Citywide Blackout

Evelyn LaTorre takes us through the second part of her cross-cultural romance

Author Evelyn LaTorre shares the story behind her marriage to Antonio, a man she met while serving in Peru as part of the Peace Corps in her new book, “Love in Any Language.” It's the continuation of her first book, “Between Inca Walls,” and illustrates the trials and joys in the blending of two cultures.

 

In this episode we dive deep into her meeting Antonio and their early years together. Evelyn also shares what led her to write the book and how she decided what to share. We talk about what makes a cross-cultural relationship work and the things she learned during her time with Antonio.

How sweet is to be back at Rhode Island Comic-Con!

Well, the title says it all! On Nov. 5 and 6 I had the chance to reunite with the convention community at one of my favorite events—Rhode Island Comic-Con. I checked out the amazing cosplays, met cool creatives and bought some great merch over the weekend. And of course, many interviews were done.

 

To start, I met up with Author Coral Isabella Aurora to learn about her new book and the messages about bullying and treating others fairly.

 

Next, the writers from the comic Starside catch me up on a series I got into two years ago and give a few hints about the story's future.

 

Cosplayer Stevie Oaks shares his dead-on impersonation of Peter Griffin and what it's been like being at a convention for the first time as one of the guests.

 

On the convention's second day, I chatted with Wayward Raven founder Mark Frankel about the diverse stories they publish, a special request for submissions, and why in their comics, dead is dead.

 

Bringing this episode to a close is Khepera Cosplay, who shares how it feels to be back after two years and the various villains she's cosplayed as.

 

Stephanie Mathias and Jarreau Williams collaborate for amazing new single

Singer-songwriter Stephanie Mathias is back once again, this time joined by fellow musician Jarreau Williams to talk about their new single “Starting Over.” Jarreau sent Stephanie this song as she was recovering from the miscarriage she had in December 2020. It speaks to how universal it is to start over after tragedy strikes and tells her personal story of starting over, with a real-life happy ending because it was released on Oct. 1, right before the baby was due.

 

Stephanie and Jarreau go in-depth on their working together on the song. It's not the first collaboration, as Jarreau was in Stephanie's music video for “Hero Side.” We talk about the concept of starting over and how it's applied to Jarreau's life, as well as the response they've received since the song dropped.

 

A music video for “Starting Over” is set to be released on Nov. 12—produced by Jeffrey Perkins of J. Perk Productions—and we give a few hints on what people can expect.

 

Following this, enjoy the new single, “Starting Over.” I'm a fan of both artists and think the song really plays to both of their strengths.

Constellation Myths debut a new sound with “Everything and Time”

We're back in Boston for this episode, talking with the band Constellation Myths. Band members Josh Goldman, Justin Kehoe, and Molly Seamans share their past work and how it changed to this new Americana sound.

 

Josh and Justin have a lengthy career in the Boston music scene and talk about what they had to learn for this new project. Molly talks about how she came to be in the band and her own musical experience, which includes playing in the band Tom Thumb.

 

We also talk about the theme of the tension between city and country and how it's shown in the lyrics and the music, as well as when live shows for the band could happen.

 

Following this, I've got two of the band's songs for you—“It Would' ve Been Enough” followed by “Suffer.”

Nolo Grace goes from the corporate world to the music world

After a long career in the corporate world, LA-based Nolo Grace decided to jump into a new career in music. This has led to a lot of success, including her debut “Wake Up,” featuring Sean Kingston and some amazing music videos. We talk about her decision to switch from one role to another and early days.

 

Nolo and I talk about her relationship with music producer Martin Wave (aka Lars Martin) and how the two work together. Nolo also speaks about her doubts going into her music career and how she feels about it now. We also look at her cool R&B/pop style and how it came to be.

Beasty talks dance styles and being part of Red Bull Dance Your Style

I'm probably the least qualified person I know to talk dance—fortunately, my next guest, New York native Tomoe ”Beasty” Carr is an expert on the subject. Recently, Beasty was crowned winner of the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifier in Boston and will head to the U.S. Red Bull Dance Your Style National Finals taking place in Washington, D.C from Oct. 23. Download @Caffeine to watch it live at 7PM ET.

 

For this episode, Beasty talks all about the world of battling in the dance world and some of the competitions she's taken part in. We also look at her background and building a career in dance, which includes training in Japan at Next Generation Dance Studio under the tutelage of Cebo for 10 years. She is well versed in hip hop, house, waacking, locking, popping, breaking, and ballet & modern.

Kevin Lucia lives a dream with the release of the nightmarish “October Nights”

For years, publishing a Halloween-themed collection has been the dream of author Kevin Lucia, and on Oct. 22, it comes true with the release of “October Nights” through Crystal Lake Publishing. Set in the fictitious town of Clifton Heights, the book contains four shared-world tales of small-town Halloween horror.

 

In this episode, Kevin and I walk through the world of Clifton Heights and how it came to be. We look at characters in horror, and what makes them truly matter to the reader. Kevin and I run through each of the stories and how these made the final cut as opposed to other idea (which any good writer has a ton of!).

 

Last spring, at the height of the pandemic's first wave, Kevin saw the publication of his first hardcover limited edition novella from Cemetery Dance Publications, “Mystery Road.” We talk about how the last year and a half has been and how it influenced him as a writer.

Cheer Up! creators talk real-life character connections and lessons to be found

I recently had the chance to check out “Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms,” available through Oni Press. The story, it's true-to-life characters and the world behind them were such an immediate draw that I read it three times.

 

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life in order to maintain their support of her transition.

 

In this episode, Writer Crystal Frasier and Artist Val Wise share their experiences working together for the first time. We take a long look at the characters of Bebe and Annie, how their friendship deepens throughout the book and what each brings to the overall story. We talk about transgender characters in comics and how this has changed in recent years as well as Aunty Jen, to whom the book is dedicated.

Debut author Jessica Vitalis talks about her unique take on Death

Imagine this: The Grim Reaper approaches you one day and asks if you want their job. Crazy, right? But it's this idea that kicks off Jessica Vitalis' book “The Wolf's Curse.”

 

The Great White Wolf is very, very old. And she is very, very tired. For hundreds of winters, she has searched for someone to take her place. But she is invisible to most people. In all those years, only three have seen her. One died young. One said no. One is still alive — a 12-year-old boy named Gauge.

 

In this interview, Jessica and I talk about worldbuilding and character creation that preceded writing the book and how she is reflected in Gauge. She takes us through the process of becoming a published author with Greenwillow/HarperCollins and her advice to those with a book and the goal of seeing it on store shelves.

 

Jessica and I also dive into her other work and what about this story made it stand out from the others. She talks about her transition from Columbia grad to writer and what she had to learn along the way.

Frank Barbiere walks us through some “Astonishing Times”

What if you lived in a world full of superheroes? Would you be amazed every day to see people who can perform impossible feats or would they just be part of the landscape? In this episode, “Astonishing Times” co-writer and co-creator Frank Barbiere joins me to talk all about this new five-part series, which you can only get at comiXology Originals.

 

Noah Sans, a young reporter living in the shadow of his father, lives in a world full of superheroes—but no one seems to care. After a world changing event called The Cataclysm, people moved on, and now heroes are old news. But when Noah begins investigating a mysterious murder, he comes face to face with his most revered heroes and is forced to confront a secret past that could change the world forever.

 

We talk about Noah's character and his perspective on the world of heroes and himself, especially when compared to his father, a journalist who was friends with the greatest heroes. We look at the world creation and how he and co-writer Arris Quinones crafted the cast.

 

Frank also talks about working with Arris, who is no stranger to the world of comics (he's the host of YouTube's Variant) but newer to writing them. We also look at the rest of the team and brilliant work they did bringing this idea to life.