All The Interviews

All the interviews I’ve done audio or written

Overwatch League – “Young Guns” (Hachette Books, 2020) – Austin Moorhead interview

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Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2WtYIRg

Austin Moorhead is a financial reporter and a gamer. He decided it would be really fun to embed himself into the Overwatch League and write a book about it so he did. We discussed the book and what it was like to be so close to the first season of this gaming league.

0:42 – Austin talks about how he got into writing about the Overwatch League.

2:56 – Austin compares video game leagues to amateur gaming.

6:51 – Austin talks about league players and the economics of their participation in the league.

7:57 – Austin talks about how Overwatch was creating a new type of video-gaming league.

8:37 – Austin talks about how the league planned to keep interest in Overwatch high.

13:42 – Austin talks about Robert Kraft’s involvement in esports and the Overwatch League.

14:54 – Austin talks about ad revenues in esports.

17:05 – Austin talks about how the Asian market compares to the US especially South Korea.

19:16 – Austin talks about the global nature of the Overwatch League.

20:37 – Austin talks about esports being shown live in stages and online.

22:57 – Austin talks about how the book discusses the financial picture of the league and then he talks about the investors, the coaches, and the players.

24:00 – Austin talks about player incomes and benefits.

26:22 – Austin talks about what it takes for a player to get picked up for these leagues.

29:18 – Austin talks about team chemistry.

31:48 – Austin talks about the book being about the first season of Overwatch League.

33:00 – Austin talks about coaching and training.

34:23 – Austin talks about the number of women in the league and attempts by the league to increase the number.

37:07 – Austin talks about having spoken to investors and how much he enjoyed that as well as interviews with the coaches and players.

40:24 – Austin talks about the personalities of the players.

42:04 – Austin talks about players who go on tilt.

43:25 – Austin talks about team leadership.

44:19 – Austin talks about how players convinced their parents to be allowed to join the leagues.

45:35 – Austin talks about getting access to players and people.

47:10 – Austin talks about hair, make up and so on for the camera.

48:39 – Austin talks about the fan experiences.

51:29 – Austin talk about cheating, hacking, and technical problems and sports betting.

56:58 – Austin can be found on twitter @fb29.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2WtYIRg

https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/austin-moorhead/young-guns/9780316421393/

https://twitter.com/FB29/

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Austin Moorhead

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: video game, Plimpton, paper Lions, Overwatch, Video gaming, leagues, patriots, bob kraft, gamer, esports, e-sports, Blizzard, soccer, Counter-Strike, Blizzcon, fortnite, valorent, riot games, South Korea, China, gamebot, Sinatra, tilt, London Spitfire, Shock, scrim, Halo, Call of Duty, Starcraft, Magic, NRG, San Francisco, shot caller, Nate Nanzer, Olympics, football

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2WtYIRg

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Veronica Roth interview about her fantasy science fiction novel “Chosen Ones” (John Joseph Adams, 2020)

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Veronica Roth interview about her fantasy science fiction novel “Chosen Ones”

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2y32eKh

Interview Timeline

Veronica Roth is well known for her successful Divergent series of books which were also put on screen. She recently wrote a fantasy science fiction novel “Chosen Ones” and she spoke to me about that book and her approach to writing.

0:31 – Veronica talks about why she wrote Chosen Ones.

2:05 – Veronica talks about the setting and plot of Chosen Ones.

3:26 – Veronica talks about the book being set in Chicago.

4:09 – Veronica talks about researching PTSD and Chicago as a setting.

6:54 – Veronica talks about how the book became more government conspiracy focused than it started out.

7:59 – Veronica talks about what inspired the feel of the book.

9:36 – Veronica talks about what inspires her. She reads a lot of science fiction and fantasy.

11:55 – Veronica talks about how her interest in stories about younger people.

13:00 – Veronica talks about what the soundtrack of the book might be.

15:19 – Veronica talks about how she works on drafts of her novel and how she deals with editorial comments.

18:18 – Veronica talks about how her approach to writing has changed over time.

19:35 – Veronica talks about how her first novel was rejected.

21:36 – Veronica talks about jobs she had before becoming a writer.

22:48 – Veronica talks about changes she made for Chosen Ones.

24:25 – Veronica talks about the changes she made to the book as she wrote it.

26:37 – Veronica talks about how she changed a character in the book.

29:20 – Veronica talks about social concerns the book touches on.

30:50 – Veronica talks about the magic system in the book.

31:45 – Veronica talks about her love for Harry Potter.

32:25 – Veronica talk about completing the book.

33:58 – Veronica talks about the pressure of matching the Divergent series and YA movies.

35:23 – Veronica talks about writing to cinematic needs.

38:07 – Veronica can be found at veronicarothbooks.com and on instagram @vrothbooks.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2y32eKh

https://veronicarothbooks.com/

https://www.instagram.com/vrothbooks/?hl=en

Contact Information

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Veronica Roth

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, fantasy, divergent, chosen ones, fiction, heroes, Harry Potter, Dune, magic, space race, MK Ultra, art noveau, Dune, Lord of the Rings, Animorphs, Buffy, Matrix, novel, editor, agent, drafts, writing, Divergent, young adult

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2y32eKh

Science fiction novel – “Providence” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020) – Max Barry interview

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Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2xHNTCx

Max Barry has authored six novels including science fiction. He also developed the popular nation simulation game NationStates. He’s recently published a new science fiction novel Providence and we spoke about the book, his inspirations, and the craft of writing.

0:42 – Max talks about why he chose to write Providence.

5:46 – Max talks about how he constructed the world in the novel. He also talks about the science behind the novel.

10:23 – Max goes into more detail about the alien force in the book and the conflict.

12:36 – Max talks about the works that inspire his writing and process.

17:25 – Max talks about how he completed the work process-wise.

22:34 – Max talks about having been a programmer before writing. He’s also created a popular online game called Nation States. Providence also has an associated game at providence.training.

25:48 – Max talks about the editing of the book.

28:25 – Max talks about the musical aesthetic of the book.

32:43 – Max talks about his love of a game called Elite on the Commodore 64.

34:23 – Max talks about his latest writing project.

37:37 – Max talks about what he focuses on in his writing. He talks about the use of satire in writing.

41:08 – Max can be found at maxbarry.com.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2xHNTCx

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612940/providence-by-max-barry/

https://maxbarry.com/

https://providence.training/

https://www.nationstates.net/

 

For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast

Guests: Max Barry

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, conflict, future, spaceship, advanced technology, larry niven, philip k. dick, old school sci-fi, alien, first contact, genome, star wars, programmer, artificial intelligence, Jennifer Government, nation states game, Daft Punk, orchestral dubstep, electronica, Commodore 64, Elite

Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2xHNTCx

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.