357. Ruby Lovell Award Winning Journalist and International Bestselling Children’s Book Author
Ruby Lovell is an award-winning journalist, dynamic show host, and accomplished author whose career bridges the worlds of entertainment, media, and storytelling—making her the perfect guest for this podcast. Born in Sri Lanka, she has lived in the UK and the US and has traveled the world.
We originally met at the Hollywood Christmas Parade, where Ruby was a media attendee. Ruby next attended and brilliantly covered that year's Writers of the Future Awards gala, creating a wonderful video segment on the event with her acclaimed series Right On LA! with Ruby Lovell.
In this interview, we discuss her career as a journalist for the BBC and NTD News, her creation of a travel show sponsored by the BBC, and her transition into children’s book authorship.
358. Ian Randal Strock Talks the Amazing History of Punctuation
In the beginning, there was no punctuation.
Texts were written so that their letters ran together withnospacesorpunctuation and without any distinction between lowercase and capitals. It was up to the reader to discover where each word or sentence ended and the next began. Then, through orators and actors, marks were made to show pauses and stops and emphasis, and thus punctuation was born.
Ian Randal Strock is the perfect guest for this topic. As a successful editor, author, and publisher, he has taken it upon himself to thoroughly research the history of punctuation and why it is so important to literature. In this interview, Ian discusses his book Punctilious Punctuation, and how bad punctuation is an immediate turn-off for an editor or reader. This leads to the importance of knowing the rules before breaking them.
What is the solution for the current wave of language devaluing … especially as we witness on social media texting?
The back cover copy says you will laugh and you will cringe, and this is certainly true. So, enjoy this very fun episode.
BTW, ever wonder why commas and periods always must be inside quotation marks?
Learn more at ianrandalstrock.com.
Christina Hess is the Department Head of Illustration at Ringling College of Art & Design. In this interview, we discuss the value of art school and the impact of AI on art.
Christina is an illustrator known for blending historical and natural themes across a wide range of projects. Her portfolio includes everything from numismatic designs (the study of coins, tokens, medals, and paper money) to illustrated cookbooks, rendered in various media such as graphite, watercolor, oil, and digital.
Two 2026 United States coins will feature designs by Christina. The new quarter showcases scientist Dr. Vera Rubin. She also designed a new $1 coin depicting Native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui as part of the Native American $1 Coin Program.
Christina’s illustrations have been featured in publications such as the Society of Illustrators West, Spectrum Fantastic Art, ImagineFX, and 3x3 Magazine.
And if that’s not enough, she is a wonderful person, and her students at Ringling are extremely fortunate to have her!
Learn more at christinahess.com.
360. Patrick Kidder Created Sally Port Magazine to Help Creatives Share Their Stories
Patrick Kidder is the editor-in-chief of Sally Port Magazine. Kidder shares his journey to becoming a full-time writer and publisher, inspired by gaps in family-friendly fantasy fiction. Together with his wife, he founded Forever Mountain Publishing and launched Sally Port Magazine—named after a castle’s side door—to provide an accessible entry point for diverse voices.
The magazine specializes in clean fantasy stories suitable for all ages, emphasizing strong characters, layered narratives, and off-page handling of mature themes. Kidder discusses blind submissions, preferred lengths (5,000–9,000 words), themed issues, and his commitment to uplifting, hopeful tales without graphic content. The conversation also touches on editing practices, avoiding AI-generated work, and encouraging aspiring writers to submit to both Sally Port and the Writers of the Future Contest.
Learn more at sallyportmagazine.com.
361. Bob Boze Bell: America’s Western Storyteller and Executive Editor of True West Magazine
Bob Boze Bell has been a friend for over a decade and has provided various features on western titles by L. Ron Hubbard in True West Magazine. His work has appeared in Arizona Highways, Playboy, National Lampoon, the Arizona Republic, and True West Magazine. For ten years (2002–2012), he produced a video version of True West Moments, which aired on the Westerns Channel.
In this episode, we discuss what makes a Western story different from other genres, along with the role of research in good storytelling. Bob was ahead of the curve in using social media to grow the popularity of True West Magazine, which we also cover.
BBB can currently be seen on the series “Gunslingers,” which runs on the American Heroes Channel. Triple B is also the President and executive editor of True West Magazine, positions he has held since 1999.
He has written a dozen books on Old West characters, including Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as a three-part series (so far) on Classic Gunfights, which appear in True West.
Learn more about Bob and True West Magazine at blog.truewestmagazine.com.
362. Alan Smale: Writing Intense Alternate History Techno Thrillers
Alan Smale is an astrophysicist and award-winning author (including Writers of the Future Volume 13) who recently retired from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center after decades of groundbreaking work. Holding a Bachelor’s in Physics and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Oxford University, Alan moved to the U.S. in the late 1980s to collaborate with NASA.
Three years ago, Alan joined the podcast to discuss Hot Moon, the thrilling launch of his alternate-history Apollo Rising series. This interview celebrates the release of Burning Night, the conclusion to the trilogy.
We discuss the series’blend of meticulous historical accuracy and bold “what-if” speculation, vividly recreating the high-stakes tension of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry in the 1970s and 1980s—this time extended to a secret lunar battlefield. Alan also shares insights on L. Ron Hubbard’s 1948 short story “240,000 Miles Straight Up,” an eerily prescient tale of superpower conflict on the Moon.
Whether you’re a space history buff, a Cold War enthusiast, or a fan of hard-SF alternate history, this episode explores how real science, real geopolitics, and imaginative fiction collide in one of the most ambitious near-future series in recent years.
Learn more at alansmale.com.
363. Kevin J. Anderson: From Bestselling Author to Director of a Publishing Graduate Program
Kevin J. Anderson is one of the rarest of creatives. As a writer, he started from the bottom and worked his way up to become an internationally bestselling author of over 190 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He then became a publisher—Wordfire Press. Following this, he co-created the Superstars Writing Workshop. He is now also the director of a Publishing Graduate Program at Western Colorado University—the subject of this interview.
Kevin has also been a Writers of the Future judge for over 25 years and a very trusted partner helping with the growth of the Contest.
Learn more at wordfire.com.
364. Q&A with Writers of the Future First Readers
Writers of the Future first readers Leah Ning, Martin Shoemaker, Eric James Stone, and Coordinating Judge Jody Lynn Nye answer questions submitted by Contest entrants on what is looked for in stories submitted to the Contest. What excites them. What turns them off. What determines an Honorable Mention, Silver Honorable Mention, and Finalist. How stories are handled in genres that aren’t their favorite. And dozens of other questions.
365. Storm Michael Humbert and His Missed-Fits Anthology Book Project
Missed-Fits: A Calendar of Fools Anthology is a celebration of stories that don’t fit as flash, short story, or novella lengths, yet are awesome stories.
In the world of short fiction publishing, word count often dictates destiny: flash fiction thrives under 1,000 words, while traditional short stories typically land between 3,000 and 7,500 words to find welcoming markets. But what about the tales that fall into the awkward in-between—longer than flash yet too brief for many standard slots? These "misfit" stories, intriguing, powerful, and fully realized, often get overlooked simply because they don't match the expected lengths.
Calendar of Fools, the small press founded by Writers of the Future alumni, aims to change that. Following the success of their previous anthology, Intergalactic Rejects—which gave rejected gems a second life—Missed-Fits provides a dedicated home for these literary oddities.
This collection gathers brief, compelling visions from award-winning authors and emerging voices alike. The stories are fast reads that explore themes of incompatibility, things that are missing or out of place, and the beauty of narratives that don't quite belong. They prove that great storytelling isn't confined by arbitrary categories.
This podcast episode announces the Kickstarter for this project. If it succeeds, an open call will invite submissions of these awkward-length tales to join with stories from established anchor writers.
For readers, Missed-Fits offers a treasury of unique, otherwise-unpublished stories that slip between the cracks of conventional markets but deserve to be discovered. For writers, it's an invitation to embrace the unconventional lengths and let the story dictate its own size.
Learn more by visiting www.kickstarter.com/projects/calendaroffools/missed-fits-a-calendar-of-fools-anthology
366. Mike Sheffield, Chair of the Heinlein Scholarship Committee for Science Students
Mike Sheffield is a 35-year Senior Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman Space Systems and a former U.S. Air Force Electronic Warfare Specialist. A passionate sci-fi fan, Mike joined the Heinlein Society in 2001, chaired its blood drive committee until 2010, has led the scholarship committee since 2012, served on the board from 2006–2014, and was the fourth Chair and President for its final four years.
He discusses his love for science fiction, the origins of Heinlein-inspired blood drives at conventions (starting 1999 NASFiC), participation tips, the Heinlein for Heroes veteran book program, connections between L. Ron Hubbard and Robert A. Heinlein, thoughts on Final Blackout and Battlefield Earth, his favorite Heinlein works, the Writers of the Future legacy, and a message for global listeners.
