December 9, 2022

“Residents of Proserpina Park” by Angela Yih

Residents of Proserpina Park is a fiction podcast focusing on mythological creatures mixed with a story just as wild as the past. Learn about creatures you’ve never heard before and follow Alina on her crazy journey to find the truth. Join Alina as she investigates a mysterious park in her town for a school assignment. What she finds there is more than she could possibly imagine. Our hero, Alina, returns to the park and learns more about mythical dogs and why they are perfect (or at least almost as perfect as Cerberus.) Alina sneaks her friend Drew into the park hoping to explore their childhood fantasies. Little do they know, the park has other plans. Residents of Proserpina Park is a production written and produced by Angela Yih. Directed by Angela Yih. Narrated by Vida…

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December 6, 2022

“Monsters Like Us,” by Sarah Normandie

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

The New England mid-October air, sharp and crisp, presented itself in a way that said goodbye to summer while promising winter soon. Detective Thicket trudged his feet through the carpet of red and gold fallen leaves as he breathed in the wet, musty smell of the woods. He couldn’t help but notice that nothing had changed since the last time he was here. The trees stood the way they stood each day before, just some taller and stronger while others stood with lost branches from heavy winds or were dying from disease. The squirrels and the birds went about their business on this day, the same way other squirrels and birds went about their business in 1995. If only the forest could talk, he thought, the stories it would tell. Somewhere in Thicket’s mind he…

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December 2, 2022

“Ode to the Wild Daffodil,” Poetry by Birch Saperstein

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

Ode to the Wild Daffodil After Ross Gay Come, rise, my friends! The season has shown her fertile belly, turned her deep skin, and now a new portion is facing the sun! Come, join me! Our time growing underground has come to an end, face the world with me! Open your faces to the bees and butterflies and hummingbirds and gnats and let them sing you everywhere! I know you’re scared, terrified to stick your stems out into the air, terrified of frost and collapse and wind and rabbits and I know there’s nothing I can do to change or quell that which you fear. But I know, no, I promise, that we’ll rise together, into a new season. ** Clippers My heart is a pair of hedge clippers wielded by a crow who simply…

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November 25, 2022

“The Flock” by A Ton of Feathers

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

The Flock, created by A Ton of Feathers, is a musical audio drama with funding from Arts Council England. The Flock is an audio drama with songs. An environmental fable about the end of the world told from the point of view of the birds. Parrot and Budgie escape from captivity while the wild birds gather. Parrot and Budgie head deeper into the wild, but they’re being watched. There is much chatter of the Wisest Bird, while a monster rumbles into life… The Flock present the case against homo sapiens… The Flock is produced by ‘A Ton of Feathers’ with funding from Arts Council England Scripts & Direction by Jack Sanderson-Thwaite Music, Lyrics & Editing by Gecko In this episode: Lauren Vandike played Parrot Winston J Pyke played Magpie Hannah Bristow played Budgie Gecko played…

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November 22, 2022

Nina Kossman Poetry

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

The Tale of Tzarina Alyonushka and Her Brother Ivanushka (a free-verse version of a well-known Russian fairy tale) “I warned my brother not to drink from the lake. I warned him. But, at that age, do they listen? He drank from it. And of course his quick arms and legs became goat limbs, his blond curls became white fleece. –Ivanushka! Beware, kid brother, of the witch and her knives, her pots full of water. Her greed fills them up. Her jealousy heats them. She is the Queen now. She wears my face. She stole my figure, and I– I worked so hard at it! But who can hear my protests? My voice hardly reaches you from these stinky depths. What does she want with us? Ah, my husband, the Tzar. Does she hold his hands…

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November 11, 2022

“Untold Podcast” created by Nathan James Norman

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

At the Untold Podcast, created by Nathan James Norman, they want to recapture the power of story and use the weirder genres to do it. Science fiction, fantasy, horror and supernatural stories serve as metaphors for our lives. The distant star systems, the shining knights, the abominable yetis, and the ghosts remind listeners of our own struggles, triumphs and losses. Every month they’ll bring you a new story and flash fiction presented in a unique and dynamic way! “Customer arriving!” announced the robot. The shopkeeper looked up eagerly. The door creaked open with a whistle. Rain blew inside as a small man fought with the door handle. “You have my merchandise?” he rasped. The shopkeeper snorted. He’s a day early. “Yeah, but it’s not ready yet.” Otherworldly gadgets and gizmos in clear displays filled most of the room. A…

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November 10, 2022

FC Sponsors IPNE Conference and Offers a Deal

Posted by Mike Rochester in News

The Fictional Café is sponsoring the annual Independent Publishers of New England Publishers & Authors Conference. In its 11th year, the conference will boast many familiar names from the publishing industry. As a sponsor, we are exited to offer our members free access to this virtual conference (via Zoom). If you are already a member of IPNE, that’s a savings of $75 and for everyone else, a savings of $100. We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to learn from experts in the field over the course of two days, November 18th and 19th. To register, click this link. Choose the “VIP Conference Access” option and enter the code VIP2022. We just ask that you not share this code beyond FC members. Details about the conference can be found on the IPNE website, including…

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October 28, 2022

Wilhelm Presents: Frightening Tales

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts, Podcasts

Welcome back to the second installment of our spooky October Audio Adventures! Here for your enjoyment are Frightening Tales! Welcome brave listeners to my collection of frightening tales, scary stories and ghostly yarns. Each season runs from May till the finale on All Hallows Eve. I‘ll post a new story for my listeners each Friday till then. So, make yourself comfortable and settle in for a spooky time, if you’re brave enough. Humanity has often defiantly mimicked things that were dangerous, who would have thought that unofficially something as innocent as hide and seek started more malevolently? Learning the in’s and outs of the family business can often dig up the ghosts of our family history revealing the true sacrifices a family does for one another. In this tale a man is faced with the…

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October 14, 2022

“Hello From Hallowoods”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy Halloween and Hello from Hallowoods! In honor of the spookiest month of the year I am thrilled to present the scariest stories that I could find! *** Anyone who is easily startled should not listen, or at least don’t listen after dark *** Everyone else, please enjoy “Hello from Hallwoods” by William A. Wellman. A fisherman finds a mysterious cabinet, Diggory Graves makes a friend, and Riot outruns the Instrumentalist. The theme of tonight’s episode is Keys. Hello From The Hallowoods is written and produced by William A. Wellman, a queer horror author and writing coach. Content warnings for this episode include: Birds, Static, Drowning, Kidnapping + Abduction, Death + Injury, Body Horror, Abuse. Clara runs from the danger that hounds her, Hector goes looking for trouble, and Yaretzi meets her nemesis beneath an eclipse….

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October 11, 2022

“The Anchored World”- An Excerpt

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

Fictional Cafe is pleased to share with our readers an excerpt from a just-published, highly original new work by Jasmine Sawers. Please see our interview with the founders of Rose Metal Press, which follows the excerpt. ** The Weight of the Moon The moon fell from the sky last Tuesday. I rolled her into the shed and gave her some water. “Thank you,” she said. “Don’t you worry about it,” I said. I patted her sorest-looking crater. I got some lotion and rubbed it on. “Thank you,” she said. Everyone was so worried. “The tides,” they said. “The rotation of the earth on its axis,” they said. “The migration of the birds, the turning of the seasons, the visibility at nighttime. Where is the moon? The end is nigh. Judgment is coming. Repent.” They don’t…

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