Welcoming lovers of fantasy, scifi, horror, and all the channels inbetween, authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan are proud to present Dissecting Dragons, the new podcast dedicated to discussing and dissecting speculative fiction for writers and readers, by writers and readers.

Releasing episodes weakly on Podbean & Itunes, Ironside and Vaughan will be exploring a number of different subjects, with the occasional weekly guest-star, and discussing the latest in both best selling and lesser known books and films.

Their goal: to dissect and examine all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.

Get links or listen to the episode on the Dissecting Dragons facebook, or podbean account, or download straight from itunes!

Episodes in BOLD feature a guest star!

EPISODES

1. Rags to Rebel Leaders – The Re-emergence of the Fairy Tale
2. Tainted Love – of Triangles, Love Potions and the Happily Ever After
3. Deus Ex Machina – it was all a Dream: when Writers let you down
4. Witches, Brooms and Spells: Enchanting and Entrapping Children in Fiction
5. Sci-Fi Westerns, Fantasy and Space Opera – Humankind’s conquest of Space
6. Merlin, Mordred and Morgana – Magic in Arthurian Legend
7. Tatooine to Tudor England – The trappings of Historical and Speculative World Building
8. Bugbears of Battle – Inciting Violence in Speculative Fiction
9. From West to East – Translating Speculative Fiction into Anime and Manga
10. Fight like a Girl – ‘Strong’ Female Characters in Speculative Fiction
11. Teams, Trios and Fellowships – the importance of Friendship in Speculative Fiction
12. The Gender Bend – Does the Gender make the Story?
13. Man-Eating Monster to Flower-Toting Belle – the transition of Fairies in the Victorian Era
14. Main Mission – Gaming Narrative, the Future of Storytelling
15. Moustache Twirling 101 – the Mechanics of writing a Villain
16. Rattling Bones and Poltergeists – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Ghost stories
17. Magnus Bane to Jack Harkness – LGBTQA+ Representation and Diversity in Speculative Fiction
18. Oh not another Zombie Movie – the Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Living Dead
19. Was that REALLY necessary? – the overuse of Sexual Violence in Speculative Media
20. Clash of the Titans – Superheroes vs Superheroes
21. Down with the Empire – exploring political themes in YA Speculative Fiction
22. Once More Around the Sun – Celebrating Terrible Birthdays in Speculative Fiction
23. Genius Loci – Writing Real World Places in Speculative Fiction
24. Cognoggins and Clockwork – What makes good Steampunk?
25. Death and All His Friends – Themes of Death, Dying and Grief in Speculative Fiction
26. A Touch of Faust – Changing Goals on your Protagonist and when this works
27. Harnessing Demons – How Writers use their own faults and insecurities in Writing 
28. Gobblefunk and Glyphs – creating words in Children’s Fantasy
29. The Frankenstein Complex – why is ‘Fan Fiction’ such a dirty word?
30. Bucky Barnes to the Winter Soldier – the Evolution of the Side-kick
31. The Devil in the Details – Lucifer in Modern Speculative Fiction
32. Escape to the Country – of Editing and Writing Weekends
33. Not so Charming – Male Stereotypes in Speculative Fiction
34. The Unveiled Series Reborn – Books, Judgement, Heaven & Hell, and PTSD
35. Three Goblins Walk into a Bar – Writing Humour in Speculative Fiction and How to Avoid the Accidental Funny
36. Horcruxs and Heartbreak – of Books, Souls and Killing your Darlings
37. Breaking Out the F-jars – Our Favourite Swears in Speculative Fiction
38. Monsters and Men – Gothic Classics and the Origin of Horror – A Hallowe’en Special
39. Saints, Souls and Samhain – the Celtic Day of the Dead
40. Strange, Horrible and Who – the Egotism of Genius
41. Balancing the Real and the Fantastical – Writing Relatable Epic Fantasy
42. Let us make Men – From Golems to Androids
43. Standalones to Series – the pros and cons of One-offs and the Neverending Series
44. Writing Sex Scenes – it’s not as Hard as You Think
45. Time and Tide and the Rose-tinted Glasses – Our Fascination with the Past
46. Winter Festivals – Traditions and Stories in the Dark
47. 2016 – The Best Bits
48. Mermaids, Selkies and Sirens – Legends of the Sea
49. Barghests, Bogey Beasts and Black Shuck – Black Dogs of the British Isles
50. Dreamscapes and Nightmares – Writing the Unconscious
51. Happily Ever After – The Evolution of the Disney Princess
52. Dragons, Wyverns and Wyrms – Happy Anniversary
53. The Wizard of Oz to Wicked – Adaptations and Reimaginings in Speculative Fiction
54. Forest Giants to Snow Queens – the Frozen Heart of Speculative Fiction
55. Break ’em to Make ’em – the Heroes who Rise from the Ashes
56. Symbiosis – Why we need Writing Buddies
57. Defying Gravity – the Incredible Unlikeliness of Musical Theatre
58. One Ring to Rule them All – Magical Artifacts that made the Hero
59. Room 101 – the Concept of Dystopian Hell
60. Comic Can’t – Conventions, Talks and Launches
61. Lords of Misrule – Tricksters, Con-artists and Grifters in Speculative Fiction
62. Occult Detectives – Urban Fantasy and Mystery
63. Mentors, Wizards and Wise Women – Portrayals of the Elderly in Speculative Fiction
64. Rogues, Renegades and Robin Hood – Our Favourite Outlaws in Speculative Fiction
65. The Strange Case of Professor Lupin – the Subversive Power of Speculative Fiction
66. Strange Familiarity – the Uncanny in Speculative Fiction
67. The Ship has Sailed – Happy Endings, Fan Service & the Appropriate Finale
68. Cautionary Tunes – The Fantasy & History behind Folksongs & Nursery Rhymes 
69. When you say Nothing at all – Sparkling Dialogue in Speculative Fiction
70. They Shall take up Serpents – Religious Cults in Speculative Fiction
71. The Lazarus Effect – Black from the Dead (Again!)
72. Maenads, Black Magic & Demon Drink – Addictions in Speculative Fiction
73. Sand and Sky – Desert Archetypes in Speculative Fiction
74. The Sorting Hat and Other Trails – Finding your Tribe in Speculative Fiction
75. Labyrinth – Looking at the Mystery of Mazes
76. From Aslan to Ananda – Religious Allegory in Speculative Fiction
77. Man out of Time – Displaces Protagonists in Speculative Fiction
78. Portents, Symbols & Future Knowledge – Precognition & Foreshadowing in Speculative Fiction
79. Ouija Boards, Possessed Boards & Bloody Mary – the Fascination with Supernatural Games
80. Pivot Points – Historical Moments that Changed Everything
81. War! What is it good for…in Storytelling?
82. Incubi, Vampires and Fallen Angels – the Demon Lover in Speculative Fiction
83. Spellbinding Songs, Enchanting Tunes & the Magic of Music in Fiction
84. More Tainted Love – the Romantic Subplot in Speculative Fiction
85. Witches, Bitches and Shrews – The Wise Woman Archetype in Speculative Fiction
86. Leches, Perverts and Peepin’ Toms – Attitudes to Sexual Depravity in Speculative Fiction
87. Losing the Plot – Revamping, Recycling and Reusing your Writing
88. Heavenly Hosts and Fallen Fiends – the Angelic Being in Speculative Fiction
89. A Night at the Overlook Hotel – Haunted Houses in Speculative Fiction (and their real life counterparts)
90. Yay or Neigh – Horses, Pegasus and Kelpies in Speculative Fiction
91. Evil Twins and Partners in Crime – Siblings in Speculative Fiction and Real Life
92. Blood Drinkers and Psychic Thieves – the Vampire in Speculative Fiction
93. Damnation, Retribution and Reception – Hell Planes and Purgatory in Speculative Fiction
94. Inner Space – Altered Realities in Speculative Fiction
95. The Horse’s Point of View – Gender of Politics in Speculative Fiction
96. Fanfiction Revisited – Cassie Clare, 50 Shades and the Next Big Seller
97. Cheese and Crackers – Our Favourite Bad Christmas Films
98. In Review 2017 – the Good, the Bad and the Weird
99. Long Live the Resistance – The Problems of Magical Revolution in Speculative Fiction
100. So You Want to be a Writer? Celebrating 100 Episodes of Dissecting Dragons
101. Back on the Broom – More Enchanting Children’s Fiction with James Nicol
102. Squibs and Mundanes – Disability Representation in Speculative Fiction
103. Best Served Cold – Revenge Arcs in Speculative Fiction
104. Bones, Boyd and Cottle – The Physician Archetype in Speculative Fiction
105. The Book Hangover – Fictional Worlds that won’t Let you Go – Anniversary Episode!
106. Kali-ma, Inanna & Anath – The Creator-Destroyer in Myth and Speculative Fiction
107. The Balance of Power – Sexism and Sexual Harassment in the Publishing Industry
108. It Must be the Weather – How Nature Reflects Art in Speculative Fiction
109. Into the East – Fantasy Settings Tolkien Never Used
110. Saying What You Really Mean – The Importance of Theme is Speculative Fiction
111. Larger than Life – The Fictional World of Giants
112.  Spies, Traitors & Turncoats – Informants in Speculative Fiction
113. Decoy Ducks & Red Herrings – Sayings, Urban Legends and Aphorisms
114. Queer Eye for the Straight Story – Reading Speculative Fiction through a Queer Filter
115. Clothes Make the Man – Cross-dressing in Speculative Fiction
116. Cliches are Cliche for a Reason – Why Tropes aren’t bad, but Some Tropes need to Die
117. Dinosaurs and Mega Cryptids – Man-made Monsters in Speculative Fiction
118. You Fancy Me Mad – Renfield, Lear & Ophelia: Madness in Speculative Fiction
119. Love Conquers All – Power Couples who destroyed the Story
120. Bards, Troubadours and Skalds – The Musician Archetype in Speculative Fiction
121. If We Were Villains – What Shakespeare has to say to a Modern Audience
122. Baby Doom – The Stork Visits in Speculative Fiction
123. From the Deep – Mystery, Suspense and Sea Monsters in Historical Fantasy
124. Visitations and Forebodings – How Nightmares are used in Speculative Fiction
125. From a Certain Point of View – Multiple POVs, Dual Timelines and Reader Sympathies in Speculative Fiction.
126. The Slow Death of Literature – What Readers Really Want
127. Crime & Culpability – Should Characters get what they Really Deserve
128. Neat Little Monsters – The Animal Companion in Speculative Fiction
129. Marrying in Haste – Young Love in YA Speculative Fiction
130. Masked Marauders – Double Lives and Secret Identities in Speculative Fiction
131. Hobbit Holes, Burrows and Secret Lairs – the Concept of Home in Speculative Fiction
132. Stranger than Fiction – the Weird and Wonderful World of Writing
133. Every Hero Needs a Sam – The Unlikely Best Friend in Speculative Fiction
134. Love Ladies Lost! Revisiting Arthurian Legend
135. Grimalkin, Mogget and Mr Kindly – Cats in Speculative Fiction
136. Remus Werewolf McWerewolf Lupin – The Importance of Character Names in Speculative Fiction
137. This Year’s God – The Human Need for Archetypes
138. Streetwalkers, Courtesans and Companions – The World’s Oldest Profession in Speculative Fiction
139. That is Illogical – Murderous, Wacky and Wise-cracking AI in Speculative Fiction
140. Parody, Farce and Exaggeration – Satire in Speculative Fiction
141. Spirits of the Deep and Dark – A Dissecting Dragons Hallowe’en Special
142. Battlefield Earth – Intergalactic Invasions in Speculative Fiction
143. Making Sh!t Happen – Avoiding the Number One Writing Fail
144. Private Eyes and Underworlds – Crime Meets Urban Fantasy
145. Away with the Faeries – Girls versus Supernatural Queens
146. The Hollywood Treatment – What the Movies Changed
147. Trading Capes – When Villains become Heroes
148. The Holly and the Ivy – The Root of the Carol
149. 2018 – The Good, the Bad and the Utterly Bizarre
150. The Twilight Zone – When Fandoms are Attacked in Speculative Fiction
151. Reading Like a Writer – How Critical Reading Informs the Writing Process
152. The Universe in Motion – Expanding Series & Reader Opinion in Speculative Fiction
153. A Pirate’s Life for Me – Myths, Stories and Crime on the High Seas
154. Death and Sex Appeal – Assassins in Speculative Fiction
155. All in Your Head – Portrayals of Mental Illness in Modern YA Fiction
156. Childcatchers and Trunchbulls – Portrayals of Abuse in Children’s Fiction
157. Chosen Ones and Fated Champions – the Phenomenon of the Special Snowflake in Speculative Fiction
158. Dominion, Mastery and Emancipation – Portrayals of Slavery in Speculative Fiction
159. I See Dead People – Psychics, Mediums and Communing with the Dead
160. The Kids are Alright – Why do we need a NA Genre as well as YA?
161. That’s not Historically Accurate – the Fallacy of Fantasy Fiction
162. Bring Out Your Dead – Sickness and Pandemics in Speculative Fiction
163. Into the Woods – Mythical, Magical and Malicious Forests in Speculative Fiction
164. The Language of Flowers – Botanical Folklore in Myth and Speculative Fiction
165. What We Really Want – The Tropes We Love in Speculative Fiction
166. The Problem of Susan – Wayward Children in Fantasy Fiction
167. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn – Anthropomorphic Animals in Speculative Fiction
168. Woke is My Brand – The Trouble with Toxic Twitter
169. Sly, Cunning and Cuddly – Fantastic Foxes in Speculative Fiction
170. Maps, Footnotes and Dedications – When Authors go the Extra Mile
171. Inner Landscapes – The Transformative Character Arc in Speculative Fiction
172. Crowning Glory – The Significance of Hair in Myth and Speculative Fiction
173. Endgame – The Legacy of the MCU
174. We All Deserve to Die – Killing Off Characters the Right Way in Speculative Fiction
175. Winter is Here – End of Thrones
176. Fact vs Fiction – Blending the Real with the Fantastical in Historical Fiction
177. Of Good and Evil – Depictions of Morality in Speculative Fiction
178. Of Course, This Means War – Narrative Conflict in Speculative Fiction
179. Truth, Lies & the Big Misunderstanding – Honesty and Deception Tropes in Speculative Fiction
180. 10,000 – A Celebration of Dissecting Dragons
181. Of Their Time – the Changing Faces of Diversity and Prejudice in Speculative Fiction
182. Full Immersion Fantasy – the Appeal of RPG
183. The Future We Deserve? – Learning Hope From Science Fiction
184. Auguries and Omens – Bird Symbolism in Myth and Speculative Fiction
185. This is Not Forgiveness – Redemption Arcs in Speculative Fiction
186. Going Through Changes – Shapeshifters in Myth and Speculative Fiction
187. Designer Flu & Superhumans – The Conspiracy Theory Trope in Speculative Fiction
188. I’m Not Gay, I’m Just Evil – The Queer Coded Villain Trope in Speculative Fiction
189. Last One Alive – Final Girl Tropes in Speculative Fiction
190. Art and Artifice – What Jane Austen has to say to a Modern Readership
191. It’s Harder that You Think – Writing Sex Scenes in Speculative Fiction
192. Fitted Breastplates & Feminine Mystique – Sexist Absurdities in Speculative Fiction
193. Tragic Heroes and Unexpected Children – More Tropes We Love in Speculative Fiction
194. Creaky Floorboards & Locked Doors – Learning Tension and Suspense from Gothic Fiction
195. Key & Codex – Secret Societies in Speculative Fiction
196. Tale as Old as Time – Why Fairytales Endure
197. The Trouble with the Victorians – How a Single Era Influenced Our Opinions
198. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey – Time Travel in Speculative Fiction
199. Troubled, Dead or MIA – Parent-child Relationships in Speculative Fiction
200. The F-word Revisited – Faeries in Urban Fantasy
201. It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas – Our Favourite Festive Scenes
202. 2019 – Marvels and Oddities
203. For the Dead Travel Fast – Monster Hunters in Speculative Fiction
204. Good Hearted Rogues to Xenomorphs – the Dragons’ Formative Films
205. Guardians of Knowledge – Magical Libraries in Speculative Fiction
206. Devilish Dogs and Last Unicorns – Traumatic Moments in Children’s Animated Feature Films
207. Nervous Timid Goth Boys vs Manic Pixie Dream Girls – How a Single Trope can Shift Narrative Preference
208. Welcome to the Multiverse – Alternate Realities, Evil Twins and Unmade Choices in Speculative Fiction

 

ABOUT the HOSTS

Dissecting Dragons was the brain child of speculative authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan, who decided one day to combine their love of fiction, and their experience as both writers and readers into a podcast, specifically looking at Fantasy, Scifi and all the odd bits and bobs that go between.

M.E. Vaughan:

Author of the best-selling fantasy The Sons of Thestian, Madeleine is a graduate from the University of Winchester. Director of Winchester’s Folk & World Music Choir, Madeleine is a keen composer and musician, and lectures in Creative Writing. Her interest in faeries was incited by her mother who, one day, unwittingly implored Madeleine to ‘write a nice story for a change, with faeries or something’.  This request birthed the first draft of The Sons of Thestian, and the subsequent start of Madeleine’s writing career. In the dedication of her book, Madeleine apologises to her mother for only being able to fufil half of her request. Faeries, as it turns out, are pretty damn horrible.

Follow Madeleine at:
Author Website: www.madeleinevaughan.com
Book Website: www.harmatiacycle.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Madeleine.E.Vaughan
Tumblr: www.mevaughan.tumblr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/M_E_Vaughan

J.A. Ironside:

Jules Anne Ironside grew up in a house full of books in rural Dorset. She loves speculative fiction of all stripes, especially fantasy and science fiction, although when it comes to the written word, she’s not choosey and will read almost anything. Actually it would be fair to say that she starts to go a bit peculiar if she doesn’t get through around three books a week. Jules writes across various genres and it’s a rare story if there isn’t a fantastical or speculative element in there somewhere.

As a keen martial artist, Jules has studied several disciplines but is most accomplished in Goju Ryu karate which she has studied and taught for almost twenty years. Her favourite things include books (obviously), slippers, cheese and surreal conversations.

She now lives in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswold way with her boyfriend creature and a small black and white cat, both of whom share a god-complex.

Follow Jules at:
Author Website: www.jaironside.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DystopianIronside
Tumblr: jaironside.tumblr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/J_AnneIronside