Cast of Wonders

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Would you like to join us here at Camp Myth? Show us how you’re enjoying the story so far, and our favorite entry will entitle the winner to join Moxie, Argee and Felix, in a future Camp Myth story! Any type of entry is fine – drawings, stories, poems, photographs, maybe even a video of you singing Centaur Races! Submit them by December 31st to campmyth@castofwonders.org. Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 11? Last week we met Asterion, the founder of Camp Myth, and took the camper pledge. It sounds like the opening ceremony is drawing to a close. I wonder what Felix, Argee and Moxie will be doing next… Now where were we? Ah yes… his week’s camper spotlight is Natious, the Cyclopean Sharpshooter. Felix says “Ugh, Natious wouldn’t stop talking about his Basilisk encounter in the Forgotten Forest. I’m not sure how much of the story I believe, but I’m not crazy enough to tell him that. Instead, I drew him this picture in honour of his “triumphant” victory. (Note: that was sarcasm.)” Natious was invented by Nathan Pettigrew. You can find the picture of her on the Camp Myth webpage. […]

Read by Elie Hirschman, Dave Thompson and Bob Eccles Listen above or download here. Show Notes This is Little Wonders, our collection episodes featuring flash fiction and poetry centered around a theme. This episode we bring you a trio of stories where enjoying the way you get somewhere is more important than your ultimate destination. Welcome to “The Journey”. Our first story is Treasure Hunter by Alexandra Grunberg. Alexandra is a New York City-based author and actress, soon-to-be graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her stories have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Plasma Frequency Magazine, and the Toasted Cake Podcast run by Cast of Wonders’ good friend Tina Connolly. Alexandra won third place in Fiction Vortex’s August 2013 Monthly Contest. You can find links to her stories at alexandragrunberg.wordpress.com. Your narrator is Elie Hirschman. Elie has been dabbling in voice acting for the past ten years, with several online production companies including Darker Projects, Dream Realm Enterprises and BrokenSea Productions. He has all his life failed to live by rule 3 of Mike Damone’s Five-Point plan – “Act like wherever you are – that’s the place to be.” He lives in the Eastern Hemisphere against his […]

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Would you like to join us here at Camp Myth? Show us how you’re enjoying the story so far, and our favorite entry will entitle the winner to join Moxie, Argee and Felix, in a future Camp Myth story! Any type of entry is fine – drawings, stories, poems, photographs, maybe even a video of you singing Centaur Races! Submit them by December 31st to campmyth@castofwonders.org. Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 10? Argee and Moxie have returned! And Lil has told Felix all about collecting merit badges. But before out trio could plan their next adventure, the opening ceremony began. Everyone quiet down, let’s listen to the presentation! Where were we? Ah yes… This week’s camper spotlight is Plato, the Four Legged Idol. Felix says “Plato is the kind of Centaur who makes me ashamed to be a two-legger. He’s a great athlete, loves to read, and has more fans around camp than some of the actual fan clubs. He’d be easy to hate – if he wasn’t so darn nice! I wonder if he wants to hang out later…” Plato was invented by Riley Krill. You can find the picture of […]

Read by Michelle Ristuccia and Graeme Dunlop Listen above or download here. Show Notes Today we present Black Hole Sun, a story by Kelli Owen and Alethea Kontis. Residing in Destination, Pennsylvania, Kelli Owen spends her days as a number cruncher and her free time writing. She has edited many known authors above her on the totem pole, participated in several dozen writing panels over the years, and has spoken at the CIA headquarters in Langley. Her works include the novels Six Days, White Picket Prisons, and Live Specimens, her collection Black Bubbles, and the novellas Waiting Out Winter and The Neighborhood all available on Amazon, as well as a plethora of shorts, anthologies and nonfiction pieces. Last summer a collection of four novellas was released through small press as a limited, lettered, edition that many people missed out on. These four tales will be out as individual ebooks and paperbacks in time for Christmas this year. She is also working on her first foray into the world of romance and am wrapping up the first in a set of (note, not series) three chick-lit novels. For updates on all these and more, visit www.kelliowen.com. Alethea Kontis will be familiar […]

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Would you like to join us here at Camp Myth? Show us how you’re enjoying the story so far, and our favorite entry will entitle the winner to join Moxie, Argee and Felix, in a future Camp Myth story! Any type of entry is fine – drawings, stories, poems, photographs, maybe even a video of you singing Centaur Races! Submit them by December 31st to campmyth@castofwonders.org. Welcome back, campers! Ready for chapter 9? Last week Felix met Loam the golem, and took a tour of Camp Myth. Tonight’s a big night for the campers, let’s get started. Now where were we. Ah yes… This week’s camper spotlight is Ox, the Warmhearted Warrior. Felix says “Ox is, without a doubt, the toughest Minotaur wearing a Camp Myth sash, but he also has a baby snowy owl, Olot, that never leaves his side. Yesterday, an Ogre thought that it would be a good idea to steal the bird for an afternoon snack. About three seconds later, Ox made sure that the Ogre’s next meal would have to fit through a straw. I guess Minotaurs can have a soft side after all.” Ox was invented by […]

Read by Norm Sherman Listen above or download here. Show Notes Today we present Jamieson Ridenhour’s story, Captain Cleveland Grackle’s Galactic Cabaret vs. The Goblins of Vishnu 6. Jamieson is the author of the comedy werewolf murder-mystery Barking Mad, published by Typecast in 2011, the ghost play Grave Lullaby, and the award-winning short horror films Cornerboys and The House of the Yaga. He’s had fiction and poetry in Strange Horizons, Architrave, The Lumberyard, and Mirror Dance, to name a few, and audio fiction featured on Pseudopod and Radio Unbound. He lives and writes in Bismarck, North Dakota. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and various other places all over the Interwebs but the main station for all things Jamieson is his website at www.jamiesonridenhour.com. His next novel, a sequel to Barking Mad, is called Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and it’s coming out in February of 2014. Watch his website, Facebook, and Twitter for detail, or just pester your local bookstore twice a week until they hand it to you. Do not accept defeat. Of the story Jamieson says, “The initial inspiration for this story came from a painting by Jasmine Beckett-Griffith which depicts a fair-haired young girl piloting a […]

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Welcome back, campers! Ready for chapter 8? Last week our trio arrived at Camp Myth, only to be separated by the appearance of Brontes and Tessa, two of the camp’s senior counselors. Looks like Felix is on his own again… I wonder what’s in store for him next? Now let me see, where were we. Ah yes… Would you like to join us here at Camp Myth? Show us how you’re enjoying the story so far, and our favorite entry will entitle the winner to join Moxie, Argee and Felix, in a future Camp Myth story! Any type of entry is fine – drawings, stories, poems, photographs, maybe even a video of you singing Centaur Races! Submit them by December 31st to campmyth@castofwonders.org. This week’s camper spotlight is Ruth Liz, Child of the Warrens. Felix says “To be honest, most Redcaps are complete lunatics. Not Ruth, though. She’s a real sweetheart. In fact, she’s even invited me to visit The Warrens to look at her collection of gold pieces from medieval castle vaults. She even has an antique knife that she really wants to show me! I’m going to give her this drawing […]

Read by Marguerite Kenner Listen above or download here. Show Notes Today we present a story by the Parsec award winning Rick Kennett! Featuring space marine Cy De Gerch, we present The View from Stickney Crater. Cy has been with us twice before in the award-winning Now Cydonia (Episode 71) and The Carmel B Crazies (Episode 89). Rick works in the transport industry in Melbourne, Australia as possibly the longest serving motorcycle courier in the world, now pushing 33 years on the road. He’s been writing SF and ghost stories for about the same period with recent appearances in Aurealis (The Australian Sci-Fi and Fantasy Magazine), The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine and The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows from Sarob Press. Rick has some ebooks upcoming with Cooperative Ink. There are two Cy De Gerch publications; one is the novel Presumed Dead and the other, a collection of Cy stories titled Thirty Minutes for New Hell. Cooperative Ink have published Rick’s young adult novel The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea which features another of his ongoing characters, reluctant ghost-hunter Ernie Pine. Theme music is “Appeal To Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Read along Click here to […]

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 7? Last week Felix made it safely back onboard, thanks to Lil’s dryad magic and the dramatic appearance of Moxie the Kitsune. Still listening campers? Good, now where were we. Ah yes… This week’s camper spotlight is Mayumi, the High Flying Vulpine. Felix says “Mayumi the Kitsune came all the way from Tokyo to attend Camp Myth! I found her hanging around the Golem Statuary, which she enjoys because they remind her of the sculptures and stone carvings found in her native homeland.” Mayumi was invented by Trudy Goold. You can find the picture of her on the Camp Myth webpage. Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching is a Cast of Wonders production brought to you by Wolfsbane Publishing. It features the voice talents of Kate Baker, Adam Black, Tina Connolly, Graeme Dunlop, Christiana Ellis, Marguerite Kenner, Alethea Kontis, Alasdair Stuart, Ian Stuart, and Barry J. Northern. You can learn more about the world of Camp Myth at our website, castofwonders.org. The Camp Myth theme music, “August”, is by Cast of Wonders’ favorite musical artist Alexye Nov, at MusicAlley.com. Click here to discuss in the forums

Read by Ian Stuart Listen above or download here. Show Notes Today we present Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Tell-Tale Heart. Edgar Allan Poe needs little introduction. He was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Born in January 1809, he was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story. His works influenced literature around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Though best remembered for horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor tales, and hoaxes. For comic effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance, often in an attempt to liberate the reader from cultural conformity. Poe also dabbled in science fiction, responding in his writing to emerging technologies such as hot air balloons in The Balloon-Hoax. He died at age 40 in October 1849. The cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, amongst other things. Your narrator for this iconic story is the fabulous Ian Stuart. Ian is a writer-performer living and working in York in the UK. In the past he has worked for BBC […]

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Welcome back, campers! Ready for chapter 6? Last week Argee showed us he really doesn’t like to be teased, and then the roc carrying their bus lost one of his handles, sending Felix skyward! Quick! Let’s find out what happens to Felix!! Where were we, campers? Ah yes… This week’s camper spotlight is Anthea, Herald of the Forest. Felix says “Sitting in the limbs of the Peridexion tree, Anthea the Dryad says there’s no place in the world where she feels more in tune with nature. I was going to tell her I’m so bad with plants that I once managed to kill a small potted cactus, but I decided to draw her this picture instead.” Anthea was invented by Elizabeth Verbraak. You can find the picture of her on the Camp Myth webpage. Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching is a Cast of Wonders production brought to you by Wolfsbane Publishing. It features the voice talents of Kate Baker, Adam Black, Tina Connolly, Graeme Dunlop, Christiana Ellis, Marguerite Kenner, Alethea Kontis, Alasdair Stuart, Ian Stuart, and Barry J. Northern. You can learn more about the world of Camp Myth at our website, castofwonders.org. The […]

Read by Hana Mitchell Listen above or download here. Show Notes Today we present Sylvia Anna Hivén’s story, Custom Made. Sylvia Anna Hivén lives and writes in Atlanta, Georgia. Her fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Stupefying Stories, EscapePod, PseudoPod, and others. Follow her at twitter @brynnfarusiel. Custom Made first appeared in The Colored Lens, a magazine of speculative fiction, in February 2012. Your narrator is Hana Mitchell. Hana is from the Czech Republic and now lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, daughter and retired greyhound. She runs the online business Pramskins which provides universal pram liners, prams accessories & strollers covers in Australia to make little ones more comfortable. You can visit her store at pramskins.com.au. Theme music is “Appeal To Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Read along Click here to read the text of the story Discuss Click here to discuss in the forums

Listen above or download here. Show Notes Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 5? Last week our campers took to the skies, and we learned that Argee likes crossword puzzles. And apparently the mysterious voice in Felix’s head does too… This week’s episode art is a camper spotlight of Drew, the Flora Photographer. Felix says “Drew the Centaur is always happiest when he’s taking pictures or discovering weird plants. Sometimes, if he’s lucky, he can do both at the same time, like when he stumbled across a fully-matured Mandrake. I didn’t stick around to see how things turned out, though. Never trust foliage that might be smarter than you. It’s a rule of mine.” Drew was invented by Kate Trgovac. You can find the picture of him on the Camp Myth webpage. Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching is a Cast of Wonders production brought to you by Wolfsbane Publishing. It features the voice talents of Kate Baker, Adam Black, Tina Connolly, Graeme Dunlop, Christiana Ellis, Marguerite Kenner, Alethea Kontis, Alasdair Stuart, Ian Stuart, and Barry J. Northern. You can learn more about the world of Camp Myth at our website, castofwonders.org. The Camp Myth theme music, “August”, is by Cast of […]

Read by Phoebe Harris Listen above or download here. Show Notes Welcome to Episode 100! Who’d have thought we’d last this long? When we started over two years ago I’d no idea we’d be here celebrating 100 episodes. My thank to all of you for listening to our stories week after week; it’s my hope they brighten your week a little. My thanks to all our authors for their compelling flights of fancy! There’s nothing better than reading through the submissions and coming across ones that make me think, “yes! that’ll be great!” My thank to all our fabulous narrators who bring life and expression to the stories and make them leap from the page, drawing the story in our listeners’ imagination. And my thanks to Marguerite and Barry and all who work behind the scenes for your continuing hard work and enthusiasm in making Cast of Wonders happen. And now, the story. Today we present Jeff Samson’s story, Final Time. Jeff has been here before, with Episode 74, the Gods of Stone, the story of a godlet who finds that he is, well, rather rooted to the spot. It’s a short, funny story; go check it out if you’ve […]

Read by Alasdair Stuart, Barry J Northern and Ian Stuart Listen above or download here. Show Notes This is Little Wonders, our collection episodes featuring flash fiction and poetry centered around a theme. And since it’s Halloween, that means it’s time for scaaaaaary stories! Our first story is Come With Me, by Beth Hull. Beth lives in northern California with her artist/scientist husband, their two children, and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. Beth writes young adult novels and the occasional short story. To learn more about Beth, her work, and the things that annoy her (windy days, ticking clocks), and scare her (black widow spiders lurking in the mailbox), you can visit her website, bethhull.com, or find her on Twitter, @tbethhull. Come With Me is narrated by podcasting’s Dark Overlord, Alasdair Stuart. Alasdair is the host of Pseudopod, the weekly horror fiction podcast by Escape Artists. He also co-hosts Escape Pod, their weekly science fiction show. He blogs about lots of things for lots of people, including himself, at alasdairstuart.com. You can listen to him talk about cooking things, reading things, watching things or training in things like martial arts and baking on Twitter — @AlasdairStuart. Our second […]