Lola Valentine of Winx Forever Podcast joins me for the final episode of 2025! We're talking all about the Winx Club Fandom!

This is a first for the podcast, as I knew nothing about the Winx Club show(s) and movies and only had knowledge via people who cosplayed certain characters. Lola is gracious and gives me (and you listening) a great background into Winx Club, which started in 2004!

Lola talks about the original Winx Club series, a 4Kids production back in 2004. We talk about how Lola was definitely the target audience for the show, and how she learned about it back then. We talk about its origins in Italy, being brought to the US, and the 4Kids Dub vs future dubs. We get an overview of the story, the characters, and what kept Lola coming back to the fandom.

We talk about the shows, the movies, the live action series on Netflix, and the newest Winx Club iteration, Winx Club: The Magic is Back.

Lola also talks about the origin of her podcast, Winx Forever Podcast. We talk about how she got started, what people can expect from it, and what the podcast has meant for her and the Winx Club fandom in general.

You can find Lola and the Winx Club Forever Podcast at:

https://www.winxforeverpodcast.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/WinxForeverNews

https://www.instagram.com/winxforeverpodcast/

https://open.spotify.com/show/5zf5Do3T1hy6wgNE6nKmVf?si=67c3430b674e4338

https://discord.gg/VPCZUYqhMJ

Twitch streamer and fellow Hyrule Gaming Group member Byuka returns to the podcast as we talk about the world wide release of the Umamusume: Pretty Derby game.

After nearly a year and a half, Byuka comes back to the podcast as we talk about an app/game that has taken over our lives. Japanese horse girl racing game, Umamusume: Pretty Derby, released world wide earlier this year. A game that has been in Asia for several years, Umamusume providers the player a chance to train and race their favorite horse girl over the course of a 3 year period.

What will you train? Speed? Wit? Will you give them recreation time? How often will you let them rest? And what skills will your horsegirl obtain in the course of their career? It's highly deep in strategy, frustrating with the RNG at times, and has deep lore for each character - and each character being based on a real horse that exists (or existed).

We go over a lot of what we love about the game, the lore and history, how we play, plus tips and tricks!

Go check out Umamusume: Pretty Derby, and send me your trainer code so we can be friends!

Check out this website for game information!

https://gametora.com/umamusume/training-event-helper

You can find Byuka at:

https://www.twitch.tv/byuka

You can listen to Byuka's previous episode at:

https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-366-byuka-talks-final-fantasy-world-building-video-games-twich-streaming-and-vtubing

Real life friend, 7x podcast guest, and multi-award winning author Eden Royce joins me from England as we get to catch up, talk her latest works, and more!

We start things off by talking about her latest book, Psychopomp & Circumstance. It's her first published work geared towards adults. Billed as a historical southern gothic fantasy, we talk about how this book came about. From her writing process for adults vs children, the themes of the books, the characters, and the setting. I won an ARC, so I was able to read it a few months ago and there are certain scenes that still stick with me from this book. We also talk about some of her previously published works.

Then, Eden talks about her latest announcement. Eden is co-writing a horror/thriller anime called Webe: Spirit Detective under the production company, N LITE, and being executive producerd by Jaden and Willow Smith. Eden talks about how she was found specifically for this movie, the work and how its different than writing her novels and short stories, and what this may lead to for the future. Eden and I talk about which works of hers may she'd love to see get translated for the visual medium.

We wrap things up by talking about what she's working on currently or planning for the future!

Purchase Psychopomp & Circumstance at:

UK - Afrori Books https://afroribooks.co.uk/products/psychopomp-circumstance-by-eden-royce-published-25-nov-2025?_pos=1&_sid=f883b1577&_ss=r

US - Signed copy via Sistah SciFi https://sistahscifi.com/products/preorder-signed-psychopomp-circumstance-by-eden-royce?srsltid=AfmBOop-TsO-2T7EnHsHPTPttQSQAwqA_jF9A8vOWkJzY_Nolv6Gvoz6

or on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/49cn2xP

Purchase Conjure Island at:

https://amzn.to/3NK2gJR

Purchase Root Magic at:

https://amzn.to/3pqJkaz

Purchase Who Lost, I Found at:

https://www.brokeneyebooks.com/store/p110/Who_Lost_I_Found.html#/

or on Kindle at: https://amzn.to/49cn2xP

Purchase The Black Girl Survives In This One at:

https://amzn.to/3PwNnNu

Purchase Blackened Roots: An Anthology of the Undead at:

https://amzn.to/42ZCYgn

You can find Eden at:

http://edenroyce.com/

https://bsky.app/profile/edenroyce.bsky.social

https://www.instagram.com/edenroycebooks/

You can listen to Eden's previous podcast episodes here:

Episode 2: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-2-eden-royce

Project 13 Dark: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/project-13-dark-kickstarter

One Year Anniversary: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/one-year-anniversary-special-with-jachelle-overstreet-eden-royce-ginny-not-weasley-cosplay-bailey-vea-and-andie-jay

Women in Tabletop Gaming special episode: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/15-eden-royce-women-in-tabletop-gaming-month

Book Trek: Eden Royce, Author of Root Magic:

https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/book-trek-eden-royce-author-of-root-magic

Episode 324: https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-324-eden-royce-returns-and-talks-conjure-island-root-magic-and-more