TG Geeks Webcast Episode 399

The Two Gay Geeks 🏳️‍🌈 have a chat with Author Mason Thomas and good friend Marc Biagi about a new audiobook Kickstarter they have set up for Mason's book, The Shadow Mark. We chat with Mason about how he came to writing and specifically about The Shadow Mark with a few side trips as usual. We chat with Marc about the audiobook Kickstarter and how he became involved. After the interview portion, please continue to listen for a clip from The Shadow Mark. Attached below in the article are three clips of Marc reading Mason's work as well as the link to the Kickstarter. Have a listen, and we hope you enjoy this as much as we did. About Mason Thomas Mason is an author of speculative fiction, and his works center on strong gay protagonists. He currently has three novels, each a standalone story. LORD MOUSE was nominated for “best novel” by Gaylactic Spectrum Awards. THE SHADOW MARK was also nominated for “Best speculative novel” by both the INDIE and LLAMDA Awards. THE WITCHSTONE AMULET is his most recent release. His body of work was recognized by the QUEER INDY awards, taking third place in the category of BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION. He also has a collection of three short stories titled THREE TALES. His work is currently available on Amazon in digital and print forms. More novels are in the works and on the way. While growing up, learning he was gay, Mason rarely found any representation in the speculative novels he was reading. In his writing journey, he's made it his mission to bring strong, authentic, and positive gay characters into speculative fiction, into the kind of stories he ached for as a kid. Since THE SHADOW MARK debuted back in 2017, Mason has wanted to have this story put into audiobook format. It was a chance meeting at San Diego Comic-Con that brought Mason and Marc Biagi together. Marc is a highly respected, firmly established, and wildly talented voice actor. The two hit it off instantly, sharing the belief that there needs to be more quality LGBTQ+ content in the speculative world! Mason quickly knew that Marc was the talent he needed for this story. And so a partnership began! Website: http://masonthomasbooks.com/index.html/ About Marc Biagi With decades of experience in the industry, I've been doing voice work for clients across the US and the world. I'm a strong character actor and leverage my diverse accent & dialect work in my roles. You might know me as Vector the Crocodile and Professor Gerald Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, Strider Hiryu in Strider, Brian Basco in the Runaway adventure games, and many recent and popular roles in Star Trek Online. However, I have hundreds of titles under my belt, and I'm no stranger to storytelling with many titles for major educational publishers. And now, I'm making in-roads into the AudioBook world! I'm a huge fan of fantasy and SF and have read them voraciously for decades and am honored and excited to bring Mason's characters and world from print into the audio world. And, as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I'm also proud to be associated with Mason's works that feature characters who reflect us. If you want to have some fun, check out some of my credits and work in the links below: Website: https://marcbiagi.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL2iciuXvubceTTFM94g72A ☀☀☀ About The Shadow Mark Auraq Greystone, once a military officer with a promising future, exists on the fringe of society. Accused of murder, Auraq is on the run from the ax—until two fugitives crash into his solitary life. One is a young man named Kane. The glowing marks on his arm pulse with an otherworldly power, and they have made him the target of a sinister organization called the Order of the Jackal. When the old man protecting Kane dies in an ambush, Auraq swears an oath to take his place.But the runes are far more significant than they realize. They are a message from the shadow realm,