🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where ancient magic lingers in starlight, dying worlds demand sacrifice, and epic quests are forged from heartbreak, hope, and destiny.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with debut author Venetia Constantine to discuss her breathtaking epic fantasy The Last Starborn Seer. Lush, expansive, and deeply emotional, this conversation pulls back the veil on a story that feels at once mythic, intimate, and utterly unforgettable.

Venetia takes us through her long, winding path to publication — from growing up in London, falling in love with fantasy as a child, and studying art history, to returning to storytelling later in life as a mother of three. She speaks candidly about imposter syndrome, the persistence required to bring a debut into the world, and the humbling reality of how many people work behind the scenes to bring a book to life.

We also dive into the deeply personal origins of The Last Starborn Seer — a world that has lived in Venetia’s imagination since childhood, and a story that ultimately crystallized during one of the darkest moments of her life. Venetia shares how trauma shaped her creative process, how fantasy became a refuge, and how themes of healing, self-acceptance, and environmental collapse came to define her epic tale.

And of course, we sink into the dazzling world of Arcelia: a dying realm of feuding kingdoms, cursed elemental magic, and a heroine burdened with dangerous prophetic power. We explore Leilani Stellarion — shunned princess, reluctant seer, and deeply human heart of the story — alongside Astrophel, her rival and reluctant betrothed, whose perspective reshaped the entire book.

🌌 What does it mean to bear the future when it is slowly destroying you?
✨ Can a broken world be saved without breaking the people who love it?
⚔️ And how do you reconcile wonder and beauty with a society built on darkness?

This episode is a must-listen for lovers of immersive, Tolkien-esque epic fantasy, readers who crave lyrical prose and emotional stakes, and aspiring authors dreaming of bringing their own lifelong worlds to the page.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Writing while raising three children and how to carve out time in your busy schedule.
✨ Imposter syndrome and why it never truly goes away, even after publication.
✨ Why community and support are essential for writers.
✨ The beauty and terror of readers finally meeting your book.
✨ Practical querying advice, including agent one-on-ones and Manuscript Academy.
✨ The origins of Arcelia — a world that has lived in Venetia's mind since childhood
✨ How a traumatic real-world event catalyzed the writing of this book.
✨ Fantasy as refuge, healing, and meaning-making.
✨ Leilani’s arc from sheltered, self-loathing princess to a heroine forced to confront truth.
✨ Why adding Astrophel’s POV transformed the novel.
✨ Balancing whimsy and darkness in a dying world.
✨ What The Last Starborn Seer represents to Venetia personally.
✨ Hints about Book Two and the true origins of “The Sickening”.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Venetia Constantine – @venetiaconstantine

✨ If this episode left you in awe, please rate and review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where darkness can be healing, stories are forged through survival, and determination turns wounds into wings.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with indie fantasy author, mentor, and writing-community pillar Kara M. Zone, author of Ashes Fall at Dawn. This conversation is raw, real, and deeply inspiring with equal parts craft talk, career truth, and mental health advocacy.

Kara takes us through her long, nonlinear journey to authorship from writing dark stories as a child (yes, including a second-grade tale about Bambi’s death) to years of self-doubt, trauma, and survival, to finally waking up in her late twenties with characters who would not leave her alone until she wrote them down. She speaks candidly about neurodivergence, therapy, and how mental health has shaped not only her life but the DNA of her stories.

We dive into the gritty realities of the indie path: ghostwriting under exploitative conditions, learning the hard way about marketing, losing money with a hybrid publisher, and ultimately choosing to take full creative control over her career. Kara is honest about what worked, what didn’t, and why resilience — not perfection — is what actually builds a sustainable writing life.

We also sink into the world of Ashes Fall at Dawn and the larger series she’s building: a prophecy-driven, found-family epic full of magical bonds, morally complex villains, hedge mazes, hidden libraries, explosive power, and characters who refuse to be easy or tidy.

🖤 What happens when darkness becomes the very thing that teaches you how to survive?
🔥 How do you build confidence after years of being told you weren’t enough?
✨ And what does it really mean to choose the indie path on your own terms?

This episode is a must-listen for aspiring authors, indie writers, and readers who love messy, powerful, deeply human fantasy.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Kara’s early writing roots — from dark childhood stories to years of creative silence and how growing up in a traumatic environment shaped her art.
✨ CPTSD, neurodivergence, and why mental health representation is central to her work.
✨ Why she ultimately chose indie publishing, including a focus on control, timing, and creative ownership.
✨ Why traditional publishing isn’t the “golden ticket” many people think it is.
✨ How Kara built visibility through Instagram and indie community.
✨ The origin of Ashes Fall at Dawn and how it originally started as “book two”.
✨ The long revision process for Cinders Burn at Midnight before it became book one.
✨ Book Two’s intense, high-stakes weekend structure — gaslighting, stealth, and escape.
✨ Kara’s vision for the series: four interconnected trilogies about hope and growth
✨ Why “failure” doesn’t exist — only pivots and persistence.
✨ Advice for aspiring authors, including start now, keep going, and call yourself a writer.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Kara M. Zone – @karamzone_writes

✨ If this episode left you in awe, please rate and review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where craft meets magic, love stories are built with intention, and the stories you dream of writing finally start to take shape.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with bestselling author, YouTuber, and writing expert Jenna Moreci to break down one of the most requested topics we’ve ever had on the show: how to actually write a romantasy.

Jenna joins us to celebrate her craft guide How to Write Romantasy, a powerhouse resource designed to help writers structure compelling love stories in fantastical worlds—from characters and plot to spice, pacing, and emotional payoff. In this episode, Jenna shares her journey from writing romantasy long before the genre even had a name to becoming one of its leading voices. She talks about the moment a major publisher reached out to her to write this book (which she almost deleted as spam), her lifelong love of fantasy romance, and why romantasy has always been what readers wanted, even before the industry caught up.

We dive deep into the rules of romantasy, what separates fantasy romance from romantic fantasy, and why so many writers accidentally write a fantasy with a romantic subplot instead of a true romantasy. Jenna walks us through her step-by-step structure for romantasy storytelling, including meet-cutes, inciting incidents, dark nights of the soul, and the concept that changed our brains: the intimacy destination. Along the way, we get candid about over-saturation fears, the pressure to include spice, the truth about trope trends, and how to build a world that supports your romance instead of overshadowing it.

✨ What makes a romantasy story actually work?
💔 How do you keep romantic tension alive across an entire series?
🔥 And how do you write spice that’s intentional, varied, and emotionally meaningful?

Whether you’re drafting your first romantasy, revising your current manuscript, or just want to understand why your favorite books hit so hard, this episode is a masterclass in both craft and confidence.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Jenna’s journey from lifelong romantasy fan to bestselling author and craft expert.
✨ What romantasy actually is and why it has exploded in popularity.
✨ Why the genre is not “oversaturated” and why there’s room for every author’s voice.
✨ The core rules of romantasy.
✨ How to tell if your book is romantasy or just a fantasy with a romantic subplot
✨ The essential romantasy story structure, from meet-cute to climax to resolution.
✨ The concept of an intimacy destination and how it keeps readers hooked across a series.
✨ How to build a fantasy world that supports your romance without falling into worldbuilder’s disease.
✨ Tropes Jenna loves (forbidden love!) and ones she hopes evolve (enemies-to-lovers done right).
✨ How to approach spice, from clean to smut, and why you should only write what fits you and your audience.
✨ What makes a spice scene memorable vs repetitive (yes, we went there).
✨ Why variety, emotional purpose, and character growth matter more than explicitness.

🐦 CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Jenna Moreci – @JennaMoreci

✨ Enjoyed this episode? Leave a rating & review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors discover The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where magic is born from rage and resilience, power is written in blood and choice, and stories dare you to feel everything at once.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with rising romantasy author Jaclyn Rodriguez to celebrate her breakout debut, A Vow in Vengeance, which delivers deadly bargains, tarot magic, forced proximity, and one of the most addictive enemies-to-lovers dynamics we’ve read this year.

Jaclyn brings the perfect blend of warmth, humor, and honesty to this conversation as she shares her journey from relentless querying and 100+ rejections to landing her debut in a whirlwind auction. She opens up about the delusion, determination, and deep love of story that carried her through the hardest parts of publishing, and why perseverance is the single most important trait an author can have.

We dive deep into the world of A Vow in Vengeance: a brutal selection process that sends mortals into an immortal realm, a heroine fueled by grief and fury, and a prince who is just as dangerous as he is compelling. Jaclyn unpacks the tarot-based magic system, the layered power hierarchies, and the central thematic tension between vengeance and justice that defines Rune’s emotional arc.

Along the way, we explore the kind of main character we don’t see enough of—a furious, unyielding FMC who is willing to burn everything down to get what she deserves—and the MMC who meets her fire with strategy, sarcasm, and just enough vulnerability to make it hurt.

🔥 What does it mean to want vengeance instead of justice?
🗡️ How do power, trauma, and rage shape the choices we make?
🃏 And what happens when two people bound by necessity become each other’s greatest weapon—and greatest risk?

This is a must-listen for romantasy readers, aspiring authors navigating the querying trenches, and anyone who loves morally complex characters, magical systems with bite, and stories that refuse to play it safe.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Jaclyn’s path to publication, including writing 10 books and facing 100+ rejections before her debut.
✨ How perseverance, “delusion,” and support systems helped her push through imposter syndrome.
✨ he premise of A Vow in Vengeance: a deadly selection, an immortal realm, and a heroine who will burn the world down for her family.
✨ The enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Rue and Prince Draven—and why forced proximity makes it even more explosive.
✨ The tarot-based magic system, power hierarchies, and symbolism behind “The World” card.
✨ The thematic core of vengeance vs. justice and how Rune’s perspective evolves across the story.
✨ Writing an unapologetically angry female main character—and why spite queens are unforgettable.
✨ How Draven unexpectedly took over the book and reshaped the story during drafting.
✨ Why Jaclyn wants her books to be readers’ comfort worlds—even when they’re dark, violent, and emotionally intense.
✨ What we can expect from Book 2, including higher stakes, bigger twists, and a completed duology arc.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Jaclyn Rodriguez – @JaclynRodriguezAuthor

✨ If this episode inspired you, please rate and review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where art becomes story, imagination becomes world, and creativity is as much about community as it is about craft.

This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with artist-turned-author Riley S. Quinn to talk about her stunning self-published romantasy Gold & Gossamer. This is a conversation about visual storytelling, creative obsession, and what happens when a single animation accidentally blooms into an entire epic fantasy world.

Riley pulls back the curtain on how her background in film, animation, and storyboarding shaped her prose, her pacing, and the cinematic feel of her writing. We explore the beautiful, porous boundary between art and story, including how some scenes had to be drawn before they could be written, and how switching between mediums kept her creative energy alive over two years of drafting.

We dive into the heart of Gold & Gossamer: a mage king trying desperately to appear infallible, a terrifyingly powerful fairy queen who refuses to conform, and a star-crossed dynamic built on yearning, vulnerability, and self-discovery. Riley unpacks the symbolism behind her title — why gold and gossamer perfectly mirror her leads — and how the book is as much about self-love as it is about romance.

We also get refreshingly honest about self-publishing: why Riley chose it, how she designs her own covers, why affordability matters to her, and what it’s really like building a story in public with a deeply engaged community watching every step.

🌿 What happens when a fairy queen and a human king are forced into an impossible alliance?
✨ How can art literally shape a story into existence?
💛 And what does it mean to be loved most deeply when you are your truest self?

This episode is a must-listen for romantasy readers, aspiring authors, artists who dream in story, and anyone obsessed with beautiful worlds born from pure imagination.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ How art came first for Riley and how her story followed.
✨ The accidental birth of Gold & Gossamer from two TikTok animations.
✨ Why Riley loves self-publishing, including creative control, pricing, and design.
✨ The symbolism of gold (strong, but secretly soft) and gossamer (delicate, but unbreakable) and how that fits into her book.
✨ Why the book is ultimately about self-love more than romance.
✨ Why endings should be hopeful, not cruel.
✨ Building a story alongside her online community.
✨ Marketing by worldbuilding, not sales tactics.
✨ Plans for a sequel and possibly special editions and art prints.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Riley S. Quinn – @RileyQuinnArt

✨ If you were inspired by this episode, please rate and review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where grief meets magic, winter holds its breath, and love asks you to be brave even when it will break you.

This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with New York Times Bestselling author Rachel Griffin to talk about her deeply moving novel, The Sun and the Starmaker. Equal parts luminous and devastating, this conversation weaves together craft, personal resilience, and the kind of love that lingers long after the last page.

Rachel takes us from her winding path into writing — from a career in diagnostic ultrasound to rediscovering her voice late at night on an old laptop — to the realities of querying, submission, rejection, and eventual success with The Nature of Witches. She offers honest insight into what persistence really looks like, why “no” is rarely forever, and how working on the next book saved her during long seasons of uncertainty.

We also dive into one of the most powerful parts of Rachel’s story: surviving a traumatic brain injury, navigating an often-dismissive medical system, and ultimately finding life-changing treatment. Rachel shares how her recovery reshaped her relationship with storytelling, how The Sun and the Starmaker quite literally helped her relearn how to write, and why she’s now a passionate advocate for concussion research — including donating $1 from every preorder to the Concussion Research Laboratory.

And of course, we sink into the icy, whimsical world of The Sun and the Starmaker: a land beyond the reach of sunlight, a weary immortal sorcerer who pulls the sun across the sky, and a love story that asks whether loving someone is worth the inevitable heartbreak.

🌙 What does it mean to love fully when you know loss is inevitable?
❄️ How can winter be both cruel and strangely tender?
✨ And what happens when a book becomes not just a story but a lifeline?

This episode is a must-listen for readers who love wintry fairy tales, aspiring authors chasing their own publishing dreams, and anyone who believes stories can heal.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨Rachel’s journey from healthcare to writing and why she returned to storytelling.
✨ Querying for over a year and why slow success can still be the right success.
✨ Why your first book doesn’t have to be “the one”.
✨ Surviving a traumatic brain injury and Rachel's advocacy for concussion awareness and better treatment.
✨ How The Sun and the Starmaker became part of Rachel's recovery.
✨ Aurora, the stubborn mortal beyond the sunlight, and her enchanted icebound world.
✨ Why loving someone — knowing you may lose them — is the ultimate act of bravery.
✨ What Rachel is working on next and why it’s a big departure from her prior works.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Rachel Griffin – @timesnewRachel

✨ Loved this episode? Leave us a rating and review — it helps more fantasy and romantasy readers find The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where epic quests begin childhood notebooks, gods get their love stories, and indie fantasy builds worlds without limits.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan are joined by indie fantasy author Beck Michaels, creator of the sprawling Guardians of the Maiden series and the god-centered romantasy prequels King’s Bride and King’s Kiss. From writing toucan reunion stories in elementary school to building multi-series fantasy lore inspired by forests, rain, and classic epic fantasy, Beck shares the deeply personal creative roots behind her worlds.

We dive into her journey from teenage notebook drafts to indie publishing success, why she chose creative control over the traditional path, and how her stories expanded from a quest-driven found-family epic into darker, adult fairy-tale romances centered on gods, monsters, and mythic love. Beck also takes us behind the scenes of indie special editions, painted edges, and character covers, and explains how experimentation helped her stand out early in the indie space.

We also talk about writing outside your comfort zone, discovering themes after the story is written, and why some of her most powerful character moments come straight from real-life lines spoken by her husband.

🗺️ What happens when a teenage fantasy draft refuses to stay unfinished?
🦢 How do epic quests and godly romances grow from the same world?
🖤 And why do dark gods deserve their happy endings too?

This episode is a must-listen for epic fantasy readers, romantasy lovers, and indie authors building worlds of their own.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Beck’s early writing roots from elementary school storybooks to high school epic fantasy drafts.
✨ How Lord of the Rings, fairy lore, and nature shaped the Guardians world.
✨ Pausing writing to raise a family and returning years later to finish the story.
✨ Choosing indie publishing to keep creative control over story, covers, and direction.
✨ The massive learning curve behind indie publishing success.
✨ The Guardians of the Maiden series — epic quest fantasy, found family, magical relics, and shadow demons.
✨ Expanding the same world into adult god-centered romantasy with King’s Bride and King’s Kiss.
✨ Rune, the god of shadows, and why villains need love stories too.
✨ Building special editions as an indie author, including painted edges, boxes, merch, and production challenges.
✨ Real-life inspiration — how her husband’s words become romantic dialogue
✨ Writing themes that appear subconsciously, including forgiveness, self-acceptance, loving the “monstrous” parts.
✨ Advice for aspiring writers.

🐦 CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📦 Guest: Beck Michaels – @Beck_Michaels

✨ Enjoyed this episode? Leave a rating & review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors discover The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where beauty and brutality coexist, trauma is treated with reverence, and fantasy becomes a language for healing.

This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with Louve-CH, author of the hauntingly lyrical romantasy Awakening of the Starborne. This conversation explores what it means to write through pain, to build worlds that can hold broken things, and to trust your voice even when it scares you.

Louve takes us inside the emotional origin of Awakening of the Starborn, including how big, unmanageable feelings and a season of personal upheaval became the catalyst for a story steeped in trauma, resilience, and transformation. We talk heroines shaped differently by the same wounds, the power of lyrical prose to hold contradiction, and why she intentionally refused non-linear flashbacks in favor of a grounded, linear journey.

We dive deep into Savae’s arc: a feral, stubborn, trauma-forged heroine navigating deadly trials, an elite war university, dragons, and a world that is at once breathtakingly beautiful and relentlessly dangerous. Louve unpacks how healing shows up on the page — not as instant transformation, but as repetition, backsliding, and slow, hard-won growth.

We also get candid about the realities of indie publishing: seven months of editing, rewriting an entire 196,000-word book into present-tense lyrical prose, the sting of negative reviews for experimental writing styles, and the joy of a street team that feels like found family. This is a conversation about craft, courage, and the radical act of writing the book only you could write.

🐺 What happens when a “wolf-raised” inner child finds her way into epic fantasy?
✨ How can lyrical prose carry both beauty and devastation at once?
🔥 And what does real, messy healing look like when dragons are involved?

This episode is a must-listen for readers who love emotionally rich fantasy, aspiring authors wrestling with doubt, and anyone who believes stories can be both ferocious and tender.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Writing through grief, overwhelm, and “big emotions” — and why channeling them into art saved Louve.
✨ The idea of women being shaped differently by the same trauma.
✨ Choosing lyrical prose to hold contradiction, emotion, and atmosphere.
✨ Switching an entire debut novel from first-person past to present tense for immediacy.
✨ Savae as a feral, stubborn, deeply wounded heroine — and why that matters.
✨ Deadly trials, an elite war university, dragons, and the cutthroat worldbuilding of Awakening of the Starborne.
✨ First-person POV as a tool for intentional confusion, immersion, and emotional impact.
✨ Facing criticism of lyrical styles (à la When the Moon Hatched) and choosing her audience anyway.
✨ Writing for her inner child — and for readers who have lived through trauma.
✨ Letting characters (especially Savae) derail the plot — and writing around them.
✨ The secret subplots that will span the trilogy and a future prequel series.
✨ Why debut authors should take their time: “You only publish your debut once.”
✨ Comparison, bad reviews, and why you must know who you’re writing for.

CONNECT WITH US

🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Louve-CH – @uniqueradiance

✨ Loved this episode? Leave us a rating and review — it helps more fantasy and romantasy readers find The Mythic Mic.