Dissecting Dragons

06/06/2025

Episode 448: Unbelievably Popular - why do bad books become best sellers?

available for download from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean, Audible and Spotify.

Have you ever picked up a book, full of anticipation, only to quit 100 pages in? Or maybe you read the whole thing and were left annoyed and baffled when you reached the end? Welcome to the baked in cognitive dissonance of the bookish community. Uber hyped books can turn out to be...bad. Not just bad in your opinion but objectively bad when employing the metrics of writing skill, storytelling and production values. So why exactly are they selling millions of copies? This week, Jules and Madeleine delve into the roots of this question. Is it really a matter of opinion? Can you measure the fitness of a book based entirely on measurable considerations? Is it ever fair to call any book bad? Join the dragons as they interrogate their own beliefs on the subject.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

23/05/2025

Episode 447: Wit & Readability - 250 years of Jane Austen

available for download from Googleplay, Podbean, Spotify and iTunes.

If you've noticed all the celebrations, new editions of Austen's work, new adaptations and not a few arguments over issues which seem to amount to 'who's the biggest fan?' then you may have an inkling that it is a major Jane Austen landmark this year.

Celebrating the 250th year since Jane Austen's birth, the dragons have decided to do their own thing and judge a pageant of Jane Austen adaptations in film, TV, theatre and book form, in an effort to find their own favourite adaptation of Austen's work.

Under the magnifying glass this week - 1995 Pride & Prejudice, Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility, Bridget Jones' Diary and many more.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

20/05/2025

Episode 446: Getting Your House in Order - Writing as a Career or a Serious Side Gig

available for download from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify

Making a living from writing comes with practical considerations which the actual creative process doesn't prepare you for (probably). This week Jules and Madeleine delve into how to be a healthy creative ( spoiler alert: sleep is really important), what you need to consider when planning your finances, what legal considerations you need to bear in mind and a variety of other issues which writers often blithely ignore. We know. We did.

Join the dragons as they talk candidly about the less glamorous side of being a writer.

https://dissectingdragons.podbean.com/

09/05/2025

Episode 445: No More Mr Nice Guy - the Geek Misogynist in Speculative Fiction Part 2

Available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Spotify and Podbean.

This week, Jules and Madeleine return to the 'nice guy' trope. A trope that probably started with good intentions but soured quickly. Can this trope affect perceptions in real life? If so, how far does that go? Can you write a genuinely nice guy? And what is the 'nice guy renaissance'?
On the slab this week: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harker & Blackthorn and many more.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

02/05/2025

Episode 444: No More Mr Nice Guy - the Geek Misogynist in Speculative Fiction part 1

Available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Spotify and Podbean

The dragons are back! Join us for an exciting season delving into new writing topics and speculative fiction takes.

This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at the 'nice guy' trope. While the term is relatively new, the character type is not, cropping up in Shakespeare, Austen and even in folklore. While this was a character archetype introduced originally to balance the over-muscled, over-sexed and under-brained macho male lead of the seventies and eighties, writers took their collective eye off the ball and things went south pretty quickly. So what is a 'nice guy' and why does something so innocuous sounding carry so much collective dirt? Find out in part one of a two part episode.

On the slab this week: Friends, Little Women - L M Montgomery, Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing and many more.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

28/04/2025

Just dropping in to say that the dragons are back with a new season this Friday! See you there :)

27/12/2024

Episode 443: 2024, the Real Life Experience - A Year in Review

available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify



As we bid adieu to 2024, the dragons are once again looking back on a year of news. There have been some definite low points, however there has also been a lot of good news this year which may have gone unremarked. Jules and Madeleine are redressing that balance with a selection of good news stories, scientific discoveries and reminiscences on their favourite books and films of the year. Join us for a hopeful episode as we gear up for taking 2025 by the horns.

(This is the last episode of 2024 but we will be back in February after a short break)

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

20/12/2024

Episode 442: The Witches of Midwinter - Following the Wild Dance and Furious Hosts of Christmas



available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify

It's that time of year again: frantic last minute shopping, swearing at rolls of Sellotape, covering fir trees with bling....and the dragons emerge with a festive folkloric offering that adds a bit of shadow to the season.

This year Jules and Madeleine take a look at the strange relationship between Christmas and witchcraft. If that sounds implausible, stick around - there is a bizarre logic behind it. As with many folkloric traditions, the Christmas witch goes back centuries but some of the modern iterations bring a new level of horror to the tradition. We remember Father Christmas but forget Perchta. We tell stories about St Nicholas but forget St Lucy and her alter Ego, Bloody Lucy. And just who led the wild hunts during Saturnalia and later the twelve days of Christmas? Find out in this special festive episode.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

15/12/2024

Episode 441: Remaking the 80s - Rewriting Classic Films for a Modern Audience



available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify

There are few phrases as bedight with dubious associations as 'for a modern audience'. In terms of storytelling, are we saying that the original story was flawed? That tends not to go down well with fans of the original. Or, conversely, does the phrase mean that a modern audience is somehow incapable of engaging with the original and needs to have the material dumbed down? Despite the trickiness of the situation, there has been an upsurge in reboots and remakes lately with even more scheduled for release in 2025. This week the dragons delve into why that is and whether it's a good use of storytelling muscles or not?

On the slab this week: Fright Night, Road House, Disney Live action and many more.
https://dissectingdragons.podbean.com/

06/12/2024

Episode 440: The Devil's Music - the Occult, Rock'n'Roll and Storytelling

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available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify.

Music has a peculiar relationship with the supernatural, and no branch more so than the occult. Certain musical genres have a long association with the devil, both in folklore and urban legend. But why is that? Where did those stories originate? And how has this shaped modern horror and SFF? This week the dragons dive into Rock'n'Roll to unravel the devil's music.
On the slab this week - The Infernal, Kim Wilkins, We Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix, Evil in Me - Brom and many more.
http://dissectingdragons.podbean.com/

29/11/2024

Episode 439: It Grows in Darkness - Mushrooms in Horror and SFF



available for download now from Spotify, Podbean, iTunes and Goodgleplay

From devices of comedy to alien antagonists to symbols of deep seated corruption, mushrooms and fungi make strangely appropriate side characters. They are used as set dressing, as indicators of other realms and as terrible weapons. Appropriately, they have woven tendrils so firmly through fiction that it's pretty much impossible to work out when they first entered storytelling cannon - potentially it was when storytelling pre-dated written language. This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at these strange beings, examining how they have been used in a variety of genres and how you might want to use them in your own writing.

Under the microscope this week - The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson, What Moves the Dead - T Kingfisher, The Last of Us, The Girl with All the Gifts - M R Carey and many more.

Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

22/11/2024

Episode 438: Jeeves Blackadder and Puss - Canny Domestics and Sneaky smart servants



available for download now from iTunes, Googleplay, Podbean and Spotify

On a lighter note this week, the dragons delve into a well loved trope which has its origins in folk and fairy tales, shifting and adapting for audiences over the centuries to reflect the socio economics of the time. The clever servant-foolish master dynamic is one which is still enjoyed today, balancing inequalities of social position, wealth and status with intellect, cunning and personability. The trope is a shapeshifter - played for laughs, delivered straight and used as supporting story. This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at why.

On the slab this week - The King's Knight, Blackadder the 3rd, Jeeves and Worcester and many more.
https://dissectingdragons.podbean.com/