In our 17th episode, we welcome back the many talented A.C. Wise. In this episode, we talk to Alison about Readercon parties, how we first met, growing up in Canada, getting a gold medal in rowing, working a full-time day job at an art museum/school, her massive to-read pile, reviewing fiction for Locus and Apex magazines and elsewhere, stories in conversation with each other, reading for the World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, the Sunburst Awards, how she reads so much, her favorite reads of 2025, her first story sale to a coffee can label, editing for Unlikely Stories, the health of science fiction as a genre, how AI makes her angry, how she is a pantser, when and where she writes, her three short story collections, making custom cocktails for her book release, and more!

Books and Stories by A.C. Wise:

Ballad of the Bone Road: https://bookshop.org/p/books/ballad-of-the-bone-road-a-c-wise/431073a66a9249e1?ean=9781835413784&next=t
Out of the Drowning Deep: https://bookshop.org/p/books/out-of-the-drowning-deep-a-c-wise/357a5aae6a988bf1?ean=9781803369846&next=t
The Ghost Sequences: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ghost-sequences-a-c-wise/73b355fe59f8ea94?ean=9781988964331&next=t
The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves The World Again: https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Fabulous-Glitter-Squadron-Saves/dp/159021434X/
The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories: https://www.amazon.com/Kissing-Booth-Girl-Other-Stories/dp/B075338W1B
“Wolf Moon, Antler Moon”: https://reactormag.com/wolf-moon-antler-moon-a-c-wise/

Other Books Mentioned:

Space Trucker Jess by Matthew Kressel: https://bookshop.org/p/books/space-trucker-jess-matthew-kressel/2824b9cb78656eee?ean=9781958880272&next=t
Haunted Ecologies by Corey Farrenkopf: https://bookshop.org/p/books/haunted-ecologies-corey-farrenkopf/133fb7a231a7ce6d?ean=9781685101404&next=t
A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-catalog-of-storms-fran-wilde/9274622f5f3debeb?ean=9781958880319&next=t
The House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-house-of-illusionists-and-other-stories-vanessa-fogg/dda16d303c3978fb?ean=9781953736451&next=t
Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper: https://bookshop.org/p/books/teenage-girls-can-be-demons-hailey-piper/1431a03c0e4de785?ean=9781835411469&next=t
Uncertain Suns by Thomas Ha: https://bookshop.org/p/books/uncertain-sons-and-other-stories-thomas-ha/b429750aa63da135?ean=9781988964492&next=t
Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine by Kristina Ten: https://bookshop.org/p/books/tell-me-yours-i-ll-tell-you-mine-kristina-ten/e9c26d3ea207b11e?ean=9781945233302&next=t
Call and Response by Christopher Caldwell: https://bookshop.org/p/books/call-and-response-christopher-caldwell/32ec50062fb24129?ean=9781966503149&next=t

In our 16th episode of The Nerd Count Podcast, we welcome Theresa DeLucci to talk about the inside secrets of the publishing industry. We talk about how she got started working in publishing as a marketer, how people are still reading, especially genre, but the numbers of places to buy books have shrunk, how we first met Theresa, writing short fiction, selling a story to Ellen Datlow, the gratifying hard work of working in publishing, the struggles of a shrinking industry, traditional publishing and indie authors, how she markets books, how she helps authors market themselves, how author publicity events can sometimes “move the needle”, how there is no “formula” for success, self-promotion for authors, the brutality of the “Algorithm”, the benefits of writing an “author letter”, her non-fiction reviews of media, reading for the Year’s Best Horror, some upcoming books she’s excited about, pansting vs. plotting, her love of oysters!, and more!

Theresa’s Non-Fiction at Reactor:
https://reactormag.com/author/theresa-delucci/

Theresa’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tdelucci/?hl=en

For our 15th episode, we welcome author and teacher Kate Maruyama. In this episode, we discuss how we met through her mother, writer Kit Reed, Readercon experiences, how she ended up in L.A., working for Sylvester Stallone, the impact of narcissistic sociopaths, how L.A. influences her writing, being stewards of ideas, her experience teaching writing, why editors want to hear your unique voice, the false notion of “correct” writing, the vapidity of AI-produced fiction, how teaching keeps her honest, creating in times of stress, being a juror for the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards, choosing your “genre”, growing up with films from the 1930s and 40s, writing multiple POVs, finding her character’s voice, bringing life to “dead” scenes, the capitalist notion of “product”, moving from screenwriting to writing prose, the “deep practice” of writing, and much more!

Books mentioned:

The Collective by Kate Maruyama – https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-collective-kate-maruyama/fd6d6c6c798c0b50?ean=9798896920816&next=t
Alterations by Kate Maruyama – https://bookshop.org/p/books/alterations-kate-maruyama/1945097c02a22fde?ean=9781960018755&next=t
Bleak Houses by Kate Maruyama – https://bookshop.org/p/books/bleak-houses-safer-family-solstice-kate-maruyama/4b243486bdfff446?ean=9781947879591&next=t
A Gentleman’s Suit by Kate Maruyama – https://bookshop.org/p/books/halloween-beyond-piercing-the-veil-kate-maruyama/b2ed1f858648159e?ean=9781957133201&next=t&