Some writers build stories. J. Kenton Pierce seems to have stories stalking him until he writes them down.

He joins Mookie in the 49th episode of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory for a lively, sharp-edged discussion about creating an interstellar universe where frontier settlers, political schemers, orbital AI-controlled kill-satellites, engineered soldiers, traders, autocrats, and stubborn individualists all collide. Pierce breaks down the world behind his Prometheus award nominated A Kiss for Damocles, his debut novel, and An Apple for the Legion, a new prequel that follows a genetically optimized true believer slowly realizing the machine she serves is rotten at its core.

What becomes obvious is that J. Kenton has thought through his universe: politics have logic, technology has consequences, the colonies feel lived in. Power centralizes, people resist, systems decay, and survival forces ugly compromises.

The conversation also digs into Pierce’s libertarian-leaning instincts: skepticism of concentrated power, respect for local autonomy, distrust of coercive systems, and a bias toward people being left alone to build their own lives. But his characters are flawed, surprising, contradictory human beings because the story comes first. That alone separates him from many modern writers who treat fiction like a sermon with costumes.

Mookie and J. Kenton also get into the real craft of writing: why many authors obsess over worldbuilding and neglect character, why beloved franchises collapse under bad storytelling, why heroes need limitations, and why the best fiction often arrives when characters stop obeying the outline and start causing trouble.

Pierce’s writing process is its own adventure. He describes decades of compulsive daydreaming, scenes arriving out of nowhere, pacing around the room until ideas lock into place, and then unloading them in a rush. By avoiding the productivity myth and fake guru routine, J. Kenton has a mind naturally wired to create.

The Guest

I'm a retired Goth and somewhat disgruntled yet generally mild-mannered veteran of the Gulf War, with experience in molecular biology, social services, and way too much retail when younger. In a way, these stories were inevitable. I gamed excessively and often had more fun creating new characters and filling out those tiny little character bio screens than playing. My fleetmates in the Star Trek Online guild “TOS Veterans” started up some RP stories and encouraged me to beef up my main toon’s bio. A few hundred words of character background turned into 25K of story/fanfic.

Finally, I realized that I wasn’t satisfied simply consuming stories or weaving my characters into other people’s worlds. They're kind of pushy. I suppose that brings us to influences. too many to really list, from H. Ryder Haggard and Mark Twain to Andre Norton and Harlan Ellison, to James H. Schmitz and J. Michael Straczynski, Lois McMaster Bujold to Jim Butcher... And everyone in between. And now I'm sitting with my favorite authors at the Prometheus Awards table, who knew?

His Novels & Short Stories

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What happens when a LitRPG writer walks into the Science Fiction & Fantasy Factory and casually reveals that one of the fastest-growing corners of modern fantasy has also built the best ecosystem in publishing? You get this fascinating conversation with author Matthew Kent, who joins Mookie to explain why game-inspired fiction is no niche gimmick, instead a thriving movement with obsessed readers, hyper-engaged communities, massive books, booming audiobooks, and writers who help each other succeed.

Matthew breaks down "Literary Role Playing Game" genre from the ground floor: stories where characters level up, stats matter, systems speak, and narrative itself gets interrupted by prompts, rankings, alerts, and evolving character sheets. If that sounds strange, it is, but the genre is also wildly popular. Mookie presses him on what makes LitRPG work, how it differs from conventional fantasy, and why so many readers become addicted to this hybrid of storytelling, gaming logic, and progression psychology.

The conversation goes far beyond mechanics. Matthew explains the rise of Royal Road, the online platform where writers serialize chapters, gain armies of beta readers, refine their stories in public, and build audiences before publication. They discuss how community-driven feedback, Kindle Unlimited, audiobook culture, Reddit fandoms, and social media have created a self-sustaining machine that many traditional authors would give up their agents for.

They also tackle the pressures of modern publishing: AI-generated book spam, Amazon review bottlenecks, the economics of indie writing, and why authors need readers more than ever. Matthew offers blunt, practical insight on craft, marketing, consistency, and what separates books that connect from books that disappear.

Along the way, Mookie recognizes something bigger: LitRPG may look eccentric from the outside, but under the hood it has solved problems the rest of publishing still complains about. So if you are a writer searching for audience, a reader curious about new frontiers in fantasy, or someone wondering where fiction is heading in the age of games, platforms, and AI, give them a listen!

The Guest

I write my stories with one goal in mind: to help others dream. I want my readers to find worlds they can escape into, characters they can relate to, and adventures that ignite their imagination. Currently, I live in the southeastern United States, sharing a busy but fulfilling life with my wife, our son, and twin daughters. Our home is also filled with the energy of two dogs, making it all the more lively. Yet, with so many stories swirling in my head, I often find that there’s never quite enough time to put them all on paper. And as for the twins, they remind me of an old joke: “How are twins and the Spanish Inquisition alike? No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!”

Get His Novels & Check Out His Royal Road

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matthew-Kent/author/B01N26PQ3H

https://www.royalroad.com/profile/79682/fictions

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What happens when two writing obsessives lock themselves in a room and start talking craft, money, madness, creativity, publishing, best (and worst) practices, and the questionable life choice known as “becoming an author”? You get this lively, funny, and honest conversation with Mike Robinson—a true Renaissance writer and editor whose career spans novels, short stories, screenplays, editing, coaching, and helping other writers turn rough ideas into compelling books.

Mike talks to Mookie about the real mechanics of writing improvement. What’s the difference between line editing and developmental editing? Why do so many beginners overwrite? Why do some science fiction stories have amazing ideas but no human pulse? How do you preserve a writer’s unique voice while still making the work better? Should writers chase the market or chase their own vision? Mike offers a sharp framework—one for me, one for them. Write one project straight from obsession, then write one with readers in mind. It’s not compromise. It’s survival with dignity.

From there, things get gloriously nerdy. Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow, James Joyce, experimental fiction, screenplay discipline, youthful creative energy, the mystery of inspiration, and why some geniuses eventually disappear into their own exhaust fumes. They explore where ideas come from, why some people have too many, why others freeze at the blank page, and how writers need to keep feeding themselves with books, history, philosophy, science, technology, culture, and real life. Mike also shares insight into his own fiction—work blending horror, speculative concepts, psychology, cryptids, metaphysics, and the unstable border between reality and nightmare.

The Guest

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mike Robinson is the award-winning author of multiple novels and dozens of short stories, most of them speculative fiction. His work has appeared in Clarkesworld, The Strand Magazine, American Gothic Fantasy, Storyteller, ClonePod, December Tales II, Underland Arcana, Thirteen Podcast, Creepy Podcast and more, and has received honors from Writers of the Future, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Maxy Awards, The BookFest, Kindle Book Awards and others. His novel "Walking the Dusk" was a semifinalist for Book of the Year in Publishers Weekly's BookLife Prize.

He is also the editor of J.P. Barnett's bestselling "Lorestalker" series, and Dr. Zo's award-winning "TimeOuts" middle-grade series. As a book coach and senior editor with Wordsmith Writing Coaches, he co-created the New Author Plunge, a workshop for beginning writers. In addition, he's a copywriter (he worked on the Webby Award-winning podcast "Books That Make You"), an illustrator and award-winning screenwriter with two produced credits including "Blood Corral," selected as Best Horror Feature at the Skyehouse International Film Festival. Otherwise, he hikes (often with dogs), swims, draws, and tries to learn the didgeridoo.

His Website & Newsletter

Sign up for my monthly Weird / Wondrous / WriteLife newsletter on the home page: https://www.mike-robinsonauthor.com/

Pre-order Mike's Next Novel

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