This episode of Eating the Fantastic came about due to a serendipitous convergence of guest and venue. I drive through Berkeley Springs, West Virginia quite a bit, and one day discovered a restaurant there called Mythical Pizza. When I checked the menu, I found everything they served was cryptid-based, with pizzas and decor inspired by Bigfoot, Mothman, and other monsters. So I of course had to check the place out.

But I didn’t want to do it solo, and with a theme like that, it seemed the perfect place to record an episode of a podcast devoted to the fantastic. Luckily, writer/editor Lesley Conner, with whom I’ve been trying to arrange a chance to chat and chew, was just as enthusiastic about the concept as I was.

Longtime listeners will have heard Lesley’s voice way back in 2017 on Episode 53 when she took part in a Horror 101 roundtable. Back then, she shared the microphone with five other creators, but a lot has changed for her over the past seven years, and now that she’s the Chief Editor at Apex magazine, I thought she deserved a spotlight of her own.

You’ll understand why Lesley was the right dining companion for such a place just from the titles of the anthologies in which her fiction has appeared — all horror-focussed such as Mountain Dead, Dark Tales of Terror, Big Book of New Short Horror, Ruthless, and A Hacked-Up Holiday Massacre. Her horror novel The Weight of Chains was released in 2015. In addition to being the Chief Editor over at Apex magazine, she’s also co-editor of the anthologies Do Not Go Quietly and Robotic Ambitions, as well as of the upcoming The Map of Lost Places.

We discussed why horror is where she feels the most comfortable as a writer, how her role at Apex magazine grew from Social Media Manager to Chief Editor, her “Price is Right” method of filling out an issue’s word count, why she hardly ever reads cover letters, the trends she’s seen in the slush pile and what they mean, the key difference between editing magazines vs. anthologies, her longtime obsession with serial killers, how to go on writing after one’s writing mentor passes away, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Mythical Pizza —

1) Subscribe at Apple Podcasts — or wherever you choose to consume your podcasts — where I hope you’ll be tempted to sample a few of the 224 previous episodes.

2) Listen via the RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss on the device of your choice.

3) Or simply use the embed below.

And here’s what loosened our tongues at Mythical Pizza —

Lesley’s Flight of Mini-Pizzas
Poultrygiest:
buffalo sauce, cheddar shreds, white meat chicken,
banana peppers & jalapeño peppers, ranch drizzle.
A Nightmare on Braxie Street:
alfredo, mozzarella shreds, cheddar shreds, whole milk ricotta, bacon,
white meat chicken, fresh spinach & honey sriracha drizzle.
Sprout-Man:
garlic oil, mozzarella shreds, bacon crumbles, feta crumbles, red onion,
garlic roasted brussels sprouts, balsamic glaze.

Lesley’s Mothman’s West Virginia Scream Soda

Scott’s Flight of Mini-Pizzas
Yeti’s Pepperoni Pie:
classic marinara, pepperoni & mozzarella shreds
Smokey and the Bigfoot:
barbecue sauce, mozzarella shreds, cheddar shreds, white meat chicken,
bacon, green peppers & corn, barbecue drizzle
The Mothman Strikes Back:
classic marinara, mozzarella shreds, pepperoni, ham, sausage,
fresh spinach & barbecue drizzle

Scott’ Bigfoot Brew Birch Beer

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Coming up next — my dinner with Tobias Carroll, author of the surreal punk rock novel Reel, which Nylon hailed as one of the best books of 2016. I hope you’ll join us as we delve into his self-described “penchant for being contrary.”

Thanks for listening!