June 6, 2019

We Would Love To Hear From YOU!

We Would Love To Hear From YOU!

Dear FC Coffee Club members and visitors to our ‘zine, For many years, we weren’t able to permit unfettered comments from you, our members, because the gate to the Comments section was wide open to spam – and boy, did we get it. With the new version of WordPress software, this is no longer the problem it was. Where before you had to have a WordPress account, login and password, now you don’t. We would love to hear from you! All you have to do is drop down to Leave a Reply and type away in the Comments box below. (Don’t forget to click the Post Comment box.) We’ve been testing it, and it works great. The only thing that would make it better is the involvement of our treasured Coffee Club members. So don’t…

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May 25, 2019

“Superguy” Part IV, The Saturday Podcast

“Superguy” Part IV, The Saturday Podcast

Dear FanGirlz and FanBoyz, tonight we present Chapters 7 and 8 of Kurt Clopton’s outrageous and funny novel, Superguy. Yes, originally written as a novel, the story of Superguy was transformed into a audiobook by Ruby Fink and her talented voiceover artists at Faux Fiction Audio. You won’t see it as a choice on Amazon just yet, but you will, soon. If, after listening to these first eight chapters, you simply can’t wait another minute to hear the rest, you can find the complete audiobook here on SoundCloud. Please click the arrow below to listen to Chapter 7 of Superguy. Please click the arrow below to listen to Chapter 8 of Superguy. A few words about audio production and the team at Faux Fiction Audio. The act of creating characters in audio recordings is called…

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May 4, 2019

“SuperGuy” The Podcast, Part II

“SuperGuy” The Podcast, Part II

We hope you joined us last week and listened the first two chapters of “SuperGuy,” from the novel written by Kurt Clopton and realized as an audiobook by Ruby Fink and the actors at Faux Fiction Audio. If you missed them, click here to catch up. But right now, it’s on with the show! Please click on the arrow below to listen to Chapter 3 of SuperGuy. Please click on the arrow below to listen to Chapter 4 of SuperGuy. We’re SuperGuys’ Happy Hearts Band [lala, la la] and we hope you have enjoyed the show. We’ll be right back here next Saturday night with two more chapters.

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April 27, 2019

“SuperGuy” The Saturday Night Podcast

“SuperGuy” The Saturday Night Podcast

We’re very fortunate to have a brand spanking new novel to begin podcasting tonight: SuperGuy by Kurt Clopton. Oliver is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin desk jockey who suddenly finds himself transformed into a superhero. If you’re a desk jockey, you can probably tilt back in your faux Aeron, close your eyes and totally imagine what this feels like. If not, perhaps at least you’re wondering what it would feel like? Well, here’s your chance, and instead of having to read about it on your Kindle, lucky you! Listen to it right here, exclusively on the Fictional Café. At least for the next four weeks, as we present two chapters each Saturday night. Enjoy! Please click on the arrow below to listen to the first chapter of SuperGuy. Please click on the arrow below to listen to…

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March 30, 2019

“The Maltese Goddess” Part 2

“The Maltese Goddess” Part 2

Saturday Night at the Podcasts As promised, here’s the second episode of ZBS Media’s incredible noir detective opera. If you missed Part 1, you should definitely click back through the slider on our home page and listen to it first. There is one more episode, which will “air” here next week. Or, as we used to say in radio, “same time, same station.” As we did last week, we’re also posting the Introduction as a separate audio file. There’s a technical, not aesthetic, reason for this. Because “The Maltese Goddess” was produced in 3-D sound, these episodes are large files. So large, in fact, that they exceed WordPress’s size limit. But through the miracle of audio editing technology, we were able to separate the intro from the story itself and . . . Voila! Here…

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March 1, 2019

The Weekend Podcast: “Anna Schutz” by Dean Peterson

The Weekend Podcast: “Anna Schutz” by Dean Peterson

We have a terrific new audio arts program for you tonight. It’s the story of an enigmatic young German woman named Anna Schutz and an American GI named Oli, who has a really bad case of depression. Or, in the author’s words: “A white-clad phantom seen running through the woods in Germany . . . a warren of abandoned tunnels under an American base . . . a forgotten clinic once used by the Nazis . . . one soldier’s obsession to solve a fifty-year old murder before his suicidal plans go any further. Listen to the madness unfold in Anna Schutz. “It’s like Jarhead meets The Shining.” We are providing the first six chapters to whet your appetite for this strange, enchanting ghost story, narrated with great empathy by the author. And speaking of the author, please be…

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February 1, 2019

Tracy K Smith’s Poetry Podcast, “The Slowdown”

Tracy K Smith’s Poetry Podcast, “The Slowdown”

Like current poet laureate Tracy K Smith, we love poetry here at the Fictional Cafe! During her tenure, she is hosting a poetry podcast entitled The Slowdown.  Each installment lasts a short five minutes, but they’re powerful. The musical prelude is a lilting jazz composition which lags ever so slightly behind tempo. This subtly encourages the listener to . . . slow down. Next, the audience hears Smith’s smooth, measured lyricism, and heartfelt expressions regarding the subject of that installment’s featured poem. Three recent podcasts in particular had personal resonance for me. One delved into the legacy of Sylvia Plath, another remembered the indelible mark left by Nina Simone, and the last dwelled on 21st century gentrification. I hope you enjoy these samples, and take extra time to slow down and become a regular listener! ***

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January 19, 2019

For Your Listening Pleasure, The Saturday Night Podcast

For Your Listening Pleasure, The Saturday Night Podcast

Good evening, listeners! Tonight we welcome back to the Café another podcast from Jack J. Ward’s Electric Vicuna Productions, and a second thoughtfully curated old time radio show for your entertainment. From EVP’s Deadline Anthology Series, our first offering is “Clay Pigeon Shooting.” Don (John Bell) takes his employee Andrew (Cayenne Chris Conroy) out for a friendly weekend hunting. The game is something more elusive than deer. Something of an hommage to “The Most Dangerous Game.” Next, we offer for your listening enjoyment an episode of a rare radio show from the mid-10940s, “The Avenger.” It has two earmarks of all crime-fighting radio plays of the era: one, the message is always “crime does not pay” and two, a creaky old organ providing the musical background and scene segues. That said, this is a good…

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January 12, 2019

Tonight, Podcasts Return to FC!

Tonight, Podcasts Return to FC!

Ruby and Jack are pleased to bring you some new audio arts dramas tonight, courtesy of our friends at Electric Vicuna Productions. There are many people out there who work tirelessly, without compensation and often without praise, creating great audio content for our enjoyment. Jack J. Ward is one of those people; see his bio at the bottom of this post. But now, please enjoy the Electric Vicuna production and re-creation of one of the most famous radio dramas ever written or aired [thanks so much, Lucille Fletcher]: “Sorry, Wrong Number.” We’re also including the original version, which was broadcast on the CBS radio show “Suspense” on May 25, 1943 — then again, and again, due to its popularity. It starred Agnes Moorhead, and some years later was made into a film starring Barbara Stanwyck….

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October 29, 2018

Another Night of Halloween PodioFun

Another Night of Halloween PodioFun

Following last night’s premier podcast, here are eight more Halloween treats from ZBS Media’s “90-Second Cellphone Chillin’ Theater.”  You podcast lovers might recall “Saratoga Noir,” which we re-podcasted here a few months ago. Tomorrow night, Halloween, we’ll present the final eight episodes, for a total of 24. Do we deliver great content or what? “Zombie Al’s Big Night Out”   “Dixie Doodle, Girl Geek, in ‘Totally Flat Busted’”   “When the Wolfling Learns to Whistle”   “Eating Crackers in a Crypt”   “Dixie Doodle, Girl Geek, in ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’”   “Drooling Doreen”   “Revenge of the Tooth Fairy”   “Loathsome Sally Under the Texas Moon”   That’s all, folks! We hope you enjoyed and if you did, check in tomorrow night for the final eight episodes of “90-second Cellphone Chillin’ Theater.”    

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