Travis interviews author Gabriela Houston about her debut novel, The Second Bell. This standalone fantasy novel from Angry Robot follows a young striga fighting to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her.

Gabriela and Travis discuss Slavic folklore, the portrayal of women in fantasy, and how to make time for writing when time for yourself is hard to come by.

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About Gabriela Houston:

Gabriela was born and raised in Poland, brought up on a diet of mythologies and fairy tales. She spent her summers exploring the woods, foraging and animal tracking with her family. At 19, Gabriela moved to London to study English Literature and obtained a Masters degree in Literatures of Modernity. She has worked as an assistant editor and as a freelance writer. Gabriela’s short stories have been selected for the Editor’s Choice Review by Bewildering Stories and have been featured on the Ladies of Horror Fiction podcast. She lives in London with her husband and two children.

Find Gabriela on Twitter, YouTube, or at her website gabrielahouston.com.

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Music:

• Intro: "The Legend of Iya" courtesy of https://philter.no
• Outro: "A Quest Unfolds" courtesy of https://philter.no

This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples.

The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.