All posts tagged with fiction

September 7, 2019

By Popular Demand, Another Penumbra Podcast

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

Here’s another audio arts work from our friends at Penumbra, this one a scary, futuristic drama, Second Citadel: The Battle At World’s End. As the title implies, it’s a gripping tale: Two giants bearing broken swords Stood by a river’s bend Whose water fell straight down to Hell: They battled at World’s End. Listen here to Episode 1. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to visit the Penumbra website for more episodes, to buy some great swag, and don’t pass up the opportunity to become a supporting member on Patreon for a mere pittance.

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August 22, 2019

“Water,” A Fiction by Rob Swigart

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

“Water? What do I think about water? I’ll tell you what I think about water.” Lyman was angry. The silence went on. “Well?” Alford prompted. “What do you think about water?” He tried to keep his question flat, so as not to acknowledge Lyman’s fit of pique. “I try not to,” Lyman said, at last, deflated. He put his head back and closed his eyes. Alford did not see how this was possible. Lyman sat in it. Or rather, he lay in it. Was lying. He was lying too. Alford knew that as well. Lyman did not try not to think about water. To try to not think about water would have meant humming meaningless jingles or reciting nursery rhymes or doing advanced algebra in his head or most likely doing nothing but think about not thinking about water, which Lyman, for one, was unprepared…

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August 17, 2019

“Juno Steel,” A Great New Audio Arts Adventure

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Audio Arts, Member Writing & Art, Podcasts

We’re delighted to introduce Penumbra Podcasts to Fictional Cafe – especially upon learning we’re all more-or-less Boston creative types. Penumbra is making truly excellent podcasts, or audio arts as we like to call them because that term brings out the multiple dimensions of this work: excellent scripts, high-quality studio recording and mixing, and really delightful foley work (sound effects to you listeners). But let’s hear what the Penumbra people have to say for themselves: “We’ve always loved stories, whether they be science fiction, swashbucklers, high fantasy, horror, or mystery. We grew up passionately reading, watching movies and TV, and playing video games. But eventually we started to notice that a lot of the stories we consumed were the same ones over and over again, and we got tired of it. “Why did every boy and…

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July 28, 2019

“The Kraken,” A Tale of the Sea by Kimberley M. Munsamy

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

Daniel Dlamini, a postgraduate student in marine biology at the University of Cape Town, switched on his laptop and checked his email. It was a daily routine. He would get fried hake, thick-cut chips, and a cheap beer from the cart parked outside the harbor, dine on the edge of his boat while the sky darkened from summer to winter blue, then check his email. His mentor, Dr. Samson Saris, was on an expedition and was due to have his reserves restocked, but two months had passed and Saris could not be reached. When Daniel checked his email an hour later, there was a new message in his inbox. With quivering lips and frenzied eyes, he clicked on the link and watched the first video attached to the email. ** He adjusted the camera mounted to the dashboard, smiled broadly,…

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July 21, 2019

” To Whom It May Concern” A Short Story by Claire Sartin

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

I am dressed my best to do it, if that helps: a classy dress with large floral black and white print that falls just below my knees. It is strapless with a sweetheart neckline, the kind that looks good on everyone. I must have bought the dress for a special occasion, but I found it shoved in the back of my closet, unworn, tags still attached. The dress makes it appear less meaningless. I didn’t know of my attacker until after it happened. I didn’t even realize it had happened until months later. When I woke up there was just one man standing by the bed. I heard a variety of beeps all around me and a faint consistent ticking sound that seemed to be coming either from right below my head or inside my ear. I opened my eyes and stared up at a white…

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July 1, 2019

“Broken” by Susi Bocks

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

What a freakish awakening this morning. My guts felt heavy, as if they contained weighted stuff like rebar with concrete. I felt sick but unable to purge because it would hurt more coming back up. “Why risk more injury?” I thought to myself. It was going to be an enormous challenge to make it through this day if this beginning was any indication. I pulled back the covers unmajestically to expose my left leg draped over the side, deftly anchored in between the mattress and box spring to help me propel upwards. It was not an easy feat. All the while, creepy flashbacks kept jutting into the brain space behind my eyes: struggling, hands, choking, bright lights, and a sense of foreboding as thick as pudding – a feeling of being under the control of another but not knowing who…

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June 15, 2019

“Six Cold Feet” The Saturday Night Podcast

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

We’re quite delighted to present a superb new podcast series tonight, “Six Cold Feet,” from the pen of J. M. “Josh” Donnelan, an Australian poet, novelist, and podcaster. This podcast is exceedingly well produced, with multiple character portrayals, sound effects, and narration. Headphones are highly recommended. Quite as captivating as if you were watching it on Netflix with your eyes closed, haha. ‘Six Cold Feet” is the story of a guy named River as he searches for his sister Harmony, who has suddenly and inexplicably (and painfully) disappeared. Herewith the first three episodes. If you like what you hear, visit the Six Cold Feet website and learn how/where to download all ten episodes, and listen to the author’s site recommendations at the close of each. Before, during or after you listen, take a moment to reflect…

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May 25, 2019

“Superguy” Part IV, The Saturday Podcast

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Podcasts

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 22, 2019

“All Artists are Anarchists”

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Book Reviews, Member Writing & Art, Writing

Anarchy, Jack’s third Nathaniel Hawthorne Flowers Novel Set amid the tumultuous days of American dissent against the Vietnam War and nationwide student riots, Anarchy brings Tim Rosencrantz, from Wild Blue Yonder, back into Nathaniel Hawthorne Flowers’s life, intent on evil and disruption. Tim, student protester, SDS member, avowed Communist and now discharged from the Air Force, has had a transformation on the bombed-out streets of New York and is now a full-fledged member of Weatherman. Bent on bombing America to its senses, he wants Nate at his side. It’s now 1971 and Nate’s writing career has launched with the publication of The Pieces Fit, his collection of short stories. While he is anti-war and intellectually empathetic, Nate is unwilling to participate in Tim’s anarchy – until, that is, Tim coerces him. Their lives become an…

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