Charlie and Samantha Sotto Yambao (Water Moon) discuss her UK debut - yay! - exploring the concepts of fate and choice, the process of evolving the romance, and, we catch up on the lives of Sam's dogs.
A transcript is available on my site
General references:
Ticket link for the podcast live events
Sam joined me to discuss The Beginning of Always in episode 50
Sam joined me to discuss Before Ever After, Love and Gravity, and A Dream of Trees in episode 5
Books mentioned by name or extensively:
David and Leigh Eddings: The Belgariad
J R R Tolkien: Return Of The King
Samantha Sotto: Before Ever After
Samantha Sotto: Love And Gravity
Samantha Sotto: A Dream Of Trees
Samantha Sotto Yambao: Water Moon
Release details: recorded 11th February 2025; published 9th June 2025
Where to find Sam online: Website || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
03:38 This being Sam's UK debut; how it came about
07:32 The inspirations - Ninenzaka in Kyoto
10:28 Expanding on the pawnshop concept in terms of Water Moon's look at fate and choice
12:56 Sam's interest in putting science and fantasy and magical realism together
15:07 Neutrinos!
17:24 When in the process do you research?
19:01 Creating Hana
23:05 Writing about the loss of mothers
25:40 The romance in terms of when Keishin was included
31:19 The bad guys of the book
34:05 All about the ending and Sam's choices
37:17 Charlie brings in Death of the Author
41:06 Doctor Who references
42:19 What's next?
43:03 Asking about Sam's dogs who have made appearances in our previous episodes
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.