This episode features a campfire chat with Mark's partner Liz Anderson about co-hosting the 2025 Aurora Awards livestream on Sunday August 10, 2025.

In the interview, Mark and Liz talk about:

• The background of co-hosting the Aurora Awards over the years
• Working on a pandemic parody music video on a whim within about 24 hours as a bit of an escape
• The trepidation and challenge of working on something that one is not as familiar about
• The level of commitment and interest within the speculative fiction community
• How much time and creative energy people have poured themselves into the creative work they do
• The privilege of being able to highlight these creators and their achievements
• A history of the themes Mark and Liz have used for their Aurora opening shtick bits over the years
• The "Last Minute Production" branding that Liz has long adapted
• Leveraging the mixture of talent/skill in singing when working on a project together (how Mark sings with far more passion than ability
• How Liz and Mark have been pushing themselves every year
• The challenge of offering constructive feedback to someone you are close to
• The importance of just getting it done when you're completing a task with a tight deadline
• Considering that "first draft" of something that's created in order to get to the next level
• Getting the thing "out of your head" to keep things moving
• The different approaches Mark and Liz have when it comes to putting content into the world
• Liz's experience having never fallen flat on her face when creating content completely at the last minute
• Advice about stepping into an environment where you're not as familiar with the landscapeould give to writers
• And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on the way Liz described the staff and students at her school.

The introduction and concluding reflection were performed by Mark's digital AI voice clone from ElevenLabs.

Links of Interest:

• The 2025 Aurora Awards (Livestreamed on Aug 10, 2025)
  • Previous Years Auroras
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2020
  • Opening Shtick Clips
    • 2025 ("If I Had $1000000" Parody)
    • 2024 (Graduating and Getting Married)
    • 2023 (Teaching Liz about Sci-Fi)
    • 2022 (Last Minute Host/Co-host)
• Mark and Liz Parody Videos
  • Stuck in This House Here with You
  • K-Tel Pandemic Collection Commerical Parody
• Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
• Buy Mark a Coffee
• Patreon for Stark Reflections
• The 2025 Aurora Awards Livestream (Sunday Aug 10 at 5 PM Eastern)
  • The Opening Schtick Bits from previous Aurora Awards
    • 2022 Opening
    • 2023 Opening
    • 2024 Opening
• Mark's YouTube channel
• Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
• An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
• The Relaxed Author
  • Buy eBook Direct
  • Buy Audiobook Direct
• Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
• An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
• Wide for the Win
• Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
  • This Time Around (Short Story)
  • A Canadian Werewolf in New York
  • Stowe Away (Novella)
  • Fear and Longing in Los Angeles
  • Fright Nights, Big City
  • Lover's Moon
  • Hex and the City
  • Only Monsters in the Building
• The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
• Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0