SWRT 311 | Flying Pirates & Speculative Fiction with Sarah Branson
December 6, 2024
Author Ben Hawken

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn dive into the post-dystopian world of flying pirates with author Sarah Branson. Learn about her journey from midwifery to crafting tales of adventure and resilience, blending her experiences as a midwife and science teacher into her speculative fiction characters and world building.

“I wanted to take someone who had dealt with a lot of trauma and was set in a world where she could be allowed to grow.”

“When you have a protagonist that lives in your head, who is armed and is a pirate, you do whatever she says.”

 

 

 

 

 

AUDIO

 

 

 

VIDEO

 

Ben Hawken
blue click pen on top of gray book near clear drinking glass

Award-winning author Sarah Branson was a midwife for close to thirty years, helping families welcome their little ones into their arms in the hospital, at a birth center and at home. Now she writes tales of action, adventure, revenge, and romance featuring airborne pirates. Her stories are set against the backdrop of an Earth changed by fires, floods, and pandemics, but are firmly rooted in the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.

Sarah first started conjuring stories of pirates when her family hopped a freighter to Australia when she was seven. She has since grown up, traveling extensively across the US and the globe. She raised her family in Michigan and still longs to swim in Sturgeon Bay and Little Traverse Bay. She worked as a receptionist, retail clerk, writing tutor, business owner, and certified nurse midwife. She also taught science and history to middle school and high school students in the U.S., Brazil, and Japan. Through these myriad experiences, she developed a deep appreciation for people’s strength and endurance and fully believes that badass women will inherit the Earth and the Earth will be better for it.

Sarah lives with her husband in Connecticut.

 

 

SHOW NOTES

 

Things we talked about: 

How has Sarah gone from Midwife to Airborne Pirates? (4:24)

The Strong Female Protagonist. (6:16)

What is the scope of Sarah’s series? (10:13)

Why pirate adventure stories? (12:07)

Why post-apocalyptic fiction? (15:00)

How did fact merge with imagination in Sarah’s world-building? (17:45)

Themes. (24:06)

Character development and its interaction with world-building. (26:00)

Using both first and third-person points of view. (39:00)

How many books does Sarah have planned? (47:20)

 

 

LINKS

 

 

 

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About Your Hosts

Alida

Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she is also a notable in Best American Essays and winner of the Page Turner Award. Author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series, Alida lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.

Kathryn

Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.

Robert

Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com