Most conversations you get to eavesdrop on here are recorded during my convention travels, but not this one … though it did take place because of a con. I met this episode’s guest, Robert Jeschonek, when I attended the Steve Ditko Mini-Con in Johnstown, PA in September of 2021, While there, I spontaneously decided late in the afternoon to wander the exhibit tables to capture the voices of four other attendees, getting them to share anecdotes about that legendary creator, and you can hear them in Episode 154. But Jeschonek, who’d recently completed a biography of Ditko with the family’s cooperation, had taken off before I could get to him. We agreed we’d someday catch up to chat, and that someday is now.

There’s so much else to talk about with Bob in addition to Steve Ditko, though. For one thing, he’s managed to have stories published in every issue so far of the revived Pulphouse — all 20 of them! (Me, I’ve only had two published there.) His  short stories have also appeared in Clarkesworld, Galaxy’s Edge, Fiction River, Pulp Literature, StarShipSofa, and many other publications. He has also written official Doctor Who and Star Trek fiction plus Batman and Justice Society comics for DC. His novels include the military scifi epic Battlenaut Crucible, the urban fantasy Earthshaker, the cozy mystery Death by Polka, and the young adult thriller Unbullied. He’s won a Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and the grand prize in Pocket Books’ Strange New Worlds contest.

We discussed why when he a kid growing up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he dismissed any suggestion Steve Ditko grew up there as mere rumor, the differences in the way we each pants our stories, how to get writing done amid the pressures of life, the best way to approach assembling collections and anthologies, how he got his first gig writing comic books, dealing with the inevitable rejections, whether his fans follow his writing career cross his many genres, the many misconceptions people have about Steve Ditko, and much more.

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As for where we met for lunch, it’s truly a treasure — Black Valley Provender in Everett, Pennsyvania, which I would never have discovered without this podcast. Bob and I settled on this spot for our chat because Everett seemed equidistant between us, and when I looked through the menus of the various restaurants in town, the choices available at Black Valley Provender leap out at me. And the reality more than lived up to the promise of that menu. I can’t recommend the food and hospitality of Black Valley Provender more highly. If I lived closer, I’d be in big trouble.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts

Fish and Chips

Bourbon Caramel Bread Pudding

Crème Brûlée

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Coming up two weeks from today you’ll be able to eavesdrop on my lunch with psychological horror/supernatural suspense/dark fiction author L. Marie Wood.

Thanks for listening!