The Mythic Mic Podcast

S.2 Ep. 63: Lost Memories, Deadly Trials, and the Power to Redefine Who You Are: Arcadia Rayne on Fatebreaker and House of Hyrax

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where enemies don’t stay enemies for long, power comes with impossible choices, and stories dare to explore what happens when love and identity collide. This week, Host Bethany Amanda sits down with fantasy author Arcadia Rayne, a scientist-by-day, storyteller-by-night whose books are taking over romantasy spaces with unforgettable characters, addictive tropes, and layered emotional depth. Arcadia’s journey to authorship wasn’t linear—it started with a single idea she couldn’t shake, one that lived in her head for years before finally making its way onto the page. What followed was a leap into indie publishing, a deep dive into mastering craft, and the building of a fiercely loyal readership that continues to grow.  In this episode, we dive into both of Arcadia’s series: The Fatebreaker Trilogy and The House of Hyrax. While one leans into romance-forward storytelling filled with tension, trials, and enemies-to-lovers dynamics, the other delivers a sweeping, plot-driven epic fantasy layered with political intrigue, identity, and power. At the heart of both stories are characters searching for who they are in worlds that try to define them first. Whether it’s an assassin forced into deadly trials for a prince she was meant to kill, or a girl with no memories navigating a kingdom that expects her to rule, Arcadia’s stories are driven by one powerful question: who do you become when everything is taken from you? ⚔️ What happens when your enemy is the only person who truly understands you? 👑 How do you define power when you’ve been taught the wrong version of it? 🔥 And what does it take to rebuild yourself when you don’t recognize who you’ve become? This is a must-listen for romantasy lovers, enemies-to-lovers fans, and readers who crave stories that balance emotional depth with high-stakes storytelling. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:  ✨ Being a scientist by day and fantasy author by night. ✨ Writing two books a year while balancing a full-time career. ✨ The origin of Fatebreaker: “What if Cinderella was sent to kill the prince?” ✨ The difference between romantasy and fantasy romance (and why it matters).  ✨ Building two completely different series for different types of readers.  ✨ Indie publishing, creative control, and evolving into a hybrid author.  ✨ Why authenticity is the key to building a loyal reader base.  ✨ Marketing strategies that actually work (and how to find your hook).  ✨ The importance of content warnings and reader trust.  ✨ Studying craft: structure, tropes, and leveling up your writing.  ✨ The power of enemies-to-lovers (and why it always hits).  ✨ Found family, slow burn tension, and emotionally grounded romance.  ✨ Writing healthy relationships in romantasy.  ✨ Exploring real-life themes like grief, identity, and self-worth through fantasy.  CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic [https://www.instagram.com/mythicmic/] 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland [https://www.instagram.com/bethanyinfantasyland/] 📚 Arcadia Rayne – @ArcadiaRayne [https://www.instagram.com/arcadiarayne/] ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

S.2 Ep. 62: Living Castles, Swan Brides, and Love as an Active Choice: Roshani Chokshi on The Swan's Daughter

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where fairy tales are never simple, monsters can still be loved, and stories dare to ask what it truly means to choose someone again and again. This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with bestselling fantasy author Roshani Chokshi for a whimsical, emotional, and deeply thought-provoking conversation about her stunning fantasy novel The Swan’s Daughter. If you love enchanted castles, strange fairy tale magic, monstrous brides, and stories layered with heartbreak and hope, this episode is for you. Roshani shares how The Swan’s Daughter became a space for her to explore fairy tales in their strangest and most emotional forms—where swans lay eggs, castles breathe, the dead return as trees, and love is never as straightforward as happily ever after. What unfolds is a story that feels both surreal and deeply human, balancing whimsical fantasy with questions about grief, identity, choice, and what we owe the people we love. Roshani also shares how her own experiences with infertility and IVF quietly shaped the emotional core of the story, particularly its fascination with unconventional births, inherited grief, and the many ways people create family.   ⚡ What happens when fairy tales stop protecting their characters from pain? 🩸 How do you love someone when love itself becomes complicated and dangerous? 🔥 And what if the strangest magic in the world is simply choosing each other anyway? This is a must-listen for readers who love lyrical fantasy, folklore-inspired worlds, emotionally layered fairy tales, and stories that feel both enchanting and unsettling in equal measure. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Reimagining fairy tales through a darker, more emotional lens. ✨ Building whimsical fantasy worlds filled with unsettling magic. ✨ Why love in The Swan’s Daughter is an active choice, not destiny. ✨ Talking castles, swan people, monstrous brides, and living trees. ✨ Exploring grief, survival, and inherited pain through fantasy. ✨ The emotional inspiration behind unconventional births and family dynamics. ✨ How infertility and IVF influenced the deeper themes of the novel. ✨ Why open-ended questions can make stories more powerful. ✨ Creating immersive worldbuilding that constantly surprises readers. ✨ The strange beauty and emotional honesty hidden inside old fairy tales. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic [https://www.instagram.com/mythicmic/] 👤 Bethany Amanda – @bethanyinfantasyland [https://www.instagram.com/bethanyinfantasyland/] 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill [https://www.instagram.com/the_magical_quill/] 📚 Roshani Chokshi – @RoshaniChokshi [https://www.instagram.com/roshanichokshi/] ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

S.2 Ep. 61: From Dragon Moons to Falling Dragons: Sarah A. Parker on When the Moon Hatched and Ballad of Falling Dragons

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where worlds are built brick by brick, grief can shape entire galaxies, and stories dare to ask what it means to love something you can never hold onto again. This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with fantasy romance legend Sarah A. Parker, the brilliant mind behind the Moonfall series, to dive into the phenomenon that is When the Moon Hatched—a story as emotionally devastating as it is breathtakingly immersive. From the very first moment, this conversation pulls you deep into Sarah’s creative mind, where worlds are not just written, but lived in for years before ever making it onto the page. Sarah shares how When the Moon Hatched began not with characters or plot, but with a fully formed world that demanded to exist—a place she wandered through, shaped, and refined long before she felt ready to tell its story.  We dive into the heart of When the Moon Hatched, where an assassin with fragmented memories crosses paths with a dragon-riding king grieving a love he cannot let go. What begins as tension and collision evolves into something far deeper—a story rooted in grief, longing, identity, and the quiet, devastating ways love reshapes us. At the center of it all is one of the most unforgettable fantasy concepts in recent memory: dragons who, in death, rise into the sky and become moons. It's a concept born from Sarah’s own experience with loss, and one that gives the story its haunting emotional core. Along the way, Sarah opens up about her writing process, from chaotic, “overly fluffy” first drafts to the meticulous refinement that shapes her signature lyrical prose. She shares why she avoids outside noise while writing, how she protects the integrity of her stories, and what it means to truly write for yourself before anyone else. 🌙 What does it mean to carry grief in a world that never stops turning? 🐉 How do you hold onto love when all you have left is memory? ⚔️ And what happens when two broken people collide in a story neither of them chose? This is a must-listen for romantasy readers, lovers of deeply emotional storytelling, and anyone who wants a fantasy world they can truly disappear into. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT… ✨ Building an entire fantasy world over years before writing a single page. ✨ Writing as escape, and why readers feel that on every page. ✨ The origin of dragon moons and the grief behind the magic. ✨ Crafting Raeve and Kaan as opposites shaped by loss. ✨ Why When the Moon Hatched was the story Sarah had to tell.  ✨ Taking creative risks (and investing everything into one book).  ✨ Writing lyrical prose and learning when to cut it back.  ✨ The balance between worldbuilding and character connection.  ✨ Why Sarah avoids reading reviews while drafting.  ✨ Protecting your story from outside influence.  ✨ Book 2 expectations (and why readers need to prepare 👀).  ✨ Practical writing advice: beta readers, drafting fast, and trusting the process.  CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic [https://www.instagram.com/mythicmic/] 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland [https://www.instagram.com/bethanyinfantasyland/] 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill [https://www.instagram.com/the_magical_quill/] 📚 Sarah A. Parker – @Sarah.A.Parker.Author [https://www.instagram.com/sarah.a.parker.author/] ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

S.2 Ep. 60: Forgotten Gods, Broken Kingdoms, and Ancient Magic: Laura A. Blake on The Forgotten Dawn

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where gods fall, kingdoms fracture, and fantasy stories leave emotional wreckage in the very best way. This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sarah Santillan sit down with fantasy author Laura A. Blake, author of The Shattered Sky Saga and The Forgotten Dawn, for an immersive, hilarious, and deeply honest conversation about epic fantasy, romantasy, publishing, heartbreak, and the stories that refuse to leave us alone. If you love sprawling fantasy worlds, emotionally grounded characters, glacial slow burns, devastating endings, and lore so layered it feels ancient, this episode is absolutely for you. Laura shares her unconventional journey to becoming an author—from studying religion and classical history, teaching at the university level, and navigating traumatic brain injuries and infertility, to ultimately finding her voice through fantasy romance. What began as fragments of a story inspired by firelight and drumming slowly evolved into The Forgotten Dawn, an epic romantasy that blends myth, mystery, emotional depth, and unforgettable characters. We dive deep into the changing publishing landscape and the rise of indie fantasy authors, including why Laura chose independent publishing over traditional publishing, the realities of marketing as an author, and why indie fantasy is redefining the industry in real time. But at the heart of this conversation is Laura’s storytelling itself: immersive worlds filled with forgotten gods, layered mythology, quiet heroines, emotional realism, and characters readers become fiercely attached to—sometimes at their own peril. ⚡ What happens when fantasy romance becomes as emotionally grounded as it is epic? 🔥 Why are readers craving quieter, more vulnerable heroines? 🩸 And how do you write characters readers love enough to mourn? This episode is a must-listen for epic fantasy lovers, romantasy readers, aspiring authors, and anyone fascinated by the rapidly evolving world of indie publishing. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Laura’s winding journey from academia and teaching to becoming a full-time fantasy author. ✨ How traumatic brain injuries and life challenges reshaped her creative path. ✨ The moment romantasy “clicked” after reading Fourth Wing and Sarah J. Maas. ✨ Writing The Forgotten Dawn in an explosive creative sprint. ✨ Why immersive worldbuilding and slow-burn storytelling matter so much to her. ✨ Building fantasy worlds layered with forgotten lore, myth, and mystery. ✨ Creating quieter, more anxious heroines instead of invincible warriors. ✨ Writing emotionally grounded characters readers deeply connect with. ✨ Why side characters deserve rich arcs and meaningful relationships too. ✨ Multi-POV storytelling and expanding the scope of The Shattered Sky Saga. ✨ Breadcrumbs, hidden clues, and long-term planning across a four-book saga. ✨ The rise of indie fantasy publishing and how it’s reshaping the industry. ✨ The realities of querying, traditional publishing timelines, and indie marketing. ✨ Why authors should start marketing their books long before release day. ✨ Slow burn romance, fated mates, and Laura’s favorite fantasy tropes. ✨ Cliffhangers, emotional damage, and why no character is ever truly safe. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic [https://www.instagram.com/mythicmic/] 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland [https://www.instagram.com/bethanyinfantasyland/] 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill [https://www.instagram.com/the_magical_quill/] 📚 Laura Blake – @LauraBlakeAuthor [https://www.instagram.com/laurablakeauthor/] ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

S.2 Ep. 59: A Romantasy of Lost Memories, a Dangerous Prophecy, and Relentless Yearning: LJ Claren on The Silversmith

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where memories can be stolen, destiny is never what it seems, and stories dare to ask who you really are when everything you thought you knew is a lie. This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with breakout romantasy author LJ Claren to dive into her viral debut, The Silversmith, a story that has taken over BookTok with its intense romance, shocking twists, and a heroine whose journey is as emotional as it is unforgettable. LJ shares how she began writing as a teenager—not through journaling, but by channeling her emotions into fantasy worlds—and how The Silversmith has lived with her for years, evolving alongside her own life and experiences.  We dive into the heart of The Silversmith, where Ary, a girl alone, starving, and stripped of her memories, is suddenly thrust into a world that claims she is the key to a prophecy. But nothing is simple. Not her past. Not her powers. And definitely not her connection to Smith, the mysterious, obsessive, and deeply conflicted man who seems to know far more about her than he’s willing to say. What unfolds is a story driven by tension, yearning, and discovery. As Ary pieces together who she is, readers are right there with her, questioning everything, trusting nothing, and trying to unravel a truth that refuses to come easily. We also explore LJ's unique publishing journey from indie release to traditional deal after a single post caught the attention of an agent, proving that sometimes the right story finds its way exactly where it’s meant to go. ⚔️ What does it mean to find yourself when your past has been taken from you? 🖤 How do you trust someone who clearly knows more than they should? 🔥 And what happens when the truth changes everything you thought you wanted? This is a must-listen for romantasy readers, lovers of emotional slow-burn romance, and anyone who lives for that moment when a twist completely redefines the story. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Writing as emotional release and why fantasy felt more powerful than journaling. ✨ Living with the same story and characters for years before publishing. ✨ The viral rise of The Silversmith and building a reader base from scratch.  ✨ Indie publishing → traditional deal: how one post changed everything.  ✨ Memory loss as both a plot device and emotional anchor.  ✨ The tension and yearning between Ary and Smith ✨ Writing intentional twists (and why some are meant to be seen coming 👀).  ✨ Found family and expanding worldbuilding in future books.  ✨ The emotional escalation coming in Book 2 (prepare yourselves 😭).  ✨ Balancing romance-first storytelling with expanding magic systems.  ✨ Advice for aspiring authors: don’t give up and don’t wait for perfect.  CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic [https://www.instagram.com/mythicmic/] 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland [https://www.instagram.com/bethanyinfantasyland/] 👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill [https://www.instagram.com/the_magical_quill/] 📚 LJ Claren – @LJClaren [https://www.instagram.com/ljclaren/]  ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.