Genres:

Cast of Wonders 105: Black Hole Sun

Cast of Wonders 105: Black Hole Sun is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:06 — 22.2MB)

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Black Hole Sun

by Kelli Owen and Alethea Kontis

User Profiles:

Erica “Sunshine” Lukac
Age: 15
princessunnie@gmail.com
Twitter: SunnieLu
Following: 22 Followers: 17

 

Seth Williams
Age: 17
notgoth555@gmail.com
Twitter: notgoth555
Following: 0 Followers: 1

From: Princessunnie@gmail.com
To: notgoth555@gmail.com
Subject: Messages to the Black Hole

Hey, Captain Blackheart!

Mom was shopping today — she’s having some weird cravings with this new baby. She and Ron haven’t decided on a name yet. I’m calling him Surprise. Sunshine and Surprise. won’t we be a pair? Anyway…she bought a ham at the store (do you know how hard it is to find a ham when it’s not Thanksgiving?) and I remembered that funny story you told me about the crazy homeless woman trying to shoplift that ham. I hadn’t thought about that in forever. And then I remembered something else you said that day at the park — about how you were always crap at emails but if I kept sending messages to the Black Hole that you’d read them. So….hi! And I hope you’re okay. And I made an A in English — can you believe it? And i painted my toenails blue. And I think Mom and I are going to see Memory of Angels at the Roxy on Friday night and you’re welcome to join us even though I know you won’t. But I had to ask anyway. You’re always my first Impossible Thing before breakfast.

Hugs, grass blades, and bubbles!
xox

Sunnie

(Continue Reading…)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 9)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 9) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:44 — 15.4MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 9)

By Chris Lewis Carter

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 Roger Sellars. You can find the picture of him on the Camp Myth webpage.

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 104: Captain Cleveland Grackle’s Galactic Cabaret vs. The Goblins of Vishnu 6

Cast of Wonders 104: Captain Cleveland Grackle’s Galactic Cabaret vs. The Goblins of Vishnu 6 is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:45 — 24.6MB)

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Show Notes

As you’ll hear in the outro, Jamieson’s inspiration for this story is the episode art for this week, a fair-haired young girl piloting a large mechanical fish. This arresting image was created by the exceptional artist Jasmine Becket-Griffith. You can find her work online here. Please go check it out! It’s well worth your time, and she has our thanks for allowing us to use the piece as this week’s episode art.

Captain Cleveland Grackle’s Galactic Cabaret vs. The Goblins of Vishnu 6

By Jamieson Ridenhour

Load-in is always a bitch on a gas giant gig, but the moisture off the methane sea on Vamana really played havoc with my drum heads. The city, Upendra, was a big, domed thing with old-school terra-forming and flora-powered atmos that amounted to a human-made jungle in the midst of the rocky moon. We were playing the Municipal Amphitheatre, a screamingly Corporate name that was typically boring and grandiose all at once. That we got booked at all is probably due more to the backwater status of Vishnu 6’s fifth moon than any real thought about whether we’d be a good fit—we were a hell of a lot cheaper than the big CorpMuses who played closer to Earth.

Not that any of this mattered, mind you. A gig’s a gig, and this one was if anything a little bigger than we usually pulled. I’m just saying that for the all the “professionalism” of the local staff and the “modern ease” with which the intra-dome transfer was supposed to run, we might as well have been playing a dive bar in the Pleiades. But we did get the equipment set up, ‘cause you always do, and we did get what could technically be called a sound-check before we were hustled off the stage so the other two bands on the roster could do the same.

I’m telling the story like I’m a veteran, but truth be told that gig was only my third or fourth with Cleveland Grackle’s Galactic Cabaret, even though the Neverending Tour was a full decade old by that point. This is right after they started using the mechanical fish during “Nearer to Land,” the one Kimmy would pilot out of the wings on invisible filaments when Peter began his guitar solo.
(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 8)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 8) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:02 — 11.1MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 8)

By Chris Lewis Carter

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…

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 as a thank you. What a nice girl!”

Ruth was invented by Dean Fierce. You can find the picture of her on the Camp Myth webpage.

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 103: The View from Stickney Crater

Cast of Wonders 103: The View from Stickney Crater is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:39 — 27.2MB)

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The View from Stickney Crater

by Rick Kennett

Five minutes later they were in the airlock, ready to jump. Dr Ben Norsk at a hundred and three was the oldest member of Utopia Plain’s crew, while Lieutenant Cy De Gerch at seventeen was the youngest.

“How’s the headache now, Miss De Gerch?” asked Norsk, trying to sound calm over his vacsuit’s intercom.

“Gone,” she said. “Should stay that way as long as fire control remains off-target.”

Captain Brown loud in her helmet earpiece said, “Cy, do you still hear Wiltchie’s voice?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well. Go.”

They went, the doctor first, De Gerch following, swept out of the lock on a beam of gravity. At its focus up ahead lay the dead hulk of the troop transport Mariner Valley, drifting as a gigantic, jagged shadow against the sunlit side of Cue Ball. Opposing starships had swarmed around the small white moon a day before, leaving behind such wreckage. Both Norsk and De Gerch knew, as they arrowed between ships, that the battle might soon return.

De Gerch did a half somersault to watch Utopia Plain shrink into the darkness. Too late. Black on black, the frigate was already impossible to make out, save where eclipsed stars betrayed her outline.

The voice in her head said, **Cy, are you here yet?** As always it spoke with no pain, no urgency, no fear.
(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 7)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 7) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:39 — 11.7MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 7)

By Chris Lewis Carter

Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 7?

Last week Felix made it safely back aboard, 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.

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 102: The Tell-Tale Heart

“The Tell-Tale Heart,” first appeared in The Pioneer, Vol. 1, No. 1, at page 29 (which was published in Philadelphia during January, 1843). It is now available in the public domain.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:46 — 17.3MB)

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The Tell-Tale Heart

By Edgar Allen Poe

TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 6)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 6) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:29 — 7.0MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 6)

By Chris Lewis Carter

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.

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 101: Custom Made

Custom Made first appeared in The Colored Lens, a magazine of speculative fiction, in February 2012.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:59 — 23.9MB)

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Custom Made

by Sylvia Anna Hiven

The first time it happened was with a button.

It was gold and shaped like an acorn, and snapped loose from a man’s overcoat as he bumped into Valenka on the street. Clattering into the gutter, it came to a stop against her scuffed boot.

Valenka hadn’t experienced much magic in her life—only gray days spent tugging at sleeves for coins. Still she understood that something special happened when she picked up the button. All the walls of her mind fell away, and into her head, accompanied by the chilly Prague breeze, swept the man’s past.

That man is good, she thought, holding the button in her little fist. He has a wife and two daughters whom he kisses goodnight each day. He kissed another woman once, but only once, and he regrets it still. He gives coins to a lame man in Petrin Hill Park on Sundays. And he loves God. Yes, the owner of this button is a good man.

After that, it happened more frequently. People’s pasts came to her uncalled as she brushed against shoulders in the market, or when she picked up someone’s forgotten glove in an eatery. When she was seventeen and found employment as a seamstress in Dvorak’s Tailor Shop, it became an unavoidable part of her life. Each piece of silk had a story to tell, and each strip of macrame whispered a past. Valenka learned about grief through black funeral gowns, and understood the meaning of passion as she mended ripped lace blouses. Lives, although she did not live them, passed before her eyes.

Mostly, experiencing memories was effortless and her ability showed her everything there was to know. Other times, the past only seeped into her mind in elusive glimpses. But never had Valenka seen someone’s future.

Not until she touched the hem of a murderer.
(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 5)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 5) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:47 — 9.0MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 5)

By Chris Lewis Carter

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…

Let’s continue with the story! Now listen close campers, where were we. Ah yes…

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.

Genres:

Cast of Wonders 100: Final Time

Cast of Wonders 100: Final Time is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:27 — 23.4MB)

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Show Notes

Today we present Final Time, by Jeff Samson. 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 not heard it before.

Final Time

by Jeff Samson

The boy stood at the podium, his hands fumbling at its edges, his body trembling.  He was breathing hard into the microphone, the rhythmic rush of air peppered with the hisses and pops of half-formed syllables lodged in his throat.  Sweat slicked his brow, causing his oversized glasses to slip down his nose.  Dampness leeched from his armpits, saturating his blue polo in growing circles.

He shook his head and drew a deep breath.

“Cou…,” he started.  “Could I have…have…”

He flicked droplets of sweat from his forehead onto the chestnut-stained podium.  His shuddering turned his words into a Morse code-like staccato.

“Have…,” he stammered, hung on that single sound.

The audience gasped as he jolted back from the podium, clutching his hands to his stomach.  He stood perfectly still, eyes wide yet vacant, as if he were momentarily elsewhere.  

He brought his hands to his face, covering his mouth as his cheeks swelled.

He bolted past across the stage, past the remaining contestants and the empty seats along the backdrop, past Natalia sitting near the end of her row.  As he darted from the shadows of stage left and into the light of the hallway, Natalia saw the vomit spray from between his fingers.  It looked to her as if the boy had been clenching a handful of mustard packets and squeezed them until they burst.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, she thought.

She stared into the dimly lit audience that rumbled with confusion and concern. The expressions on their barely visible faces mirrored those of her remaining fellow contestants. Then she looked at the panel of judges, whose wide eyes and gaping mouths unsettled her even more.

Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.
(Continue Reading…)

Genres:

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 4)

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 4) is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:03 — 8.4MB)

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Show Notes

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.

Camp Myth: Phoenix Watching (Chapter 4)

By Chris Lewis Carter

Welcome back, campers! Ready for Chapter 4?

Last week we learned Felix is a fae, and we met both Argee the Cyclops and Lil the Dryad. And did Lil just say flight? I hope Felix and Argee aren’t afraid of heights!

Let’s find out what happens next! Now listen close campers, where were we. Ah yes…

This week’s camper spotlight is Sebastian, the first class golem crafter.

Felix says “Fae aren’t known for their creativity, but Sebastian is able to build Golems that are incredible works of art. For some reason, though, he keeps calling them “Marionettes.” When I asked if he could teach me his secret, he told me to look up some school named “Vermilion Academy.” I’ll have to check it out!”

Sebastian was created Studio Kontrabida. You can find the picture of him on the Camp Myth webpage.