November 22, 2024

“Armageddon Series” Season 2! By Terry Tibke

As much fun as it is to dive into new stories (and, let’s be honest, get totally lost in them), it’s just as thrilling to welcome back ones we already know and love. So, even if I’m a bit late to the party (sorry, Terry—I swear I’ll get my timing right someday), I’m excited to present The Armageddon Series, Season 2! I didn’t create this audio adventure, but I’m more than happy to be your enthusiastic tour guide through the mayhem. Season 2 promises just as much fun, drama, and apocalyptic chaos as the first—if not more. So, whether you’re revisiting or tuning in for the first time, brace yourself. The end of the world has never been so entertaining! On a planet of feuding dragon tribes, a young dragonrider named Turim Gliderlance has become…

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November 19, 2024

Five Poems by James Cole

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured Image courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash.com* This week we have James Cole in his first appearance on FC. James combines his unique style with clever and thoughtful word play. We hope to see more of his work in the future! What would you wonder if wondering was free? What would you wonder if wondering was free? Would you wander in widdershins with stark jubilee? Would you invest in smart rhetoric and declare no designs, and make certain statements your heart undermines? If wonder was easy and you could spare its expense would you wonder like Arp and eschew common sense? If wonder went on sale with a bright yellow tag could you wonder like bread in a shelf-stable bag? If you wondered with warranty and budgeted first would you save your receipts and…

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November 8, 2024

“Punching Out” by Jenni Stukin and Ruby Fink

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

It’s been a while since I promoted my own work, but “Punching Out” was a fun project that I think people might enjoy. Although Halloween has come and gone, there’s no reason we can’t extend the spooky vibes a bit longer, right? So, what possessed me to join the 11th Hour Challenge this year? Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s a special form of insanity to voluntarily add more work to an already full schedule, but for some reason, I thought, “Why not?” The challenge? Team up with new people, whip out a 30-page story in a month, and somehow try to survive with some semblance of sanity. Spoiler alert: sanity was not on the final list of accomplishments. It was wildly stressful, and my caffeine intake reached legally questionable levels. But…

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November 3, 2024

COUNTRY, CURATORS & CONSTABLE: Political Thoughts & the Fitzwilliam Museum – By Steve Sangapore

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

Hampstead Heath | John Constable | 1820 | On Display at the Fitzwilliam Museum Steve Sangapore was recently featured on FC not too long ago, but with Election Day on the horizon for Americans, we felt like we needed to share this excellent piece as well. Like all of Steve’s previous pieces, he sparks a very insightful discussion on an incredibly complex topic. Take a look, and remember to vote if you haven’t already! I am a firm believer in the fundamental message of Dr. Martin Luther King. An individual’s character is the true measure of a human being, not our superficial branding that is a matter of the universe’s roll-of-dice like ethnicity, gender or place of birth. Our virtue, character and morality are what we have the power and freedom to control. Equally, I…

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October 28, 2024

“The Grays of Truth” A Novel Excerpt

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Book Reviews, Guest Posts, Interviews, Writing

*Featured image courtesy of mumu limlim, https://openart.ai/@beautifulworld8?tab=creation* In Reconstruction-era Washington and Baltimore, city elites are turning up dead. It’s Tuesday once again and we would like to entice you to read the excerpt from a new novel, The Grays of Truth. Written by bestselling historical true-crime author Sharon Virts, it’s a gripping tale set in Washington, DC, and Maryland in the late 1860s, and is based on true events. In Virts’s hands, the settings in and around the nation’s capital and Baltimore come alive as she reveals the cruelty and cunning of various members of a rich and respected family, one death after another after another. After reading the excerpt below and the bio about Sharon, we think you’re going to want to learn the whole story by reading this novel, written by a master…

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October 25, 2024

“London After Midnight” by Midnight Matinees

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Please, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable and open your ears. You’re about to experience tales of the unknown… and the unreal… from the minds of horror’s finest writers. Hosted our “The Lady in Black”, Midnight Matinees is Pocket Universe Productions’ premier horror anthology series. And this theater of the mind is presented to you in wide-scream “horrorscope”.This is Midnight Matinees. This is “London After Midnight”. Five years before our story begins, wealthy Englishman Roger Balfour committed suicide at his country estate. But there are those in his family who harbor dark suspicions… especially in light of the new tenants… who you’ll meet soon enough. Originally directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, the last known print of “London After Midnight”, long considered the holy grail of silent films, was destroyed in the MGM…

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October 23, 2024

“The Morality of Having Children”

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

My Responsibility as a Not-Yet Father, by Steve Sangapore *Featured Image courtesy of Ricky Turner on Unsplash* Steve Sangapore has returned! Steve always comes in with interesting and thought provoking pieces, but I think this is his best one yet. Don’t just take my word for it though, take a look and see for yourself! Birth, school, work, children, death. It’s just… what we do. Or at least what society expects of the average person. I was born, I went to school, and I have a career. So the next giant life milestone in this five-part existence is having children. Over the years I have done a great deal of thinking about the ethics of having children and how I can personally justify it. The central concept I’ve wrestled with most is whether or not…

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October 11, 2024

“Where Death Comes Uninvited” by Chronosphere Fiction

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

October is always my favorite month as far as audio dramas are concerned. This is the time of the year I get to find the spookiest tales out there to send chills down your spine. First spooky podcast of the month: “Where Death Comes Uninvited, Pt. 1” by Chronosphere Fiction. Chronosphere Fiction is a story telling anthology podcast where writers’ creations come to life with sound effects and music. Former U.S Marshall, Jim Wilkes, disillusioned with life as a federal officer, but still committed to the rule of law, is more than ready to rest from the trail as he approaches his new post as Sheriff in the town of Liberty Gulch. Written Craig Robotham Cast Jason D Johnson : Narrator Jim Wilkes : Pete Lutz Ilana Labourine : Annie Deemes Paul Arbisi : Abe…

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October 4, 2024

“A Life Lesson From Jimi” by Fiona Sinclair

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured Image courtesy of Thomas Kelley on Unsplash.* It’s always a pleasure to see a returning writer on FC. Fiona Sinclair, an excellent writer who has published with us before, has written a new piece that is guaranteed to keep you interested from the beginning to the end. Tom first heard about it crouching over an illicit transistor built by an enterprising boy in tech class. It was breaktime, he and his mates were tucked behind the outer wall of the gym; their “secret” hiding place teachers turned a blind eye to.  Each band Radio Caroline announced was met with a choric wail by the boys, because most knew attending the festival was a fantasy.  Except for Tom. I could go, he thought to himself, tallying in his mind his not inconsiderable savings account, product…

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September 30, 2024

Introducing Our New Arts & Design Barista!

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Fine Art, Member Writing & Art

We’re very pleased to introduce to you, Coffee Club members, Yucen Yao, our new Fine Arts and Graphic Design Barista. It’s hard enough finding a qualified poet, fiction writer or audio arts barista, but finding a creator with the talent and skills to curate contemporary arts has been the toughest. We’ve had to go without one for several years. Now you can meet her. Yucen was raised in Nanchang, China. She took her bachelor’s degree in visual communication at Guangzhou University. Her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams in the arts, and she came to the United States to earn her master’s degree in graphic design at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Her career has rapidly taken off: she’s been interviewed in several LA zines, one saying she is…

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