Eating the Fantastic Episode 31: Join Adam-Troy Castro and me for pizza at the mall in a 1995 World
Originally published at Scott Edelman. Please leave any comments there.
Twenty-two years ago this very weekend, I was in Atlanta attending the 1995 World Horror Convention, where-without realizing it-I recorded what would eventually become Episode 31 of Eating the Fantastic.
Who knew?
You can thank Dave Slusher for that.
In 1995, Dave was the host of a national radio talk show of the fantastic titled Reality Break, which launched in 1992 on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Dave chronicled the World Horror Convention that year, stealing Adam and me away from the con venue-the Sheraton Colony Square Hotel-to the food court of the Colony Square Mall next door. And since food was involved-especially Adam’s pizza, about which we seemed to joke a lot-it seemed especially serendipitous to revisit that day in this episode of Eating the Fantastic.
Back in 1995, I was a couple of years into editing Science Fiction Age magazine, and my 13 years at the SyFy Channel-as well as this podcast-were still far in the future. And as for Adam, though he had published his first short story collection, plus the first story in the first issue of Science Fiction Age, his Andrea Cort novels, his Gustav Gloom series, and his 100 more short stories were still to come.
Note that this is not a photo of Adam and me (along with Nancy Holder and Connie Hirsch) at that year’s World Horror Con. However, as it is a photo of us from a World Horror Con three years earlier, we’ll let it stand. I don’t think either of us changed that much from 1992 to 1995.
So prepare to time travel back to a 1995 mall food court lunch as I talk about my first job at Marvel Comics, how I broke into writing for Tales from the Darkside, and the beginnings of Science Fiction Age magazine, while Adam-Troy Castro reveals how he created the first story in the first issue of that magazine, as well as how a cab ride he feared he wouldn’t survive turned into one of his most memorable works of fiction.
Here’s how you can join us at the mall-
1) Subscribe at the iTunes store, where you’ll also find all 30 previous episodes.
2) Download the episode to the device of your choice by using the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss.
3) Or simply listen right here via the embed below.
There are no food pics this time around, I’m afraid-Instagramming one’s meals wasn’t yet a thing in 1992.
If you’d like to find out more about the original Reality Break radio show, as well as the Reality Break podcast, which began in 2008, visit realitybreakradio.com. And if you want to keep with what Dave’s up to these days, visit him at evilgeniuschronicles.org.
Coming up next for Eating the Fantastic is lunch with Rosemary Clarie Smith-a lunch you were likely expecting this episode before I pushed it back after I realized I couldn’t resist the serendipity of time travel. Rosemary’s published multiple science fiction stories and guest editorials in Analog, plus between the time I recorded with her and now, she’s become an AnLab Awards finalist for her story “Diamond Jim and the Dinosaurs.” So I know you’ll want to join her for pork buns.
And don’t forget-you can support the show by making a recurring monthly donation over at Patreon to help cover the cost of travel, bandwidth, meals, and other expenses. I’d appreciate your support as I attempt to capture all the amazing creators out there. (There are, of course, perks for all patrons.)
Thanks for listening. See you next time!