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Contents May Vary Episode 63: Writing is a ‘Mystery’ for Author Jeri Westerson

And with this, I am FINALLY caught up on my podcasts. Tomorrow, I'll share my 2024 Year in Review I've been posting to my website.

Los Angeles native Jeri Westerson writes a Tudor series, the King’s Fool Mysteries, and a Sherlockian pastiche called An Irregular Detective Mystery. She wrote fifteen Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mysteries, a multi-nominated series. She also wrote several paranormal series and standalone historicals. She has served as president of the SoCal chapter of Mystery Writers of America, president and vice president for two chapters of Sisters in Crime (Orange County and Los Angeles), is a member of the LA Sherlockian scion of the Baker Street Irregulars, and a founding member of the SoCal chapter of the Historical Novel Society.

an older white woman with white hair and glasses, wearing a dark black top, standing in a garden

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 62: 2024 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Awards

On April 25, 2024, the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, California, was the home of the 40th Writers of the Future Awards and 35th Illustrators of the Future Awards. I wrote up the event for The Geekiary, but there were some interviews that didn’t quite make the final cut. So, consider this a ‘behind the scenes’ extra for the Awards.

The contestants of this year's Writers & Illustrators of the Future awards. Photo by Angie Fiedler Sutton.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 61: Academic J. Caroline Troy Takes a Fan Pilgrimage

J. Caroline Toy (she/her) is Learning Experience Manager in the Center for Learning & Teaching at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, and Adjunct Professor in the College’s humanities Core. Her research and teaching focus on religion, popular media, and fan cultures, specializing in how fans use types of ritual and narrative practices that are traditionally associated with religion. Trained as a scholar of folklore and religion, she is also interested in religion in public space and protest in the United States, and changing rural and urban experiences of place.

She has published in venues including The Journal of Fandom Studies, Transformative Works and Cultures, Understanding Religion and Popular Culture (2nd ed.), and the Humanities Commons, and has appeared on the Mugglenet podcast Reading, Writing, Rowling (now Potterversity). Caroline is a huge (HUGE!) Doctor Who fan and a lifelong Trekker, has an “It’s complicated” relationship with Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and will try basically any mystery novel. When not geeking out, she paddles dragon boats and spoils her cat, St. Alia of the Eighteen Knives. You can find samples of her work at Academia.edu.

We met online in 2019, and I was an interviewee for her Fan Pilgrimage Project.

a white woman with red hair and glasses, wearing a grey long sleeve shirt and teal scarf, stands next to a Dalek made out of LEGO.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 60: Costumer and Propmaker Andrea Davis

This episode’s guest is Andrea Davis. Her background is in the film & television industry where she’s worked on both television series & movies, from creating/designing costumes & specialty wardrobe, building sets & displays, and making props. Additionally, she has crafted numerous costumes, accessories, props, and set pieces for commission work. She has a degree in Fashion Design and is a La Cordon Bleu-trained chef.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 59: VFX Artist Michaela Weissburg

This episode’s guest is Michaela Weissburg, an LA native. Mickie and I worked briefly together at a media organization in the YouTube space.

After working in the field for 6 years, Michaela’s experience in VFX production management has given her depth as well as breadth of knowledge. From zombies, to vampires, to aliens, to dragons, there has been no shortage of cool stuff for her to work on.

And while not all of it is exciting, she takes pride in her small efforts to create a product that ends up being greater than the sum of its parts. It all starts with a story, a lot of teamwork, and a little bit of magic.

a young white woman with long blonde hair and wearing a red top

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 58: Author and Screenwriter J.M. Frey

This episode’s guest is author, screenwriter, and lapsed academic J.M. Frey. She has a BA in Dramatic Literature and an MA in Communications and Culture and has discussed all things geeky through the lens of academia.

J.M. grew up in the comic book convention circuit, consuming copious amounts of scifi and Japanese TV, spending all her pocket money on manga, and honing her skills as an award-winning cosplayer. And all the while watching her fellow fans – which later became the basis for her academic studies in theatre, performance, sociology, anthropology, and gender.

J.M.’s also a professionally trained actor who takes absolute delight in weird stories, over the top performances, and quirky characters. She’s played everything from Marmee to the Red Queen, Jane Eyre to Annie, and dozens of strange creatures and earnest heroines as a voice actor.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 57: Audio Producer Myke Dodge Weiskopf Talks Podcasts and Music

This episode’s guest is Myke Dodge Weiskopf. I met Myke through KCRW’s Independent Producer program, as he’s the senior producer in the Music Department. He’s been publicly writing, thinking, and obsessing about music since age 13, when he published his first fanzine on a hand-me-down Apple IIe and a dot-matrix printer.

He is the founding producer of KCRW’s Lost Notes (which I reviewed on my website), and — as he writes on his website — makes beautiful and atmospheric audio stories. A love of sound is the fundamental through-line in his life and work. When he’s not producing audio, he’s an avid outdoorsman, and has worked as a fire lookout under the US Forest Service and volunteered on backcountry trail restoration projects deep in Los Padres National Forest.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 56: Screenwriter Josephine Green Zhang

This is one of the interviews I did on June 21, 2022, when I participated in the Alzheimer’s fundraiser “The Longest Day”. This was also the second to last one, so I’m a little punchy and the audio is a bit sketchy. I have trouble with her name, because my brain had completely forgotten how she said to pronounce it. Additionally, while we did the lightning round questions, the audio didn’t capture it so I couldn’t include it.

Josephine Green Zhang is a storyteller who aspires to empower characters to rise above their circumstances and create their own happy endings – with a special focus on misfits and flawed, funny women. Josephine has been a tv writer on Season 2 of Hulu’s Dollface and on Seasons 2 and 3 of First Wives Club on BET+. She has also developed an unproduced, animated action kung-fu fantasy for Netflix and written two unproduced feature films for Universal. She is a rotating podcast host for WGA’s Third and Fairfax — interviewing other TV and feature screenwriters about their journeys and work behind the scenes. And when she’s not geeking out on story, she is otherwise chilling with her dog, cat, and husband near Pasadena, California.

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 55: Author Chivaun Oldes and Her Anxiety Monster

This is one of the interviews I did on June 21, 2022, when I participated in the Alzheimer’s fundraiser “The Longest Day”, although we had to do a redo because the audio was unsalvageable.

Chivaun Oldes is a 30-something wife and mother of two. She is a craft enthusiast, dabbling artist and pet lover. A self-identified ‘ball of anxiety,’ she is a mental health awareness advocate and creates children’s stories to help bring understanding of mental health disorders and diagnoses to young minds.

a drawing of an anxiety monster (purple spikey hair with green horns and three eyes). text reads 'This is my Anxiety Monster. She follows me around.'

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 54: Animator and Artist Jennifer Shiman

This is one of the interviews I did on June 21, 2022, when I participated in the Alzheimer’s fundraiser “The Longest Day”.

Jennifer Shiman is best known for being behind the hilarious 30-Second Bunnies Theatre, a Flash animated series of shorts that … well, re-enact movies (and some TV episodes) in 30 seconds, but with bunnies. When COVID hit, she stopped that and started work on a middle school graphic novel called World’s End Detective Agency.

We talk about both projects, how the pandemic changed how she does things, and how she approaches her work.

the bed scene from the Exorcist, but with bunnies

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 53: Sean Cawelti, Artistic Director of Rogue Artists Ensemble

On June 21, 2022, I participated in the Alzheimer’s fundraiser “The Longest Day”. This had me live streaming interviews (with the goal of them winding up podcast episodes) from 6 am to 9 pm. I interviewed all sorts of fun people, and got a lot of good content out of it.

One of the interviews was with Sean Cawelti, the artistic director of the Rogue Artists Ensemble in Los Angeles. We talk about what being an artistic director is like for him, his work as a puppeteer and designer, and how he (and the industry) pivoted when COVID struck.

a photo of a wooden puppet in front of someone with a clown head on

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Contents May Vary Episode 52: 2021 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Awards

This is now the beginning of calling the podcast Contents May Vary. Woo hoo.

In October 2021, I attended the ceremony for both the 2020 and 2021 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award. I did a write-up of the event, which you can read here. However, there were some great pieces I got via audio that didn’t transfer well to the written word, so I wanted to do an extended edition. It also includes some snippets from the ceremony itself, which you can watch in its entirety here. So, consider this a ‘behind the scenes’ extra for the Awards.

an image of the two book covers on panels, with a panel in the middle advertising the awards

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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G33K Out Episode 51: Contents May Vary

Still catching up. This is the last 'G33K Out', as I changed the name of the podcast to 'Contents May Vary'.

Episode 51: Contents May Vary

I can’t believe this podcast has lasted 50 episodes, nor that it’s been going strong since (technically) 2013. The past 8 years and 50 episodes have been varied, and also sporadic. I discuss the history of the podcast, the current situation with COVID, and my thoughts on where I want it to go in the future.

a bunch of photos of Angie with various people

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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G33K Out Episode 50: Author Jody Lynn Nye

I was going through my blog, and noticed I had stopped posting links to my podcast back in 2020. So, am posting them now to catch up.

Episode 50: Author Jody Lynn Nye

Jody Lynn Nye is a fantasy and science fiction writer that has been active since 1987. I met her thanks to the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Awards, where she’s been a judge since 2016. She has over 40 books and 120 short stories published, and is still going strong.

We talk about the contest, her writing inspirations, and more.

Jody Lynn Nye in an orange jacket and purple dress, in front of an image of a robot in the water
Photo by Angie Fiedler Sutton

See the full show notes and listen to the episode here.

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Get to Know my Shipping Preferences & Ships

original prompt So, on BlueSky the other day, I saw THIS prompt, and figured 'what the hell'. I got to 11 out of the total 15, and as I started to answer them, I realized I could write it up as a fandom thing for my Dreamwidth.

So, here we go.....

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Getting to Know You - Fandom Edition of 'About Me'

An Intro to Me

Name: Kylara Ingress is my AO3 pseudonym, but am fine with being 'publicly known' as Angie Fiedler Sutton.

Age: just turned 50 in May

Location: Los Angeles now, but was born and raised in the Midwest
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Quantum Leap (1989) Re-watch - S2, E1

As previously mentioned, I'm doing a re-watch of Quantum Leap (1989) now that I've fallen back into writing slash for it. And as I watched, decided to write up my off-the-cuff/stream of consciousness thoughts as I watch them. (I'm also doing this on my Tumblr.)

Season 2, Episode 1: "Honeymoon Express"
Date of Leap: April 27, 1960
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario

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Quantum Leap (1989) Re-watch - S1, E9

As previously mentioned, I'm doing a re-watch of Quantum Leap (1989) now that I've fallen back into writing slash for it. And as I watched, decided to write up my off-the-cuff/stream of consciousness thoughts as I watch them. (I'm also doing this on my Tumblr.)

Season 1, Episode 9: "Play it Again, Seymour"
Date of Leap: April 14, 1953
Written by: Scott Shepherd & Donald P. Bellisario

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October newsletter for my website / writing

the California Capitol building early in the morning

The Contents May Vary newsletter for October 2024 is now live. Check it out HERE.

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Quantum Leap (1989) Re-watch - S1, E8

As previously mentioned, I'm doing a re-watch of Quantum Leap (1989) now that I've fallen back into writing slash for it. And as I watched, decided to write up my off-the-cuff/stream of consciousness thoughts as I watch them. (I'm also doing this on my Tumblr.)

Season 1, Episode 8: "Kamikaze Kid"
Date of Leap: June 6, 1961
Written by: Paul L. Brown

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