In this solo episode, Storyline Sessions host Marko Bogdanović shares his story about growing up with gaming magazines in the 90s and early 2000s, nostalgia, jorunalism and tries to clean up his apartment.

Game Informer Is Back - https://www.gameinformer.com/letter-from-the-editor/2025/03/25/game-informer-is-back

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In this episode of Storyline Sessions, Hungarian-born SFF author and the winner of the best Fantasy Choice Award in Hungary Norbert Zsivicz talks about his novel Sealed Empire, experience with translations, mixing genres, building an audience and much more.

Find Norbert here - https://www.sealedbooks.com/en/the-book, https://www.instagram.com/authornorbert/

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Listen to Storyline Sessions on Spotify or Deezer - https://taplink.cc/storyline.sessions

Riverside.fm affiliate link (I receive a recurring commission with no additional cost to you): https://www.riverside.fm/?via=marko

Timestamps:

00:00 - Start

01:26 - Conversation start

01:41 - Serbian vs Hungarian

02:22 - Fantasy scenes in Europe

05:44 - Self publishing as an author in Hungary

08:46 - Winning an award as a newcomer

10:02 - English translation and finding an international audience

13:46 - Mixing genres and worldbuilding

17:31 - Using multiple POVs and timelines

19:51 - The cover scene

21:13 - World map

23:20 - Prologues - yay or nay?

25:34 - Comparing original and the translation

27:25 - The setting - medieval fiction and history

30:47 - Planning the end - how to get from A to B?

32:26 - Showing his manuscript to others and trusting yourself

34:21 - Dealing with reviews

36:28 - Using a pseudonym or writing under your name?

38:38 - European SFF

41:00 - Marketing as a self published author - finding your audience

44:20 - The unavoidable AI talk

48:00 - Working on scripts for streaming shows and films

52:33 - Gaming

54:35 - Series timeline and future plans

59:03 - Outro

In this episode of Storyline Sessions, Nebula award-nominated author R.R. Virdi talks about his upcoming book The Doors of Midnight, a sequel to The First Binding, using myths and legends as inspiration, his experience with trad publishing and many more interesting topics.

Follow R.R. Virdi on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rrvirdi/

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Watch Storyline Sessions on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@StorylineSessions

Riverside.fm affiliate link (I receive a recurring commission with no additional cost to you): https://www.riverside.fm/?via=marko

Timestamps:

00:00 - Start

00:45 - Conversation start

00:55 - Reactions to The First Binding

03:40 - Working on the sequel

04:52 - Using mythology in writing - South Asia, Silk Road and beyond

12:00 - Meta layer - storytelling in storytelling

14:36 - Clues and breadcrumbs - foreshadowing

16:52 - POVs

18:35 - Mixing multiple timelines

22:20 - Writing with ADHD

22:47 - Surprising yourself

24:25 - Urban fantasy vs epic fantasy - different influences

27:46 - Writing to market and different genres

32:41 - Lengthy books and "purple prose" vs editors

41:09 - Using appendix and how books change on re-reads

43:24 - Creating maps

45:34 - Cover art and different book editions

47:56 - Trad publishing vs indie

51:20 - Getting paid as an artist

57:46 - Advice for younger/starting writers

01:02:00 - Teasing The Doors of Midnight

01:03:32 - Outro