Episodes
6 days ago
6 days ago
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? Oh, what’s that? It’s a real crime? And we need to solve it? And we could be killed? Yeah, that’ll be fine.
In the Oni Press four-part series, “Jill and the Killers,” teenager Jill Estrada is dealing with the unsolved disappearance of her mother, a police detective, and trying to get back to a normal life. . . . even as her friends become obsessed with Box Killers, a true-crime subscription game where each month’s “unsolved case” is custom-tailored to the life of its player. There’s only one catch: Jill’s game seems to be all too real—and when her clues begin to connect the dots to a very real series of disappearances in her hometown, Jill and her friends must conquer their fears and own personal struggles to solve the case.
Series writer Olivia Cuartero-Briggs joins us to talk about its origins, as well as why she chose to use a subscription box as the vehicle for the story. Olivia worked with artist Roberta Ingranata on “Jill and the Killers” and we talk about how the two met and the collaboration process. Olivia’s worked on murder mysteries before and goes into how the past experience informed this new project.
We’ve gotten the chance to read the final issue (out on April 17), and while we won’t be giving out any spoilers, Olivia does share how she devised the end of the series and hints at a possible continuation.
Saturday Apr 06, 2024
Citywide Bytes-Joseph Macolino takes us on a tour of the world of Evorath
Saturday Apr 06, 2024
Saturday Apr 06, 2024
In the latest live episode of Citywide Bytes, Max talked with author Joseph Macolino for his recently-finished (or is it?) “Evorath Trilogy.” He released the third book, “The Battle for Erathal,” and we go into how this wraps up the story, as well as what he has planned next.
This series is years in the making, and Joseph talks about the lengthy world-building he did, which included a lot of education to expand his knowledge and create a more varied Evorath. He also shares the character creation process, how he’s seen them grow, and the challenge of deciding when certain ones need to meet a grisly end.
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Our next guest is a familiar name, having been featured as part of our artist Q&A series. We had such a great time, we knew we had to have him back to talk about his third book. Author Tim Facciola joins us to talk about his soon-to-be-released “The Age of the End,” out on April 16. Here’s a quick synopsis of the overall story.
In a world where blood is a short resolution for rebellion, Zephryus only knows two things: he is prophesied to bring peace and balance to the world, and he doesn’t remember anything before his life as an enslaved gladiator. With the fragmented shards of his memory, he is bought by the prince to fight in the gladiator ring, and spy on the queen’s bloody rebellion against the king. Fighting as a gladiator means fighting for his life, and as he faces the prince’s foes and thwarts the queen’s plans, he also discovers that there is more injustice in this world than he imagined. Will Zephyrus be able to stay alive long enough to enact his revenge? Or will the vengeful plot within this royal family keep him from fulfilling his destiny?
Tim shares the inspiration for this book as well as the 10 years he spent developing the world and its characters. He explains how Zephyrus’ amnesia shapes the story, as well as the extensive psychological research he did during the writing process.
Tim talks about the story’s conclusion (with no spoilers!) and the possibility for spinoff or prequel down the road. We go into the many reviews he’s gotten, if he reads them, and how such feedback affects him as a writer.
Sunday Mar 31, 2024
Escape The Paradigm shares 11 years of music
Sunday Mar 31, 2024
Sunday Mar 31, 2024
Over the years, brothers Brandon Brodzinski and Johnathan Rockwood with Donny Hoover III have made a lot of memories while playing in Escape The Paradigm, and they hop on the show to give us all the details.
From touring with All That Remains to playing some kickass full houses, there’s a lot to go over, along with how this three-member band came together and what’s kept Escape The Paradigm going for more than a decade.
Escape The Paradigm came to our attention through Curtain Call Records and we go into how the band came to work with them and how that’s gone. We also talk live shows, recording their two albums, “Mistaken” and “All Fall Down,” and what is planned for later this year.
Opening the episode is a brief excerpt from the Escape The Paradigm’s “Villain,” and closing things out is the complete “Fixated.”
Saturday Mar 30, 2024
Citywide Bytes— Andrew Yampolskyi of Homeless Radio talks musical tributes
Saturday Mar 30, 2024
Saturday Mar 30, 2024
The lesson here is to make the call…the worse thing they’ll say is no.
Years ago, Andrew Yampolskyi took that chance when he reached out to Sunset Alliance of California, and in 2021, his band Homeless Radio released their debut EP, “The Truth.”
In our March 30 Citywide Bytes show, Andrew joins Max to talk about how this Ukranian rock band formed in 2016, making a name for themselves locally and growing over the years.
The band faced adversity in 2022 during the Russian invasion, dispersing its members across Ukraine and Andrew shares how they continued to make music, releasing two singles, “About You” and “Submarine,” the latter of which was a tribute to a novel of the same name.
Closing out this episode is the band’s recent release, “Submarine.”
Saturday Mar 23, 2024
The RealGMat talks YouTube careers and musical adventures
Saturday Mar 23, 2024
Saturday Mar 23, 2024
I’m not gonna lie—I’ve been looking forward to this all week.
In this episode, YouTuber The RealGMat joins us to talk about his many years on the platform and how it all got started. With over 30,000 subscribers, GMat goes into the community that he’s built and the interactions he has via his videos and Twitch streams. He talks about some of the different videos he’s done and his first videos.
Along with his own channel, he’s worked with companies like Gameology and Watch Mojo and shares the various memories made along the way.
Last December, seeking a new creative outlet, GMat released the EP “Little Fish” under the name Brotherband. He goes into the creative process, including the stories behind the songs, the contributions of Charlie McCosh and Jesse Kluytmans, and how it felt sharing it with the world.
Closing out the episode, we’ve got “Half Star Bay,” from the “Little Fish” EP.
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Citywide Bytes-Nick Roberts sinks his teeth into “Mean Spirited”
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Nick Roberts’ new release, “Mean Spirited,” it’s that wonderfully terrifying art that captures the feel of this new horror story. The book is released through Crystal Lake Entertainment.
Released just a day before this recording, the story centers on how an alcoholic teacher and father’s world spirals out of control when a former student is killed and he is left with her dog and the dark presence that follows it.
Nick and Max talk about the creation of Matt Matheny and why Nick went this type of character, as well as how he handles the challenges that await. His ex-wife, Lucy, also plays a role and we look at how the two work together to unravel what is going on. We discuss the dog, Conehead, and get a glimpse into the darkness that follows him. Nick also talks about the amazing cover art and the different aspects of the book that it captures.
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
The Pastor of Horror returns with a found footage nightmare
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Ezekiel Kincaid, known as “The Pastor of Horror” and “The Paranormal Pastor” returns to the show to talk about his new book. “The Tetromet Tapes,” a part of his ongoing Tetromet Universe.
Set in 1990 in a small town in Louisiana, the book adapts the found footage movie style as a literary device. Five 12-year-old boys find some VHS tapes in the trash can of their neighbor, Edgar Craddock. The sickening footage leads the five friends down a rabbit hole of shadows and darkness, seeking to discover the truth around an ancient cult, a haunted road, and Edgar Craddock.
Ezekiel and Max dive into just what is on the tapes and where the footage leads the boys. He talks about Edgar Craddock, a character which plays a wider role in the Tetromet Universe. We also learn about the five boys, who reflect Ezekiel’s childhood friends, and how their different personas drive the story.
The book is currently out on Amazon and Godless, an e-book publisher launched three years ago and Ezekiel shares how he came to work with them. And of course, no horror conversation is complete without talking about the book’s epic cover.
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Citywide Bytes—Jack Flint of The Sea Gods talks debut singles and band meetings
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
The Sea Gods have gotten off to a great start with their debut singles, “Are You Here Now” and “Tell Me,” and they’ve got a lot more in the works. In this recording of our March 9 Citywide Bytes episode, band founder Jack Flint tells us how he, Marty Taylor and Carl Donoghue met and what led to the band’s founding. Each band member brings a lot of experience with other projects, and we go into how the past work may influence the current.
Jack and I talk about the stories behind the two singles. “Are You Here Now” has a message of living in the moment, not regretting the past or fretting the future. “Tell Me” came from a very challenging part of Jack’s life and we talk about how the hard times inspire the best music.
Closing out this episode is “Are You Here Now.”
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Book, books, fantasy, science fiction, monster, magic, apocalypse, love, romance
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Saturday Mar 09, 2024
Author Maria Guglielmo was last on the show some years back for her debut book, “Summoned,” and since then, she’s been up to quite a bit, including debuting her new “Riftworld” series with “Witch City Rift” and “Rifted Hearts,” which drops on March 19.
Curtis and I talk with Maria about this new series and what went into building the world behind it. We do a deep dive into her main character, Remi Gatti, a con man who seems to find himself in over his head in both stories. We look at his power to manipulate sexual desire and the role this plays in the story, as well as the mystical realm that extends into Boston and Salem.
There’s a mysterious figure called The Matchmaker in both books and we talk about just who this person is and how they’re influencing the tale.