The Mythic Mic Podcast

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where great books deserve great reach, author dreams meet real-world marketing, and bookish community is built on purpose. 
This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with Rachel Skye, founder of The Nerd Fam — a reader-first book marketing and outreach company connecting authors with the audiences who are most excited to discover them. If you’ve ever wondered how ARC campaigns, reader lists, influencer boxes, and PR outreach actually work behind the scenes, this episode pulls back the curtain.
Rachel shares how Nerd Fam grew from BookTok roots into a values-driven author marketing hub, why she focuses on community fit over vanity metrics, and how thoughtful reader matching creates stronger long-term results than flashy one-day buzz. We talk about realistic expectations for review rates, the truth about reach vs. virality, and why gorgeous PR boxes are not always the right first step for a debut author.
We also dig into ethical marketing practices, reader privacy, AI concerns in author promotion, and what success really looks like beyond bestseller lists and social media hype.
📦 Are PR boxes the best move — or the last move — in an author marketing plan?
📊 Why are review expectations so often misunderstood?
🎯 And what actually gives authors the highest return on their marketing investment?
This episode is essential listening for indie authors, debut writers, and anyone trying to understand how modern book marketing really works.
🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…
✨ How The Nerd Fam started and the gap Rachel saw between indie and traditionally published author support. 
✨ What Nerd Fam actually does (and doesn’t do) in the book marketing space. 
✨ “Bookish Santa” vs bookish matchmaker — connecting the right books with the right readers. 
✨ Building a values-aligned reader community and why cultural fit matters. 
✨ AI use in promotion and why Nerd Fam screens for it. 
✨ Reader signups, campaigns, and how authors and readers get matched. 
✨ What expectations Nerd Fam has for readers and why honesty matters more than hype. 
✨ ARC campaigns vs influencer mailings vs PR boxes and when each makes sense. 
✨ Why debut authors should focus on review foundations before luxury campaigns. 
✨ Vanity metrics vs real success and what actually sustains an author career. 
✨ Setting realistic marketing expectations and playing the long game. 
🐦 CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📦 Guest: The Nerd Fam – @thenerdfam
✨ Love these behind-the-scenes publishing conversations? Leave a rating & review — it helps more authors and readers find The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where power is forged in fire, gods are never what they seem, and love can burn as brightly as it saves.  
This week, host Sara Santillan is joined by our returning Quicksilver influencer, Jan from @JanBookShelf for a full-spoiler deep dive into Brimstone, the explosive second installment in Callie Hart’s Quicksilver series. If you’ve read Brimstone, buckle in — and if you haven’t, proceed with caution, because we go all the way into the rot, the gods, the fire sprites, and that jaw-dropping ending.
Together, Sara and her guest unpack Saeris's transformation from street survivor to Queen of the Blood Court, the evolution of her bond with Kingfisher, and what it truly means to wield power in a world that is literally unraveling. They explore how Saeris's identity as half-fey, half-vampire reshapes not only her sense of self but the political landscape around her, and how her choices are already rippling toward an inevitable war.
We dive deep into the nature of the rot, the devastating truth behind brimstone, and the ethical nightmare of what it may cost to stop the decay consuming the realm. They debate whether the rot is divine, magical, or something even more sinister, and what that means for book three.
You’ll also hear a heartfelt exploration of Saeris's relationships — her fierce devotion to family, her found family, and her unforgettable bond with Kingfisher. From dream-walking to desperate rescues, Sara and Jan reflect on how their love for the series has deepened, grown, and been tested in ways that feel both epic and intimate.
Of course, no Brimstone deep dive would be complete without celebrating Carrion and Onyx — the chaos duo we didn’t know we needed. The pair break down why Carrion’s role feels less like a love triangle and more like a vital, platonic alliance, and why his future could be pivotal to the war ahead.
Finally, they wrestle with the gods and the haunting question of who is really pulling the strings in this world. Is anyone truly trustworthy? And what will Saeris have to become to survive what’s coming?
🩸 What does it truly mean to rule a kingdom built on blood and fire?
🔥 How far is too far when the world itself is rotting?
👑 And what will Saeris sacrifice to become the queen she is destined to be?
This is a must-listen for Quicksilver fans, dark romantasy lovers, and anyone obsessed with morally complex heroines and world-shaking stakes.
🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…
✨ Saeris's evolution from Quicksilver to Brimstone. 
✨ Power, identity, and the cost of leadership. 
✨ The nature of the rot and the truth of brimstone. 
✨ The fire sprites and the moral stakes of magic. 
✨ Saeris's and Kingfisher’s bond, and what that means for fate, love, and sacrifice.
✨ Carrion, Onyx, and the power of platonic loyalty. 
✨ Predictions and theories for Book 3. 
CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Jan – @janbookshelf
✨ Loved this deep dive? Leave us a rating and review — it helps more fantasy and romantasy readers find The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where ambition becomes art, illusions blur morality, and a failed acting career might just be the best writing origin story.  
This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with debut romantasy author Madeline Taylor, whose book Heir of Illusion is already taking the genre by storm. Equal parts hilarious, unfiltered and deeply insightful, Madeline walks us through her winding path from unsuccessful actress, to  English degree, to self-publishing, to a whirlwind traditional publishing deal in a matter of months.
We talk about what it really looks like to write a book during grief, burnout, and mental health struggles, and how spite, therapy, and sheer determination helped her push through anyway. Madeline is refreshingly candid about money stress, timing, and the emotional whiplash of being courted by agents and editors while still trying to pay for wisdom teeth surgery.
Then we dive into the deliciously dark world of Heir of Illusion: a female assassin bound to a ruthless king, a mysterious Shadow Reaper, and illusion magic that is as morally tricky as it is powerful. Madeline unpacks Ivy’s journey from self-punishment to self-worth, the seductive danger of invisibility, and why she loves writing razor-sharp banter more than anything.
🗡️ What happens when spite becomes your greatest creative fuel?
🖤 How do illusions blur the line between survival and morality?
🔥 And what does it really take to go from indie debut to trad deal in record time?
This is a must-listen for romantasy readers, aspiring authors, and anyone who loves messy heroines, shadow daddies, and brutally good cliffhangers.
🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…
✨ Madeline’s unlikely journey from failed acting to published author.
✨ How spite — and someone underestimating her — became a powerful motivator.
✨ The reality of self-publishing on a shoestring budget.
✨ Auctions, foreign rights, and the surreal speed of her trad deal.
✨ Why writing is a business — and how she treated it like one.
✨ Illusion magic, invisibility, and moral grayness in Heir of Illusion.
✨ Banter as Madeline’s favorite thing to write and why scripts helped her master dialogue. 
✨ Her favorite and hardest chapters to write. 
✨ That evil cliffhanger and why Madeline stands by it. 
CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Madeline Taylor – @madelinetaylorauthor
✨ Loved this episode? Leave us a rating and review — it helps more fantasy and romantasy readers find The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where spite can birth stories, birds carry omens, and every book has a secret behind its wings.  
This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with Braidee Otto, author of Songbird of the Sorrows, for a conversation that is equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and deeply inspiring for aspiring authors.
Braidee takes us from her childhood struggles with reading (and a very memorable moment of classroom humiliation) to the exact moment a holographic Del Toro Quest cover rewired her brain and set her on a lifelong path as a ferocious reader and writer. We talk hyperfocus, ADHD, all-or-nothing creativity, and what four straight months of writing actually look like.
We also dive into Braidee’s wild publishing journey from indie release, to shock translation and audio offers before her book even hit shelves, to signing with an agent just weeks later, and eventually landing a traditional deal. Along the way, she shares refreshingly honest insights about fear, self-doubt, relinquishing control, and why gorgeous covers really do matter.
And of course, we sink our teeth into Songbird of the Sorrows — a princess-turned-spy competing in deadly bridal trials, caught between duty, desire, and a former flame who is now her handler.
🕊️ What happens when spite turns into a lifelong love of stories?
🗡️ What if your biggest writing breakthrough came before you even realized you were being watched?
🔥 And what does it really take to move from indie to trad without losing your creative soul?
This episode is a must-listen for romantasy readers, epic fantasy lovers, and any aspiring author wondering what the publishing journey actually looks like.
🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…
✨ Braidee’s unforgettable childhood reading story and how spite became her superpower.
✨ Four-month hyperfocus writing sprints and what her real writing days look like.
✨ The ADHD conversation and “all-or-nothing” creative brains.
✨ Writing through self-doubt and why the fear hit hardest after finishing the book.
✨ Navigating indie to trad in record time.
✨ Why investing in your cover can literally change your career.
✨ A deep dive into Songbird of the Sorrows: deadly bridal trials, spies, and second chances.
✨ Why Braidee wants readers to remember how the book made them feel. 
CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📚 Braidee Otto – @braideeottobooks
✨ If you loved this episode, please rate and review — it helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where great stories deserve great craft, world building goes beyond imagination, and the details you don't see can matter the most. 
This week, hosts Bethany Amanda and Sara Santillan sit down with Hannah Gomez, Senior Editor and Director of Cultural Accuracy and Sensitivity Editorial Services at Kevin Anderson & Associates, for one of the most eye-opening craft conversations we’ve had yet — especially for aspiring authors.
We dive into what cultural accuracy and sensitivity editing actually means (and what it doesn’t), why fantasy and invented worlds are never as disconnected from real history as we think, and how small overlooked details can quietly break reader trust. Hannah shares how her work helps authors strengthen their stories, avoid unintentional harm, and build more immersive, believable worlds — not by policing creativity, but by sharpening it.
From goblin stereotypes with real historical roots to cookbook naming pitfalls to fantasy races that accidentally mirror real-world bias, this episode pulls back the curtain on blind spots most writers never realize they have until someone shows them.
📚 What if your “made-up” fantasy race isn’t actually neutral?
🔍 What tiny detail can break reader trust instantly?
🧠 And how can curiosity — not fear — make your writing stronger?
If you’re an aspiring author, fantasy writer, or worldbuilder, this episode is a must-listen craft masterclass.
🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…
✨ What cultural accuracy and sensitivity editing actually is and why the name evolved. 
✨ The difference between “sensitivity” and simple factual or cultural accuracy. 
✨ Why fantasy worlds are never truly disconnected from real cultures and history. 
✨ Hidden historical roots behind common fantasy tropes (including goblins and witches). 
✨ The “IMDb goof” effect — how one wrong detail can pull readers out of a story. 
✨ Blind spots authors commonly have in both fiction and nonfiction. 
✨ Writing outside your lived experience and best practices that actually help. 
✨ Three essential self-check questions every author should ask while drafting. 
✨ How cultural accuracy edits work behind the scenes. 
✨ Budgeting for cultural accuracy edits as part of your publishing plan. 

🐦 CONNECT WITH US
🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic
👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland
👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill
📖 Guest: Hannah Gomez, Cultural Accuracy & Sensitivity Editor at Kevin Anderson & Associates: @KaWriting
✨ Mention this episode when reaching out to Kevin Anderson & Associates and Hannah will extend a listener discount on her services.