Genevieve Gornichec and Caitlin Starling, WALK AMONG US authors

Explicit content warning

05/03/21 • 42 min

My guests this episode are Caitlin Starling and Genevieve Gornichec, two of the authors of WALK AMONG US. This collection of novellas is set in the world of VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE, the popular modern horror roleplaying game franchise.

(Content note: the third contributing author to this collection, Cassandra Khaw, was scheduled to appear in this interview but had to cancel because of a conflict.)

Each of these three novellas explores the world of the Masquerade from unique and unusual angles: a depressed and lonely college student seeking companionship finds herself groomed for radicalization; an arrogant silicon valley data genius seeks eternal life—and influence—through the Embrace, without regard for the price of immortality; and on an Oregon commune, a progressively-minded shepherd tends to their human flock, but ethics and appetite are uncomfortable bedfellows at the secret blood farm.

Originally published as an audio-only collection, WALK AMONG US arrives in print and eBook on May 4th from Harper Voyager:

» Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores.

About Genevieve Gornichec

Genevieve Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio. The Witch’s Heart is her debut novel.

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About Caitlin Starling

Caitlin Starling writes horror-tinged speculative fiction of all flavors. Her first novel, The Luminous Dead, won the LOHF Best Debut Award and was nominated for both the Bram Stoker and Locus Awards. She has two gothic horror tales forthcoming: Yellow Jessamine (novella, Neon Hemlock, out now) and The Death of Jane Lawrence (novel, St Martin’s Press 2021), as well as a novella in the Vampire: The Masquerade audio collection, Walk Among Us. Her nonfiction has appeared in Nightmare and Uncanny. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid to invent body parts. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to inflict insomnia.

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About ‘WALK AMONG US’

One of the most popular role-playing properties in the world gets new life with this trio of horror novellas set in Vampire: The Masquerade’s World of Darkness by three brilliant talents: Genevieve Gornichec, Cassandra Khaw, and Caitlin Starling

The subtle horror and infernal politics of the World of Darkness are shown in a new light in Vampire: The Masquerade: Walk Among Us, an audio-first collection of three novellas that show the terror, hunger, and power of the Kindred as you’ve never seen them before.

In Genevieve Gornichec’s A SHEEP AMONG WOLVES, depression and radicalization go hand-in-hand as a young woman finds companionship in the darkness...

In Cassandra Khaw’s FINE PRINT, an arrogant tech bro learns the importance of reading the ...

(Content note: the third contributing author to this collection, Cassandra Khaw, was scheduled to appear in this interview but had to cancel because of a conflict.)

Originally published as an audio-only collection, WALK AMONG US arrives in print and eBook on May 4th from Harper Voyager:

» Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores.

About Genevieve Gornichec

Follow Genevieve Gornichec

About Caitlin Starling

Follow Caitlin Starling

About ‘WALK AMONG US’

In Genevieve Gornichec’s A SHEEP AMONG WOLVES, depression and radicalization go hand-in-hand as a young woman finds companionship in the darkness...

In Cassandra Khaw’s FINE PRINT, an arrogant tech bro learns the importance of reading the ...

Previous Episode

Jackson Ford, EYE OF THE SH*T STORM author

I’m joined in this episode by Jackson Ford, author of THE FROST FILES modern day sci-fi series, which follows the misadventures of telekinetic and involuntary government operative Teagan Frost.

The series includes THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND and RANDOM SH*T FLYING THROUGH THE AIR, both of which are available now. The third book, EYE OF THE SH*T STORM, arrives April 27th from Orbit Books.

Where to purchase these books:

Book 1 — THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND:

Book 2 — RANDOM SH*T FLYING THROUGH THE AIR:

Amazon » Bookshop » Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million IndieBound

Book 3 — EYE OF THE SH*T STORM:

Amazon » Bookshop » Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million IndieBound

» Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores.

About Jackson Ford

Author. Tall. Basketball-player-length arms. Lots of tattoos. Bad hair.

Writes the ongoing Frost Files series. The series has been picked up for TV by CBS/Secret Hideout.

Government name: Rob Boffard. Under that name, wrote the Outer Earth series (Tracer, Zero-G, Impact, Echoes 2015-2016) and Adrift (2018).

Proud South African. Born in Johannesburg. Splits time between London and Vancouver. Visited forty-plus countries. May or may not have been banned from some of them over a horrible misunderstanding about burning cars.

Former journalist and editor. The Guardian. Wired Magazine. The BBC. IO9. Huck Magazine. The Master Switch. Noisey. Boat Magazine. Many more. Award winner. Dumb question asker. Editor botherer. Source finder. Wrongs righted. Justice dealt.

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About THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND

For Teagan Frost, sh*t just got real.

Sure, she’s got telekinetic powers – a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she’s normal for once.

But then a body turns up at the site of her last job – murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She’s got 24 hours to clear her name – and it’s not just her life at stake.

If she can’t unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground...

Next Episode

Suyi Davies Okungbowa, SON OF THE STORM author

I’m joined in this episode by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of SON OF THE STORM. In the thriving but socially stratified city of Bassa, a young scholar named Danso struggles with family expectations and cultural pressures. Worse, he’s discovered lost historical lore at odds with the approved political narrative—knowledge he’s sworn to forget, but cannot let go of.

The course of his life alters when he encounters a skin-changing warrior who, by all accounts, shouldn’t exist. The journey that follows sets Danso against an enormous conspiracy, of violently suppressed histories, elicit magic, and forbidden lands. Their efforts could reshape an empire—or cost them everything.

The first book in THE NAMELESS REPUBLIC fantasy series, SON OF THE STORM arrives May 11th from Orbit Books:

» Some of these are affiliate links. Using them supports the channel, at no additional cost to you! Whenever possible, though, I encourage you to purchase from your local bookstores.

Mentioned in this Interview

Read Suyi’s Goodreads post about terms used in this story and their cultural origins.

About Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian author of fantasy, science fiction and general speculative fiction inspired by his West-African origins. His godpunk fantasy debut novel David Mogo, Godhunter (Abaddon, 2019), won the 2020 Nommo Ilube Award for Best Speculative Novel by an African. His shorter fiction and nonfiction have appeared internationally in periodicals like Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, and anthologies like Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda (Marvel/Titan, 2021) and Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (Saga, 2020).

As a speaker and instructor, Suyi teaches college-level writing, earning his MFA at the University of Arizona. He has guest-lectured public workshops at venues like the Piper Writing Centre at ASU and the Tucson Festival of Books, as well as appeared at various conferences, conventions, readings and school visits, including at the University of Washington and the University of Chicago. His work has earned him features in the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR and a Carl Brandon Society scholarship.

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About SON OF THE STORM

From one of the most exciting new storytellers in epic fantasy, Son of the Storm is a sweeping tale of violent conquest and forgotten magic set in a world inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.

In the ancient. city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.

But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.