We covered a decent amount of ground on this one. We talked about the music these fellas are making, the music they're into, addiction and recovery, the CIA and the war on drugs, Manson and well.. like I said, we covered a lot of ground and I have a hard time focusing. Just a disclaimer: I'm not a therapist, psychiatrist, medical doctor or anything close to those. I talk about a lot of things from personal experience, so when to it comes to mental health and treatment and that sort of thing, please never just go and do the things that I talk about and swear as gospel as far as my personal journey is concerned. It's really best to consult a professional.

Bryan is a fantasy author who has had the fantasy worlds he writes about living in his head since he was 10. He started seriously writing on his first two novels, The Spirit of Vengeance and The New Reign - the first two in The Atonement Trilogy, when he was just 14. Life came at him and he wasn't able to round out the trilogy until years later with The Shadow of War. Since then he has also written and published a standalone novel called Banesong and is currently working on a magnum opus!

When not writing, Bryan runs his own business as a home inspector, working on projects around his own home, and from what it sounds like, the great outdoors!

We had a great time talking about the grit, determination, and consistency it takes to be a writer. The need to stop talking about it and just sit down and do it. We also touched on the tendency for writers to inject themselves into their stories and the varying effects of doing so. Do you read a book to learn about the author or do you read it based on the description or because Oprah said it was good?

Bryan Gifford Website: https://www.bryangifford.com/

I intended on an hour long episode but after sitting down with Dustin, we almost ended up at two hours. We had great conversation about his music, his travels, the state of live music, some of his ups and downs in life that molded him into the singer and songwriter he is. He's been writing since he was 12 and has released a variety of tunes that I think could appease just about any listener.

Dustin Brown Website: https://www.dustbromusico.com/