Hi I’m Pepper (they/them), the exhausted and over caffeinated phoenix that helps Sam (they/them) with their writing. Think of me as a fickle, sarcastic muse who isn’t paid enough to keep all of Sam’s projects straight (but neither can Sam so it’s fine).
Sam is a fantasy-horror-political drama writer who is also an amateur historian and social activist. Sam loves writing mixed genres and playing with format. At some point, they want to write historical fiction and queer mysteries, but I think they’re getting ahead of themselves.
They also host, produce, and write for a history podcast: the Art of Asymmetrical Warfare. It studies the intersection of asymmetrical warfare and colonialism (basically when they aren’t writing about fictional colonial asshats and revolutionaries, they’re talking about real life colonial asshats and revolutionaries).
When they’re not writing or podcasting, they’re caring for their spoiled pea-sized pup.
Who Sam Writes For
Sam writes the stories they needed as a child and still need as an adult. They write for the people who are angry, grieving, and fed up. The people who don’t want feel good stories, but stories that allow them to sit with their desperation and rage and know they’re not alone. For the people who have indulged in toxic coping mechanisms and who are still there or are figuring out how to heal. For the people who are still trapped with their abusers and can’t see a way out, or who are discovering that their society is run by similarly abusive asshats and refuse to accept that’s the way things are supposed to be. For the people who need to watch the world burn in fiction as a cathartic release. For people who have tried so hard to escape their bad situations, deal with their trauma, and are just plain exhausted because it seems every time they make progress, something gets in the way.
Their stories are dedicated to you.
Sam’s Fave Tropes
Some of their favorite tropes are:
- anthropomorphic MCs
- Mad scientists and classic horror monsters
- cynical journalist becomes even more cynical because of how awful everything truly is
- coups and political backstabbing
- Couples working through relationship issues in a healthy manner
- Unhealthy coping techniques for trauma and anxiety
- sewer adventures
- sex workers being acknowledged as human beings
- LGBTQ+ heavy cast
- madmen and revolutionaries
- unreliable narrators and non-linear narratives
- burn everything to the ground narratives
- ruthless character who will cut out their own beloved’s heart to get what they want
Some of Sam’s Fave Books
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Devils’ Dance by Hamid Ismailov
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz
The Crows by C. M. Rosens
Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
The Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate
Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Yid by Paul Goldberg
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Some of Sam’s Fave Movies
Lord of the Rings
Network
The Death of Stalin
Life Aquatic
Watchmen
Nightmare Before Christmas
Sleepy Hollow
Labyrinth
Batman Returns
Blade Runner
Hellboy II
American Werewolf in London
Blade II
Pacific Rim
Judgment at Nuremberg
Some of Sam’s Fave TV shows
Hannibal
Peaky Blinders
Penny Dreadful
Dark
Babylon Berlin
The Expanse
Chernobyl
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
What We Do In the Shadows
Bob’s Burgers
Ronin Warriors
Pepper Writes 