Daniel and Jon discuss an indie animation that took the world by storm, Hazbin Hotel. They talk about how the show juggles a large number of characters engaged in different forms of villainy and how it presents an interesting and compelling take on the redemption on villains.

Daniel and Marv talk about all the different types of villains you may find in media, how they are classified and what makes for a good villain. While they’re at it, they also try to identify if villains have gotten too soft and argue about Cruella.

Jon reads Daniel’s short horror story, Chained and Damned. They discuss how the story uses uncertainty and mystery to raise the tension and make the reader question what is happening.

Daniel is joined by returning guests, Keith and Andy from Sonoran Desert Media. They discuss the 1990 psychological horror film, Jacob’s Ladder and how it incorporates a great deal of symbolism into is disquieting and disorienting narrative.

Daniel is joined by Sarah R. New to discuss her novella, Hypochondria. They talk about the different places horror can come from and how the most disturbing horror fiction is often grounded in reality.

In a first for Stories Across Borders, Daniel and Jon return to an old cycle theme - horror. They discuss all the different types of horror stories there are, what horror actually means and what makes for a good horror story.

Daniel and Jon break down Daniel’s short story, The Eyes of Eros, which is not about an individual romance but about the concept of love itself. They discuss the many different ways romance can be portrayed in fiction.

Daniel and Jon grit their teeth and take the plunge into Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. They discuss the romanticisation of toxic behaviour in these stories (and others) and how, despite this, the stories successfully achieve what they set out to do.

In this episode, Daniel and Jon discuss how Mai Hirschfeld’s The Four of Them explores early relationships and budding romances in a grounded and healthy way - all without sacrificing character depth or development in the process.

In this uncharacteristically well-timed episode; Daniel, Jon and Marv discuss the romance genre and romantic subplots. They talk about their past misconceptions about romance stories, common tropes and conventions and how romances between characters can be compelling or fall flat.

To wrap up their cycle on adaptations, remakes and re-imaginings; Daniel and Jon revisit a story concept from season one. Jon reads Departure, then the two of them discuss why Daniel chose to rework Smiling Into the Dark into this new form and the choices he made in doing so.

Daniel and Jon take a magnifying glass to Game of Thrones, examining how it adapted the A Song of Ice and Fire series. They break down why some changes might have been made compared to the books and ask themselves why the final season of the show was so maligned.

Daniel and Jon discuss how the Spice & Wolf books were adapted into an animated format. They elaborate on why the second show was made when, by all accounts, the original was already a good adaptation of the books.

Stories Across Borders returns for its fourth season. This time, Daniel and Jon are kicking off a cycle examining adaptations, remakes and re-imaginings. They take a look at the reasons a writer might want to return to an existing IP and discuss how to do so correctly.

Jon reads a teaser from Marble, Daniel’s latest book. Then, the pair of them discuss how Marble builds on the ideas of Domino and where it differs. They also discuss where the Pieces series will go in the future.

Daniel and Jon examine the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise and its complicated mesh of spin-offs, sequels and interquels. They look into the reason some of these stories are excellent additions to the mythos while others fall flat and feel lacking in substance.

Daniel and Jon discuss the God of War franchise’s Nordic duology and how it uses thoughtful storytelling and a tonal shift to enhance the overall narrative of the franchise and transform it from mindless violence into something much deeper.

Daniel and Jon break down the different types of sequel, prequel and spin-off that can be found in media and discuss what makes a sequel good or bad.

Jon reads Risk and Reward, Daniel’s prequel to Raising the Stakes that introduces a pivotal character to his cast of criminals. They discuss the circumstances required to make moral characters decide a life of crime is more ethical than obeying the letter of the law.

Daniel and Jon continue their cycle on crime stories with Leverage. They talk about the circumstances that make criminals the good guys, the pros and cons of the heist format and how a crew of charismatic crooks can be engaging protagonists.