Let's Chat: Heaven That Never Was with Bruce and Lelina Smith | S3E2

In this episode of Dripping Creativity: Let's chat, host Chris Corvan steps into the mythic dark fantasy of Heaven That Never Was, the prequel short story to the screenplay Devil’s Delight.

Chris is joined by authors Lelina Smith and Bruce Smith for a conversation about rebellion, identity, free will, and the complicated beauty of a reimagined Heaven filled with angels, power, longing, and fracture.

Together, they unpack the story’s setting, the emotional roots of the Morning Star’s fall from grace, and the forbidden desires that drive the characters forward. Lelina and Bruce also discuss their collaborative writing process, the challenge of transforming a screenplay world into a short story, and the scenes that carried the most emotional weight.

This episode blends creativity, dark humor, and big philosophical questions as the conversation moves through good and evil, choice and consequence, and the kinds of stories that still echo in the world around us.

If you love dark fantasy, mythic storytelling, morally complicated angels, and creative process conversations with a little bite, this one belongs in your ears.

Links

• Pick up Heaven That Never Was: https://hovpress.com/heaven-that-never-was/
• Music by Gridlazer: https://gridlazergrid.bandcamp.com/
• Follow Lelina Smith: https://hovpress.com/authors_lelina_smith/
• Follow Bruce Smith: https://hovpress.com/authors_bruce_smith/
• Follow Chris Corvan: https://chriscorvan.bio.link/

Episode Chapters

00:00 Sponsored by House of Void Press
01:04 Describing Heaven That Never Was
04:08 Bruce’s introduction to this Heaven
06:16 Why free will matters in the story
08:30 Making Heaven beautiful and restrictive
11:21 The scene that clicked while writing
15:15 Finding the right ending
16:41 From screenplay to short story
19:32 Translating visual storytelling into prose
20:30 Social and political commentary
27:08 The Morning Star’s plan
30:04 Understanding Morning Star’s motivations