Ditch Diggers

DD 12.9 AO3 is in trouble, it seems. So we talk about fanfic, legalities (we are not lawyers), and more! Then we get on the topic of NaNoWriMo replacements and their pros and cons. Happy November! (Next live show is Nov 16, 3pm EST!)   This post went live for supporters on November 5! If you want early, ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! So Many Links! Fanfic.net ao3.org (when it works) wattpad.com Books by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), Mur Lafferty, Valerie Valdes (writing as Lia Amador), Vivan Shaw, Arkady Martine Dressmaker game Whiskerwood game 4thewords (referral link from Mur!) NaNo2.0 Patreons to follow for writing communities: Mur's, Mary Robinette Kowal, Cat Rambo, Sandra Tayler Trackbear One Hundred Hours of Writing (And follow Valerie on Twitch to join her stream on Nov 16!) Evergreen Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Instagram, Youtube Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits: theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). November 10, 2025 | Season 12 Ep 9 | murverse.com "Ursula's Brutal Re-education Services" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Mur and Ursula are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. And "AI" or large language models is wretched and we hate it so very much.  If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet. Some links are affiliate.

DD 12.8 Ursula has returned from New York ComicCon, and takes some time to talk about her adventures, the launch of Astarion, and parasocial relationships that can be handled well or clumsily. Then we cover ARCs and their purpose. ARCs stand for "Advanced Reader's Copy" by the way. We also discuss some of the less memorable parts of The Neverending Story. Hence the episode name.  We wish for you to have an appropriate encounter with your heroes/fans. This post went live for supporters on October 30! If you want early, ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! Evergreen Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Instagram, Youtube Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits: theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). November 3 , 2025 | Season 12 Ep 8 | murverse.com "Parasocial Nipple Gryphons" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Mur and Ursula are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. And "AI" or large language models is wretched and we hate it so very much.  If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet. Some links are affiliate.

DD 12.7 Ursula and Mur talk about Worldcon, and how great Ursula was, and how terrible Mur's experience was. (Hint, after 6 years, COVID finally caught Mur.) We talk about what Ursula did as a Toastmaster, and what Toastmasters do in general.  Then we talk censorship and what you can do if the overwhelming despair is threatening to consume you.  This post went live for supporters on September 14! If you want early, ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! To fight censorship:  ALA: American Library Association FTRF: Freedom to Read Foundation CBLDF: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Evergreen Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Instagram, Youtube Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits: theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). Sept 16, 2025 | Season 12 Ep 7 | murverse.com "Worldcon Report, Censorship, and more!" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Mur and Ursula are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. And "AI" or large language models is wretched and we hate it so very much.  If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet. Some links are affiliate.

DD 12.6 No, it's not dirty. Ursula is back from adventures in Spain (and adventures with a translator.) We talk about third book difficulties, travel, regal vs unregal elves, and, most importantly, the newest ethics rules the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) have adopted.  This post went live for supporters on August 7! If you want early, ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! Evergreen Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Instagram, Youtube Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits:theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). August 12, 2025 | Season 12 Ep 6 | murverse.com "Lovecraft and Boobs" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Mur and Ursula are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. And "AI" or large language models are wretched and we hate it so very much.  If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet. Some links are affiliate.

DD 12.5 If you haven't heard, Ursula (T. Kingfisher) is writing the prequel novel for ASTARION, the most popular Baldurs Gate 3 character. So of course we have to talk about work for hire, why you do it, what you receive from it, and how to get these jobs. Also you can preorder Astarion! Even if you're not a Baldur's Gate fan, work for hire is likely to come up in your writing career, and you should still check out the episode! This post went live for supporters on May 8! If you want early, ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! Evergreen Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Instagram, Youtube Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits:theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). May 8, 2025 | Season 12 Ep 5 | murverse.com "Ultimate Work for Hire Job: ASTARION" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Mur and Ursula are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.