The Fantasy Inn Podcast

104: TJ Klune

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author TJ Klune about Heartsong, his latest book from Tor Books, and Somewhere Beyond the Sea, his upcoming book in September 2024. ...

103: Brian McClellan

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Brian McClellan about In The Shadow Of Lightning, the first book of his new epic fantasy series from Tor Books. From...

102: John Scalzi Interview

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction author John Scalzi about The Kaiju Preservation Society, a standalone novel from Tor Books. It's a fast-paced, fun ...

101: Vanessa Len Interview

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Vanessa Len about Only A Monster, her debut novel from HarperTeen. With the sweeping romance of Passenger and the dark fantas...

100: Peng Shepherd Interview

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Peng Shepherd about The Cartographers, her latest standalone novel from William Morrow. From the critically acclaimed author ...

99: Lauren Panepinto

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews Lauren Panepinto, Creative Director of Orbit Books, about book design and more. Lauren and Travis discuss how a book cover gets made...

98: Reading Problematically

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Let's talk about problematic books and our problematic reading habits. What could go wrong? Want your message featured on the podcast? Find out more h...

97: Fonda Lee Interview

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Fonda Lee about Jade Legacy, the third and final book in the award-winning Green Bone Saga trilogy from Orbit Books. The epic...

96: Josiah Bancroft Interview

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Josiah Bancroft about The Fall of Babel, the fourth and final book in his highly acclaimed Books of Babel series published by...

95: Freya Marske Interview

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Freya Marske about her debut fantasy novel, A Marvellous Light, which is available now from Tordotcom. Red White & Royal ...

94: Melissa Caruso Interview

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Melissa Caruso about the second book in her Rooks and Ruin trilogy, The Quicksilver Court, which is available now from Orbit ...

93: John Gwynne Interview

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author John Gwynne about the first entry in his new Bloodsworn Saga from Orbit Books, The Shadow of the Gods. In a Norse-inspired wo...

92: Joe Abercrombie Interview

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Joe Abercrombie about the final book in his Age of Madness trilogy from Orbit Books, The Wisdom of Crowds. Some say that to c...

91: Xiran Jay Zhao Interview

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Xiran Jay Zhao about their debut novel, Iron Widow. Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this science fantasy reimagining...

90: C.S. Pacat Interview

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author C.S. Pacat about the first book in her new fantasy trilogy, Dark Rise. From the acclaimed author of the Captive Prince series...

89: Cameron Johnston Interview

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Cameron Johnston about his latest fantasy novel, The Maleficent Seven. This standalone fantasy from Angry Robot features a te...

88: Lauren Shippen Interview

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author and podcaster Lauren Shippen about her third Bright Sessions novel, Some Faraway Place. This standalone story from Tor Teen f...

87: Shelley Parker-Chan Interview

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Shelley Parker-Chan about their debut novel, She Who Became the Sun, the first book of The Radiant Emperor duology from Tor B...

86: Claire North Interview

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis Interviews author Claire North about Notes from the Burning Age, a standalone climate thriller from Orbit Books. From one of the most imaginati...

85: Megan E. O'Keefe Interview

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Megan E. O'Keefe about Catalyst Gate, the thrilling conclusion to The Protectorate space opera trilogy from Orbit Books. The ...

84: Tasha Suri Interview

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Tasha Suri about The Jasmine Throne, the first book in her now Burning Kingdoms trilogy from Orbit Books. This epic fantasy f...

83: Fifty Shades of Grey Morality

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We like to discuss morally grey characters all the time, but all have a slightly different definition for what "morally grey" even means. So what exac...

82: Suyi Davies Okungbowa Interview

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Suyi Davies Okungbowa about Son of the Storm, the first book in his new Nameless Republic trilogy from Orbit Books. This epic...

81: Victoria Aveyard Interview

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Victoria Aveyard about Realm Breaker, the first book in her new series from HarperTeen. This epic fantasy begins where hope i...

80: Gabriela Houston Interview

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Gabriela Houston about her debut novel, The Second Bell. This standalone fantasy novel from Angry Robot follows a young strig...

Announcement: Release Schedule

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I (Travis) am going to be a dad in September and have been thinking on how to restructure the podcast given my soon-to-be nonexistent free time. With ...

79: All About Book Promotion

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We love talking about books, and it makes our week to hear someone picked up a book based on us promoting it. So how do we promote books? Which method...

78: (Patreon Bonus #2) Memorable Conventions

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for our second bonus episode! This time, we asked authors to share some of their favorite stories from conventions they've attended. There's...

77: Elizabeth Knox Interview

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Elizabeth Knox about their latest fantasy novel, The Absolute Book. This bewitching epic fantasy from Penguin Michael Joseph ...

76: C. L. Clark Interview

16 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author C. L. Clark about their debut fantasy novel, The Unbroken. In this epic fantasy from Orbit Books, two women clash in a world ...

75: E. J. Beaton Interview

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author E. J. Beaton about her debut fantasy novel, The Councillor. This Machiavellian fantasy from DAW Books follows a scholar’s q...

74: Podcast Critics Roundtable w/ Elena Fernández Collins & Wil Williams

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we're joined by podcasters Elena Fernández Collins and Wil Williams. Between the two of them, they wear the hats of podcast critic, host, l...

73: Sarah Gailey Interview

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Sarah Gailey about their latest book, The Echo Wife. This standalone thriller from Tor Books features a brilliant scientist w...

72: T. Frohock Interview

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author T. Frohock about her latest book from Harper Voyager, A Song With Teeth. It's the third novel in the Los Nefilim series, whic...

71: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water: Part 1

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dan and Luke from the Don't Call it a Book Club podcast join Travis to discuss Zen Cho's novella, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. We'd ...

70: Let's Talk About Legend (A Fictional Conversation Crossover)

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week the hosts of A Fictional Conversation join Travis to discuss the 1985 film Legend. This episode covers full spoilers! We also discuss the or...

69: Editor Roundtable w/ Diana Pho and Nivia Evans

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Editors play a crucial role in creating the books we love. They acquire books for publishers and help authors polish their manuscripts into the wonder...

68: Mike Chen Interview

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction author Mike Chen about his latest book from MIRA books, We Could Be Heroes. It's a standalone story where a superher...

67: M.A. Carrick Interview

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms about their latest book from Orbit Books, The Mask of Mirrors. Marie and Alyc are writing the R...

66: Our Most Anticipated Books of 2021

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After at least a decade, 2020 is over! With a little luck, 2021 will be a better and brighter year for all of us. If nothing else, there are certainly...

65: Our Favorite Books of 2020

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

`Tis the season... for Best Of lists! We'll be posting a separate blog post for our collective favorite reads of the year later, but for now we have S...

64: Jordan Cobb Interview

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews actor and podcaster Jordan Cobb about her newest audio fiction show, Primordial Deep from No Such Thing Productions. The show's tagl...

63: Sam Hawke Interview

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Sam Hawke about her latest book, Hollow Empire, out now from Tor Books. This concludes the Poison War duology, which ...

62: Jonathan Sims Interview

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews podcaster and author Jonathan Sims about his debut novel, Thirteen Storeys from Gollancz. The book follows the tenants of a haunted ...

61: How to Run an Online Convention

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This year has seen an explosion of online science fiction and fantasy conventions. Existing conventions were forced to switch to a virtual format, new...

60: V.E. Schwab Interview

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author V.E. Schwab about her latest book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue from Tor Books. The book follows the story of an immorta...

59: Anna Stephens Interview

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Anna Stephens about The Stone Knife, the first book in The Songs of the Drowned trilogy from Harper Voyager. It's set...

58: Essa Hansen Interview

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author and sound designer Essa Hansen about Nophek Gloss, her debut space opera from Orbit Books. It has a bit of everything: an epi...

57: Christopher Paolini Interview

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Christopher Paolini about To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, the first Fractalverse novel from Tor Books. Paolini's debut science fi...

56: What Makes a Great Character?

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's all in the title really: what makes a great character? This week, the Fantasy Inn tries to work out their feelings on the topic. Things Mentione...

55: R.F. Kuang Interview

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author R.F. Kuang about The Burning God, the final novel in The Poppy War trilogy from Harper Voyager. The series reimagines the Sec...

54: Yoon Ha Lee Interview

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews author Yoon Ha Lee about Phoenix Extravagant, his latest novel from Solaris Books. This standalone story follows a nonbinary painter...

53: Alix E. Harrow Interview

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Alix E. Harrow about The Once and Future Witches, her latest novel from Redhook. This standalone story follows three ...

52: P. Djèlí Clark Interview

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author P. Djèlí Clark about Ring Shout, his newest novella from Tordotcom. It follows three Black women in the 1920s as th...

51: (Patreon Bonus #1) The Books We Love

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for our first bonus episode! We've been promising to release one as soon as we reach $25 on Patreon, and we finally hit it! Thank you so muc...

50: C.L. Polk Interview

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author C.L. Polk about their latest novel, The Midnight Bargain. It's a standalone fantasy of manners story from Erewhon Boo...

49: Andrea Stewart Interview

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Andrea Stewart about her latest novel, The Bone Shard Daughter. It's the first book in a new epic fantasy series from...

48: Karen Osborne Interview

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction author Karen Osborne about her debut novel, Architects of Memory. It's the first book in the new cinematic space ope...

47: How We Talk About Books

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you enjoy reading fantasy books. You may also like talking about fantasy books... or at least listenin...

46: Reading Outside the Fantasy Genre

25 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Fantasy Inn is rather fond of fantasy books... it's in the name. But when and why do we read outside the fantasy genre? After all, there are so ma...

45: Let's Talk About Titles

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s topic is speculative fiction titles. As in, the actual names of fantasy and science fiction books. What makes a book title jump out at u...

44: Django Wexler Interview

11 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Django Wexler about his latest novel, Ashes of the Sun. It follows two siblings on opposite sides of a magical war, k...

43: Linden A. Lewis Interview

04 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction author Linden A. Lewis about their debut novel, The First Sister. Out today from Skybound Books, The First Sister is...

42: Talking 1 Million Members with r/Fantasy

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The fantasy subreddit at fantasy.reddit.com is one of the largest—if not the largest—online speculative fiction communities in the world. It recen...

41: Cole Burkhardt Interview

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews podcaster Cole Burkhardt about their science fiction audio drama, Null/Void. The story follows a young woman and her friends as they...

40: Jonathan Strahan Interview

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews editor Jonathan Strahan about his latest fantasy anthology, The Book of Dragons. It collects stories of dragons from all over the wo...

39: Kate Elliott Interview

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction and fantasy author Kate Elliott about her latest book, Unconquerable Sun. The book kicks off the space opera series ...

38: Speculative Social Media

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of the great things about being a speculative fiction fan in the last couple of decades is the ability to discuss any book, game, movie, etc. you ...

37: S.A. Chakraborty Interview

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author S.A. Chakraborty about concluding her debut trilogy with The Empire of Gold, the final novel in the Daevabad series. ...

36: K.A. Doore Interview

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author K.A. Doore about concluding her debut trilogy with The Unconquered City, the final novel in The Chronicles of Ghadid ...

35: Mood Reads & Book Slumps

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mood reading and book slumps are two topics that come up often in the book community. Sometimes it's hard to stick to a reading schedule and we read w...

34: Rowenna Miller Interview

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Rowenna Miller about concluding her debut trilogy with Rule, the final novel in The Unraveled Kingdom historical fant...

33: Fantastic Beasts & Animal Companions

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's something wonderful about animal companions in fantasy, magical or not. We'd love to do a deep dive into why these friendly critters capture o...

32: Lindsay Smith Interview

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Lindsay Smith about her latest project, Marvel's Black Widow: Bad Blood series from Serial Box. Lindsay Smith is the ...

31: Martha Wells Interview

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews science fiction and fantasy author Martha Wells about her latest novel, Network Effect. It's the first full-length novel in the Murd...

30: Audiobooks

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Books on tape have been around for half a century, but audiobooks have exploded in popularity in the last decade. What is the appeal of the audio form...

29: Comfort Reads

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of the many wonderful things about being a book lover is the ability to lose one's self in a "comfort read." Whether that means a light and fluffy...

28: Jared Shurin Interview

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews editor Jared Shurin about his latest anthology, The Best of British Fantasy 2019. The anthology series is dedicated to featuring the...

27: Worldbuilding w/ Tasha Suri & K.S. Villoso

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The many varied and fantastic worlds in which speculative fiction stories are set are one of the primary draws of the genre. Fans often rave about the...

26: Book Cover Design w/ Felix Ortiz & Michael R. Fletcher

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The phrase "Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover" rarely applies toward actual books. Most of us have seen a cover in a bookstore or online and immediately...

25: Fantasy Entry Points w/ The Legendarium

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Travis is joined by Craig from The Legendarium for a two-parter episode on fantasy entry points. In this episode, they talk about which boo...

24: Chris Magilton Interview

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews audio drama creator Chris Magilton about Among the Stars and Bones, a science fiction story following a team of xenoarchaelogists as...

23: Fear of Missing Out (On Books)

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

That new book you've been excited about for months just released, but by the time you've finished all three of your current reads... everyone you know...

22: Trading Tomes w/ Daniel Greene

03 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Travis traded tomes with Daniel Greene: prominent BookTuber, Wheel of Time aficionado, and connoisseur of all things fantasy. Daniel sugges...

21: K.S. Villoso Interview

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author K.S. Villoso about her latest book, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. They talk about the power of family, the difference betwee...

20: Romance in Fantasy

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In one of our longest episodes yet, Sara, Jenia, and Travis still only scratch the surface of fantasy romance. What's the difference between romance a...

19: Anna Smith Spark Interview

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Anna Smith Spark about her latest book, The House of Sacrifice, which marks the conclusion of her debut grimdark fant...

18: Devin Madson Interview

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Devin Madson about her latest book, We Ride the Storm. They talk about respectful decapitations, applying the scienti...

17: Non-Book SFF

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We mostly talk about books at The Fantasy Inn. But we love all things fantasy, so this episode we discuss... all things SFF that aren't books. For an ...

16: Historically Accurate Fantasy w/ Daniel Olesen

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Daniel Olesen about the historical details writers get wrong about medieval Europe, how to properly research and port...

15: The Elder Empire by Will Wight

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Calvin from the Under a Pile of Books podcast joins Travis in discussing Will Wight's Elder Empire series. The series is composed of two parallel tril...

14: What Makes a Favorite?

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

To close out the year, the Fantasy Inn dives into what exactly makes a favorite book stand out among the many stories we read. Why do some books leave...

13: Timandra Whitecastle Interview

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Timandra Whitecastle about her new novel, Queens of the Wyrd. They talk about how to grow an audience as a self-publi...

12: The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kristen from the Superstardrifter blog joins Travis and Sara to squee about The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards. It's a high-magic urban fantasy mystery taki...

11: Orphan Black Interview

03 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews writers Heli Kennedy and Eugene (E.C. Myers) about their role in Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, a serialized science fiction story ...

10: Hugos & Other Awards

26 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you're a fan of speculative fiction you might recognize certain awards like the Hugo, Nebula, or Locus. But how are winning books determined? And w...

9: Laura Hughes Interview

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Laura Hughes (aka Demi Harper) about her debut LitRPG novel, God of Gnomes. They talk about games, books, blogging, a...

8: Reading Challenges

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As if reading wasn't chaotic enough, this week we talk about reading challenges. What are they, which ones do we participate in, and what books are we...

7: Jonathan French Interview

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Travis interviews fantasy author Jonathan French about his new book, The True Bastards. They take you behind the scenes on what it's like to transitio...

6: Books on a Budget

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Inn discusses how to read without completely breaking the bank. We cover libraries, audiobooks, secondhand stores and more, all with a global audi...