Posts Tagged ‘Young Adult fiction’

Where to find Cast of Wonders at WorldCon

Hello everyone!

Cast of Wonders’ editor and host, Marguerite Kenner, will be at WorldCon in Kansas City, Missouri this week. You can find her on the following panels as well as roaming the halls. Come say hello, and get a Cast of Wonders badge ribbon!

Creative Commons Rights for Creators and Fans

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Cast of Wonders 211: Indian Rope Trick

Originally appeared in Bards and Sages Quarterly (April 2012)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:55 — 14.8MB)

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Indian Rope Trick

by James Fitzsimmons

“Careful not to drop that on your head,” Edson Vole warned, pointing to the huge beveled mirror leaning against the wall. “Unless, of course, you know the Indian rope trick.”

Sanjeev Ravi laughed, clipping a tape measure onto his utility belt. “No such thing, Mr. Vole,” he said in a gentle lilt. 

“That mirror weighs a ton,” Edson said. “Couldn’t lift that even during my days in New Delhi. Back in an hour.”

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The TriWonders Flash Fiction Contest Is Here!

We are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held since the dawn of 2016. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the TriWonders Flash Fiction Contest will be taking place at Cast of Wonders this year!

It’s true! The time for the next Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest is here!

Cast of Wonders is happy to announce we are running the next installment of the much loved Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest. We’re opening a special submission window from August 15 to September 30, and invite each author to submit a single brand new 500 word story. Our normal submission guidelines apply but instead of our slush team, it will be judged by our forum members.

Sharpen your pencils and get your 500 word story ready! Visit our forums to register as a member. Then, between August 15 and September 30, visit our Submittable page for contest rules and to submit your story. Voting will open to registered forum members only, so first publication rights are not spent for the stories that do not ultimately win. The three stories that receive the most votes will be purchased by Cast of Wonders and run as a Little Wonders episode in early 2017.

Voting will open on Sunday October 9, 2016. Again, only registered members of the forums will be able to read and vote on the stories!

Please blog, share on Facebook, tweet, email, send postcards, telephone, text, light smoke signals, and otherwise get the word out!

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Cast of Wonders 210: Little Wonders 8 – Embracing Change

Cast of Wonders 210: Little Wonders 8 – Embracing Change is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:15 — 19.7MB)

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The There-It-Is Store

By Adam Gaylord

The bell over the door jingled and Claire hastily tucked her book under the counter. It was one of her favorites and she’d just gotten to the best part. She didn’t want a customer to come in and claim it.

An older man, probably twice Claire’s age, entered the store. Actually, he really more danced his way in. The man turned this way and that, his eyes trained on the ground, all the while patting his pants, alternating front pockets and then back. Claire suppressed a giggle at the sight of his search dance – as it was fittingly known in the trade. The man gave up the floor and scanned the shelves by the door, muttering to himself while patting his breast pockets. “I swear I just had ’em. I was walking out the door…” He passed over boxes of buttons, jars full of jewelry, several large sacks stuffed with socks, and a pail packed with pocket watches before stopping in front of a particularly large crate nearly overflowing with keys. He gave a low whistle, eyeing the huge box with trepidation.

“Good morning Mr. Crowhurst,” Clair interrupted his search.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Hello.” Mr. Crowhurst wandered up to the counter, still patting. “I really hope you can help me. Do you happen to know where…” He trailed off, his eyes drifting to the shelves behind her. Claire felt the tingle of the there-it-is magic and the man’s patting finally stopped, his face lighting up. “There they are!”

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Announcing assistant editors Dani Daly and Katherine Inskip!

Hello everyone! Things have been quieter than I’d like lately at Cast of Wonders. Part of that has been some behind the scenes changes. Our good friend Jeff Hite has stepped away from the show to spend more time with his family and his own writing career, and we wish him all the best.

In addition, I am thrilled to announce that two long time and hard working members of the team will be stepping up into assistant editor roles. A giant hug and welcome to Dani Daly and Katherine Inskip!

Dani DalyDani has been involved with Cast of Wonders in various roles since it’s inception in 2011. In fact, she’s the only member of the team who predates me!

She narrates stories, reads slush, is the community manager on our forum and now is overwhelmingly proud to take on the role of co-assistant editor.

Dani says fiction, especially fantasy, science fiction and weird stories, has been important in her life since she was a child. So while she works with numbers all day to keep the lights on at home, it’s always been words and reading that kept the light on in her heart and mind. She also narrates audiobooks through ACX.

Katherine InskipKatherine teaches astrophysics and spends her (infrequent) spare time populating the universe with worlds of her own. She is a mother to two delightful boys, narrates for a variety of podcasts, and says she wishes she’d started slush reading decades ago.

You can full bios, and Twitter links, for both Dani and Katherine on the About Us page.

—Marguerite

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Cast of Wonders 209: A Real Stand-Up Guy

Originally appeared in Allasso (Volume 3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:21 — 22.5MB)

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A Real Stand-Up Guy

by Daniel and Mary E. Lowd

Topher checked his watch and peeked out around the dusky red stage curtain.  There was a full house in the bar tonight. If he played them right he could get all the tips he needed, and tonight could be the greatest night of his life.  He put a paw to his face, pulled down on his tawny-furred jowls, and drew a deep breath. “Okay,” he said, softly to himself. “Let’s go.”

The spotlight hit Topher before he reached the mike, but he was used to that bright glare in his eyes.  He straightened his jacket and stared the audience down before he began, giving them his best tough guy look.  He had the mug for it, if not the build. “I don’t get no respect,” Topher barked at the audience. “It’s because I’m short.  Curse of my breed, you know?”

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Cast of Wonders 208: Questing for Princesses

Originally appeared in Wolves and Witches: A Fairy Tale Collection (2013)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:36 — 18.2MB)

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Questing for Princesses

by Amanda C. Davis

Prince Harold swore off marriage at the age of six, when his older brother Yancey came riding home with a new bride and a waterfall of half-healed scars along his right side that he called “the unexpected bonus for winning a princess from a fire-breathing dragon.”

Harold eyed the puckered skin on Yancey’s neck and cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“Sure,” said Yancey, tugging Harold’s earlobe until he flinched. “But finding the right princess is hard stuff. You have to take the risk if you want the reward. Anyway, just wait ’til you meet Celiura. She’s amazing. Totally worth it. She’s going to be your new sister, you know.”

Harold carried the ring at the royal wedding. Immediately afterward he ran back to the chapel, where he threw himself on his knees and prayed that he wouldn’t mind not getting married if it meant he never ever ever had to fight a fire-breathing dragon.

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Cast of Wonders 207: Millions Times Eight

Cast of Wonders 207: Millions Times Eight is a Cast of Wonders original.

Content Warning: Spiders. Lots and lots of spiders.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:20 — 19.9MB)

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Millions Times Eight

by Jake Walters

Mick looked at the letter to his parents sitting on the kitchen table.  It was from the school. Outside, he heard the sounds of children laughing and a ball bouncing on the street pavement.  It was late August, and in just a week, their summer freedom was going to be erased. Mick was starting seventh grade.

The letter had been opened and was sitting unfolded beside a pile of crumbs, likely left by his older brother, Chaz, before he ran outside to meet up with his own high school friends.  There was nothing unusual about receiving a letter from the school at about this time in the summer; a welcome back, hope everything is okay and that your summer treated you well and you had a chance to rest for the big year coming up kind of statement from the superintendent.

So Mick read it.  And that was what it was, in the dullest, most boring language imaginable.  Except for the very last paragraph, which read, “We are looking forward to working with our students this year, and we have some big surprises in store for all of them and all of you!  We appreciate your trust in Linwood Schools!” Something about the words did not match the style of the rest of the letter, which had been business-as-usual. Something about the exclamation marks at the ends of the statements sent a little shiver down Mick’s back.

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Cast of Wonders 206: Planar Ghosts (Part 2)

Originally published in Writers of the Future (Volume 31)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:05 — 36.9MB)

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Planar Ghosts (Part Two)

By Krystal Clayton

Pup sits up as the bolt groans in the wall and the door opens, yellow lamplight pooling in.

Alice moves the door only enough to let herself in. She’s carrying a flashlight that could double as a club and wearing thick socks that make her footsteps a whisper against the concrete floor.

“Hello, Pup.” Even though she’s whispering her voice seems too loud, too real.

Pup glances at the door without meaning to. She didn’t bolt it again. How far could he get before someone noticed?

“If I thought we could sneak out, I’d try. Nass has you locked down. That’s why it took me this long to sneak in.”

Pup angles away from her, crosses his arms over his chest.

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Cast of Wonders 205: Planar Ghosts (Part 1)

Originally published in Writers of the Future (Volume 31)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:59 — 34.1MB)

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Planar Ghosts

by Krystal Claxton

The walls around the town of Bootstrap are mostly old cars stacked one on top of the other and welded together. Outside Bootstrap, market stalls made from patchwork tarps and rusty pipes lean on either side of the wide gate. They are temporary places for the people who live inside to trade goods with the people stuck outside who need in.

People like Pup.

He looks up at the guard by the gate, who is thicker, but not much older. Probably grew up inside the walls. He looks as if he’s been well-fed, even during bad years. His skin is sun-reddened and spotted along his cheeks and the high bridge of his nose.

Pup offers his frayed duffle bag to the guard. The man kneels to comb through it with one meaty hand. Inside is Pup’s winter scavenge–a length of rope, a glass vial with lighter fluid, and three almost-full rolls of duct tape.

If this is enough to buy Pup in, he can work for water until summer is over. As the guard measures Pup’s worth, the one good pocket of his cargo pants seems heavier. Inside is something he’s not supposed to trade. He’s not sure what it is. Some Before thing. Probably the guard wouldn’t know what it is either.

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Cast of Wonders 204: Twenty-One

Originally published in Afterburn SF (September 2007)

Content Warning: This week’s story involves more profanity than usual. Parents listening with younger children may want to join us again next week.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:14 — 21.4MB)

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Show Notes

Happy birthday, Podcastle! Our fantasy sister show is celebrating it’s 8th anniversary. Pop on over and join the party with Graeme Dunlop, Rachael K. Jones and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants.

Supernatural Radio and Tempting Secrets by A Kevin MacLeod are licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Twenty-One

by Michael Merriam

Wednesday, January 6th, 2009, dawned bright and clear for the twenty-first time.

“Are we ready?” Aaron Burnett asked the group surrounding him, all of them cold and shivering in the pre-dawn light.

“Yeah, yeah. We can do this,” Thomas Pinchly said. The short, thin teenager chewed nervously on a plastic straw.

Aaron’s older sister, Sharon, gave him a reassuring smile. “We don’t really have a choice, do we?” The smile on her plump face widened. “And if we screw it up—”

“We start over at December 23rd and take another crack at it,” Sharon’s friend Teri finished.

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Cast of Wonders 203: The Universe Dress

Cast of Wonders 203: The Universe Dress is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:54 — 18.4MB)

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The Universe Dress

by Laura-Marie Steele

I’ve never been the biggest fan of weddings. Some women plan weddings from childhood. They draw pictures of the dress they’d like to wear and collect magazine cuttings of flowers or venues, but not me. I’d never even thought about it before. I’d always seen myself as the adventurous type, trekking off alone across the world. Maybe that was why I felt strange, staring at myself in the mirror, on the day of my own wedding.

“You look beautiful.” Mum wiped her eyes with the corner of her bathrobe.

“The lips,” Aunt Julia said, with a twist of her own, “can’t we make them a bit darker?”

My two cousins, Emily and Amelia, began to rummage in the suitcase of cosmetics they’d brought with them. They’d already attacked me with all sorts of colours and turned me into a doll with pink-spotted cheeks.

Aunt Julia took charge of the curling tongs, scooping and pulling up my hair. Lipsticks were passed around, tiaras were polished, hairbrushes were located, dress fit was discussed. Everyone struggled to get ready in the small space that had been my bedroom for the past nineteen years, and I sat in the middle, calm and silent, like the eye of the storm.

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