Ecofictology

Ep 65: Co-writing and using environment for atmosphere with Devils Island by Midge Raymond and John Yunker

Hey ecofictologists, welcome to episode 65 of the Ecofictology podcast. This week we are chatting with Midge Raymond and John Yunker from Ashland Creek press and we are talking about their new book Devils Island, which launched in September, published by OceanView Publishing. We cover their inspiration, the experience of co-writing with your spouse and using environment as atmosphere in your writing. Enjoy! Links Devils Island: https://midgeandjohn.com/ [https://midgeandjohn.com/]  Book events: https://midgeandjohn.com/events.html [https://midgeandjohn.com/events.html]  John Yunker: https://www.johnyunker.com/ [https://www.johnyunker.com/]  Midge Raymond: https://midgeraymond.com/ [https://midgeraymond.com/]  Ecolit Books: https://ecolitbooks.com/ [https://ecolitbooks.com/]  Ashland Creek Press: https://ashlandcreekpress.com/ [https://ashlandcreekpress.com/]

Ep 64: Writing and science communication for Children: Interview with Angela Mills, author of Bobby the Brown Long-Eared Bat

Hey ecofictologists and welcome to episode 64 of the Ecofictology podcast! This week we are talking to a younger audience with our guest, Angela Mills, the author of the beautifully illustrated book Bobby the Brown Long-eared bat. I came across Angela while listening to a panel talk that the Bat Conservation Trust was putting on along with other authors who wrote childrens books about bats. And there were a few children on the call and it was absolutely heartwarming to see them engaging so much. I was excited to talk to Angela about what she thought was important when writing for kids and wanting to spark that bit of excitement in them for whatever species you’re writing about. Bobby did the job. You can find her book on her website and a portion of the profits go directly to The Bat Conservation trust so it’s doubly for a good cause. You can find the link in the show notes. I hope you enjoy.  Angela’s website  https://www.bobbythebrownlong-earedbat.co.uk/ [https://www.bobbythebrownlong-earedbat.co.uk/]  Bat Conservation Trust https://www.bats.org.uk/ [https://www.bats.org.uk/]  Join the Rewilding Our Stories discord server! If you want to find more ecofiction lovers like yourself, get recommendations and share resources, head over to https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm [https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm] and join our community!

Ep 63: Connecting to nature through folklore: Interview with Kaitlyn Elverson from Bug life

Hey ecofictologists and welcome to episode 63 of the Ecofictology podcast! This week I’m introducing you to Kaitlyn Elverson, the engagement officer for Bug Life in the UK, who I found through the talks she gave for Buglife on the folklore of insects and on myth and mystery of folklore in the history of wildflowers and trees. I was fascinated and excited as I always am to find someone who turns to storytelling as a way to find connection to nature. Kaitlyn is also an musician and I will be linking all her various social medias below and i highly recommend you check her out. She sometimes uses her music to convey a particular message about nature, so see if you can spot them. I very much enjoyed my interview with kaitlyn and i hope you do too.  Folklore of Insects https://www.buglife.org.uk/events/folklore-of-insects-with-kaitlyn-elverson/ [https://www.buglife.org.uk/events/folklore-of-insects-with-kaitlyn-elverson/]  Myth, Mystery and Folklore Guided Walk https://www.buglife.org.uk/events/myth-mystery-and-folklore-guided-walk/ [https://www.buglife.org.uk/events/myth-mystery-and-folklore-guided-walk/]  Kaitlyn’s music: https://soundcloud.com/kaitlynelverson [https://soundcloud.com/kaitlynelverson]  https://kaitlynelverson.bandcamp.com/album/ep-kaitlyn-elverson [https://kaitlynelverson.bandcamp.com/album/ep-kaitlyn-elverson]  Kaitlyn’s social media: https://www.instagram.com/canwefollowalice/ [https://www.instagram.com/canwefollowalice/]  Join the Rewilding Our Stories discord server! If you want to find more ecofiction lovers like yourself, get recommendations and share resources, head over to https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm [https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm] and join our community!

Ep 62: Interview with Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, author of A Murder of Crows

Hey ecofictologists and welcome to episode 62 of the Ecofictology podcast! This week you are getting a twofer as my dad likes to call them. You’re getting a little bit of a book review and then right on its heels, an interview with the author, one that i was downright giddy to do. The book? A Murder of Crows, the first book in the Nell Ward Mystery series. The author? Sarah Yarwood lovett, an ecological consultant who has put her knowledge and her experiences into a murder mystery novel. Can you see why i was excited? This book turned out to be my favourite book of 2022, i devoured it completely. And i loved nerding out with Sarah during our interview so prepare to learn a thing or two about bats. Or four or six things. I’m too excited for you to dive into the world of Nell Ward so i’m going to keep this intro short. As usual, you can find the video versions of these parts on my youtube channel, links are down below, i hope you enjoy. August and September reading wrap up | Monthly reads | Favourite ecofiction novel of Quarter 3!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQTY8cf6eRk&list=PLErvk5p2-eWqIJaGfibZuk8YZvCggE68O&index=47 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQTY8cf6eRk&list=PLErvk5p2-eWqIJaGfibZuk8YZvCggE68O&index=47]  Bats, bats, bats! | Interview with Sarah Yarwood Lovett | Author of A Murder of Crows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQohlTk_WZc&list=PLErvk5p2-eWoC2qkqDRKjUm-eLzChdx0o&index=25 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQohlTk_WZc&list=PLErvk5p2-eWoC2qkqDRKjUm-eLzChdx0o&index=25]  Join the Rewilding Our Stories discord server! If you want to find more ecofiction lovers like yourself, get recommendations and share resources, head over to https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm [https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm] and join our community!

Ep 61: How important is scientific accuracy in fiction?

Hey ecofictologists and welcome to episode 61 of the Ecofictology podcast! This episode was really just a giant brain dump of things that I had been thinking about, lots of ideas and mostly questions about how important is scientific accuracy in fiction. We’ve all had that experience where we read something outside of our field of expertise and think it’s really cool and well researched and then read something inside our field and think, well this would never happen its entirely unrealistic. But how much artistic license could we give the author in order to make it a compelling story? Where do we put those boundaries? And it probably depends on what the purpose of the piece of fiction is: to teach or not to teach? I filmed this collection of questions in two parts but have combined them together here so you can be overloaded with questions all at once, you lucky ducks, and I first talk about fiction where science communication is the goal and something called the CSI effect, and then about fiction that really isn't trying to teach you anything, but might have unintended consequences anyway of not being accurate or realistic. I talk about environmental disaster films and films that demonise predators like Jaws. In fact, I go on a bit of a rant about it. If you’d rather watch me do that than listen, you can find parts 1 and 2 linked in the shownotes. Also, if you have thoughts on this topic, please reach out to me because it’s something i really enjoy talking about! Enjoy the rant How important is scientific accuracy in fiction? | Science Communication | CSI effect | Part 1  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoOTtKGh_k&list=PLErvk5p2-eWrrcYOqiDbHPufF5XR3sr94&index=20 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoOTtKGh_k&list=PLErvk5p2-eWrrcYOqiDbHPufF5XR3sr94&index=20]  Scientific Accuracy in Fiction | Anti-Ecofiction | Demonisation of predators | Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKIo0wBY6sw&list=PLErvk5p2-eWrrcYOqiDbHPufF5XR3sr94&index=21 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKIo0wBY6sw&list=PLErvk5p2-eWrrcYOqiDbHPufF5XR3sr94&index=21]  CSI Effect papers  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1163231 [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1163231]  https://www.jstor.org/stable/29762978 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29762978]   https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/7381446/stith_roane_the_csi_effect-_us_news_and_world_report-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1645362650&Signature=LBN6D1TpQD7LDReCEI0jrtaty1n6x2NexOD1ARFzP3Rpu7dw~tNid8IToaTdoelXRgS21JZK0lvZ8-J7Jk9VaQWdqULiqz31WJYu4YUI0hi83Fgw0AKTfBw8EoDy13HP0JpVtStAGan10uEkid~jLLwgF0MXDaW-qFolPobH-X3wUftnvGi5kHc8shEKXLj7LpNvhYuquu4FQ0B-~NpeWXOB~pcxpfJsezIl~J9ki2EAZBB5H8khiM6V5SKeEvKF7obE4CjPhXXKgrKUdzAqBvEx~zKanFVyc4MZo2NmIyHQclhD6Y3eAvuLEQ5TsY9xSd7nRQjtaCSGQrpS-ONb0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA [https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/7381446/stith_roane_the_csi_effect-_us_news_and_world_report-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1645362650&Signature=LBN6D1TpQD7LDReCEI0jrtaty1n6x2NexOD1ARFzP3Rpu7dw~tNid8IToaTdoelXRgS21JZK0lvZ8-J7Jk9VaQWdqULiqz31WJYu4YUI0hi83Fgw0AKTfBw8EoDy13HP0JpVtStAGan10uEkid~jLLwgF0MXDaW-qFolPobH-X3wUftnvGi5kHc8shEKXLj7LpNvhYuquu4FQ0B-~NpeWXOB~pcxpfJsezIl~J9ki2EAZBB5H8khiM6V5SKeEvKF7obE4CjPhXXKgrKUdzAqBvEx~zKanFVyc4MZo2NmIyHQclhD6Y3eAvuLEQ5TsY9xSd7nRQjtaCSGQrpS-ONb0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA]  https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=themis [https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=themis]   https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/csi-effect-does-it-really-exist [https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/csi-effect-does-it-really-exist]  Environmental Scientists on Vanity Fair  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz42l-KZgJo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz42l-KZgJo]   Article on the effect of Jaws  https://daily.jstor.org/sharks-before-and-after-jaws/#:~:text=The%20blockbuster%20Jaws%20(1975)%20provoked,think%20of%20sharks%20before%20then%3F&text=It%20lives%20to%20kill.,A%20mindless%20eating%20machine [https://daily.jstor.org/sharks-before-and-after-jaws/#:~:text=The%20blockbuster%20Jaws%20(1975)%20provoked,think%20of%20sharks%20before%20then%3F&text=It%20lives%20to%20kill.,A%20mindless%20eating%20machine].   Join the Rewilding Our Stories discord server! If you want to find more ecofiction lovers like yourself, get recommendations and share resources, head over to https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm [https://discord.gg/zbMz59UNdm] and join our community!