The CIA Meets The Fae

A nurse sits beside an IV chair, a patient says “tell me a story,” and a brand-new fantasy world snaps into focus. We’re joined by author Danielle Orsino, who walks us through the surprising true spark behind A Fool’s Journey, part of her Legacies of Light and Dark series. What starts as a casual conversation turns into a high-stakes urban fantasy premise: a CIA operative called Agent Graham goes undercover, chases a supernatural threat, and discovers the target is not what she seems.

We also get honest about why research and realism matter even when you’re writing Fae, succubi, psychic awakenings, and alternative history. Danielle breaks down the parts people rarely show on TV: bureaucracy, office politics, budgets, hierarchy, and the constant pressure of being “only as good as the last job.” If you like fantasy books that feel grounded, procedural, and immersive, you’ll hear exactly how she builds that texture on the page.

Then the conversation widens into the stories that raised us. Wonder Woman becomes a lens for identity, boundaries, and the longing to feel safe and seen, especially when you grow up feeling like an outsider. We talk comic book storytelling as real art, why creators deserve more credit, and what it means to write slow-burn romance on purpose instead of chasing fast trends.

If you want to learn more about Danielle Orsino or check out her series 

https://www.dmorsino.com/

Subscribe to Diva Tonight, share this with a friend who loves fantasy and fandom culture, and leave a review telling us which character shaped you first.

Transcript

Welcome To Diva Tonight

Speaker 0:01

You're listening to Diva Tonight with Carlene Humphrey, a relationship podcast with a focus on life, love, and friendship. Welcome to Diva Tonight.

Carlene 0:12

Hi, I'm Carlene, and this is Diva Tonight. I am excited for my guest. Her name is Danielle Orsino, and she is a fantasy author. She's a fan of Wonder Woman. She writes novellas in a different genre that I'm that I normally don't read about, but I think it's fascinating because these books are kind of like what they say, the greatest, the great escape, in a way, for for many people. And she's done other things in her life, obviously. But Danielle, how are you? I'm good. I'm very excited to be here. This is a long time coming.

The Patient Who Sparked The Plot

Carlene 0:51

So as an author, I read a little bit of Fool's Journey. Is that right? The name Fool's Journey. A Fool's Journey, yes. Yes.

Speaker 3 0:58

So tell me about this book. Okay. A Fool's Journey is the first book of volume two in my Legacies of Light and Dark series. So A Fool's Journey is kind of for me the book that started it all, even though it's book two and it's my ninth book, I think. This is the book that was inspired by a patient when I was a nurse. He was sitting in the IV chair, didn't want to drip anymore, said tell me a story. And then I said, Well, tell me something about yourself. And he informed me that he was recruited by the CIA directly out of college. One thing led to another. We wound up going down the whole conspiracy theory rabbit hole. And out of my mouth came, Well, you know where Lyme disease comes from. He's like, No, I was like, the Faye. I have no idea why I said it. I began weaving a story about a CIA agent who goes undercover in a Lyme disease clinic to find out if the nurse is a Faye human hybrid. And that's where this whole story came from. So A Fool's Journey is really the story I told the patient. And the patient who inspired Agent Graham, like I said, is the inspiration. So this is his literary debut. But this was originally the book I wanted to release first. And I wanted the pull of Star Wars, you know, release episode four and then go back and tell the real story. But everybody told me, don't do that. Nobody will get it. So I've waited years to release this book, which is about the CIA agent Agent Graham, who is known as the collector in the supernatural world. He's the boogeyman to the succubi. Nobody wants to get in his way. Oh. And so he has been looking for the crown jewel of his collection, known as a gamma-level succubus. And one day the medical alert system is tripped in the CIA. And he's told, we found one. And so instead of just going and doing a bag and tag, which is what they call it, he decides he's going to pull this elaborate scheme and become this nurse's friend whose name is Morgan Monroe, and pull this real big thing where he's going to try to force a psychic awakening and cause trauma in her life. So book one is all about what his plan is and how he observes her. And then they meet. And then through books two and three, because it's a trilogy, we'll see if his plan goes, you know, the way it's supposed to. Hint, hint, it's not gonna go that way because Morgan is not exactly what she seems. So, you know, there might be a slowburn romance coming, Hunter becoming the hunted, all that good stuff. And so it's pretty exciting. I'm really happy and thrilled for it. I did a ton of research, it's very procedural, but then I did some alternative history. You know, I talk about World War II, why Hitler never invaded Britain, and I found uh the cone of power and Wiccans kind of being doing this magical call to arms, and that's all in there. Perhaps Kennedy's assassination is in there. Maybe I don't name him as President Kennedy, but you know, it's all supernatural stuff. They work alongside the humans. I don't know. I'm really excited about it. I think it's pretty cool.

Carlene 3:50

Wow, you've delved into a couple of things there. So, as someone who studied history, I've done a little bit of history, and my favorite, one of my favorite books when in grade nine was The Diary of Anne Frank. She always focuses on the goodness in others, and she always saw that, you know, people were people for who they they are. And like when you go through history of like, well, World War I, 1914 to 1918, and then World War II, we are often thinking about like Germany and the concentration camps. And obviously, you've done your research on that, but history obviously has affected like the future and now, but without history, we don't know who we are. And so you've done research in creating this book, A Fool's Journey.

What CIA Work Really Looks Like

Carlene 4:35

And what have you learned about CIA agents? I think there's this whole conspiracy theory with CIA agents to begin with, you know?

Speaker 3 4:44

Um, it's not James Bond. Nobody's that slick. It's actually somewhat they want to blend more. Like nobody is Henry Cavill. I know we all want to picture them as that. They ain't that good looking. And I don't mean it in a bad way, but everybody's supposed to blend. It's more about blending and being everyday versus this James Bond 007 kind of feel. So it's kind of boring. And that's part of it. It's still government budget. And one of the scenes is Graham kind of complaining that the fluorescent lights are flickering and he doesn't have the right budget. And it's like everyday things more like that, and still having the work frenemies, like he can't get close to anybody that he works with because they're still all working in the CIA. Or in this case, it's the PSD, which is a branch of the CIA. They handle all the um supernatural threats to national security. They're the preternatural surveillance division of the CIA. It's still like you can't trust anybody. You know, you're still working for spies. So it's it's kind of there's always a guard up. And it was more that, and like I said, the procedural stuff, but you know, he still has to remember the hierarchy. But what I learned most is it's it's nothing that's portrayed on TV. Absolutely not even close. It's still an office, you know? So there are still office politics, and he still has to play by those rules. And it's you're only as good as the last job you did. That's it. Whatever you did yesterday, oh yay, okay, clap, clap. All right, we're on to the next thing. So it was more that kind of stuff that I learned. I also learned, you know, you can't ask too many questions about decommissioned army bases, even if they are decommissioned. You know, at some point you gotta draw the line, Danielle. Stop asking, learn that. Oh, you know, there are just things that at some point Danielle has to stop digging. Yeah. And a lot of those. But I had a lot of fun writing it either way.

Carlene 6:35

I think I think when you're doing the research, it's more or less like what the job actually entails. Like, you know, there's a difference from what we've seen on TV, because a lot of it isn't real. Like, even when you watch crime shows, like, I mean, people always say, like, we don't find the evidence that quickly. The DNA is a process, it takes a lot longer than they're showing on TV with anything. But obviously, we only have an hour in this episode, so we have to like speed

The McDonald’s Coffee Easter Egg

Carlene 7:04

up everything, right? And like it's over-glorified. But I read a little bit of the book, and I I have to ask, do you like McDonald's coffee? Is there okay?

Speaker 3 7:15

That is a nod to my patient. He drinks McDonald's coffee. And that was his that was something like he would always walk into the patient room with me. And I'm like, you know, there's Dunkin' Donuts in the Starbucks right there. He's like, I like my McDonald's coffee. And I'm like, Yeah, but there's Dunkin' Donuts, like there's Star Coffee. He was like, No, no, no. So I had to put that in as a nod to him. Yeah. And he like when he read it, he was like, Oh, there's my McDonald's coffee. I'm like, Yeah, there's your McDonald's coffee, you know, but it was just for him because he didn't want anybody to know who he was. So he when he read it, he knew it was like thumbs up to him and a wink wink. Meanwhile, I'm like, I really would have preferred him getting like a macchiato.

Carlene 7:55

But is that your style?

Speaker 3 7:57

Like, you like how macchiato? Oh, personally, I'm a vanilla latte girl. Let me tell you, I'm a vanilla latte girl, cold phone. I got the whole thing down, especially in the summer, give me my vanilla frappuccino any day. Extra whipped cream, pour that on. Let's go. But yeah, no, he wasn't going for it. So yeah, let it go.

Carlene 8:17

No, but I like it. I like this that's the scene. Because I think for every coffee lover out there, myself included, like I think we picture ourselves, I'm like, oh yeah. So like when I'm at the coffee shop and we all have need our alone time to reflect. Like some people like to people watch, some people, but I think I think it it was an interesting way to start the book. So I was just like, oh wait a minute, just like homage to the character, I guess, and and like where we start off, right?

Speaker 2 8:44

So yeah, it was just cool.

Speaker 3 8:47

Yeah, you know, it was showing it. I wanted to give the illusion that this is just a regular guy until things start to unfold. But yeah, it's just that little, we all have our thing.

Carlene 8:57

We all have a vice. Mm-hmm. To pique interest, you know what I mean? And so obviously it is interesting, and I I do have to read more. So I'm not a big, not like I used to read a lot of what did I read? Um what's her name? So Emily Giffen is one of my favorite authors. Um, she writes Chiclet. Um, I like, I like, I do like fantasy with with movies. Like I like Lord of the Rings and and I like The Chronicles of Narnia. I didn't read the book, but a lot of those movies, I I when I was younger, I I I liked Narnia because it felt like the escape.

Wonder Woman As A Role Model

Carlene 9:35

And I think that's what you you do with your books. And so for you, it seemed to like your great escape is one, like your favorite character is Wonder Woman. And I've learned a lot about Wonder Woman, and she's a very interesting character. This thing, you know what I mean? And and so why did you like Wonder Woman?

Speaker 3 9:55

Uh, Wonder Woman for me is everything I wanted to be growing up. You know, I I started watching Batman and Robin, then you know, Catwoman was like, oh my gosh, she's awesome. Then Batgirl came on the scene. I moved on to Green Hornet, and then Cato, I was like, whoa, who's this dude? You know, I'm like, what's up with that? He drives the car and he doesn't need a belt. Okay. And then Linda Carter came on and I was like, stop. Who is this? It's a chick. She's saving the guy, and she looks like that. What is happening here? And the whole paradigm just shifted. And I was like, uh, uh, but she was everything I wanted to be. It was she was non-apologetic for what she was. That's what I think struck me. She could keep up with the boys. She was still, to me, feminine, but she was also kind. She was never mean about who she was. But like I said, she wasn't apologizing for it. There was no shame in being strong. And as a little girl trying to play with the boys, I always had to be like, yeah, I'm the girl. Okay, we're playing Gilligan's Island. I'll be ginger, captured by whomever, and I'll go wait by the tree, tie it up. And then if I broke loose, I had to be, I had to apologize for messing the game up or something. Wonder Woman never apologized. And I'm like, huh, what's what's what's happening here? So that was a big part of it. She was just unapologetic for being a woman. And I'm like, I like this thing that's happening. And there was kindness still to it. I never saw her, even when she was fighting the bad guy, she wasn't mean about it. There was still a why don't you do this? Can you be nice? And then the more I listened to the records, read the comics, that was still there. She was never mean to the other girls. And I was an outsider and I was still getting the girls were being mean to me. And I'm like, why can't we all, you know, live on an island and be nice girls? Like all of that was what I wanted was sisterhood camaraderie. So there was a lot that I didn't have in my own life that I wanted from Wonder Woman. And the more I grew up and I understood the character, the more I realized she was really a fish out of water. And I understood that outsider thing. She always still wanted to go home but couldn't go home once she left the island. She was still looking for a place to belong. And I could identify with that.

Carlene 12:07

You know what? It's it's cool because I think uh when we're young, we we we find an escape to block out all the noise. And for me, I get obsessed with certain things. And I think I liked The Incredible Hulk because of his tagline. I rewatched it again before we are talking, and I'm like, this is why I liked it so much. You know what I mean? He's like, Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me if I was angry. And and you know, it's it's just the classic thing because like you if if you're in an environment where people are always angry, and I you watch that, and I'm like, and then when he gets angry, it's so cool. Like he turns into the Hulk. It's like uh another thing. And so I think with many characters for me, I I I like you, I Wonder Woman wasn't one of them that I watched, but I did like Batman and Robin. And I loved, you know, the original Mike Michael Keaton, and and I always thought like he did it best, and I like the penguin too, even though he was like so gross, and you know, but I I I loved movies and I liked certain books, and I and I think I can identify with what you're saying as like someone that you can identify with. Because I some some people always ask, who's your role model? And if you didn't grow up in a household where you thought your parents were role models, you're like you were trying to find your identity in in something or someone, and and so maybe for you you saw Wonder Woman as as that, like she Yes, yeah, you know, which is so cool. You know how yeah.

Speaker 3 13:34

I saw her and I thought that's what I want to be when I grow up. I don't want to be, I want to be kind, I want to be strong, I want to be, I want somebody, somebody to run to me if they ever need to be protected, because I didn't feel I had that. And Wonder Woman made everybody around her feel safe. And I thought that's such a lovely place to be. That I thought I don't want to necessarily be Wonder Woman, but I want to be like her because I always felt like there's only one, you know, I could never take that mantle. But I thought that's what we should aspire to be, because if we did, a lot of what's going on around me, I felt wouldn't be happening. Right. You know? Yeah. And I thought that's more of what I want. Because when I looked around, there was chaos. And then when I go to school, I didn't quite fit in that it was like, okay, if more of us acted like Wonder Woman, we probably less of us would have this feeling inside. So that's what I was striving for was for society, you know, I'm putting this in grown-up words because at the time I didn't have the words, but for society to feel safer. That's what I was really looking for because I didn't understand what was happening. I just knew something was definitely missing. And there was a point of just there's judgment, there's chaos, there's yelling, there's screaming, there's there's, you know, I can't, I was too young and things were being thrown at me that I'm like, I can't handle this. So when I grow up, I want to be that rock. So that's kind of where it was going for me.

Carlene 15:05

See, I I I I can see the strong personality type. I think it took me a lot longer to find my identity. And now that you're talking about it, I think that's why for me, I liked Anne of Greengables because I felt like she was more like me, very chatty, always getting in trouble for talking too much. And that was me in school too. Like, you know, the the teachers always said, Oh, Carlene is great, but she just talks too much. She's too, she distracts, you know, the class in in that way. And so school was for me my happy place. And it took me a long time to understand why that was, but I think the uh like I enjoy learning. And so I don't know for you, but in terms of like your roadmap and and here and now and creating this genre itself, it kind of goes back to who you were when you were younger. I think I always say it's not where you're going, it's where you came from. And somehow that character did something for you in a creative way, and and and the creative outlet came to you. It happened, you know, obviously, when you were working at a Lyme disease clinic, obviously, out of all the places. And so that was your path. I don't know. I mean, when

From Martial Arts To Writing Books

Carlene 16:23

did that start? Like when you when were you working there?

Speaker 3 16:25

Like I was there in uh 2014 was when I was live uh when I was working at the Lyme disease. I was a nurse from 2011 to I think I stopped in 2016. Before that, I was martial artist, and then um I was on the US team. I was doing all these things. I really thought martial arts was going to be my life. Uh, went into nursing and then did a little personal training while I was writing the book. But no, I did I ever think I would end up here writing a book? No, I never thought here I am nine books later, you know, this is my thing. No, not in a million years did I think this is where I would end up. But if I look at the thread, it was always a strong thread. I mean, Wonder Woman was obviously an influence through martial arts, through, I mean, heck, Wonder Woman was a nurse, even through nursing. I I made my graduation uniform, my dress, who look like Wonder Woman. I mean, I brought in a picture of Wonder Woman, showed it to my instructor, was like, this is what I'm wearing. And she was just like, Jesus Christ, Daniel. Like, she just threw her hands up and went, whatever. Like she just, you know, they they couldn't argue with me anymore. They were like, I was like, it's from the 1940s, it's technically just like our, you know, and I went through the whole thing. And they just looked at me, and I remember Miss Hollander just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders at me because she was like, I'm gonna either kill this kid or this is gonna be great. And when I came out and I was like, ta-da, she just looked at me and went, okay. And just put her head down, she would just walk out. Just just okay, stop, just stop, just stop. You know, I mean, what were they gonna do? It was like, you know, all right, this just walking out like Wonder Woman. I just, you know, and underneath it, I had Wonder Woman outfit on. I mean, they kind of knew I came in with a Wonder Woman tattoo. There was not much you could say that you could have been that surprised by me that this was gonna happen. But um, you know, when I cosplay, I cosplay a lot as Harley Quinn, and I kind of joked and said, Would you rather I was more influenced by Harley Quinn? I mean, you know, she's the sociopathic psychologist. What would you prefer when I'm working with patients? I act more like Wonder Woman or Harley, you know? So I think I chose the better. I'm starting to act a little more like Harley every day, but you know, I think you chose the better out of the two. So we're okay.

Speaker 18:35

Diva tonight, glamour for your ears.

Wonder Woman On Screen And Casting

Carlene 18:38

Yeah, as we get older, you know, this series is is is focused on women in their 40s and older, but I think as you get older, you start to realize that you have to set boundaries and then you have to go into that, you know, bitch, like that mode of like, if when you're too nice, you're like, okay, well, now I have to be more serious, uh more blunt and set boundaries. But you know, I like Wonder Woman. I I I want, you know, um, there's a couple things I learned about Wonder Woman today. Like, you know, Linda Carter, at the time, she didn't really have a serious acting career. She'd only been acting for a year before she got cast for this role. She did it for three years. And I think her signature is the twirl, which I learned, which I thought was kind of I'm like, oh, okay. And that was her idea. Yeah, it was her idea, you know, which is cool because at that at that time it's not like we have CGI and all the special effects. And yeah, you know, and I think that's what I like with original TV and movies, because they have to figure out a way, like, okay, what, you know, we're talking about Wonder Woman, but how is Batman gonna fly off a building? You know, at that time in the early 90s, I mean Wonder Woman came out in the late 70s and lasted for three seasons, so 1979 to 1982 or something. But when you were watching it, were you did you you you prefer the cartoon or did you watch both? Oh, I watched everything.

Speaker 3 20:03

Wonder Woman was on it, I was watching it. It was even when she was on the Muppet Show. Okay. I was glued to the TV, my tears. And when Wonder Pig came out, Miss Thiggy came out dressed as Wonder Woman. I was like, I need that costume too. Like just if Wonder Woman was on it, I was doing it. But there was there was just something about it. I mean, when Gal finally did it, I watched the Kathy Lee Crosby version first, which was when um tennis pro Kathy Lee Crosby played her first, which was a made-for-tv movie, and she tried, and God bless her, because without her, we wouldn't have had Linda. And then, you know, we had Adrian Padalacki played it with David Lee Lynch, uh, did a pilot, never made it to air, but I did see it. Yeah. Uh NBC was gonna buy it. I watched that. She tried, it wasn't that bad. Um, and then finally, you know, we have Gal, who I thought the first one, I mean, I cried, no man's land, fierce, fierce, fierce, just happened. Wonder Woman 84. We're gonna pretend that did not happen for my own sanity. But once again, try the second Wonder Woman movie. Yeah, we're just Pedro, don't ever shave again. That wasn't a good look, sweetie pie. Uh, but you know, it was a good movie. We tried. I loved her in Justice League, though she did what she had to do. The yeah, well, you know, what can I say? All I can say is Zack Snyder cuts so much better. Would I have loved to have seen her return to the third? 100% she needed to redeem herself. Whoever plays her next. Who do you think should play her next? Um uh there's a couple people I don't know. I know um, is it Adrian Armis? Is that the the one of the ballerina from John Wick? I know her name's come up a couple times. Oh, okay. I haven't watched the live John Wick. Neither have I. So I'm not sure on her. Ariana. I think the one who's dating Jason Moa, Ariana, something or other. I'm not opposed to her. I'm not opposed, but I don't have a favorite in the running for Wonder Woman.

Carlene 21:55

It's like it's like the look and the personality. Like, I mean, she's gotta be able to pull it off. Like when Gary. Was first cast.

Speaker 3 22:01

I was like, hmm. It was one of those.

Carlene 22:03

Yeah, oh, you mean doing the one that played Xena X-Warrior? Wait a minute, was it her? No. No. Uh Lucy Lawless.

Speaker 3 22:09

Lucy Lawless has voiced her. But when Gal Godot was first cast and they showed the very first pick from Batman versus Um Superman, I was like, This is who we got. But then she pulled it off, and I was like, Oh my gosh, she's amazing. I'm so happy. So I think it's just gonna be whoever can embody her and really, you know, I think it's one of those wait and sees.

Carlene 22:28

I feel like the director is important in in like this. You know what I mean? It it really is like with certain Marvel movies that like you know what I mean, the whole the whole comic book series, I find like when you think about that. Like it's it's the director. The director. Director has a really big impact. And there's certain directors that I like, you know what I mean? And so um he's not with us anymore, but you know, what's his name? I won't I can't remember his name, but um, the movie that comes to me is Psycho and the Birds, you know. Um Alfred Hitchcock, kind of Alfred Hitchcock, you know, like the there's certain directors that just there's they they just you know, they're going into David Cronenberg, like he created his own genre, like you know what I mean? Like it just my friend introduced me to David Cronenberg, and like I've never seen any movie quite like it. Like, I don't know if you've ever seen Crash, but that's yes, yeah, like his oh, you have. Oh, okay. Wow. All right, cool. So a a nerd, a movie nerd after my own.

Speaker 3 23:33

So I mean, I've watched a lot of certain point of view that's that movie has the storytelling, is very, very specific the way the thread is woven through to bring it back around and to give you those point of views that you would not have thought of that. I think color it that if like somebody else did it, you could not have gotten the same story, even with the exact same script. You would not have gotten that same emotional tinder. This is crazy.

Carlene 23:56

This is not how I thought our you know what I mean. I always think like when I'm talking to people about like what they like and and and the fact that you you enjoy writing, but you also enjoy like a good movie, a good comic, right? You know what I mean? I like Betty and Veronica, you know, that I have one of those, like I used to read all the comics. Um, I had a friend when I was younger and like they had all the books, and so I like Betty and Veronica. And I didn't like the way they redid it with the TV version because they made it darker. Betty and Veronica is not a dark.

Speaker 3 24:26

There's certain things you can make dark. There's other things like okay, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, when they made that dark, I was like, that kind of okay, I can get it. Yeah, the Archis aren't dark. Sugar sugar, I mean, you know, if they you sing the song Sugar Sugar, you're not dark. That's how I see it. Like that was like a pop, you know, I don't see you going dark. So uh, you know, it's the younger crowd liked it. But yes, for those of us who who wrote the original original comics, it's like, no, that's no, that doesn't that did did that was one of those ones that for me personally, I almost felt like, and it maybe it's because Skeet Alkirk was in it, it almost seemed like scream, but down a notch. Like I felt like they took that kind of move and just and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. We don't do that with this. No. So it didn't really work for me. But I'm like, kudos, she gave it a shot, you know. I'm just for me, I I yes, I do have my my thing about comic books.

Comic Books As Art And Lifelines

Speaker 3 25:25

I like certain things, I like certain genres and certain uh time periods of comic books. Like Mike Diodato Jr. is one of my favorite artists. I love Stephanie Williams' writing. I think her writing is just I think she is so underrated. Oh, Stephanie Williams, she did Nubia, uh, Nubia and the Amazons. It's phenomenal. Uh, I love Jim Stranko. You know, he's the master, especially when it comes to covers. He redesigned Marvel and he set them in a totally different direction. And I think he breathed some new life into them. I think there's just certain artists, certain writers in the comic book industry that don't get enough credit. Even Mike Lilly does some beautiful work, but I think the comic book genre, we have the movies, but I think people forget the source material and don't give the people that wrote it enough credit or drew it. We wouldn't have those movies without the sources. And I think comic book storytelling in general sometimes doesn't people don't see it as art. And that writing and that artwork really is beautiful art, and especially for kids who are dyslexic, ADHD, comic books are a lifeline. You know, I and I don't think that genre is given enough credit. It's only given to like not that Todd McFarlane isn't a genius, but to the really diggies. Tom McFarlane Spawn. Um, he has McFarlane toys now. He does all he's known more now for his statues and toys and stuff. But you know, he shook up the industry when he left Marvel and he started Image. But a lot of the big artists we know, but then it's like, okay, there's a lot of little artists and the little writers that are still keeping the industry going. So we think sometimes we have to get a little more credit, you know, and it's it's almost like with indie authors in the industry. Everybody's like romantices, Sarah J. Moss, Rebecca Yarros, blah, blah, blah. And it's like Danielle Steele, still forgot her. And then there's like then there's like Jackie Collins, all the big people that came before them. Sometimes you forget there's a whole foundation below that keep the industry going. So it's not just the one or two big names. I think sometimes we kind of forget about those.

Carlene 27:23

Mm-hmm. Yeah, we do, we do, we definitely do. I I like it, I like you said, I like to compare the original because we are always looking at like, oh, the newest one. Oh, who's the newest? Who is there? There's the Avengers, and there's been so many other comic book movies, but like even for for looking back at the originals, like I referred to Guillermo del Toro, and the reason I like him is because he obviously read Hellboy. He loves Hellboy, he had like a whole collection of like you know what I mean. When I walked through the exhibit, I was like, wow, I didn't, you know, there's I didn't realize how many Hellboy comics there were. Um, but to see it right there in that room, I'm like, wow, this is amazing. Um, for all the Hellboy fans out there, you know what I mean? Very interesting um to see that. I remember seeing Hellboy in theater, and so I like that um that that movie.

Speaker 3 28:13

He got it, yeah.

Carlene 28:14

He got it right.

Speaker 3 28:15

Yeah. He he got the tone of it right, I think. Yeah, you know, and um I I loved Hellboy. I really thought he did it. First one, I beautiful. Um my you know, Ron Herlman.

Carlene 28:28

You know what I mean? You know what? I'm gonna say this because like I I just love that we were just talking all about like comic books and movies, and you know what I mean? All from like one Wonder Woman, which is you know, like that's your that's your your homage to like who you are and who you identify with. And I think it's important to find your identity to to lead your to lead the way of like who you are, to what makes you strong. And and we all need inspiration in in many facets of life, and there are so many great people. And so, so I'm

Directors Who Change The Story

Carlene 28:59

gonna say this. So I I used to go to TIFF. I love the film festival and um my fascination with movies. Someone said to me, like, well, how come you're not working in movies? I'm like, you know, it's a it's it's fun for me, but I don't know if I would go into that field itself. I I worked at the a talent agency, and I that was like probably one of my favorite jobs working there and seeing the actors come in for their auditions, and it was fun. But with the shape of water, I will never forget the day that I got the tickets. So I didn't, I was waiting in the rush line and someone couldn't make the movie, so she gave me her ticket. And my friend was already in the theater, so like I was so excited. I'm like, oh my God, I got a free ticket. And like I got in there, and like, you know, Guillermo comes out and he's introducing the film, and like we're we're sitting in the front row, and it was like where the movie was filmed, um, too, it was like so cool. So I think for me, that was a moment I will never forget because there are a lot of memories when I think back to the film festival with my friend and everything. But I think for me to see him talk about it and to take a picture, and you know, the fact that he loves Toronto and the fans in Toronto and you know, everything that like that, those are the moments you appreciate as someone who enjoys watching a movie, to see the director and him talk about how long it took him, you know, for Sony to sign on. It was like five years. I'm like, it took you five years to, you know what I mean? And and like the process, because he he doesn't, I don't know if he's changed now, but Guillermo doesn't like CGI. He preferred to still film the old-fashioned way and have the character in costume for hours. So, like, that's why he cast the same people, you know, the Pans Lambreth, like he cast the same guy, I think, who's worked with him before. It's just very interesting. Um, I guess you could see my fascination with him. But yeah, it's just cool that way, you know what I mean? So yeah.

Speaker 3 30:52

Yeah, no, I I get it. It's like I've had people ask me, like, why I like the Snyder cut of, you know, Batman versus Superman and um, you know, uh Dawn of Justice and Justice League. And they're like, it's so dark and blah, blah. And I'm like, but it's a different take. And that's what I appreciate is the different point of view on things and that mix-up of it. I enjoy that kind of look. I like when a director comes in with a fresh set of eyes and can take a character that we've known for so long and twist it and give me something different because sometimes it's boring. I love the first Superman. I love Christopher Reed. I've met him. He he was a great guy. He was so super sweet. He he called me Wonder Woman and I almost died right there on the floor because I was like, oh God, Superman knows I'm Wonder Woman. I was just, I, you know, I was it was great. It was the most wonderful thing. I love the first one because yes, it showed me a man could fly. Like to me, that was that moment of, oh my gosh, you know, and at the end, when he kind of looks at the camera, you think he's looking at you. It's just this, he had a way to then watch Zack Snyder's take on Superman, which yes, is darker, but to me, it was much more realistic in the time. When you look at Christopher Reeves' version, it was more optimistic because that's where we were then. We were on that cusp of like more um affluence, you know, more 80s affluence, whatever. When Snyder did it, it was like, we heading for some trouble. You know, you could almost see where he was going. I appreciate it. And I I know it's a very decisive thing with um Snyder and what he did with Superman and Henry Cavill, but I loved it. And I loved that he just took the character and spun it on its head and was like, here is this alien who's trying to fit in and and is not so easily accepted. Because when you think about it, when you think of Christopher Reeves' version, he was just like, I'm Superman and everybody loves me. And you were like, Yes, that's the 80s. Yep, yep, 100%. That's probably now? No, that's yes, Superman with being cops, being walked right down the hallway. That makes so much more sense now. Whether you agree with his version or not, yeah. Now you look at James Gunn's version and everybody's like, it's punk rock, it's cool. And I'm like, but is it realistic? You know, it's like it's just a different take. So I I kind of appreciate when a director comes and goes, rips it up and goes, yeah, we're gonna try something different. And I'm like, bravo. I'm whether I agree with it or not, I give you guts for doing it. So I kind of like that whole thing.

Genre-Hopping And Slow-Burn Romance

Carlene 33:15

Yeah, I like that. And I like Lois and Clark, but you know, we talk a lot about how a comic book can be taken and turned into a film, and like what we haven't talked about is like your process. Like you you said earlier, you do a lot of research into the characters and like you know, the storyline, and obviously the fool's journey is based off of someone that you met, you know, uh, which is very interesting. And so, like, you know, a lot of references to him, and I'm sure he appreciates that. And so, for you as an author, is this a conversation to say, I would like you to try modern fantasy, like to read this genre? Like, you know, because a lot of us, we don't necessarily there's a lot of genres that we like, you know what I mean? Some people like fiction, nonfiction, and you know, do you feel like some new you you gravitate to a certain kind of like you know, your demographic of readers? Like, you know, are they similar in that sense?

Speaker 3 34:14

I jump genres. Volume one is your Lord of the Rings mythic fantasy. Right. Volume two is urban fantasy. Yeah, I definitely inspire a different type of reader in both. Um, in my volume one, I actually skew more male uh because I have no romance really. Oh, I am not romanticy in the first book at all in the first volume at all. And I've turned off female readers because of it initially, because they wanted when you hear Faye nowadays, people are like smut, very smut, all right, you know, shadow daddy. And I don't give you that in volume one at all. I give you dark, mythic power fantasy where it's contextually front-loaded, it's gonna make you think it's a lot about found family, it's fallen angels. You go in, like, if you go in thinking this is gonna be great, okay, it's gonna be skipping through the fours. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It's it's dark. It's very you have to really sit and think about what you're reading, but it's a gateway drug into fantasy. No, it's not 500 pages. My books are anywhere from three to 250. Right. So it's also shorter bites, but it makes you think, what would I have done in that situation? Crap, would I have done that? And I have a lot of people going, I I don't know whose side I'm on. Like, I'm kind of on the court of light, but then again, Jarvak, I kind of get why he did that. I joke that it's very Magneto X-Men, where you're like, I don't agree with what he's doing, but I get why he's doing it. Okay, that's volume X-Men, though. I like that. Yeah, that's where I that's where I'm at with volume one. It's dragons, it's all that. Volume two is urban fantasy. Yes, there's romance, but it's spread over three books. I'm they are not screwing in the first book. It's slow burn. Slow burn right there in the blurb. This is slow burn. The match is lit in the first one, and the fire starts in the second one. So when people are like, oh my god, this would have been a good prequel, but this is yeah, they're not holding hands. And I'm like, uh uh, back of the book says it right there. I like to draw things out. So my books are very much, I say, old school Brandon Sanderson. Volume one, they're gonna be walking, there's gonna be Kings and Queens. Uh Volume two is very old school Kim Harrison, in the sense that the female, male protagonists are strong-willed, and it's gonna take a while. You have to just stick it on for the ride. I'm not fast fashion, fast fantasy. That's not what I do. I'm not Sheen. You know, you're not gonna go in and be like, Can I have the shirt for $3.99 and just wear it out once? That's not what you're about. Yank at now. So um, you know, you gotta stick it out. You know, we want we want it now. We we are in the culture of you want it now. Yeah, I'm I am not that girl. Um, you have to stick it up. But I also appreciate my readers so much that I try to tell them. And what I've said is if you come along for the ride, I will take you by the hand and make sure because I do so much research and I dress as my characters and I do that because I want to let you know I'm emotionally invested. I know you're gonna spend your hard-earned money on my book. I want to make sure this book is everything you want it to be. That's why there's a curated playlist. That's why all of that is in there to make sure this is experience is as immersive as possible for you because I know you want an escape.

Carlene 37:39

I I think what I can see is that the person who reads this kind of book will appreciate that you you thought of them when you were writing A Fool's Journey. You know what I mean? And you know, you thought about the reader. And and for me, I always think about who's listening, who my audience is, and who this will help. That's what I want to do. I want to, I want to help people, you know, find a different escape or learn something new that they didn't know about before. Like I didn't know about this genre of book, but I think it it I've read, I tried to read Lord of the Rings, and I uh Tolkien for me just doesn't do it. But there are other fantasy authors like yourself, and so we have to appreciate the small guy and the big guy, because I mean in order to get big, you have to start off somewhere. So you know what I mean. When if you get to a million, that will be amazing, right? You just never know. Maybe this might be the book. Who knows?

Where To Find Danielle Online

Carlene 38:32

But where can people find you? Where are you online? You're on Instagram and all the things, right? You know? I'm on, yep.

Speaker 3 38:38

I'm I'm on Instagram at DM Orsino Author. I I actually finally just got on TikTok. I know, I know. Um at Danielle.m.orsino. Um, that only took me five years or so, but I'm finally there. All the books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Walmart, all of them. You can look for me at just Danielle M. Orsino, and my books all pop up. Um, it's the Legacies of Light and Dark, or you can go to my website at DM Orsino, O-R-S-I-N-O.com. Find me there. Wherever you look for me, trust me, you'll find me. You can't miss this hair. It's too red. Um, that's where I am. And uh, you know, check me out there, sign up for my newsletter, all that good stuff, and uh always keep you in touch on what's going on with the Fae. Always with the Fae.

Carlene 39:24

The Fae with Danielle Orsino. I'm Carlene, and this is Diva Tonight. Thank you so much for sharing. Wow, I'm gonna read the book. I would love you. Yes, yes, yes, for sure. I'm gonna finish reading it. I start, you know, but yeah.

Follow, Text, And Final Goodbye

Speaker 39:41

Thanks for listening to Diva Tonight. Follow us on Instagram at DivaOnTheRadio. That's Diva with two eyes. And don't forget to follow us on TikTok at Diva on the Radio for more clips and conversations you'll love. Want to share your thoughts or send us a message? Text us anytime at divatonight.buzzsprout.com. Until next time, stay fabulous.