SFF Addicts
Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly
SFF Addicts is a weekly sci-fi, fantasy and writing craft podcast co-hosted by authors Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly, bringing you interviews and masterclasses with your favorite SFF authors.
The full episode archive, as well as book reviews and essays, can be found at https://fanfiaddict.com. You can also subscribe to the FanFiAddict YouTube channel or follow us on Spotify, where all episodes are available in full video.
The full episode archive, as well as book reviews and essays, can be found at https://fanfiaddict.com. You can also subscribe to the FanFiAddict YouTube channel or follow us on Spotify, where all episodes are available in full video.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 2, 2025 • 2h 18min
Ep. 183: Our Favorite Reads of 2025 *LIVE* (with Talking Story & OWWR Pod)
The end of 2025 is upon us, and that means it's time to discuss our favorite reads of the year! Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn & Greta Kelly as they reminisce on the year that was with friends John & Jakob Minton from Talking Story and Hannah & Laura from OWWR Pod. During the panel, they share and discuss their top SFFH reads from this year (2 each for a total of 14), as well as their honorable mentions. And of course, many shenanigans ensue.NOTE: This is the last SFF Addicts episode of the year. Thank you all for the support and see you in 2026!LIST OF OUR TOP BOOKS OF 2025:The Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerLightfall by Ed CrockerThe Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny WurtsEntwined by H.M. LongThe Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose UtomiJade War by Fonda LeeA Mouthful of Dust by Nghi VoThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. SchwabThe Everlasting by Alix E. HarrowPiranesi by Susanna ClarkeOrconomics by J. Zachary PikeThe City in Glass by Nghi VoThe Autumn War by Daniel AbrahamThe Woods All Black by Lee MandeloSHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- On Patreon- Rate and reviewEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUESTS:John & Jakob Minton are two-thirds of the J.A.J. Minton pen name, whose debut novel Discovery released in 2025. They also run the Talking Story YouTube channel.Find them on YouTube, Instagram, Amazon and their author website.Hannah & Laura are the co-hosts of OWWR Pod (On Wednesdays We Read).Find them on Bluesky, Instagram and the podcast website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by Divion
Nov 25, 2025 • 1h 14min
Ep. 182: Heroism & Villainy with Christopher Ruocchio (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Heroism & Villainy with author Christopher Ruocchio. During the episode, Christopher treads the fine line of morality, delving into how we define heroes and villains, moral ambiguity vs. complexity, laying the foundations for your heroes and villains, establishing the moral framework of your story, character relatability, motivations vs. justifying actions, threats to your characters, how characters can shift over time and more.NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Christopher. Click here to check out part one.OUR SPONSOR:Transference by Ian Patterson is a sci-fi dystopia that dissects what it means to be human in a city where diseases can be transferred.Purchase it here in eBook and paperback.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- On Patreon- Rate and reviewEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Christopher Ruocchio is the bestselling author of the Sun Eater series and more.Find Christopher on Instagram, Amazon and his personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Corporate Advertising Music" by SigmaMusicArt / "Synthetic Deception" by GioeleFazzeri- Video: Svavar Halldorsson / Gorodenkoff /artlab /Jacob Wackerhausen / FHP Animation Studio / SweetBunFactory / shivkantsharma07 / iLexx / circotasu / Astragal / Alasabyss
Nov 18, 2025 • 1h 15min
Ep. 181: Christopher Ruocchio talks Shadows Upon Time, Science Fantasy, Rhetoric & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Christopher Ruocchio about his new novel Shadows Upon Time, reflecting on the Sun Eater series, Hadrian’s epic character journey, writing (and finishing) a long, expansive series, the lost art of rhetoric, working as an editor at Baen Books, being on both sides of the publishing curtain, the appeal of science fantasy, the role of genre-blending in modern publishing, parenthood, changing perspectives, future projects and much more.NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Christopher. Stayed tuned next week for his writing masterclass on Heroism & Villainy.OUR SPONSOR:Transference by Ian Patterson is a sci-fi dystopia that dissects what it means to be human in a city where diseases can be transferred.Purchase it here in eBook and paperback.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Christopher Ruocchio is the bestselling author of the Sun Eater series and more.Find Christopher on Instagram, Amazon and his personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Corporate Advertising Music" by SigmaMusicArt / "Synthetic Deception" by GioeleFazzeri- Video: Svavar Halldorsson / Gorodenkoff /artlab /Jacob Wackerhausen / FHP Animation Studio / SweetBunFactory / shivkantsharma07 / iLexx / circotasu / Astragal / Alasabyss
Nov 13, 2025 • 4min
🍄 THE BOOK OF SPORES 🍄 Now Live on KICKSTARTER!!!
Hidden in the vaults of a world-spanning library lie the records of a mysterious book, one made of mold and magic. Varied accounts of its existence remain scattered throughout the multiverse, but when an archivist attempts to bring its pages together, she will learn how dangerous a book—and her own ambitions—can be . . .Collecting fungal tales from across countless universes, this anthology spotlights the best of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Prepare for your imagination to be colonized by THE BOOK OF SPORES.The Book of Spores is a mind-altering, multi-genre anthology, featuring 16 strange stories by authors from the FanFiAddict book blog and SFF Addicts Podcast. The collection brings together an incredible array of writers whose stories will spread across the multiverse like spores.BACK THE PROJECT ON KICKSTARTER:The Book of Spores DELUXE EDITION anthology is available TODAY on Kickstarter, and the campaign runs until Dec. 4th. Don't miss out on your chance to back the project HERE! The project includes a variety of reward tiers and swag, with shipping available WORLDWIDE. Thank you all for supporting what we do!MUSIC:"Ambient Suspense" by RedLionProduction
Nov 11, 2025 • 1h 7min
Ep. 180: Planning a Trilogy with Jay Kristoff (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Planning a Trilogy with bestselling author Jay Kristoff. During the episode, Jay lays out the foundations for writing trilogies, including what works about the “trilogy” format, examples of iconic trilogies, starting with the midpoint climax, satisfying arcs across each book AND the trilogy, foreshadowing and laying seeds, rewriting and second book syndrome, mapping character arcs across three books, strategies for long-term worldbuilding, structuring/pacing a trilogy, maintaining creativity/motivation across multiple books and more.NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Jay. Click here to check out part one.OUR SPONSOR:Honor is an exciting new anthology from Golden Griffin Press, featuring twenty-two SF&F authors. Each of them is a rising star in independent publishing in their own right, but we brought them all together to create this beautiful anthology. From distant planets to enchanted worlds of magic. Embark on a journey through amazing short fiction by rising indie authors.Follow the Kickstarter here.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Jay Kristoff is the bestselling author of Nevernight, Empire of the Vampire and more. His latest release is Empire of the Dawn, which you can purchase here.Find Jay on Instagram, Amazon and his personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Blackout" by Cyberwave Orchestra
Nov 4, 2025 • 1h 6min
Ep. 179: Jay Kristoff talks Empire of the Dawn, Vampires, Creative Reinvention & More
Join co-hosts M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Jay Kristoff about his new novel Empire of the Dawn, writing vampires and monstrous characters, (un)reliable narrators, handling heavy themes, the costs of victory, creative reinvention, shifting genres, writing for younger audiences, approaches to beautiful yet brutal prose, Tolkien and the magic of fantasy books and much more.NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Jay. Stayed tuned next week for his writing masterclass on Planning a Trilogy.OUR SPONSOR:Honor is an exciting new anthology from Golden Griffin Press, featuring twenty-two SF&F authors. Each of them is a rising star in independent publishing in their own right, but we brought them all together to create this beautiful anthology. From distant planets to enchanted worlds of magic. Embark on a journey through amazing short fiction by rising indie authors.Follow the Kickstarter here.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Jay Kristoff is the bestselling author of Nevernight, Empire of the Vampire and more. His latest release is Empire of the Dawn, which you can pre-order here.Find Jay on Instagram, Amazon and his personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Blackout" by Cyberwave Orchestra
Oct 28, 2025 • 51min
Ep. 178: Prose & Rhythm with Alix E. Harrow (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Prose & Rhythm with award-winning, bestselling author Alix E. Harrow. During the episode, Alix expounds upon prose and rhythm essentials, including what prose and rhythm are, setting expectations with prose style, fine tuning your prose and rhythm, the musicality of prose, beauty and truth in language, the flexibility of prose styles, how prose informs characterization, description and world, the fluidity of authorial voice, how to have FUN with your prose and more.NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Alix. Click here to check out part one.CHECK OUT the indie song Alix mentioned during the episode, based on her short story "The Six Deaths of the Saint."OUR SPONSOR:Honor is an exciting new anthology from Golden Griffin Press, featuring twenty-two SF&F authors. Each of them is a rising star in independent publishing in their own right, but we brought them all together to create this beautiful anthology. From distant planets to enchanted worlds of magic. Embark on a journey through amazing short fiction by rising indie authors.Follow the Kickstarter here.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Alix E. Harrow is the bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Starling House and more. Her latest release is The Everlasting, which you can pre-order here.Find Alix on Instagram, Amazon and her personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Blackout" by Cyberwave Orchestra
Oct 21, 2025 • 55min
Ep. 177: Alix E. Harrow talks The Everlasting, Lady Knights, Mythmaking & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly as they chat with award-winning, bestselling author Alix E. Harrow about her new novel The Everlasting, the significance of foundational myths, mythmaking and subverting heroism, the spectrum of cowardice and courage, sexuality and obsession, symbols and the weight of history, magic and time loops, breaking in and changes in the publishing industry, being a second generation book nerd, villains, agency and much more.NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Alix. Stayed tuned next week for her writing masterclass on Prose & Rhythm.OUR SPONSOR:Honor is an exciting new anthology from Golden Griffin Press, featuring twenty-two SF&F authors. Each of them is a rising star in independent publishing in their own right, but we brought them all together to create this beautiful anthology. From distant planets to enchanted worlds of magic. Embark on a journey through amazing short fiction by rising indie authors.Follow the Kickstarter here.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Alix E. Harrow is the bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Starling House and more. Her latest release is The Everlasting, which you can pre-order here.Find Alix on Instagram, Amazon and her personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Blackout" by Cyberwave Orchestra
Oct 14, 2025 • 51min
Ep. 176: Writing Cozy Fantasy with Julie Leong (Writing Masterclass)
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they delve into a writing masterclass on Writing Cozy Fantasy with bestselling author Julie Leong. During the episode, Julie gets comfy and lays out the cozy fundamentals, including what cozy fantasy is, the growing popularity of cozy stories, stakes and realism in cozy fantasy, wish fulfillment and reader expectations, whether romance is necessary in every fantasy story, approaches to cozy worldbuilding and character arcs, the roles of community, antagonists and secondary characters in cozy fiction and more.NOTE: This is part two of a two-part chat with Julie. Click here to check out part one.OUR SPONSOR:Transference by Ian Patterson is a sci-fi dystopia that dissects what it means to be human in a city where diseases can be transferred.Purchase it here in eBook and paperback.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Julie Leong is the bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes and The Keeper of Magical Things.Find Julie on Instagram, Amazon and her personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Corporate Advertising Music" by SigmaMusicArt / "Synthetic Deception" by GioeleFazzeri- Video: Svavar Halldorsson / Gorodenkoff /artlab /Jacob Wackerhausen / FHP Animation Studio / SweetBunFactory / shivkantsharma07 / iLexx / circotasu / Astragal / Alasabyss
Oct 7, 2025 • 52min
Ep. 175: Julie Leong talks The Keeper of Magical Things, Underdogs, Resilience & More
Join co-hosts Adrian M. Gibson and Greta Kelly as they chat with bestselling author Julie Leong about her new novel The Keeper of Magical Things, quitting a corporate job to pursue writing, the appeal of cozy fantasy, the debut author experience, underdog/outsider protagonists, varying magical powers, imposter syndrome and resilience, how opposites can attract, writing effective character arcs, community and breathing life into your setting, creating a quirky cast of side characters and much more.NOTE: This is part one of a two-part chat with Julie. Stayed tuned next week for her writing masterclass on Writing Cozy Fantasy.OUR SPONSOR:Shattered by Nicholas W. Fuller is an action-packed science fantasy novella that introduces readers to the Sanguine Stars universe.Get your copy at www.nicholaswfuller.com.SHOUTOUT TO THE 'SFF ADDICT' PATRONS:Thank you Ian Patterson, Herman Steuernagel, David Hopkins, Luke F. Shepherd, Christopher R. DuBois, Luke A. Winch and GavinGuile for supporting us on Patreon at $10+.SUPPORT THE SHOW:- Patreon (for exclusive bonus episodes, author readings and more)- Rate and review SFF Addicts on your platform of choice, and share us with your friendsEMAIL US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:sffaddictspod@gmail.comABOUT OUR GUEST:Julie Leong is the bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes. Her latest release is The Keeper of Magical Things, which you can purchase here.Find Julie on Instagram, Amazon and her personal website.ABOUT OUR HOSTS:Adrian M. Gibson is the author of Mushroom Blues.Find Adrian on Instagram and his personal website.M.J. Kuhn is the author of Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves.Find M.J. on Instagram and her personal website.Greta Kelly is the author of The Queen of Days, The Frozen Crown and The Seventh Queen.Find Greta on Instagram and her personal website.FOLLOW SFF ADDICTS:LinktreeMUSIC:Intro: "Into The Grid" by MellauSFXOutro: “Galactic Synthwave” by DivionAD ATTRIBUTION:- Music: "Infinity Heroes" by JoelFazhari- Video: Nattgw / utopia 36 / Ingrid North / Kmeel.com / Vadym_Shapran / DC_Studio / DC_Studio / FrameStock / FrameStock / Orkidee / Pressmaster
