation, Jennifer Crusie
- Delia Sherman’s mentioned works
- River of Smoke, Amitav Ghosh
- Damon Runyon, American short story writer
- Ellen Kushner’s mentioned works
- Swordspoint
- Tremontaine
- Thomas the Rhymer
- Sound and Spirit, Ellen’s radio show
- The Golden Dreidel
- World Fantasy Con
- Red, White, and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston
- Nicola Griffith, novelist
- Wild Cards, edited by George R R Martin
- Border Town, Terri Windling
- Dorothy Dunnett, Scottish novelist
- The Red Magician, Lisa Goldstein
- Edward Eager, American children’s book writer & dramatist
- Dream Apart, Ben’s RPG
- The River Midnight, Lilian Nattel
- The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon
- Toni Morrison, American novelist
- The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells
