What do gardening, balloon animals, pulp fiction, Japanese manga, military science fiction, homeschooling, cover design, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and peeing basset hounds have in common? Cedar Sanderson, obviously.
In this lively and often hilarious episode, Cedar joins Mookie Spitz for a sprawling conversation that begins with flowers and parenting and somehow winds its way through publishing, illustration, pulp fiction, education, storytelling, creativity, and the peculiar neuroses that drive writers to spend years inventing people who don't exist.
Cedar shares her winding journey from entertainer, face painter, and balloon twister to scientist, entrepreneur, illustrator, publisher, and prolific author. Along the way, she explains why kids are the toughest audience on Earth, how writing a story for her daughter launched her fiction career, and why characters often refuse to follow their author's instructions.
The conversation quickly enters the kind of nerdy territory both participants clearly enjoy. Mookie and Cedar debate pantsing versus plotting, discuss the strange alchemy of creativity, and compare notes on the ways writers trick themselves into actually finishing books. Cedar talks about her fascination with pulp fiction and classic adventure storytelling, while Mookie defends his self-imposed obsession with writing entire novels in rigid three-line blocks like some sort of literary Lego set assembled by an ADHD mad scientist.
They also tackle bigger questions. Has modern publishing become too safe? Why do so many contemporary books feel interchangeable? Are readers being fed diluted versions of stories that were once richer, stranger, and more ambitious? Cedar argues that many writers no longer read deeply enough, while Mookie ironically wonders whether entire genres have become victims of their own formulas.
The discussion veers into cover design, independent publishing, doing one's own art, storytelling in video games, the collapse of critical thinking, the value of constraints in creative work, and why writing "important messages" into fiction usually produces unreadable garbage.
Somewhere in the middle, they also manage to talk about Cedar's books. She discusses her most popular Pixie Noir, newly released fantasy detective novella Child of Crows and the origins of Tanager's Fledglings, a surprisingly intimate science fiction adventure that begins with a young man, a starship, and a basset hound demonstrating a stubborn refusal to be housebroken on a starship.
Part writing workshop, part publishing insider discussion, part cultural critique, and part two smartasses wandering down fascinating rabbit holes, this episode is a reminder that today's storytelling is too often faked by formulas, focus groups, and committees. the good stuff instead created by curious people willing to follow strange ideas wherever they lead. And occasionally by people who spend twenty years collecting pulp novels and arguing about paragraph lengths.
The Guest
Cedar Sanderson is a multifaceted creator whose work spans both the literary and visual arts. She is celebrated for her engaging storytelling and her ability to captivate audiences with her vibrant imagery and thoughtful narratives. Her work not only entertains but also invites readers and viewers into worlds where science meets magic, and the mundane becomes extraordinary.
Her books, such as "Pixie Noir" and "Tanager’s Fledglings," showcase her unique blend of fantasy, science fiction, and mystery, often infused with a touch of humor and deep human insight. Her art, varying from traditional sumi-e painting to digital creations, reflects a love for both the whimsical and the scientific, with influences from her passion for history, infectious disease, and food anthropology. Known for her eclectic career that includes roles as diverse as balloon twister, face painter, and scientist, Cedar has channeled her wide range of experiences into her writing and art.
Her Books
Her Website
Her Substack
https://cedarlila.substack.com/
