This episode’s guest is Randee Dawn, whom I first met — in the flesh anyway — at last year’s D.C. Worldcon, where she impressed me by emceeing an entertaining afternoon of Fannish Pictionary in which I participated. After our paths crossed again during another round of Pictionary at the Chicago Worldcon, and I saw she’d also be at Maryland’s Capclave, I invited her to break bread with me there.

Our schedules were so tight the only time we had without a conflict was a Saturday morning breakfast. When Randee suggested we start the day with dim sum, we decided to head over to A & J Restaurant at 10:00 a.m. just as it opened.

Randee Dawn’s debut novel, the humorous pop culture fantasy Tune in Tomorrow, was released in August by Rebellion Publishing. She’s a former editor at The Hollywood Reporter and Soap Opera Digest, and these days covers show business for Variety, The Los Angeles Times, Emmy Magazine, and Today.com. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and online publications such as Stories We Tell After Midnight, Even in the Grave, Another World: Stories of Portal Fantasy, and more.

She co-edited the anthology Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles. Her love of all things Law & Order led her to appear in one episode and later co-author The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion. Once a month she hosts Rooftop Readings at Ample Hills Creamery in Brooklyn.

We discussed the way her soap opera and gaming backgrounds led to the creation of her fantasy debut novel Tune in Tomorrow, what made her decide it was time for her to write funny, why her first instinct is always to turn her ideas into novels rather than short stories, how Law & Order fan fiction conquered her fears of showing her writing to others (and eventually led to her appearing as extra on the franchise), the reason she doesn’t read her reviews, and much more.

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Here’s the dim sum we shared at A & J restaurant —

The Menu

Sweet Soybean Milk

Salty Soybean Milk

Morning Biscuit

DanBing Wrap with Egg

Flaky Scallion Pastry

Fried Jumbo Bread Stick

There was even more dim sum than that, but alas, I’m unable to show it to you. Missing are two sticky rice rolls — one sweet, one salty — which arrived midway through the meal when I was so caught up in the conversation I failed to photograph them. Apologies!

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Coming up next for the final 2022 episode of Eating the Fantastic — my dinner with Al Milgrom, the artist with whom I collaborated on Captain Marvel back during the mid-‘70s. But he’d so much more than than that, as you’ll learn from our Baltimore Comic-Con dinner.

And as always, thanks for listening!