Episode 55 - A Merman in the Deep Sea: Exploring Davy Jones' Aquarium

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Episode 55 - Exploring Davy Jones' Aquarium
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Karlissa J’s most recent fantasy novel is Davy Jones’ Aquarium. Jason has described it as the perfection of the way she wants to write. And it is a xenofiction story, where the main character is a quirky teenage merman. What inspired Karlissa to write a tale about a merman, and what did she enjoy about creating the world he would inhabit?

You can learn more about Davy Jones’ Aquarium and my other books by visiting book-bat.com/books.

If you have read and enjoyed Davy Jones’ Aquarium, be sure to post a review, we’d greatly appreciate it.

Episode 54 - Sonic Meets the Enneagram

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Episode 54 - Sonic Meets The Enneagram
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It’s Sonic the Hedgehog meets the Enneagram! Jason has made personality matches for a swath of Sonic-universe characters, and Sonic himself got the title of Peacemaker. Why did Jason decide this was a fitting label for the speedster?

Jason Recommends… Sonic the Hedgehog Presents: The Chaotix Casefiles

Blog about IDW Sonic characters:

https://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/3/4/sonic-the-hedgehog-new-characters-from-the-comics

Last year’s Month of Sonic episode and blog post:

http://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2025/3/18/episode-42-the-first-month-of-sonic-the-hedgehog

http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2025/3/8/sonic-the-hedgehog-on-the-small-screen-ranked

What do you think of where Jason has placed each of these characters? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 53 - What Is Xenofiction?

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Episode 53 - What Is Xenofiction?
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Xenofiction - stories told from a nonhuman perspective - is all around us! In this episode, Karlissa and Jason explore the appeal of xenofiction from a writer’s perspective and dive into a few examples of xenofiction. They discuss… Does it matter that Superman is an alien? Are hobbits truly distinct from humans? And what’s up with the animosity between the human Dr. Eggman and animal-people like Sonic the hedgehog? And of course, Karlissa sneaks in a quote from C.S. Lewis!

Episode 42 – The First Month of Sonic the Hedgehog

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Episode 42 - The First Month of Sonic the Hedgehog
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“Gotta go fast!” Why does Jason like Sonic so much? And where might one find some fun Sonic the Hedgehog stories? Jason and Karlissa look at Sonic’s history, his current comic book run, and more! Also, check out this month’s blog post for a ranking of Sonic’s animated shows!

Episode 41 - Superheroes, Comics, and Fantasy... oh my!

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Episode 41 - Superheroes, Comics, and Fantasy... oh my!
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Time to nerd out! When is a superhero story not a superhero story? Jason is given the chance to gush about one of his favourite subjects as he and Karlissa J discuss movies, shows, comics, Batman, Spiderman, and even Shadow the Hedgehog.

Join the conversation!

What is your favourite superhero story? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 37 - Animal Stories

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Episode 37 - Animal Stories
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Karlissa has recently read Watership Down (Richard Adams), so we’re going to talk about novels with animal protagonists, with a focus on the rabbit tale – including thoughts about the movie!

New vocabulary: Animal Xenofiction (stories told from the perspective of an animal)

Books Mentioned: Warriors (Erin Hunter), Redwall (Brian Jacques), Guardians of Ga’Hoole (Katherine Lasky), Silverwing (Kenneth Oppel), The Incredible Journey (Sheila Burnfield), Jim Kjelgaard books, Walt Morey books, Sonic the Hedgehog stories, The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud (Jenny L. Cote), Runt the Brave (Daniel Schwabauer), The Green Ember (S.D. Smith).

Join the conversation!

What is your favourite animal-led novel? Let us know in the comments!

Episode 6 - Fantastical Creature Origins

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Episode 6 - Fantastical Creature Origins
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Discover the origins of six popular fantasy beings, followed by a conversation about one never-used creature.

Zombies, elves, fairies, and more: where do they come from, and how have they changed over time??

Resource: Tony Allen's "The Mythic Bestiary"