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∼ Podcast #12 in The Storytelling Room ∼
November 8, 2019
An After Hallowe’en Treat
Podcast for November 8, 2019: “Out of Brambles” by Leena Naidoo
On a stormy Hallowe’en night in an lonely old cottage in Scotland be careful what you say while stirring the pot.
First published as a written story on March 5, 2016, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
in Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales, “Out of Brambles”
by Leena Naidoo
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∼ Podcast #11 in The Storytelling Room
October 23, 2019
Podcast for October 23, 2019: “The Stork and the Crone” by Barbara A. Barnett
for Young People of All Ages
What was this woman doing disturbing Deifilia’s nest on the belfry? Offering frogs and asking for a baby for her daughter!? Hah! From the looks of the old crone she probably wanted the infant for some unsavory purpose. Perhaps to boil into a stew.
No deliveries for her. Deifilia was sure of that.
First published on July 8, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
in Young People of All Ages “The Stork and the Crone”
by Barbara A. Barnett
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∼ Podcast #10 in The Storytelling Room ∼
August 5, 2019
Podcast for August 5 2019: “The Witching Hour” by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald
I stood balanced at the top of the oldest palm tree, the one that grew at the south end of the village. I was in my element — pitch black night. This was my dawn. The murmurs of glowing spirits mixed with the chitter of living insects. The hoot of an owl reminded me there was work to be done, battles to be fought — silent, undeclared, but raging all the same. And old Mama Ishaka was on the other side of them. With a sigh, I leapt from the tree, fell free, and caught one of the power lines that led to a human spirit. The link was strong. The call of this spirit sang the music of its soul to me. It called me back home.
This story has been shortlisted for the Nommo Award from the African Speculative Fiction Society
First published on April 23, 2018, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
in Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales, “The Witching Hour”
by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald
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∼ Podcast #9 in The Storytelling Room ∼
July 3, 2019
Podcast on July 3, 2019: “Weatherbuns” by Diana Hauer
Rudolph, is that you?” bellowed the old man. The wind was starting to pick up again, blowing his baker’s apron behind him. Sandra could see the code of her Autumn Day shredding under the power of the storm. The bubble of calm was shrinking fast.
“I hoped I’d be the one to bring you down, lunatic. Now here you are, in my bakery.” Weatherman Fawkes laughed and strode forward, unconcerned as the clouds closed in on him. “And it’s not even my birthday!”
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First published on April 26, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
in Science Fiction “Weatherbuns”
by Diana Hauer
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∼ Podcast #8 in The Storytelling Room
June 7, 2019
Podcast on June 7, 2019: “The River’s Daughter and the Gunslinger God” by Matthew Claxton
The river’s daughter had hair as long and green as eelgrass, and skin the livid white of a fish belly. Her teeth were sharp, and through her thin lips, she sometimes whispered spells and curses, for her mother had been a sorceress. Since her mother’s departure, swathed in furs in the middle of a winter storm, the river’s daughter had not seen a single outsider to the valley. She spoke to the winds and her siblings the creeks, and she amused herself by practicing charms to change her shape. This dwarf, this outsider who moved with such purpose, fascinated her. She watched him from silent concealment in the forest.
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First published on March 15, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
in Fantasy “The River’s Daughter and the Gunslinger God“
by Mathew Claxton
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∼ Podcast #7 in The Storytelling Room ∼
May 14, 2019
Podcast on May 14, 2019: “In a Field of Bone-Bonnets” by Aimee Picchi
The old witch climbed into bed, drew her quilt to her chin, and spoke. The hut settled on its haunches, listening. “I know in my bones my end is near. You have served me well, with more care than I would ever have imagined. But you are a magicked thing. You need a witch’s power to remain alive. I’ve used the last of mine to grant you three days to find a new witch.”
Then softly she mumbled some last advice…
First published on October 31, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales, “In a Field of Bone-Bonnets“
by Aimee Picchi
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∼ Podcast #6 in The Storytelling Room
April 26, 2019
Podcast on April 26, 2019: “The Glanconer, by LJ McLeod
It was too wild, all jagged rocks and sun-bleached driftwood. But it suited me, this beach and this night, a night one could believe in monsters….
Just as the last of the sun disappeared I saw him. He emerged from the grey waves dripping wet and perfect. His hair was black as sin and his pale skin shone like the moon. His body was slender and his face all strange angles, but he was heartbreakingly beautiful. My Irish grandma had told me the old stories and I could see the danger — but his fathomless black eyes fastened on me, ensnared me.
First published on August 28, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
Eldritch, “The Glanconer“
by LJ McLeod
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∼ Podcast #5 in The Storytelling Room ∼
April 5, 2019
Podcast on April 5, 2019: “The Fo’dekai Artifact”, by J. D. Moyer
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The Fo’dekai could write in blood, and now he had their stories in him. Thousands of them, crowding his dreams, bleeding into his waking consciousness, his mind groaning from their weight. The first dreams were visions of a strange world, flying over blood-red deserts, black oceans, purple forests. Darren sensed a planet being constructed, layer-by-layer, in his mind. He wanted to talk about the dreams, but no reason to be alarmed the doctor said. No reason? He had literally dived into a dark ocean and plummeted into a black chasm. He could see, monochromatically but with precise resolution. He could feel his short undulating tentacles, and his skin rapidly oscillating through a kaleidoscope of patterns.
First published on March 9, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
Science Fiction: “The Fo’dekai Artifact”,
by J. D. Moyer
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∼ Podcast #4 in The Storytelling Room ∼
March 22, 2019
Podcast on March 22, 2019: “painting Clouds”, by A. Merc Rustad
First published on February 21, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
Science Fiction: “Painting Clouds“,
by A. Merc Rustad
We cloudweavers specialize in different shapes — we collaborate and mold the textures of air and rain, cold and heat. The sun and moon are pallets to tint our canvasses.
But now the sun is dying. People no longer look at our art, our gifts, and as they stop looking, our clouds thin and fade. We grow weaker, less aware. Without our mediums, our art, what are we?
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∼ Podcast #3 ∼
March 8, 2019
Podcast on March 8, 2019: Ghosts of Bunker Seven”, by Derrick Boden
First published on February 18 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:
Science Fiction: “Ghosts of Bunker Seven“,
by Derrick Boden
Her skin was mottled blue, like storm clouds on a night sky. On days when the stares got to her, she’d throw on her old military coat and a pair of sunglasses. If it were up to her, she’d be wearing a pair of concrete shoes at the bottom of the surf. The bacteria coursing through her veins had other ideas.
And now, after all the cover-ups and slashed pensions, the brass was back. Calling for her to clean up their mess again.
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∼ Podcast #2 ∼
February 25, 2019
Watch and listen right here:
Thief or Felon Bold by Alter S Reiss | Audiobook Podcast February 25, 2019
Video Download Link — Watch and listen.
First published on January 31, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores: Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales: “Thief or Felon Bold“, by Alter Reiss
She laughed. “We are within the hill and beyond the stream that stains like blood,” she said. “I will tell you now one true thing: when you bargain with those who live within the hollow hill, you give us things which it amuses us to take, and we give back things which it amuses us to give.”
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∼ Podcast #1 ∼
February 11, 2019
Podcast on February 8, 2019: “Fruits of Victory”, by Jonathan Shipley
First published on January 30, 2017, in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores:Jan. 30, 2017: Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales: “Fruits of Victory“,
by Jonathan Shipley
In the darkness overhead, Ilianthe saw a point of light flash into being.
Flash and hold steady.
Another way station in the void.
Another star, created of angel light and dragon fire.
Their victory allowed them to create stars, to reshape the Cosmos Hundreds more would be scattered through the darkness of the heavens, and the Holdings would no longer hang cold in the lightless emptiness. Yet victory had not brought peace.
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