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.

Daniel and Jon discuss Japanese series Erased in both its live action and animated forms. They talk about how Erased combines a story about crime with supernatural elements to great effect and how it uses character drama to fuel its criminal plotline.

Daniel and Jon embark on a discussion of one of the most popular topics in fiction: crime. They discuss why this subject is so paradoxically popular and the many different ways crime is approached as the basis for stories.

Jon reads Turing, Daniel’s twisty take on the sci-fi genre. Then, the pair discuss the scale and mechanics of the story, its characters and themes and how all four things relate back to the strengths of the genre discussed earlier in the cycle.

Daniel is joined by Keith and Andy from The Brockton Bay Chronicles, to geek out about The Expanse. They talk about the complicated social and political narratives expressed through the show as well as the fascinating use of both hard and soft science fiction elements.

Daniel and Jon visit the world of Cyberpunk, focusing on Edgerunners while also touching on 2077 and Red. They discuss how how the series embodies the prominent themes of its namesake genre and what it does to stand apart from other science fiction.