In this 101st episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, the podcast about making stuff (mostly writing), finding success as we each define it for ourselves, and staying healthy and sane in the process… it’s a conversation with science fiction author AJ Super!
AJ Super is the author of the Seven Stars Saga, a trilogy published by Aethon Books and Blackstone Audio. Writing full time, they devour fantasy and science fiction in every medium, and even experiment with writing and reading other speculative fiction now and again. They earned two Bachelors’ degrees from the University of Idaho in the Creative Writing and Theater programs, and they have been an author since they were old enough to write (and illustrate) a stapled-together ABC book, which is still packed away in a box of childhood memorabilia.Â
AJ is inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffery, Octavia E. Butler, Mercedes Lackey, and other amazing female science fiction and fantasy authors. They are active in several different writing communities and an SFWA member. They currently live in Idaho with their fuzz-brained kitties, supportive spouse, and a ridiculous collection of slippers.
~ from AJ Super’s official site
Across this evergreen conversation we talk parental influence, everyone’s emo phase, writing for the ADHD reader, the negative consequences of a fast book release schedule, the ol’ planner / pantser dilemma, the meaning of art, emulating our literary heroes, maintaining a healthy creative (and life!) routine, and much, much more.
This episode was recorded on May 28, 2024. The conversation with AJ Super was recorded on January 22, 2024.
Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode
- AJ Super’s publisher is Aethon Books. Their audiobooks come from Blackstone.
- Visit AJ Super’s Patreon page!
- A few non-genre authors come up in our discussion:
- Sun Valley, Idaho, where Hemingway is buried.
- I bring up Julian May‘s work as an example of wonderful books that, due to changing social mores, may be overlooked today. Edgar Rice Burroughs and Sax Rhomer, too.
- That favorite James Baldwin quote of mine is mentioned via Octavia Butler’s (likely unintentional) paraphrase.
- Next episode: a solo update and news episode.
- Big thanks to my Multiversalists patron community, including J. C. Hutchins, Zoë Kohen Ley, Jim Lewinson, Amelia Bowen, Ted Leonhardt, and Charles Eugene Anderson! I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my patrons. If Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick brings you joy, become a patron!
- Every month net earnings from my Multiversalist patron memberships is at least $100, I will donate 10% to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let’s go!
- Patrons at the Bronze tier and above receive the uncut and unedited edition of every podcast episode, including this one, which has half an hour of extra content!
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The Music!
The opening theme song of Sonitotum is “Anastasia” written, performed, and recorded by yours truly, Matthew Wayne Selznick.
The closing and interstitial music is a little ditty I call “Gwinton,” also by yours truly, Matthew Wayne Selznick. It’s super-short and really just a looping thing.
On both songs, I play a 1972 Gibson Ripper bass guitar and a Fender “Bullet” Squire electric guitar. On “Anastasia,” the drums are performed on an Akai Professional MPD218 MIDI drum pad controller. For “Gwinton,” the drums are royalty-free loops found in the excellent Mixcraft Pro Studio software, which was also used to record, mix, and master both “Anastasia” and “Gwinton.”
Podcast Production and Hosting
Sonitotum is usually recorded using an Aurycle a460 large diaphragm studio condenser microphone through a Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD (audio interface for directly connecting microphones and musical instruments to a computer). Outdoor / remote episodes are often recorded using my Audio-Technica ATR-3350IS omnidirectional condenser lavalier mic. The show is edited and produced in Cakewalk by Bandlab. The episode files are hosted and delivered by Amazon Lightsail; the website is hosted by Dreamhost.
Interested in starting your own podcast? Need help managing your existing show? I can help you like I’ve helped The What Matters Most Podcast, The Possibility Podcast with Mel Schwartz, and Writing with Coach McCoach, among others. Reach out!
Affiliate Declaration
Many of the links in these show notes are to products and services with which I have an affiliate relationship. This means that when you purchase that product or engage in that service, or, in some cases, related products or services, I may receive a modest commission at no extra expense to you. This is a great way to help support Sonitotum and my related creative endeavors, so thanks for doing business with these companies!
Licensing
Sonitotum, including the Sonitotum podcast media, is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. You are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
The full license can be found here.