A rock band full of queer, magical girls? Let's go! Kara Buchanan (she/her) chats with Moth (they/them) about the inspiration behind Kara's Magica Riot series and the magical power of being free to be yourself.

Check out the series at https://magicariot.com

Magica Riot and the larger Maidensong Magica universe are the creation of author Kara Buchanan, a former city planning journalist and current musician turned fiction writer. After a dozen years writing about urban issues for various publications in her hometown, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and finally got to be her real self. Taking her love of magical girl anime, her life playing in bands, and her personal experiences dealing with gender issues, she created Magica Riot to bring a joyful, action-packed queer story of self-discovery and adventure to the world. She lives in a modest apartment with her wife and cats.

Show music by Luke McQuillan

Serena J. Bishop (she/her) and Moth (they/them) explore Serena's series "The Kari Chronicles" in a conversation that touches on sensitivity readers for writing cross-culturally, neurodivergence, character=driven outlining, and how writing can be like taking a roadtrip with your characters.

Serena's work is part of a sapphic sale on Amazon in November. Check out her author page.

Bio

Serena J. Bishop writes stories with humor, heart, and heroines. She is a daydreamer who comes from a long line of storytellers. When she’s not writing fiction she enjoys being a nerd, surprising others with her pop culture knowledge, or crafting a new beverage to enjoy (that's not coffee). She currently resides in Maryland with her lovely wife and chihuahua. You can sign up for her newsletter at www.serenajbishop.com or follow her on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, and Bluesky @SerenaJBishop.

Show music by Luke McQuillan https://www.lukemcquillan.com

What makes good queer fantasy? David Brandt (he/him) joins Moth (they/them) for a conversation on everything from queering beloved stories to how to write helpful content warnings,

Find Davi's books: https://dtbrandt.com/books/

D.T. Brandt (he/him) is a pansexual nonbinary author settling on the unceded territory of a Coast Salish nation (southwest BC). He grew up on the land of the Erie and Kaskaskia (suburbs of Cleveland, OH) and earned a BFA in Digital Art he only uses to format his books and color some lineart.

Writing was in his fingers from an early age, but whether or not it’s been worth it is up to you. Inspired by the video games and anime series of his youth and all the aspects of himself he was denied from his conservative Christian upbringing, D.T. is determined to now give his characters the joyous queer lives he (and many others) were (and are being, more by the day) denied.