Category: Podcasts

Andorks: Star Wars, Accents and Pizza

Andorks is an engrossing podcast that dives deep into one of my favourite shows of all time: Andor! Each episode investigates 7 minutes of screentime, and my allotted 7 minutes are right at the end of The Eye, and come right after the Aldhani raid and Nemick’s unfortunate incident. We dig into that moment with Andor and Skeen, Doctor Quadpaw’s surgery and the fallout from the raid.

We also discuss…

  • My relationship with Star Wars, including working with the wonderful Declan Mulholland
  • Accents in the Star Wars universe, including the Thames Estuary accent versus Received Pronunciation
  • And what David Cameron has in common with Jar Jar Binks
  • And much more!
LISTEN HERE

Or watch/listen on Youtube…

E.T. gets the hots on Authorized…

I loved listening back to my first – dare we say, classic? – episode of Authorized where we dig into the wonderfully strange novelisation of E.T the Extraterrestrial by William Kotzwinkle.

We discuss telepathic cucumbers, ET getting the hots for Elliot’s mother, Lance, who tries to blackmail Elliot, and the extraordinary number of synonyms there are for an alien, and there’s a brand new game at the end. Enjoy…

Talking ANDOR on the Authorized Podcast

Had a great time chatting about Andor season 2 on the Authorized podcast. As is often the case when I’m guesting on Authorized, I offer the case for the defence of the writer. I clearly enjoyed this show a lot more than Hannah and Overbye, though now I’ve had a re-listen I realise that their main criticism of the show is that they wanted even more of it… and I can’t argue with that. You can find the podcast on your favourite podcast provider…

And if you want to hear us chatting about season 1 of Andor, you can find that here.

My Writing Process on the Real Writing Process Podcast

I had a great time talking to Tom Pepperdine about my writing process in great depth. This gets very nerdy, very quickly. This is an excellent podcast for writers, so do check out the backlist, too…

The Real Writing Process of James Goodhand – The Real Writing Process

Tom Pepperdine interviews author, James Goodhand, about his writing process. James explains how important human psychology is to his books, why inspiration doesn't always equate to quality, and the great advice he got from his childhood drum teacher.James's Instagram is here: https://www.instagram.com/james.goodhand/And you can find more information about previous episodes of this podcast on the following links:https://bsky.app/profile/realwritingpro.bsky.socialhttps://www.threads.net/@realwritingprohttps://www.instagram.com/realwritingpro
  1. The Real Writing Process of James Goodhand
  2. The Real Writing Process of Caitlin Rozakis
  3. The Real Writing Process of Mark Stay
  4. The Real Writing Process of Eliza Chan
  5. The Real Writing Process of M. R. Carey

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Authorized

I had the best time discussing the classic novelisation of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by Vonda N McIntyre with the Authorized podcast gang. I discuss my relationship with the film and the book and how both have inspired me as a writer…

I Get Nostalgic on Chris Deacy’s Nostalgia Podcast

I’ve done a fair few podcast interviews, but I’m in a strangely reflective mood in this one. I’m interviewed by the excellent Chris Deacy, and in lieu of finding a studio to record in we did this in my car (hence the occasional gentle whoosh of passing motors) and it was recorded the night before the US election. My favourite bit is my thesis that nostalgia is a slippery slope to fascism… Yes, I was in one of those moods! Do please enjoy…

210: Stephen Willoughby – Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Stephen Willoughby, who studied Theology at Lampeter between 1984 and 1987. After university, Stephen’s path took a technical turn – he became a computer operator and later completed an MSc in Computer Science at Aberystwyth, a journey that reflects a broadening of Stephen’s skills. Stephen now works in quality assurance and holds a PhD in a related field. Originally from Orpington in Kent, he now lives in Derbyshire. Stephen has had a lifelong passion for radio, sparked on his 7th birthday when he received his first radio set. He was captivated early on by classical music and Radio 3, but it was Radio 2 in the 1980s that gave him a window into the wider world. He's steeped in the station's history and recalls listening to Alan Dell on Sunday afternoons, including the public reaction when there was talk of Dell leaving the airwaves. We discuss the magic of live radio, the days when Radios 1 and 2 shared the FM frequency, and the role of DJs like David Hamilton—who used to include the pop charts in his Tuesday afternoon Radio 2 shows. Stephen also shares which stations he listens to today, including Boom Radio, and reflects on whether he’s more of a looking back or a forward-looking person.
  1. 210: Stephen Willoughby
  2. 209: Cameron Tucker
  3. 208: Harry Bowles
  4. 207: Mark Stay
  5. 206: Numi Gildert

Aliens Cookbook (and Claire!) on Authorized

The Authorized podcast celebrates Thanksgiving with an Alien cookbook special! Using the rather baffling instructions in the Official Alien Cookbook we were challenged to cook/bake recipes from the book.

Fellow guests Patrick Willems and Sarah Welch-Larson took up the challenge with aplomb. Me? I can’t cook or bake for toffee, so I called in an expert: namely my wonderful wife Claire. She made two magnificent face-hugger recipes. The Invasion of Pot Pies and the Pear and Cardamom Upside Down Cake (photos below…) and they were very yummy indeed.

You can listen to the podcast on your favourite podcast provider, and if you want to skip ahead to Claire’s bit, it’s at around 1 hour 14 minutes. Bon appetit!

Genius at work…
Pear and Cardamom Upside Down Cake a la Facehugger
Invasion of Pot Pies Facehugger pre-oven…
And Invasion of Pot Pie Facehugger cooked!

Write, Damn It!

In a sort of podcast exchange scheme, I was delighted to be invited on Zoë Richards’ Write, Damn It! podcast (she, of course, came on my Creative Differences podcast last month).

We discuss self-publishing and the quirks of traditional publishing and… I also sound quite maudlin at points as I was in something of a low point when we recorded this as you’ll hear (though chatting with Zoë cheered me up no end). So if you want to hear me to sound a little bit like Marvin the Paranoid Android, then do check it out…

LISTEN TO THE WRITE, DAMN IT! PODCAST HERE

Episode 130 Author Confidential with Mark Stay – Write, Damn It! with Zoe Richards

Mark Stay got a part-time Christmas job at Waterstones in the 90s and, despite being working class and quite lippy, somehow ended up working in publishing for over 25 years. He  wrote in his spare time and sometimes those writings got turned into books and films, including the Witches of Woodville series from Simon & Schuster, and the 2023 Warner Bros. horror movie Unwelcome. Nautilus, the #1 Amazon Prime TV series, was based on his treatment.Mark was also co-presenter of the award-winning Bestseller Experiment podcast, which has inspired writers all over the world to finish and publish their books. Born in London, he lives in Kent with Youtube gardener and writer Claire Burgess and a declining assortment of retired chickens.You can find Mark here: https://markstaywrites.com/all-the-links/The Green Room can be found here: https://markstaywrites.com/the-green-room/And Creative Differences podcast can be found here: https://markstaywrites.com/the-creative-differences-podcast/His books: SF&F and horror: https://markstaywrites.com/books/ Robot Overlords, Gollancz, 2015The End of Magic, Unbound, 2019The End of Dragons, Unusually Tall Stories, 2024The End of Gods, Unusually Tall Stories, coming 2025The Crow Folk, The Witches of Woodville I, Simon & Schuster, 2021Babes in the Wood, The Witches of Woodville II, Simon & Schuster,  2021The Ghost of Ivy Barn,  The Witches of Woodville III, Simon & Schuster, 2022The Holly King,  The Witches of Woodville IV, Simon & Schuster, 2023The Corn Bride, The Witches of Woodville V, Simon & Schuster, coming 2025Film & TV:Robot Overlords, 2014, Tempo/BFI: https://markstaywrites.com/robot-overlords/Unwelcome, 2023, Warner Bros: https://markstaywrites.com/unwelcome/Nautilus, 2024, Moonriver, Disney, Amazon Prime and AMC (based on my treatment):  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15286302/ Support the showJoin me on Substack – here – for more insights into writing and being published, as well as mindset tips and tools. You can subscribe to get access to much more from me, including workshops and coaching.If you would like to show your love for the podcast, please consider buying me a coffee through BuyMeACoffee.com. This gives you an opportunity to make a small, one-off donation – you are not committed to regular payments. Making the podcast earns me no money, and in fact costs me a fair bit, but I do it for the love, and because I have such fun talking with wonderful authors. Even if you can't afford to buy me a coffee, simply letting me know that you love the podcast means a lot to me. Please take a moment to leave a star rating, write a review, or share the episode with others you know who will benefit from listening in, or you can tag me in social media when you share an episode that you love with your followers.My website is http://www.zoerichards.co.uk where you can discover how you can work with me, and you can find me on TwiX and Instagram as @zoerichardsukAnd finally my debut novel, Garden of Her Heart, is out now and you can buy your copy here.Happy writing, and may the wo…

And don’t forget, you can watch my Creative Differences interview with Zoë here…

Or…

LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST PROVIDER HERE

Robot Overlords on Authorized

Long time readers of this blog will know that I’ve been a guest on the Authorized podcast quite a few times. I love Andrew, Hannah and the gang and have nothing but respect for the passion and literary rigour they bring to the podcast with their love of film novelisations. So to have an entire episode dedicated to the Robot Overlords novelisation was a real honour, especially as the film celebrates ten years since its premiere at the London Film Festival.

What’s unusual about this episode is that I’m not in it for the first couple of hours (yes, it’s nearly three hours long!). Understandably, they wanted to discuss the book without the author simpering in the corner, but they also brought on my old chum Paddy Eason, the VFX supervisor on the film to give an insider’s view to the making of the film. They say lots of very nice things about the book, which is going to make me completely unbearable for a few days at least, and they reveal connections to Psycho, Mad Max, Planet of the Apes and Pixar’s Cars. Do please enjoy…

And if you fancy reading the book, you can get signed copies of the paperback from me here…

ROBOT OVERLORDS SIGNED PAPERBACK

I’m on the Worm Hole podcast

I was delighted to be a guest on The Worm Hole podcast! This is in-depth stuff that I’ve not discussed before. Do check out the brilliant website for more details and a transcript (I love it when podcasters make all this effort!). Click on the image below for more…