In the flesh and blood world, I’m about to head off for Readercon, but in the world of Eating the Fantastic, it’s instead the Nebula Awards weekend that’s about to begin, with the first of three conversations recorded last month in Kansas City.

My guest this episode is Aimee Ogden, whose short fiction has appeared in publications such as Lightspeed, Fantasy, Analog, Clarkesworld, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Her debut novella, “Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters”, was a 2021 Nebula Finalist, and just this year, she was once again a Nebula finalist for the novelette “What Any Dead Thing Wants.” Also, her short story “A Flower Cannot Love the Hand” was a finalist for the Eugie Foster Memorial Award in 2022. Her latest novella, “Starstruck,” was released in June She’s also is the co-founder, co-publisher, and former co-editor of Translunar Travelers Lounge, a speculative fiction magazine devoted to fun, optimistic stories.

We discussed the YA novel origins of her new novella and the way a watermelon radish gave birth to them both, whether we agree which of her characters therein will captivate readers the most, why she believes in “productive procrastination,” how having twins counterintuitively helped rather than hindered her writing output, our opposing views on plotting vs. pantsing, the Bible story she can’t stop thinking about, how she chooses the next best thing to write, her secret to writing successful flash fiction, how she was able to carry on in the face of rejection, why being an editor helped her become a better writer, which Ursula K. Le Guin quote she chose as a tattoo, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us for BBQ at Jack Stack Freight House —

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Here’s what you would have seen us nibbling had you been at the table at Jack Stack Freight House —

Smoked Jalapeño Cornbread
with honey butter

Aimee’s Beef and Pork Burnt Ends
with cole slaw and beans

Scott’s Beef and Sausage Burnt Ends
with beans and cheesy corn bake

By the way, the last time the Nebula Awards were handed out in Kansas City prior to 2025 was in 1997, and here I am over those weekends dancing around the same fountain — though without previous guest of the podcast Walter Jon Williams the second time around.

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Coming up two weeks from today will be the second of three episodes recorded during the Nebula Awards weekend, when you’ll be able to have dinner with Curtis C. Chen, author of the Kangaroo science fiction spy series, which currently consists of Waypoint Kangaroo, Kangaroo Too, and True Blue Kangaroo.

Thanks for listening!