254: Mermaids, Magic, and Murder (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall)

This week, author Maggie Tokuda-Hall joins us to talk about all things murder and magic. From the exploration of gender, to werewolves as a metaphor for trauma, and everything in between, this interview has it all!    Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of fire, body image, drug use, blood, imperialism, fascism, racism, gender dysphoria, homophobia, transphobia, eating disorders, sexual assault, rape, trauma, and sex.     Housekeeping - Live Show: Join us October 27th at 8:00 EST for a LIVE virtual show! Get your tickets at spiritspodcast.com/live!  - Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix.  - Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at spiritspodcast.com/books - Call to Action: Check out The Newest Olympian: Join Mike Schubert, a first-time PJO reader, on his quest to find out if Percy Jackson is the YA series we should’ve been reading all along! Search for The Newest Olympian in your podcast app or go to thenewestolympian.com to start listening!   Guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea, Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle, and Love in the Library illustrated by Yas Imamura with more books forthcoming. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, son, and objectively perfect dog. You can follow her on Twitter, @emteehall or on Instagram @maggietokudahall.   Sponsors - Girlfriend Collective makes sustainable, ethically made activewear for everyone. Get $25 off your purchase of $100 or more when you go to girlfriend.com/spirits.  - Skillshare is an online learning community where you can learn—and teach—just about anything. Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/spirits and get a free trial of Premium Membership. This week Amanda recommends “Video for Instagram - Tell an Engaging Story in Less Than a Minute" by Hallease Narvaez - Rothy’s makes stylish and sustainable shoes, bags, and masks. Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/SPIRITS   Find Us Online If you like Spirits, help us grow by spreading the word! Follow us @SpiritsPodcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. You can support us on Patreon (http://patreon.com/spiritspodcast) to unlock bonus Your Urban Legends episodes, director’s commentaries, custom recipe cards, and so much more. We also have lists of our book recommendations and previous guests’ books at http://spiritspodcast.com/books. Transcripts are available at http://spiritspodcast.com/episodes. To buy merch, hear us on other podcasts, contact us, find our mailing address, or download our press kit, head on over to http://spiritspodcast.com.   About Us Spirits was created by Julia Schifini, Amanda McLoughlin and Eric Schneider. We are founding members of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio. Our music is "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.