All posts in Audio Arts

June 24, 2022

“The Petrol Station” by Annis McGee

Welcome back Fictional Cafe listeners! “The Petrol Station” by Annis McGee is a semi horror podcast about the lonely world of working the graveyard shift in the middle of nowhere. Though I considered hanging onto this until we hit Halloween, the glowing reviews that followed this show convinced me to post it a little early, for your listening pleasure. Nina Sudbrooke is a young girl who works the nights at her local remote petrol station. One evening she encounters something…stranger and now is desperate to tell somebody, anybody. The first episode in the audio supernatural horror series was written by Annis McGee and produced by Far Island. After thinking her troubles were over, Nina finds herself noticing things get stranger and stranger. This episode was written by Annis McGee. Performed by Nick Odams and Annis…

Continue reading →

June 10, 2022

Mickie McKinney: Boy Detective, Reincarnation

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Hello Fictional Cafe readers. You all know me as your friendly Audio Arts barista. But today I’m going to talk about me: The author of Mickie McKinney: Boy Detective. You also know that I am one of many that searches the vast internet for those hidden gems, those artists who have just as much – if not more – talent as the rest, but don’t get quite as much recognition as they deserve. It can be a thankless volunteer job, but it can also be an inspirational one. Because we aren’t getting paid to put up these posts, nor do we need to be. We are a community of people who believe that everyone deserves their moment in the spotlight, and we try our best to find those who need that light the most. It’s…

Continue reading →

May 20, 2022

“Sound Escape Theater” Created by Jill Korn

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Welcome back, for the last week of May, I’d like to introduce you to “Sound Escape Theater,” created by Jill Korn. To listen to a radio play is to become a character in someone else’s story. Bring your own imagination to our plays and let yourself be transported to other places, other times, other lives … How many years does it take to feel you really belong? For Francine, living on the Isle of Donan, nothing will ever be the same now that her reason for being here is gone. But Francine is a survivor. Outwardly conventional she may be, but like a true Frenchwoman, she’s up for a little rebellion when the opportunity arises. Galore! was conceived and produced during lockdown, and inspired by the beautiful Isle of Arran which lies off the west…

Continue reading →

May 6, 2022

“The Night’s End” Created by Jimmy Horrors

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy May, Fictional Cafe Listeners! We’re going to start the month with “The Night’s End” podcast created by Jimmy Horrors. (With a name like that, you gotta wonder if he was born to be a horror writer or he chose to be). This is a short story podcast. With a focus on dark speculative fiction, it hopes to leave you wishing for the night’s end before each story is through. Back into the world of spine-tingling terror, Jimmy Horrors takes us into the mind of a man who is a guest of honor at a ball. Slowly, he realises that something is not quite right. Story was written by James Barnett Jimmy Horrors takes us on the journey of a woman who is a passenger on a bus. Not at all the type of bus…

Continue reading →

April 22, 2022

“Caalo Xan” by Jude and Keith

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Welcome Fictional Cafe Listeners, this week we will be covering Caalo Xan, by Jude and Keith! Caalo Xan provides the listener with a fun-filled Audio Adventure, complete with Original Music, one of the largest diverse cast in Audio Drama, and cinematic style SFX. Twice a month for the last five years we have tried to provide that warm towel of Sci-Fi that comforts and arouses the creative mind. (And like Douglas Adams would always say – “A towel, [The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have…” After Caalo and Chuck’s mission in Drusk City goes awry, they are pursued by a pack of Norhounds. Caalo and Chuck are surrounded by a pack of Norhounds and must find a way to gain the upper hand. We hope you’ve…

Continue reading →

April 8, 2022

“The Journalist” and “The Singers”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy April, Fictional Cafe Listeners! To celebrate this month, we have, for your listening pleasure, “The Journalist” and “The Singers” written & edited by Zev Hurwich. Strange things are happening aboard a cruise ship in Antarctica. One reporter interviews passengers to learn the truth about these bizarre phenomena. Journalist, Art Rosenblatt goes on an Antarctic cruise with his family. When one of his children goes missing, he begins an investigation that will raise more questions than it answers. Cast Written & Edited by Zev Hurwich Art Rosenblatt- Zev Hurwich Cool guy- Zev Hurwich Lt. Col. Dahlia Yost meets a hot lifeguard. But what is his connection to the ethereal music that seems to follow him every night? Cast Written & Edited by Zev Hurwich Dahlia Yost- Lauren Sowa Art Rosenblatt- Zev Hurwich Special thanks to…

Continue reading →

March 18, 2022

“Midnight Burger” and “A Haunting Beyond the Lake”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Hello Fictional Cafe listeners! Rather than just giving you one Award-Winning podcast to end the month of March, I’m giving you two! First up, 2021 Audio Verse Awards Finalist “Midnight Burger” by Joe Fisher. Listen to episode one here, then listen to the rest over at the MB site! In episode one Gloria, now jobless in the pandemic era, takes a job interview at a lonely diner outside of Phoenix. What could possibly go wrong? https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/midnight-burger-ep1-by-joe-fisher/id894353107?i=1000524981187 Cast:Gloria – Siouxsie SuarezCaspar – Joe FisherAva – Finlay StevensonZebulon Mucklewain – Neal StarbirdEffie Mucklewain – Julie Cowden-StarbirdLeif – Tom Moorman Second, 2021 Winner of the UK International Radio Drama Award written by Richard H. Brooks. England, late 1990s. He has been in love with Lucy for as long as he can remember, and now might be the last time…

Continue reading →

March 4, 2022

“The Adventures of Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy March, Fictional Cafe Listeners! The month of March is known for quite a few things: March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras, Pi Day, Daylight Savings, but one of my favorites is International Women’s Day. And who better to represent women but a tough-as-nails, galactic gumshoe who who doesn’t take sass from anyone? Written by Thomas Lopez and produced by ZBS Foundation in 1982, “The Adventures of Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe” is a podcast of a tough, intergalactic detective at the heart of this expansive storyworld, where sci-fi meets film noir in the style of Blade Runner, but with a unique blend of slapstick comedy, cosmic consciousness, and stunning sound design. In this third season – a fan-favorite and great introduction to the series – Ruby traverses space and time as she investigates a…

Continue reading →

February 18, 2022

“Carl” by Liz Bartucci

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy Friday Fictional Cafe Listeners, it’s the week of Valentine’s Day, and if you are already sick of the candy and hearts, here is the perfect episode for you. Presenting 2013 Award-winning episode “Carl” by Liz Bartucci. It’s night, it’s Valentine’s day and we are on a dark highway in the middle of nowhere (or is it everywhere?). Join Jeff Cannata as Aaron and Conrad Allan as our title character CARL as they hit the road on a journey that is, shall we say, “Golden.” Carl is spending the first Valentine’s Day alone after his divorce and wondering who would want to spend any time with a miserable person like himself. And then he finds someone who does want to spend time with him. We hope you enjoyed this episode of “Carl” by Liz Bartucci. If you…

Continue reading →

February 13, 2022

Valentine’s Day 2022 at the Café

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Audio Arts, Writing

Three of our Coffee Club Members Share Their Valentine Stories Thank you, thank you everyone, for sending us your Valentine stories! We baristas have read your work and have tried to select works which portray different human perspectives – this in these days of a seemingly endless pandemic which has darkly colored the Be My Valentine emotions for a lot of folks. Our first Valentine’s Day winner is Wiam Najjar’s short story,”Valentine.” Wiam Najjar is a writer at heart and a school principal in mission. She leads teachers and students then goes home to her sacred haven; writing. She’s been published in online magazines and writing blogs and was shortlisted in the 2018 Memoir Magazine #MeToo Essay Contest. You can check out her articles on MyDramaList and her blog WiamNajjar’s Haven. Valentine “Valentine, you forgot your coffee!” She turned…

Continue reading →