Dragon Page "Cover to Cover"
By Michael R. Mennenga, Summer Brooks, Michael A. Stackpole
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Podcast Description
Conversations with the Creators of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Thriller fiction today! If you love SF literature, are an author or aspire to become one, you'll enjoy this podcast.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
Cover to Cover #462: Deconstructing the Story | Mike S points out that the real kidney punch to B&N was done by Apple a few weeks ago with their ebook textbook deals, and the guys talk about how these deals could change how teachers teach and how people learn. Rewrite Update: Mike M details his first plunge back into rewriting Mistress of the Dragon in 12 years, and the guys talk about the deconstruction process and the details to focus on that can improve story depth and detail. | 2/6/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Reading Diary #01: WebGenii’s Reads | This is WebGenii, with an installment from my “Reading Diary”. For those of you who’ve been listening to Cover to Cover for a while, it should come as no surprise that I read many more books than I actually review. But even if I don’t review a book, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it. It probably meant that I just ran out of time. | 2/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Cover to Cover #461: Building Your Audiences | Discussion: Mike S talks about the importance of developing a private audience, separate from the groups you're cultivating on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and other social networks. What's your favorite site for book reviews? Send them in, or mention them here... we'll collect the info and compile them into a list that we will use later to help publicize the finished stories after the process here. And yes, Summer is still taking applications for Dragon Page book reviewers. Wanna play? | 1/30/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Cover to Cover #460: Information Management and Story Questions | Mike S brings up some salient points about the legal tussle going on between HarperCollins and Open Road Media over the definition of "ebook" because of a new electronic version of Julie of the Wolves. Rewrite Status update: Mike M has cracked open his old manuscript, and reread it to better evaluate where it currently stands so he can determine which direction he wants to go with it. Mike S talks about asking more questions about your story in order to discover more about your world, your characters, and how those questions may lead you to tell a better story than the one you originally had in mind. | 1/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Cover to Cover #459: How and Where to Get Started | Would you be interested in receiving PDFs of sample chapters from authors, writing prompts or assignments or items of that ilk? Let us know your thoughts on that! Mike S lays out some steps to keep in mind when you start your 2012 writing projects, then the guys mark Mike M's starting point in tackling the re-edit of his book, itemizing what he should do for character and story breakdowns. | 12/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Cover to Cover #458: Prepping and Planning A Story | Listener Questions: Tad from Mesa is one of the few who has an old edition of Mistress of Dragons and he's interested to see how the new version evolves, really enjoyed Stackpole's At the Queen's Command, and wants to know if there's an update on the Talion Revenant sequel ebook challenge. Mike S stresses the importance of keeping notes, having a way to make notes and take down story ideas -- whether that's pen and paper or iPhone or iPad, and giving yourself permission to allow the first draft to not be perfect and just complete it. They also talk about the plan to tear down and rebuild Mistress of the Dragon, and what to expect during the process. | 12/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
Review: Roil by Trent Jamieson | Trent Jamieson’s Roil, the first book in The Nightbound Land duology, promises... and delivers. | 12/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
Cover to Cover #457: Listener Questions | The new "Cover to Cover" will be switching to an every other week schedule, mostly to give the guys and the listeners time to do the actual work required... MRM doing the writing for Mistress of the Dragon, and the listeners doing the assignments and asking questions via voicemail. Discussion: Alison in Denver airs her frustrations about the ever-increasing prices of ebooks, seemingly changing from week to week, and asks whether there's a guideline for consumers to effectively register their complaints about the out of scale ebook prices. | 11/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
Review: Debris by Jo Anderton | Jo Anderton’s debut novel is a compelling tale which pulls you in right from the start. Debris is told from the point of view of the protagonist Tanyana, as the story progresses she searches for the truth behind her change of circumstances and meets a number of interesting characters along the way. | 11/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
Cover to Cover #456: DIY EBooks (We’re Not Dead Yet!) | Mike M and Mike S jump back in the saddle, chatting about what they did on their extended summer vacations: Stackpole went to a few conventions (Gencon, Origins), and published his first digital original book, Perfectly Invisible, while Mennenga stretched his muscles as a TV show director with the new and improved Slice of SciFi TV. Starting in January, follow along with the guys as they delve into some "best practices" for writers who want to self-publish and digitally distribute their own works, from preparation to production to marketing and sales. | 11/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
Dual Review: Twelve, Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent | Before I start reviewing “Twelve” and "Thirteen Years Later" I have to go on a rant, a rant about books with serial killers. The success of "The Silence of the Lambs" has meant a huge number of books featuring serial killers. I find the popularity of serial killer characters unnerving and annoying. Unnerving, because this hero worship of insane killers, is well unnerving. | 9/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
Review: Steampunk edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant | I do enjoy a good short story anthology and Steampunk really fits the bill. It offers 14 terrific stories all in the Steampunk genre (although some of them are pretty loosely connected -- I'm looking at you Garth Nix!). And the quality of the stories are uniformly good. | 8/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
Review: 7th Sigma by Steven Gould | I have to admit that I didn't buy 7th Sigma because of the excerpt called "Bugs in the Arroyo" that you can find for free on the Tor website. I bought it because of Summer's love for Steven Gould's Jumper. I've never read Jumper, but Summer's enthusiasm for Gould is contagious. | 8/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
Review: Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier | In Heart's Blood Ms. Marillier has created believable characters, both living and dead who grow and change through the book. Far from being a knock-off, the story and style stand out nicely on their own. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to discover her work. | 8/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
Review: The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter | What I didn't expect was to be reaching for a tissue in the first twenty pages. Ms. Carter nicely sidesteps the whole unequal romance trope by placing the emotional center of the novel in the relationship between our heroine Kate and her mother Diana. Kate's frantic grief over her mother's looming death drives the plot and gives more weight to the story than a YA romance would normally command. | 7/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
Guest Review: Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris | I get a bit exhausted for Sookie. There are always someone or some things "out to get her." Throughout Book 11, there are constant threats from different sources, and Sookie is on high alert most of the novel. Sookie still struggles with being a good person, for her world is continually violent and evil visits her seemingly day in and day out. In Dead Reckoning, you don't see her grow much as a character, as she doesn't have time to do much of anything except try to stay alive. | 7/22/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
Review: The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington | The Enterprise of Death really broke my normal reading rules. You see, normally if I stop reading a book that's it -- Game Over. I just don't pick books back up and continue them. I did put The Enterprise of Death down several times, because it was just too intense for me. And, at one point I stopped reading it for a couple of weeks while I went on to other books But I kept coming back to The Enterprise of Death, because I just had to find out what happened to the characters. | 7/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
Review: Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith | The setup for Coronets and Steel reminds me irresistibly of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Glenraven. Tho' to be honest. I think this is a better book with more realistic characters. And that is saying a lot when the plot involves identical cousins, magic, kidnappings, royalty, mysterious middle European countries and much daring do and plot twists. | 7/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre | I was given a promotional copy of Enclave. It is the first book in a proposed series. Enclave deals with the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse in a world where those people who are trying to maintain civilization are all very young with a life expectancy of only their early twenties. | 6/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
Review: Red Glove by Holly Black | Red Glove is promoted as a YA novel, although I'd put it more at the 18 year old to adult end of the spectrum than the 13-16 year old range. If your kids are old enough to watch the "Sopranos" or "The Riches" and they like those shows, then this is the right book. Much like those shows, Red Glove contrasts the supposed glamour of a criminal lifestyle with the pain it causes our hero. A younger reader might only see the glamour and magic and miss the misery. | 6/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
Cover to Cover #455: M D Lachlan | Interview: This week, Mike and Mike chat with MD Lachlan about the first book in his new series from Pyr Books, Wolfsangel. What happens when you take a werewolf story and combine it with Norse mythology and legends? This series is one look at how that could have happened. M.D. also talks about his background and experiences with gaming and his thoughts on magic and science, and the limitations of Hollywood magic. | 5/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
Cover to Cover #454: Bradley Beaulieu | Book News this week: The guys talk a little more about an article that goes deeper into the numbers from the AAP report on ebooks outselling paperbacks, and elaborate a little more on the challenges of auditing ebook sales. Mike Stackpole has a series of articles on digital publishing and self-publishing over at his website. Interview: This week, Mike and Mike chat with Brad Beaulieu about his new novel, The Winds of Khalakovo, an epic fantasy series from Night Shade Books in the same vein as George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Brad talks about the Russian and Persian influences on the story and how those informed the development of character and cultural traits of the story as he was writing it, and about the writing symposiums he’d taken at GenCon and other conventions with various genre authors, and how those classes helped his writing craft. Keep an eye out for the sequel, The Straits of Galahesh, in April 2012. Link: Bradley P. Beaulieu Link: Night Shade Books Submitting Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know! “Cover to Cover” has it’s own call-in line, 206-350-READ! That’s 206-350-7323, or just email Michael with a comment you’ve recorded yourself! Dragon Page Social Community: Twitter: @dragonpage Facebook: The Dragon Page Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wind%20River%20Territory/50/129/22 Forums: Dragon Page @ FarPoint Forums Promo: Carina Press Promo: Dragon’s Fire, Wizard’s Flame by Michael R. Mennenga | 5/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
Cover to Cover #453: Ian Fydell | This week, Mike and Mike chat with Ian Fydell about the first book in his Exodus Trilogy, "Breathing Space". Ian talks about his trilogy, the message about environmentalism he wanted to get out there through his fiction, how his publisher, Legwork, helped him get the book together, and his massive marketing efforts. | 5/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Cover to Cover #452: Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris | Discussion continues on creating, publishing and marketing for authors marketing their own works themselves. Interview: This week, Mike and Mike chat with Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine about their new collaborative novel, Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, sort of a steampunk flavored adventure in the fashion of “The Avengers” or “The X-Files”. Tee and Pip talk about opening up their universe to other authors to create stories for, as well as their own collaborative writing and editing process working on this novel and the sequel. Catch them at the Steampunk World’s Fair in Somerset NJ, Balticon, Worldcon in Reno, and a host of other places. Link: The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Link: Phillipa Ballantine Link: Tee Morris Submitting Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know! “Cover to Cover” has it’s own call-in line, 206-350-READ! That’s 206-350-7323, or just email Michael with a comment you’ve recorded yourself! Dragon Page Social Community: Twitter: @dragonpage Facebook: The Dragon Page Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wind%20River%20Territory/50/129/22 Forums: Dragon Page @ FarPoint Forums Promo: Carina Press Promo: The Gmail Podcast Promo: Dragon’s Fire, Wizard’s Flame by Michael R. Mennenga | 5/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Cover to Cover #451: Listener Feedback | It’s an all voicemail episode! Hopefully everyone who’s had questions or comments will have them answered here. Voicemails: Web Genii has begun gushing on Twelve by Jasper Kent, and wonders if there’s some unwritten rule that forces publishers in each region to begin the typography for a book from scratch, or if they could or would share; Trampas weighs in with his opinions on the Kindle, Nook, and Android; new listener Blair asks a few questions on ISBNs and first-time author ages; Kurt asks Stackpole for an iPad follow up report; John Dodds asks ebook publishing, particularly about sales tracking from publishers (hint: you can do it yourself!); Gary congratulates Mike, Mike and Dragon Page on it’s 9th anniversary; Sean from Edwards laments that his local library is only open 3 days a week, and are soliciting ideas to generate revenue and keep their doors open more; Bionic Geek asks about ways to do notes and highlighting in PDFs in ereaders; Sean asks what might be the best way to rerelease a revised edition of an ebook that previously wasn’t ready for public consumption; Josh comments on the old MFA program discussion; Birder asks what ebooks Mike and Mike have that he can go get; Rift in Bucks Cty runs down the features of the devices that he makes use of and why, since many people are going to need more than one device for everything; Sean from Edwards broke down and will be buying an iPad this year; Rift asks if the guys have heard about Dorchester publishing ebooks they didn’t have rights for; Arkle complains that Mke got him in trouble at work; Kevin from NC realized he was avoiding all the books with sexy women in skin-tight leathers, bare midriffs and heavy weaponry because he doesn’t like urban fantasy, and that’s what those covers scream; Sandra is one of those rare folks that will read a book and watch TV at the same time (Summer used to do that a lot before she had 50 websites to babysit!); Jason from Denver thanks the guys for the Steampunk’d recommendation, and he wants more Chance Morrigan tales, and where to find more steampunk in general; Redshirt doesn’t enjoy the color screen ereaders; Jason in TN thanks the team for having Pamela Sargent on the show; Ben in Tampa wonders if illustrations might make their way back into ebooks; Trampas asks how the process of getting a book in Kindle format works; Sean from Edwards reports that Electronic Arts reported that digital game sales exceeded physical game sales Submitting Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know! “Cover to Cover” has it’s own call-in line, 206-350-READ! That’s 206-350-7323, or just email Michael with a comment you’ve recorded yourself! Dragon Page Social Community: Twitter: @dragonpage Facebook: The Dragon Page Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wind%20River%20Territory/50/129/22 Forums: Dragon Page @ FarPoint Forums Promo: Dragon’s Fire, Wizard’s Flame by Michael R. Mennenga | 4/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 25 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
well done
if you like to be up to date on science fiction and fantasy this is your podcast. michael and summer do great interviews with the top authors of the genre and michael stackpole goes into depth about writing in general and gives great tips on how to become a better writer
Whats happening in the world of F&SF
Michael, Summer and the gang keep you up to date with what is happening in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Wonderful Interviews and commentary. Worth the time to listen.
Very Enjoyable
I've listened to a only a few shows. I like what I hear. There is some really good content.
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