Advertise on podcast: The Side Quest Book Club Podcast

The author was too scared to publish this book. Here's what to know before you read it. Everything you need to know before reading PET SEMATARY by Stephen King. Spoiler-free up front, full spoilers after the warning. We start with the setup: Louis Creed moves his family to Ludlow, Maine, befriends his neighbor, Judd Crandall, and learns what waits beyond the deadfall at the pet cemetery. Then we cover the real events behind the book, including a family cat lost on a busy road and a toddler pulled back from it, and how Tabitha talked Stephen King into publishing it. After the spoiler warning, we walk through the book's three graves, argue over how much of the Wendigo's influence there is, and answer the question every reader asks: would you use the Micmac burial ground? (00:00) - Intro: What to Know Before You Read (00:30) - Spoiler-Free Plot Summary (03:34) - The True Story Behind Pet Sematary (05:01) - Why King Almost Didn't Publish It (06:53) - Spoilers: Grave One and the First Lie (08:19) - Would You Bury Your Pet There? (09:24) - Why Does Judd Share the Secret? (11:54) - Grave Two: Too Close to Home (12:58) - Would You Do It for Family? (14:20) - The Wendigo's Pull on Louis and Judd (15:34) - Grave Three and That Final Line (17:44) - Final Verdict: Is It Worth Reading? —📺 SUBSCRIBEEpisodes Every Week: [YouTube channel URL]?sub_confirmation=1🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: [EDITOR]Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #PetSematary #HorrorBooks

One of us argues the Wendigo doesn't need to be real for part two to work. Part 2 of 4 on PET SEMATARY by Stephen King. Spoilers through part two only. Jonathan calls this the scariest King book he's read, and not because of jump scares — it's dread, and it got worse reading it through fog on four hours of sleep. Slava counters that only one book has ever truly creeped him out, and it wasn't this one. We dig into the myth itself: the Algonquin folklore, documented cases of Wendigo psychosis, and Winona LaDuke's Wendigo economics. Plus the Timmy Baterman warning Louis ignores, whether Victor Pascow is a competing force, and why the exhumation is the tensest sequence in the book. Part three is next. (00:00) - Intro: The Scariest King Book Yet (04:42) - Books That Actually Creeped Us Out (07:56) - What Makes a Book Scary? (11:53) - Nitpick: Why Is Louis So Tired? (16:37) - The Fight With His Father-in-Law (19:56) - Digging Up the Grave (22:21) - When Did the Wendigo Get Louis? (25:05) - How Each Character Handles Death (28:58) - Hyper-Rationality Breaks Him (32:49) - Side Quest: Villains We Understand (34:11) - The Timmy Baterman Warning (37:08) - Louis Ignores Every Warning (38:23) - Wendigo Folklore Deep Dive (44:07) - The Wendigo Folktale, Read Aloud (46:45) - Power the Human Mind Can't Hold (47:52) - Victor Pascow, the Ghost Guide (52:14) - Monkey's Paw and Frankenstein (54:06) - Rachel's Race Home (56:25) - Why Did It Choose Louis? (01:00:20) - Do We Need the Exposition? (01:02:14) - Final Thoughts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: Wellerson Clemer https://www.behance.net/wellersonclemer123Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #PetSematary #StephenKing

King put this one in a drawer. He only published it to finish out a contract. Part 1 of 4 on PET SEMATARY by Stephen King. Spoilers through part one only — two of us are reading it for the first time. Slava has read it twice. Jonathan and Josh are going in blind, which means predictions, wrong theories, and one running joke that this is King's debut novel about neutering animals. We get into why he shelved the manuscript, the real Maine road that inspired it, whether Rachel's reaction to the pet cemetery is irrational or something the burial ground is doing to her, and Slava's theory about who Victor Pascow really is. Plus a long side quest on the AI slop problem in creative work — including the stuff we used to run in our own episodes and why we stopped. Part two brings the Wendigo. (00:00) - Intro: Spoiler-Free Plot Summary (02:14) - The Ending and Our Predictions (06:08) - The Book King Put in a Drawer (07:42) - Are Stephen King Books Actually Scary? (10:47) - Side Quest: Seances and Houdini (15:35) - The Creeds Arrive in Ludlow (17:25) - Rachel's Reaction to the Pet Sematary (19:05) - Two Ways of Facing Death (22:23) - Death, Religion, and King's Worldview (26:48) - Judd, the Father Louis Never Had (29:18) - Side Quest: We Lost Community (32:26) - Side Quest: What Parents Don't Teach (37:17) - Death After Death After Death (39:50) - Louis Lies About the Cat (40:51) - The Victor Pascal Dream (42:35) - Our Wendigo Theory (45:02) - Rachel's Backstory (48:32) - Watching Someone Die in Front of You (50:42) - How Part One Ends (52:39) - Side Quest: Open Loops and Cliffhangers (54:20) - Writing to Process Your Own Life (56:08) - Putting Yourself Into Your Characters (01:02:23) - Side Quest: Using AI to Write (01:05:43) - AI Is a Tool, Not a Shortcut (01:07:39) - Our Own Use of AI Slop (01:11:32) - Side Quest: Behind the Curtain (01:13:37) - Final Thoughts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #PetSematary #StephenKing

She built an author platform with a public money ledger and an e-reader she says rivals Kindle. We sit down with Jules, founder of thing.pub — the ARC and beta reader platform built for the author community. Jules walks us through the proprietary e-reader that carries almost any book's formatting into near-print visual fidelity, and the book showcase pages that give authors a customizable marketing hub — accent colors, genre and trope filters, representation tags, buy links, and QR codes for conventions. We get into the public financial ledger she built for full transparency, the human-verification process and protections against AI scrapers, premium cosmetic themes that fund the platform while keeping every core function free, and how to get on the waitlist. Closed beta is coming. Sign up at thing.pub and tag the author friends who need it. Jules' Platform: https://thing.pub (00:00) - Intro: Closed Beta & Bug Hunting (01:23) - The E-Reader That Rivals Kindle (02:53) - Custom Book Showcase Pages (05:10) - Premium Themes for Your Book Page (06:39) - Free vs. Paid & the Money Ledger (07:54) - How to Join thing.pub (09:44) - Vetted Pros: Editors & Artists (10:42) - Subscriptions & Cosmetics (11:40) - Final Thoughts The Side Quest Book Club Podcast is a weekly deep-dive book review for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fans who love getting lost in worlds. Hosts Jonathan and Slava break down Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere (including the Stormlight Archive), the works of Stephen King, and the best and most overlooked fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction.🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday: full spoiler discussions, world-building, character analysis, and book club arguments that make you want to re-read the book to prove Jonathan wrong. We take a break during summer but have a full catalog for you to listen to. What we cover:📚 Brandon Sanderson — Cosmere deep dives, Stormlight Archive chapter-by-chapter👑 Stephen King podcast — from IT  to The Mist, and everything in between🐉 Fantasy literature analysis — hidden gems, classics, and what makes great world-building 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub

Dozens of agent queries, mostly form rejections. So he took his fantasy novel to Substack. We sit down with Rob Mortell, author of the indie fantasy TALES & TREASURE, for a full author interview. Rob explains how a quirky bard named Vatis, a bards guild, and bard tourneys became the spine of a four-year discovery-writing project. We get into soft magic versus Sanderson-style hard magic, a haunted Fangorn-style forest he invented mid-draft, why he wants fewer morally gray protagonists, and why he can't stand first-person present tense. Then the publishing side: six months of querying, serializing the finished book chapter by chapter, releasing a lost prologue and cut bard stories, and what changes in book two, BARDS & BARGAINS: three POVs and a more traditional plot. Rob MortellBook: https://a.co/d/5yYruJVWebsite: https://storiesofemre.com/Substack: https://robmortell.substack.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/robmortellwrites/ (00:00) - Intro: Meet Indie Author Rob Mortell (01:15) - From Dr. Seuss to the Quirky Bard (04:06) - Book It and Becoming a Storyteller (05:31) - Why Stories Make Us Human (08:40) - From Sports Journalism to Fiction (10:02) - Bards Guilds and Bard Tourneys (12:18) - Putting Himself in the Antagonist (14:22) - Is Magic Real? Soft vs. Hard Magic (15:52) - Side Quest: Are Dragons Real? (17:52) - Pantsing and Stories That Never Stuck (21:36) - The Fantasy Trope He's Tired Of (24:29) - Keeping Characters Fresh (25:47) - Overrated Writing Advice (29:59) - When the Author Steers the Story (32:50) - How a New Character Is Born (34:57) - Why He Hates First Person Present (36:49) - Querying Agents and Handling Rejection (42:01) - Finding a Writing Group (44:02) - The Indie Author Community (45:23) - Serializing a Novel on Substack (48:43) - The Lost Prologue and Cut Chapters (50:11) - What's Coming in Bards and Bargains (52:27) - Life After the Trilogy (55:02) - His Biggest Flaw as a Writer (57:04) - Indie Authors Worth Reading (59:26) - Where to Find Rob Mortell —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #TalesAndTreasure #IndieFantasy

Why did The Hunger Games take off in the West when Battle Royale never did? We close out SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins with a full look at the world of Panem — and whether this one makes a good movie. Evan and Jules are back for the finale. We start with the four-year gap between the book and the first movie, and what we were all doing in 2008 instead of reading it. Jules argues that Kishotenketsu is why Eastern storytelling didn't cross over. Jonathan argues the dystopian boom traces back to 9/11. From there: the plagiarism question, Harlan Ellison versus James Cameron, and why every writer is afraid of copying something by accident. Then the prequel itself — what it actually adds, what Plutarch sacrificed, and whether Francis Lawrence can make the movie better than the book. (00:00) - Intro: Jeff Hayes as Princess Donut (01:14) - Is Dungeon Crawler Carl Built on D&D? (05:44) - Side Quest: Mario, Disco Elysium, BG3 (12:22) - Side Quest: Rules-Heavy DMs vs. Story (15:26) - Why the Dungeon Feels Real (20:01) - Side Quest: Monopoly Grudge Matches (22:14) - A Waffle House in the Dungeon (25:11) - Do Modern References Age Badly? (30:45) - Are the NPCs Real People? (35:20) - Earth Has Joined the Server (37:20) - Every Character Wants Something (40:22) - Side Quest: When to Cut a Character (44:04) - How Carl's POV Builds the World (47:46) - Does Carl Have Free Will? (50:35) - The Dungeon as Reality TV (55:22) - Who's Really Running the Dungeon? (57:34) - Live-Action, Animation, or Claymation? (01:02:41) - Why Peacock Bet on an Indie Author (01:05:32) - Side Quest: Must Authors Finish Series? (01:09:41) - Side Quest: Consistency Over Motivation (01:15:26) - Side Quest: When Fans Fund the Next Book (01:22:56) - Side Quest: How Our Podcast Grew (01:26:02) - Showrunners and Jeff Hayes as Donut (01:28:22) - What Will Each Episode Cost? (01:34:03) - Final Thoughts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames The Side Quest Book Club Podcast is a weekly deep-dive book review for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fans who love getting lost in worlds. Hosts Jonathan and Slava break down Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere (including the Stormlight Archive), the works of Stephen King, and the best and most overlooked fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday: full spoiler discussions, world-building, character analysis, and book club arguments that make you want to re-read the book to prove Jonathan wrong. We take a break during summer but have a full catalog for you to listen to. What we cover:📚 Brandon Sanderson — Cosmere deep dives, Stormlight Archive chapter-by-chapter👑 Stephen King podcast — from IT  to The Mist, and everything in between🐉 Fantasy literature analysis — hidden gems, classics, and what makes great world-building 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub

Effie Trinket gets a better character arc in ten pages than Haymitch gets in the entire book. We break down SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins — themes, character arcs, and full spoilers. Part 2 of 3. Slava, Jonathan, Jules, and Evan roll a die to pick a theme and land on the cost of survival — what Haymitch actually gets for staying alive. It turns into an argument about whether Collins gave him an arc at all, why he reads stronger standing next to Katniss, and how Effie, Maysilee, and Lulu do more character work in a handful of pages. Also: Plutarch's moral ambiguity, the old Battle Royale plagiarism claim, whether flesh-eating squirrels land as dark or funny, and how much the movie will sand off. Part three closes the series on the Hunger Games world itself.—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: Wellerson Clemer https://www.behance.net/wellersonclemer123Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames

One of us has a theory that this book was ghostwritten and badly edited. Part 1 of 3 on SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins — the plot, top to bottom, full spoilers. Jules walks through the prose inconsistencies that made her suspect a second hand on the manuscript. Slava reread all three Hunger Games books and watched four movies out of spite, and still landed at 3.5 out of 5. We argue about whether Snow is a Disney villain, why Haymitch works as a foil to a character who isn't in this book, how much Edgar Allan Poe is too much Edgar Allan Poe, and the inventory scene that made someone physically facepalm. Ratings from all four of us at the end, plus the movie scenes we want most. Part two takes on themes and character arcs.—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames

How to start a podcast without waiting for perfect gear — just pick a narrow niche and find your 10 episode ideas. In this how-to episode, Slava and Jonathan walk through the actual process of launching a podcast in 2026, from defining your topic and audience to building a setup that fits your budget. They cover the 10-episode test that separates viable ideas from broad ones that get buried, why specificity wins over production value, and a breakdown of equipment options from $0 (phone in a closet) to $300+. Then they tour their own setup: Rode NTG1 mic, Elgato arm and key light, Govee background lights, and a full DSLR rig — plus tactics for finding it all cheaper on Facebook Marketplace. The bottom line: execution and consistency matter more than having the nicest gear when you start. Pick your niche, record 10 episodes, and upgrade as you grow. —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: Wellerson Clemer https://www.behance.net/wellersonclemer123Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #PetSematary #StephenKing

She built a magic system out of Gödel's incompleteness theorem. Physicist-turned-author Keon Shore on THE BAD APOTHECARY, book one of The Ninth Path, and the Jungian shadow underneath it. Keon walked away from physics, then spent years turning integral theory, Jung's shadow, and Daoist inner alchemy into a cultivation fantasy where doing magic wrong tears holes in reality. She explains how a universe with repressed truths became the engine of the series, why she wrote it so none of that has to be visible to enjoy the story, and how Chinese web novels shaped her stripped-down prose. Plus why she doesn't believe in dark matter, what she does when a chapter stops working, and where book two goes when it lands on September 9. Free to read on Royal Road. KEON SHOREThe Bad Apothecary (Ninth Path) — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKNLX67Y Read free on Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/144290/ninth-path Follow Keone on Instagram: @keonshore_author—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #TheBadApothecary #ProgressionFantasy

He stocked shelves at Barnes & Noble and kept the A-slot open for a book he hadn't sold yet. Crime thriller author Marc Avery on DISCIPLINE, ten years from first draft to physical book, and building an audience on Threads. A hundred rejections in, a bookseller told Marc to try one more time. He emailed an agent who had already turned him down years earlier, and she sold the book. He talks through what Discipline actually is under the buddy-cop surface — brotherhood, and how far you'd go for the people you love — and how the serial killer started as a side character and took over the novel. Plus why Threads is the only platform that ever worked for him, what he learned selling books out of a box at BookCon, and the RoboCop scene he rewinds every single time. MARC AVERYDiscipline: https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Marc-Avery/dp/1957950722Follow Marc on Threads: @author_marc_avery —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #MarcAvery #CrimeThriller

She was offline for ten years. She came back and built an anti-piracy platform for authors. Indie author and solo dev Jules Mourne on thing.pub — a free platform for sharing manuscripts without feeding them to AI. Jules walks us through how thing.pub actually works: device fingerprinting, watermarks embedded so they survive being run through a model, a kill switch for anyone poking at the dev console, and a reputation system that holds readers and authors to the same deal. She explains why it will always be free, why every server cost will be public, and why she won't take sponsorships from anyone large enough to attach strings. Plus what's broken about traditional publishing, the tabletop horror campaigns that fed her writing, and the cyberpunk novel she's building around social media as the antagonist. JULES MOURNEthing.pub — sign up and volunteer survey: https://thing.pubThreads: @jules.mourne—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #IndieAuthors #WritingCommunity

Evan Kidwell was born three months premature, always the smallest kid in the room and the easiest target. From grade school through junior year of high school, bullying was constant. Books were his escape. Fantasy worlds were where he survived. Now he's an author. In this episode, Evan joins Side Quest Book Club to talk about Timaeus, his debut young adult fantasy novel about a hierarchy of powered individuals, a tyrannical government, and a protagonist whose superpower is resilience. We explore the childhood trauma that shaped Evan and his story, the dream that became the book's backbone, and why it took a keynote speaker and 400 witnesses to finally make him write it. We also cover the craft: how a villain with no motivation nearly killed his manuscript, what "pantsing" looks like at 100,000 words, why your first draft should be trash, and the editorial moment that transformed his story. Evan is a 2026 International Impact Awards finalist for Young Adult Fantasy and a 2025 Reader's Favorite Award silver medalist in Young Adult Mythology. Find Evan:📚 Timaeus on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJGYLK35🌐 tomatospark.com (join his newsletter — free gift included)📱 Instagram/Facebook: @evan_kidwell_author | Evan Kidwell Authorhttps://www.instagram.com/evan_kidwell_author/ Vote for Evan in the 2026 International Impact Awards for Young Adult Fantasy: https://apply.internationalimpactbookawards.com/public-voting-form ABOUT THE BOOK In a world where power determines your place, one boy refuses to be defined by the system. Timeaous by Evan Kidwell is a young adult fantasy novel set in Mythantas, a society that ranks citizens by bloodline abilities and enforces conformity through fear. When Timeaous Spark faces the Trials, everything is at stake: status, belonging, and survival. Born without privilege in a world obsessed with power, Timeaous must navigate injustice, forge unlikely friendships, and find the courage to challenge rules never built for someone like him. Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games, Timaeus is a story about resilience, identity, and the cost of fighting for where you belong. 🏆 2025 Reader's Favorite Award — Silver Medal, Young Adult Mythology🏆 2026 International Impact Awards — Finalist, Young Adult Fantasy ABOUT THE SIDE QUEST BOOK CLUB PODCAST Reading is the ultimate side quest. Side Quest is a casual book club podcast full of literary adventures. Join Slava and Jonathan as they discuss the books they are reading, life, history, belief systems, and more. Explore world-building, characters, and story development, and share some laughs along the way. New episodes drop every TUES.  LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION This is a video version of our audio podcast. Want to listen on the go?Find *Side Quest Book Club* on your favorite podcast app. 🎧 **Subscribe on Any Platform https://linktr.ee/asidequest  JOIN THE GUILD 🌐 Official Website / Quest Log:https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/  💬 Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcast TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcast  CREDITS Hosts: Slava and JonathanPodcast Hosting & Distribution by Transistor.fm https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Intro/Outro Music: HoliznaCC0vEditing by: CharacterNorth6081  - Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/u/CharacterNorth6081/s/k3mFE9aGqh    - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__

Join us as we sit down with Mark Benson, author, entrepreneur, and founder of Writerly — the thriving community transforming writers into family. In this interview, Mark shares his unconventional journey from Chicago's South Side to Marquette University (where he discovered that medical school wasn't his calling) to becoming a passionate novelist and storyteller.  We dive into: ✍️ His writing process and what inspires his emotional storytelling📚 His published books and creative projects🏔️ How he built Writerly — an annual gathering of writers in the Smoky Mountains🎭 Balancing multiple careers (from the World's Largest Laundromat to Disney travel advisor)💡 Advice for aspiring writers and creative entrepreneurs Whether you're a writer, aspiring author, or someone curious about creative entrepreneurship, this conversation will inspire you to bet on yourself.📖 Mark's Books: authormarkbenson.com/books 🎙️ Subscribe for more author interviews & writing content ABOUT THE BOOKIsaac was just 8 when his abusive dad killed his mom, with the horror captured in a single Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph: little Isaac, being led from the house with his puppy Miles, splashed in blues and the reds of police lights.  Today, he’s bullied at school, handled with kid gloves by his adoptive uncle, and spends most of his time with an old and gray Miles, hiding in his parents' abandoned house.  But one evening, he discovers his mom’s telescope, tucked away in the old house’s attic. The gift tag on the box is written in crayon, To: Mom, From: Isaac. With national and local news swarming for comment on his dad’s upcoming parole hearing, he has to move in the shadows, and night after night that’s exactly where he finds Halley, the new girl at school with an odd affection for breaking into houses but, oddest of all, an affection for Isaac.  Using the telescope, with Halley and Miles by his side, he first discovers memories of Mom he thought were lost forever. Then he discovers Planet Nine, a super planet ten times the size of Earth that, until Isaac’s eyes, has only been the stuff of astronomy legend. Now he has a choice: Continue to hide himself and the planet from the world, or risk letting a viral relapse spiral his life out of control again. The discovery of the millennium awaits his decision. ABOUT THE AUTHORHe grew up in Chicago's South Suburbs before heading to Marquette University, hoping to become a doctor. Turns out, he's no good at the medical sciences. He became an English major, fell in love with writing and editing, and has been doing both ever since. He bounced around newspapers, from Dallas to the Twin Cities and Milwaukee again, before finding his way back home to Oak Park, Ill. After a couple of decades running the family business — the World's Largest Laundromat in Berwyn — he decided to bet on himself: He's now a travel advisor specializing in Disney vacations and a restaurant host. But despite multiple career paths (including as a USPTA tennis instructor and a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador), he's always found his way back to writing. He's passionate about emotional stories and loves writing novels and stage plays. He encourages readers to check out all of his books. But nothing he does in writing will be as impactful as creating Writerly, the community of writing strangers-turned-family. This diverse group of talented writers meets once a year in the Smoky Mountains to write and enjoy each other's company. ABOUT THE SIDE QUEST BOOK CLUB PODCAST Reading is the ultimate side quest. Side Quest is a casual book club podcast full of literary adventures. Join Slava and Jonathan as they discuss the books they are reading, life, history, belief systems, and more. Explore world-building, characters, and story development, and share some laughs along the way. New episodes drop every TUES.  LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION This is a video version of our audio podcast. Want to listen on the go?Find *Side Quest Book Club* on your favorite podcast app. 🎧 **Subscribe on Any Platform https://linktr.ee/asidequest  JOIN THE GUILD 🌐 Official Website / Quest Log:https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/  💬 Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcast TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcast  CREDITS Hosts: Slava and JonathanPodcast Hosting & Distribution by Transistor.fm https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Intro/Outro Music: HoliznaCC0vEditing by: CharacterNorth6081  - Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/u/CharacterNorth6081/s/k3mFE9aGqh    - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__

🚨 Announcement 🚨 We are taking a break, but we also have author interviews. Subscribe, tune in, and join us on Discord. Link in bio or the comments. Or here:https://discord.gg/z3qYKnKC3 ABOUT THE SIDE QUEST BOOK CLUB PODCAST Reading is the ultimate side quest. Side Quest is a casual book club podcast full of literary adventures. Join Slava and Jonathan as they discuss the books they are reading, life, history, belief systems, and much more. Explore world-building, characters, and story development—and share some laughs along the way. New episodes drop every TUES.  LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION This is a video version of our audio podcast. Want to listen on the go?Find *Side Quest Book Club* on your favorite podcast app. 🎧 **Subscribe on Any Platform https://linktr.ee/asidequest  JOIN THE GUILD 🌐 Official Website / Quest Log:https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/  💬 Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcast TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcast  CREDITS Hosts: Slava and JonathanPodcast Hosting & Distribution by Transistor.fm https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Intro/Outro Music: HoliznaCC0vEditing by: CharacterNorth6081  - Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/u/CharacterNorth6081/s/k3mFE9aGqh    - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__