Cassandra talks all about horror, researching gore, the anxiety surrounding releasing new work, and their inclusion of Malaysian folklore and mythos in their writing.

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Show Notes

TW: Horror and gore

Horror writer extraordinaire Cassandra Khaw joins me on the podcast this week chatting all about researching for their visceral horror writing, the impact and inclusion of Malaysian mythos and folklore in their work, and how the pandemic has affected not only their daily life, but also their writing. We chat about how horror can be a comforting experience for the reader and how the writing process can be cathartic. Also haggis and the boob ghost Hantu Tetek.

Cassandra has two new books coming out this year which are linked below.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth available 17th October
The All-Consuming World available 21st September 2021
Cassandra’s website
Cassandra’s Twitter

Things mentioned in the episode:
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
Rupert Wong: Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey
Sophie Kinsella
Frances Hardinge
Holly Black
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Bloodtide by Melvyn Burgess
Travelogues: Vignettes from Trains in Motion by Kathleen Jennings
Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney
Desdemona and the Deep by C. S. E. Cooney
These Deathless Bones by Cassandra Khaw (link to audio)
Don’t Turn On The Lights by Cassandra Khaw (link to audio)

I chat with Professor Gloria Mark and Tyler Shores about digital wellbeing.

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Show Notes

I chat with the marvellous Professor Gloria Mark and Tyler Shores all about the idea of digital wellbeing. We take a dive into the world of digital shorthand, how emotions can be contagious over digital media and the effects that task switching has on the brain. Tyler chats about how multitasking and busyness can be seen as a sort of badge of honour and why that is problematic, and we end up with a fun discussion on the value of boredom and what we all do with our browser tabs.

Gloria’s website
Tyler’s website

Things mentioned in the episode:
The Zeigarnik Effect (handy little article on this)
Browser tab parking (handy little study)
BBC values based wellbeing framework
The Now Habit by Neil Fiore
Tabs by Ohm-I

Anna discusses her love of southern gothic, how reading aloud gives her great pleasure, and how mental health is affected by reading and writing.

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Show Notes

I chat with the lovely author, teacher, mentor, and mental health advocate Anna Vaught all about bibliotherapy, southern gothic, reading aloud, and mentoring. We discuss her love for poetry and horror stories, mental health and the myth of recovery, and the difficulties involved in being editied.

There’s a small trigger warning as we lightly discuss trauma in this episode

Anna’s Twitter
Anna’s website
Anna on The Bookseller

Things mentioned in the episode:
Out of the Darkness anthology
Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Depression: The Way Out of Your Prison by Dorothy Rowe
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
William Faulkner
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
Influx
Galley Beggar
Charles Dickens

Jordi talks all about bibliotherapy and his new book, Book Therapy. Lots of beautiful deep thoughts about the power of books on the mind and soul.

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Show Notes

I chat with fabulous publisher and author Jordi Nadal all about bibliotherapy and his new book, Book Therapy. Jordi is incredibly eloquent on the subject and if you aren’t quite sure what bibliotherapy is this really does strike right at its core. A beautiful, thoughtful episode I hope you love as much as I do.

Jordi’s new book, Book Therapy

Authors and books mentioned in the episode:
F Scott Fitzgerald
James Salter
Elena Ferrante
The First Man by Albert Camus
Man in the Search of Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Chekhov
Natalia Ginzburg
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Octavio Paz
Groucho Marx
Virginia Woolf

Liam chats about the power of comics in the first part of this interview and in the second on how books and writing helped his mental health, as well as the importance of bringing iconic characters to life.

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Show Notes

Part One: I chat with comics artist, writer, and novelist Liam Sharp about the therapeutic effects of reading and the power of comics in this, the first part of our interview.
Liam does a wonderful deep dive into the world of drawing comics and mental health.

Liam’s website
Liam’s Twitter

So many comic creators and writers were mentioned I hope I have covered them all!
Grant Morrison
Philip Larkin
The Boys
Garth Ennis
Marlon Brando
Elektra Assassin
Stray Toaster
Bill Sienkiewicz
Green Lantern
Dave Gibbons 
Neil Adams

Part Two: In this second part of my interview with Liam we go into detail about Liam’s struggles with mental health, how writing and reading helped him and how carefully he worked on Wonder Woman knowing how important a character she is to so many people.
We also chat about the huge success of Liam’s kickstarter campaign and how unexpected and life changing it will be for him. To have readers so visibly show their love and support has been incredible.

Liam’s website
Liam’s Twitter

More comics and creators mentioned here!
Wonder Woman
Greg Rucka
Arkham Asylum
Dave McKean

I chat with renowned penetration tester Tinker Secor about information security awareness, how malicious hackers think, and how he made himself incredibly ill by attempting to push through burnout. We discuss how security and safety are becoming increasingly entwined and how important it is to take care of your mental and physical health and understand the perils of burnout.

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Show Notes

I chat with Tinker Secor former US Marine and penetration tester in information security and current security tester in Industrial Control Systems and Operational Technology. We chat about the role infosec has and it’s importance as well as the pressure the work puts on staff. Tinker discusses his experience of severe burnout that lead to an FND diagnosis and how important it is for management to take care of staff. We finish up with a brief chat about how security and safety are becoming intrinsically linked in the worl of OT and how online security is an ever changing set of goalposts that many people work very hard to keep up with.

This is a great journey through the perils of burnout and trying to push through it as well as a dive into the hidden world of infosec – something we all brush up against on a daily basis without realising.

Tinker Secor on Twitter

Malware Tech on Twitter
Malware Tech blog
Dallas Hackers Association
Dallas Hackers Association Twitter
Mental Health Hackers

Ram talks all about how he became a comics writer and why he feels that more representation is needed in the industry.

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Show Notes

I chat with award winning comic writer Ram V this week all about how he fell into writing for comics and his interesting journey into reading comics. We discuss how comics are subtle or not so subtle pieces of social commentary, how representation and  new takes on classic characters is essential for the future of comics.

Links to:
Ram’s website
Ram’s Twitter

Works and creators mentioned in the episode:
Joe Abercrombie
Jon Delillo
Bill Sienkiewicz
Liam Sharp
Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Black Mumba by Ram V
Alan Moore
Swamp Thing by Alan Moore
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Essex County Trilogy by Jeff Lemire
Underwater Welder by Jeff Lemire
The Picture of Everything Else by Dan Watters
Pluto by Naoki Urasawa
20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa

Bonnie talks about her love of books and illustration, how she sees pictures as she reads, and how reading brings her joy.

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Show Notes

This week I chat with illustrator and artist Bonnie Hawkins. We discuss how reading has saved her life, how illustrations appear in her head as she reads, her love of illustrated books, and whether drawing is therapeutic.

An absolutely delightful episode with so much joy and beautiful books!
Do go check out:
Bonnie’s website
Bonnie’s Twitter
The 52 Crows Project

This week’s episode artwork is the drawing that started Bonnie’s illustration career.

Works and people mentioned in the episode
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Fairies by Brian Froud and Alan Lee
Masquerade by Kit Williams
Grimm’s Fairytales Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
The Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb
The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb
PJ Lynch
East o’ the Sun West o’ the Moon
Alan Lee

I chat with Sarah Howell, Head of HR at Creative Assembly, and Sarah and Rosie from the charity Safe in Our World all about the importance of looking after mental health in the workplace and how best to create an encouraging space to increase diversity and inclusion in the gaming industry.

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Show Notes

I chat with Head of HR at the award winning games developer Creative Assembly, Sarah Howell, alongside Sarah and Rosie from Safe in Our World, a videogames specific mental health charity.

We discuss the importance of wellbeing in an industry that is rife with burnout and crunch, what support is available both at CA and SIOW, the difficulty of working from home and how to move forward with flexible working conditions, and we finish up with a great discussion on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the industry and what CA do to help improve this area and be the change we want to see.

Creative Assembly Legacy Project
Safe in Our World
Black Girl Gamers
Autistica
POC in Play

Martin chats about open access and health, what therapeutic reading actually is and how Martin’s inner critic is always with him when he reads.

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Show Notes

This week I chat with Prof Martin Eve about what therapeutic reading actually means when you look hard at it and how writing can be significantly more therapeutic at times. We discuss the wellbeing benefits of Open Access publishing, the fears surrounding it, and how entwined the nature of the literary critic is for Martin when he reads.

Works and Authors mentioned in the episode:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Brett Easton-Ellis
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchen
See Under: Love by David Grossman
China Mieville
The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien
Civilisation and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
Lesley Thompson
Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy) by Tade Thompson
The Day of the Triffids by Jeff Wyndham
Distant Horizons by Ted Underwood
Redlining Culture by Richard Jean So
Toni Morrison