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First of all, I can see you staring at the episode number, and going "Hang on. Last month, they were at 1.6. Now it's 42? What's going on?" Well, let me explain. This month, Damian and Jasmine decided to do an episode in honour of the 42nd anniversary of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Next month, we'll return to our regular scheduling with episde 1.8. We invited two guests over to our imaginary sitting room--fully compliant with the regulations around social distancing of course--to help us uncover the meaning of life. Our first guest, John Possidente, is someone Damian and Jasmine usually refer to by his Discord username: Kevin in the Box. Long story. Don't ask, don't tell.      “You know," said John, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in an online podcast with a woman from Belgium, and I'm about to discuss the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy forty-second anniversary that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."     "Why, what did she tell you?"     "I don't know, I didn't listen.” Now, I'm sure our first guest, John Possidente, had a reason to give us a piece of flash fiction instead of a bio. Pretty sure he even explained it. Alas, we too didn't listen. All jokes aside, let's meet him for real. John Possidente was supposed to be a science writer, but somehow ended up writing for games instead, which he enjoyed immensely. After a mysterious twenty-year gap, he's now begun writing fiction. For the record, he is Oxford Comma positive. Unlike most writers, John is an ardent reader and a fervent coffee drinker. Or maybe it's the other way around. You can find his stories (if you're that kind of person) in the Mar/Apr 2020 issue of F&SF and Interzone issues #285 and #287. He doesn't have a website or use social media, so you're spared that. If you really want something to swoon over, you can always give his Amazon author page a go. And, surprise surprise, you already know this guy: Andrew J. Savage was born in Australia where they trained him as a lawyer and put him to work. After escaping the sand and the sea, he now lives in Japan with his wife, two children and dog, Max (who has filled the canid-shaped hole in his heart nicely.) You can find him on Twitter as sav_andrew@ or on his writing group discord server, INKubator. His website is www.thinknzombie.com. We hope you enjoy the podcast. We sure did! So long, thanks for all the fish, and see you next month!

This month, we read and discussed Annie Proulx's masterpiece, Brokeback Mountain, as it was published by The New Yorker. Be sure to give it a look. It's more than worth it. Guest of honour was speculative author Crystal L. Kirkham. Crystal L. Kirkham is a multi-genre speculative fiction author. She has published novels across several genres including her fantasy adventure Feathers and Fae (October 2019 from Kyanite Publishing) and her self-published urban fantasy series, Saints & Sinners. She is also a contributing author to multiple best-selling anthologies. Originally from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, she now chooses to call a small hamlet west of Red Deer, Alberta her home. She is an avid outdoors person, unrepentant coffee addict, part-time foodie, servant to a wonderful feline, and companion to two delightfully hilarious canines - Treble the Standard Poodle and Nahni the Australian Shepherd. She will neither confirm nor deny the rumours regarding the heart in a jar on her desk or the bottle of readers' tears right next to it. However, she will confirm that she once broke the metal handle to a 4-tonne car jack with her bare hands. If you enjoy our discussions, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so we can give you a heads up when a new episode is released. See you next month!

This is the episode in which we turned the tables on Damian. I enlisted the help of our mutual friend Andrew J. Savage to help me grill Damian about his novel, The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Malachi the Queer. Damian just launched the second edition, complete with brand new cover design. I also gave Andrew' an early Christmas present. I figured better ten months early than two months late. But I'm keeping you guys from actually listening to the thing. Go on!

Welcome once again to The INKreadables, with Damian Jay Clay and Jasmine Arch. First of all, we wish you all the best in 2020, starting with lots of wonderful, haunting, poignant, wistful, and hilarious stories. On this episode, we invited two lovely guests, Andrew J. Savage and Rowena Harding-Smith, to help us discuss an essay by Ursula K. Le Guin, called Why Americans Are Afraid of Dragons. For more information about and links to our guests and topic, please have a look at our show notes. You can find those on Jasmine's blog. Now, without further ado, let's talk about dragons! Oh wait, the essay isn't actually about dragons? Man, what a let-down.

This month, we discuss the timeless Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, along with our guest, the lovely Rowena Harding-Smith. Rowena Harding-Smith is a cross-genre writer. She has been publishing short stories in various magazines and literary journals since 1993. During 2017 she received six awards for her short fiction. She has published two non-fiction books and many articles about learning and memory. She lives in Sydney with her dog in a small timber cottage by the harbour. She has just finished a crime/mystery novel set in 1979 on the waterfront in Sydney. Rowena’s creative nonfiction “I Love Lucy:1957” appears in Southerly Volume 78 Number 3.

We're back with the second half of our conversation with R. Jean Bell. Did you miss part one? Be sure to check it out here. If you want to make sure you don't miss the next one, sign up for our newsletter (click here) and you'll be notified whenever an episode airs. Since before she can remember, R. Jean Bell has devoured any available reading material. In recent years, books--averaging one a day--have proven the most effective relief from chronic pain. She firmly believes shoes are torture devices, so she trained her border collie to remove them. Connect with her at rjeanbell.com. Her work has appeared in Cast of Wonders, ParABnormal Magazine, Frostfire Worlds, Scifaikuest, and took second place in the BSFS Poetry Competition in 2019.

Hello hello. The INKreadables are back in business! For our comeback, we interviewed fellow INKling R. Jean Bell. She's a writer and poet to be reckoned with. We had so much fun chatting, we had enough material to fill two episodes. If you want to make sure you don't miss the next one, sign up for our newsletter (click here) and you'll be notified whenever an episode airs. Since before she can remember, R. Jean Bell has devoured any available reading material. In recent years, books--averaging one a day--have proven the most effective relief from chronic pain. She firmly believes shoes are torture devices, so she trained her border collie to remove them. Connect with her at rjeanbell.com. Her work has appeared in Cast of Wonders, ParABnormal Magazine, Frostfire Worlds, Scifaikuest, and took second place in the BSFS Poetry Competition in 2019.

Hosts Damian Jay Clay and Jasmine Arc have managed to lure another victim, @Aksounder, onto INKreadables to discuss all things writing-related. Jasmine got to pick last week's article, a blog post by Chuck Wendig. This time, we discussed one of Damian's favourite pieces: an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, called Self-reliance. While not strictly a writing article, the essay is certainly worth the time it takes to read and contemplate. All of it absolutely applies to writing as well as every other aspect of life. After all, recording and documenting life is part of our job as a writer, isn't it? It goes without saying that we found the time for some small talk and fun as well. Come over and join the dark side. We have books!

Welcome to INKreadables brought to you by the INKubator Discord writing community. Damian Jay Clay and Jasmine Arch discus anything and everything about writing. Our very first guest is INKling @negativer, who joins us for a chat about a fantastic blog post we both found really interesting and useful: How to be a Writer in this Fucked-Ass Age of Rot and Resistance by bestselling author, Chuck Wendig.