{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/5d26e496b9ed80ab57e7f4af/6a305fdacd0236949411ca87?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Ep. 272 - The Queen of Grimdark Anna Smith Spark on Autism, Writing, & Epic Fantasy","description":"<p><a href=\"https://youtu.be/Eig9BWPjC6M\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Watch as a full video episode on YouTube</a></p><p><br></p><p>Anna Smith Spark loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. She has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org.uk. Anna's favourite authors and key influences are R. Scott Bakker, Steve Erikson, M. John Harrison, Ursula Le Guin, Mary Stewart and Mary Renault. She spent several years as an obsessive D&amp;D player. She can often be spotted at SFF conventions wearing very unusual shoes. Her latest books, A Sword of Gold &amp; Ruin and Anderson versus Death, are out now.</p><p><br></p><p>We had a great time chatting with Anna live at Cymera Festival in Edinburgh, hearing about how neurodivergence shapes her unique writing style, her lightning-fast journey to landing an agent, and writing epic trilogies without a plan. We also talk about tackling 2000 AD IP with Judge Anderson, and we get into an interesting chat about theoverlap between ancient mythology and comic book continuity!</p><p><br></p><p>Links:</p><p><a href=\"https://uk.bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=anna+smith+spark\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Anna's books now</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/annasmithspark/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Follow Anna on Instagram</a></p><p><br></p><p>Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: <a href=\"https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone</a></p><p><br></p><p>Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTcwZnBmNkJJWjhpMkxKaHQ2bmEzM3NyeFdNZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttUjl6YlBITU5sblhyUUIzeVR5Rll2bXVKcC1jNUVBZVdEV2lleTB2MDB5ejlqOEw2RlNZWHNBQ0E0Z2RXSE9ReHRQTGhqNmEzRVVkdHBZcGE5OHlTYWNkVzIxdlE4d2hmNDVVX25tWTBDUWJlX2Q4WQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.writegear.co.uk%2Fpage-one&amp;v=JcQfKlXfayI\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one</a></p><p><br></p><p><a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ukPageOne\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Follow us on Facebook</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ukpageone/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Follow us on Instagram</a></p><p><a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/ukpageone.bsky.social\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Follow us on Bluesky</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.threads.net/@ukpageone\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Follow us on Threads</a></p><p><br></p><p>Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@stetpodcasts\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">STET Podcasts</a> - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stetpodcasts/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram</a> and <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/stetpodcasts.bsky.social\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Bluesky</a></p>","author_name":"STET Podcasts"}