If your character finds an ancient mask half-buried in a field, is that just a cool remnant of an older culture, or are they about to unleash a demonic apocalypse? This week, Marina Lostetter joins us to talk about artefacts, archaeology, and the interpretation of material culture over time!
Some of the ancient artefacts in your world might be plot-driving vessels of magic, wonder, or absolute chaos, but the everyday objects that get preserved and protected --or not! -- can communicate a lot of information about your world's history, values, and cultural shifts.
Transcript for Episode 48 (with, as ever, great thanks to our scribes!)
Our Guest: The open skies and dense forests of the Pacific Northwest are ideal for growing speculative fiction authors–or, at least, Marina would like to think so. Originally from Oregon, she now resides in Arkansas with her spouse, Alex. In her spare time she enjoys globetrotting, board games, and all things art-related. Her original short fiction has appeared in venues such as Lightspeed, Uncanny, and Shimmer Magazine. Her debut novel, NOUMENON, and its sequels, NOUMENON INFINITY and NOUMENON ULTRA, are available from Harper Voyager. Her first fantasy novel, THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT, is forthcoming from Tor. In addition, she has written tie-in materials for Star Citizen and the Aliens franchise. She is represented by DongWon Song of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency, and she tweets as @MarinaLostetter.
Episode 127: Expanding Worlds
Episode 126: When Worldbuilding Gets Wild, ft PREMEE MOHAMED
Episode 125: Monstrous Worldbuilding, ft. JOHN WISWELL
Episode 124: Worldbuilding in Review, ft. PAUL WEIMER
Episode 123: Worldbuilding in Your Underpants, ft. JOHN HARTNESS
Episode 122: Now Kiss: Building Romance into Your Worlds, ft. GWENDA BOND
Episode 121: Brave New Worlds, ft. FONDA LEE and MELISSA CARUSO
Episode 120: World Bibles and the Gospel According to Tolkien
Episode 119: Worldbuilding Philosophy and Practices
Episode 118: Passing the Torch
Episode 117: More Queries and Quandaries
Episode 116: Choosing, Presuming, and Decision Fatigue
Episode 115: When Not Writing Is Writing, ft. MUR LAFFERTY
Episode 114: The St Crispin’s Day Special, ft. ANNA SMITH SPARK
Episode 113: Trust Your Instincts, ft. SEANAN MCGUIRE
Episode 112: Whirlwind Worldbuilding ft. JAMES L. SUTTER
Episode 111: Let’s Pick a Fight: Balancing Realism and the Fantastical in Martial Matters, ft. S.L. HUANG
Episode 110: In Your Leisure Time, ft. MATT WALLACE
Episode 109: Seer-iously: Religion, Prophecy, Politics and Tradition, ft. APARNA VERMA
Episode 108: The Myth, The Legend, The Cultural Impacts, ft. EHIGBOR OKOSUN
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