TCR Talks with Jennifer Brody, author of A Sacrifice of Blood and Stars

  By Samantha Alissa Martin Jennifer Brody—novelist, short-story writer, TV/film producer and writer, and writing instructor—dives into her obsession with “Dear John” letters, Ancient Chinese philosophy, and science in her latest novel, A Sacrifice of Blood and Stars. The story follows protagonist Hikari Skye (Kari) as she enlists to be part of Space Force in the midst of the Proxy Wars. The trouble is, her reputation is far from perfect, as her father’s status as a deserter seems to follow her all the way to space. To make matters worse, she is paired with her bully, Draeden Rache (Drae), through…

TCR Talks with James Comtois

BY A.E. Santana

James Comtois has long been a fan of horror and is a skilled and adventurous storyteller, writing dramatic, thoughtful, and frightening onstage scenes. As the cofounder and co-artistic director of New York–based theater company Nosedive Productions, where he also served as resident playwright, Comtois was involved with creating original and fantastically bizarre plays. He has produced more than twenty plays, including the award-winning titles The Awaited Visit and Mayonnaise Sandwiches. He is an accomplished reporter and reviewer.

Just in time for Halloween, The Coachella Review talks with Comtois on horror, crafting scripts in this genre, and his experience writing the acclaimed vampire play, The Little One.

The Greater Good

By: Liz Warren Pederson

Nathalie called me— called me!— to discuss her deathwatch project. She said the technology is there but the market for hardware is iffy at best, especially coming from a startup. She said there was no point launching from the inventor’s country of origin because socialists lack ambition. She said the inventor had only come to her because his full-time employer didn’t think the IP was aligned with its core values. The plan is to use a crowdfunding platform for market validation and to attract first-round investment. She said a courier would bring me a prototype so I could test it. Then she sighed. “Jay. Manufacturing will be like passing a stone.” That she called at all just goes to show how “compelling” she thinks this is for the American market. It was only the third or fourth time we’d actually spoken in the year I’d worked for her.