Send us a text We’re closing out our (very) loose trilogy of episodes devoted to sinister schools and magical children. This week it involves pentagrams and witch-burnings, which are always a good time. Our guest, Stephen Lloyd, is better known for his comedy than his horror. He has spent a career crafting some of the biggest sitcoms of the century (some of which helped my marriage survive lockdown). Now, he has turned his pen to something much less wholesome, in his first novel, Friend of the Devil. We talk about Satanism and D&D and the aftermath of Vietnam – all that stuff that made the 80s such a goddamn fun decade for so many. But we also look at how those tendrils reach into the present set of existential crises. Socio-political shi*tshows aside, Stephen discusses the difference between writing horror and writing comedy, he explains the inner workings of a TV writer’s room – and how penning a novel in isolation is a whole other thing. I even ask him for advice on screenwriting, because my ill-conceived ambition knows no bounds… Enjoy! Friend of the Devil was published on May 30th by G.P. Putnam Other books discussed in this episode include: The Book of the New Sun (1980-83), by Gene Wolf Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (1979), by Syd Field Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983), by William Goldman Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to [email protected] Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.