All posts by jdsawyer

After a childhood in academia, J. Daniel Sawyer declared his independence by dropping out of high school and setting off on a series of adventures in the bowels of the film industry, the venture capital culture of silicon valley, surfing safaris, bohemians, burners, historians, theologians, adventurers, climbers, drug dealers, gangbangers, and inventors before his past finally caught up to him. Trapped in a world bookended by one wall falling in Berlin and other walls going up around suburbia and along national borders throughout the world, he rediscovered his deep love of history and, with it, and obsession with predicting the future as it grew aggressively out of the past. To date, this obsession has yielded over thirty books and innumerable short stories, the occasional short film, nearly a dozen podcasts stretching over a decade and a half, and a career creating novels and audiobooks exploring the world through the lens of his own peculiar madness, in the depths of his own private forest in a rural exile, where he uses the quiet to write, walk on the beach, and manage a production company that brings innovative stories to the ears of audiences across the world. For news and free stories, sign up for his occasional newsletter. Or find his contact info, podcasts, and more on his home page at http://www.jdsawyer.net

Predestination, Episode 20

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Between planets, stuck on a ship with Doug Reeves, can Cassy hold it together long enough to make it to Nineveh?

Christiana Ellis, author of Nina Kimberly the Merciless, brings us the Story So Far.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Predestination, Episode 19

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Brittany is back, doing her best to hold things together in the wake of a national emergency during Cassy’s absence. Meanwhile, Doug sorts through his options while Joss secures some insurance for himself.

P.C. Haring, author of Cybrosis, brings us the Story So Far.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Michael Lemonjello as Alphonse and Xylar

Lynx Crowe as Trent Alcock

Elizabeth Rossi as Charis Chandlay

Philippa Ballantine as Brittany Hydra

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The Computer

Dealing In, Episode Six pt 1


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Heya Everyone, episode six of dealing in is here. Due to my long absence a LOT of feedback had piled up. This one’s an hour long, and it’s part one of two or three. My cohorts and I deal with an epic email from a former drunk emailer, now sober, we talk Marxist social theory, and we take on some very probing listener questions and some of the most creative death threats yet. Enjoy!

Topics Mentioned:
Trucker Rich
Cybrosis
Into The Blender podcast
The Polyschizmatic Reprobates Hour
The Metamor City Podcast
J. Michael Straczynski
Digital Magic by Philippa Ballantine
09.09.09
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Gail Carriger’s new novel Soulless
Death By Cliché by Bob Defendi

Dealing in, Episode 4 pt 3 of 3 (sex roundtable)


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Part three of the Sex Roundtable is here. This time, we tackle questions of sexual identity — both in how the authors relate to the characters and in how the characters define themselves.

Special thanks to both Chris Lester and Philippa Ballantine for joining me on this racy odyssey — it’s been a blast!

Predestination, Episode 18

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While Jim and Ali chase down their job on Mars, their employer, Mr. Douglas Reeves, lays his plans for the future of the Lunar resistance.

Philippa Ballantine, author of Weather Child, brings us the Story So Far. This week’s in-show promo is for her new book.

If you’re in the San Francisco Area, join myself, Chris Lester, Seth Harwood, and Scott Sigler at the House of Shields for drinks and discussion at 5pm on Sat the 21st. You can find more info and directions here.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Erin Balabanian as Alysaa Hartman

Brian Levy as Jim Hartman

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Lorien Wheeler as Jade Orin

Predestination, Episode 17

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Percy Scott has some loose ends to tie up, which Joss Kyle has some plans to lay. Neither of them is aware of Bill Shelley’s plans, or how they’re about to make a splash in a big way. Then again, neither does his one-time friend and mentor, Douglas Reeves..

Christiana Ellis join our cast tonight as a pinch hitter. Kitty Nic’iaian, the co-producer of Antithesis also known as Hera Flea of The Polyschizmatic Reprobates Hour, brings us the Story So Far.

This week’s in-show promo is for Scott Sigler and Seth Harwood’s Author Boot Camp. Use the code “Scott1” when registering to get over $100 off the registration price.
Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Chris Lester as Greg Singh

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Lynx Crowe as Trent Alcock

Christianna Ellis as Charis Chandlay

Kitty Nic’Iaian as the Junior Senator from Massachusetts

Nathan Lowell as Senator Wilhelm Shelley

Predestination, Episode 16

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With Cassy and Joss now suspicious of one another, and the Hartmans at each other’s throats on Mars, the powderkeg is primed. Tonight, the first spark falls.

Kim the Comic Book Goddess and Heather Welliver join our cast tonight, while Dalya Massachi of of Writing for Community Success brings us the Story So Far.

This week’s in-show promo is for The Leviathan Chronicles.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Kim The Comic Book Goddess as Val

Brian Levy as Jim

Erin Balabanian as Ali

Heather Welliver as Shayna Takahashi

Lorien Wheeler as Jade

Interview at PodSyndicate.com

I’ve been interviewed in some depth over at PodSyndicate.com. Please head on over and comment! Here’s an excerpt:

The first book in the series, Predestination, deals with rigged poker games. Do you play? What did you learn from personal experiences that played a key role in creating scenarios in your book?

I’m actually pretty rusty, but at the time I wrote the first draft I played a lot, and had been playing for years. I got started when I was about ten, when an uncle of mine who was a low-level diplomat explained the nature of his job to me by saying “If you know how to play poker, and you know how to play chess, then you have the basic skills it takes to do diplomacy.” I was the kind of kid that viewed that sort of statement as a challenge, so within about two months I had a regular poker game going in my garage with my siblings and other neighborhood kids – we played for M&Ms or other types of kid-gold because we weren’t allowed to play for money. I kept on playing right through college on a daily-to-monthly basis, but since college it’s been hard to find people willing to play for stakes I can afford.

Read the rest here!