Cast of Wonders

Narrated by Wilson Fowlie Audio production by Jeremy Carter A Cast of Wonders original! Listen above or download here. Show Notes A word of warning – the story involves trolls and their… unique approach to diet and hygiene. Those with weaker stomachs may find it a challenge, but I encourage you to give it a try. As promised, we have another original story for you this week – A Troll’s Trade by Sandra M. Odell. Sandra lives in Washington state with her husband, sons, and a grumpy orange cat. She is an avid reader, compulsive writer, and rabid chocoholic. Her work has appeared in venues including Jim Baen’s UNIVERSE, Crossed Genres, The Drabblecast, and Pseudopod. She is currently planning her second novel. Or world domination. Whichever comes first. You can follow her plans for trying to take over the world via her website and Twitter.   The story is narrated for you by the buttery man voice of podcast fiction legend Wilson Fowlie. Wilson has been reading stories out loud since the age of 4, and credits any talent he has in this area to his parents, who are both excellent at reading aloud. He started narrating stories for more […]

Narrated by Katrin Kania Audio production by Jeremy Carter A Cast of Wonders original! Listen above or download here. Show Notes We’re proud to present an original story this week, Fairy Bones by Guy Stewart. Guy is a husband supporting his wife, a multi-year breast cancer survivor. He’s also a writer, a father, a teacher and a counselor. He maintains multiple blogs, including a SF/YA/Childrens writing blog called POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS, and GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT BREAST CANCER. His first novel, Heirs of the Shattered Sphere: Emerald of Earth is out now through Amazon.       The story is narrated by Katrin Kania. Katrin is a textile archaeologist who loves SFF, cats, chocolate, boardgames and geeky things. She’s recently published The Middle Ages Unlocked together with Gillian Polack. Her blog can be found on Blogspot as Togs From Bogs.     Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Read along with the text of the story.

Narrated by Jason Arquin Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Spaceports & Spidersilk from Nomadic Delirium Press Listen above or download here. Show Notes Bert Lowe (aka Robert Lowell Russell) lives with his family in Ohio. He is a nurse in a cardiovascular unit and a former librarian. Bert likes to write about all sorts of things and frequently includes action and humor in his work. He’s currently working on a series of middle grade novels incorporating his love of mad scientists and not-so-super-heroes. For more information about Bert’s work, please visit his website along with his Twitter.       The story is narrated by J. S. Arquin. Jason is a writer, actor, musician and stiltwalker. He has performed and traveled all over the world, and has lived in many places, including New Jersey, San Francisco, and Greece. He currently resides in his favorite place of them all, Portland, Oregon, where he gleefully rides his bike in the rain year round and spends his time producing a speculative fiction podcast called Overcast, which you can find on iTunes or Stitcher. Several Cast of Wonders alum author have appeared on Overcast, including Amanda C. Davis and Anatoly Belilovsky […]

Narrated by Stephanie Morris Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Shimmer, Issue 25 Listen above or download here. Show Notes Hello everyone. Here in England the seasons have completed yet another quarter turn. The leaves are falling, the wind is gusting, and the pumpkin spice lattes have been packed away faster than you can say Christmas sales. To accompany the longer nights and contemplation of the cycles of life, this week we’re proud to present The Mothgate, by J. R. Troughton, originally published in Shimmer. James Ross Troughton is a writer of fantasy fiction who lives and works in Essex, England. After graduating from the University of Leicester in 2007, he moved to Seoul, South Korea, where he worked in language academies for three years before returning to the UK. He now works in Primary education. He likes cats. We’ll put his web page and Twitter link in the show notes for you.     For your narrator this week, we welcome back by special request Stephanie Morris. Stephanie read Take a Good Look by Holly Schofield for us earlier this year. And you may also remember her from Episode 94, The Drove of the Maris Charlottes. Stephanie […]

Narrated by Katherine Inskip Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Flash Fiction Online. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Halloween is here and what better time for a scary story. And much like the sweets and chocolates soon to grace the pumpkin buckets and pillow cases of eager trick o treaters, we have a fun-size story for you this week. We’ll leave it to you to decide if you want to check it first for pins and needles. Kelly Sandoval is a speculative fiction author, Seattleite, and Clarion West graduate. Her stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Asimov’s, Shimmer, and Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015. She’s currently writing Unveiled, a novel about the aftermath of the faerie apocalypse. You can find her online and on Twitter. The story is narrated for you by our own Katherine Inskip. Katherine teaches astrophysics for a living and spends her spare time populating the universe with worlds of her own, which you can read at her blog, Trisigmatic. She’s on Twitter as well. Hungry for more horror flash fiction? Then head to the Pseudopod forums where this very moment yours could be the deciding vote in the “two […]

Narrated by John Hornor Jacobs Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Perihelion. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Hello everyone, sorry we’ve been away for a while. Make sure you listen to the story for that important announcement we mentioned. This week we present Foggy Planet Breakdown by Peter Wood. Peter is an attorney in Raleigh, NC where he lives with his surly cat and patient wife. He has had stories published in Asimov’s, Bull Spec, and Daily Science Fiction. The story is narrated by the dulcet tones of the amazing John Hornor Jacobs. JHJ has worked in advertising for the last fifteen years, played in bands, and pursued art in various forms. He is also, in his copious spare time, an excellent novelist. His first novel, Southern Gods, was published by Night Shade Books and shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award. His young adult series, The Incarcerado Trilogy, is sitting on my to-be-read shelf having been lovingly hand carried back from Borderlands this summer. And if you like fantasy, westerns, or even better, fantasy westerns, you owe it to yourself to check out The Incorruptibles and its sequel, Foreign Devils. And if that wasn’t enough, he […]

Narrated by Laurice White Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Crossed Genres, August 2014 Listen above or download here. Show Notes Rachael K. Jones grew up in various cities across Europe and North America, picked up (and mostly forgot) six languages, an addiction to running, and a couple degrees. Now she writes speculative fiction in Athens, Georgia, where she lives with her husband. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of venues, including Shimmer, Lightspeed, Accessing the Future, Strange Horizons, EscapePod, Crossed Genres, and Daily Science Fiction. She is an editor, a SFWA member, and a secret android. You can follow her on Twitter and WordPress.   The story is narrated by Laurice White. Laurice is a recent theater graduate and long time theater student, has read stories for Podcastle, Pseudopod, and most recently for John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey on The End is Nigh and The End is Now, the first two volumes of The Apocalypse Triptych. You can find the Uncanny Magazine Kickstarter here. Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by Marguerite Kenner Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Orb Speculative Fiction Volume 1, 2000. Listen above or download here. Show Notes This story marks our fifth appearance of Cy De Gerch. You can find all her previous adventures here. Rick Kennett lives in Melbourne, Australia where his day job is in the transport industry. His stories have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways, Aurealis, Weird Tales, the Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows anthologies and several podcasts including Pseudopod and Dunesteef. His novel The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was published by Cooperative Press in 2013 and is available on Amazon. In addition to a slew of Australian publishing awards for his horror fiction, Rick has two Parsec Awards to his credit, including our episode Now Cydonia which won in the short story category in 2014. And in a lovely coincidence, he’s recently become the podcast correspondent for the magazine Ghosts & Scholars, which specializes in the antiquarian ghost stories of last week’s author, M. R. James. You can find him online here. Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by Alasdair Stuart Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published by the author in More Ghost Stories, 1911 Listen above or download here. Show Notes We present a public domain classic this week, M. R. James’ The School Story, originally published in the anthology More Ghost Stories in 1911. Image licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.       And who better to narrate an English ghost story than the Lord of Pseudopod Towers, Alasdair Stuart. Alasdair is a narration regular across the fiction podcast landscape, as well as being the host of Pseudopod and co-host of EscapePod. You can follow him on Twitter, or read about everything from movies to travel to taquitos on his blog, The Man of Words.         Do you love flash fiction? The Escape Artists podcasts are hosting their fourth annual flash fiction contest, starting with Pseudopod this year. The submission window runs from August 15th through September 15th. All the details can be found on their forum. Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by M. K. Hobson Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Lightning Cake, November 2014 Listen above or download here. Show Notes We have a refreshing palate-cleansing flash story this week, Pluto by C E Hyun. C. E’s fiction has appeared in Joyland, failbetter, Lightning Cake, The Good Men Project, and elsewhere. She currently lives in San Diego. You can find her online and on Twitter. For your narrator we welcome back the dulcet tones of M.K. Hobson, famously described as “featuring Bea Arthur as Addison DeWitt!”   M. K. Hobson has decided to follow a time-honored authorial tradition and become a bitter recluse. She swore off social media and left her website to go to seed. At the moment, she exists only as a voice on short fiction podcasts such as Podcastle and here at Cast of Wonders. She leavens the tedium of her vastly expanded free time with misanthropy, paranoia, and weight lifting.       Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated and produced by Jeff Hite and family! Originally published in Flagship Magazine, February 2012. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Sarina Dorie is the author of award-winning, YA paranormal romance novel, Silent Moon. Her Puritan and alien love story, Dawn of the Morning Star, is due to come this year with Wolfsinger Publications. She has sold over sixty-five short stories to markets like Daily Science Fiction, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card’s IGMS, Cosmos, and Sword and Laser. By day, Sarina is a public school art teacher, artist, belly dance performer and instructor, copy editor, fashion designer, event organizer and probably a few other things. By night, she writes. As you might imagine, this leaves little time for sleep. You can find info about her short stories and novels on her website, or follow her on Twitter. The story is read for you by assistant editor and King of the Slush Pile Jeff Hite, with ample help from his children.           Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by Chloe Yates Audio production by Rikki LaCoste A Cast of Wonders original! Listen above or download here. Show Notes Lisa Montoya is an elementary school teacher in Nebraska who decided to never completely grow up. She has always treasured books and stories, and loves to create her own worlds. You can find her online at Lisa’s Thought for the Day. As well as narrating, Chloë Yates is a writer of odd stories. She has written several short stories for Fox Spirit Books, and is currently working on both a collection and a novel for them. She lives in the middle of Switzerland with her bearded paramour, Mr Y, and their disapproving dog, Miss Maudie. You can find her online and on Twitter.     Want to see those OTKs I mentioned? They’re at Sock Dreams – and tell them I said hello! Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by Tracey Yuen Audio production by Jeremy Carter Originally published in Interstellar Fiction in May 2013. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Donald Jacob Uitvlugt lives on neither coast of the United States, but mostly in a haunted memory palace of his own design. His short fiction has appeared in numerous print and online venues, such as Necrotic Tissue and the Wily Writers podcast, as well as the anthology Techno-Goth Cthulhu. He regularly serves as a judge at the weekly one-on-one writing competition at The Writers Arena. He strives to write what he calls “haiku fiction,” stories that are small in scale but big in impact. If you enjoy this story, you could let him know at his website or via Twitter. Your narrator this week is Tracey Yuen. Tracey lives in Singapore, which he encourages you to realize is not a part of China but a separate country with a multi-ethnic society of which Chinese speaking people are one component. Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by Amy Robinson Audio production by Rikki LaCoste Originally published in Electric Velocipede Issue 17/18, Spring 2009. WARNING: The story that follows features spiders front and center. Arachnophobes may want to skip this episode and join us again next week. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Caroline M. Yoachim lives in Seattle and loves cold cloudy weather. She’s the author of dozens of short stories, appearing in Lightspeed, Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and Daily Science Fiction, among other places. Her story Four Seasons in the Forest of Your Mind is in the current May/June issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. You can follow her on Twitter or learn more at her website. The story is narrated for you by Amy Robison, a veteran voice-over talent and actress from Atlanta, Georgia. You may recognize her voice from several excellent narrations around the fiction podcast community, and our own previous episode 130, The Phobos Monolith, last year. Amy will be appearing on The Rookery Radio Hour on July 20. You can also find her on Twitter.     Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Click here to read the text of the story

Narrated by John Meagher Originally published by Perihelion SF in 2014. Listen above or download here. Show Notes Our story this week is Hard Passage by Holly Schofield. You may remember Holly from episode 124, Old People Rules, last May. Holly Schofield’s stories have appeared in dozens of publications including Lightspeed, Crossed Genres, and Tesseracts. She travels through time at the rate of one second per second, oscillating between the alternate realities of a prairie farmhouse and her remote writing cabin in the wilds of North America. For more of her work (including free stories!) and a list of forthcoming publications, see her website. Hard Passage is narrated for you by John Meagher, who’s also a Cast of Wonders alum. He narrated the excellent Alex Shvartsman story You Bet back in episode 95. John is the writer and narrator of Tales of the Left Hand, an ongoing fantasy series offering swashbuckling, intrigue and a dash of magic. All books in the series are available in audio and eBook formats. In his secret identity, John’s a graphic designer and voice actor who lives outside Washington DC with his wife, daughter and two cats. You can also follow him on Twitter. Juliet […]