February 13, 2017

Podcast: “The Dark Valentine” Radio Broadcast

Podcast: “The Dark Valentine” Radio Broadcast

      In the year 2000, a deejay at WSCS Radio, a college radio station, Came on the air calling himself “The 2000Man.” Nobody really knew who he really was, outside a few staff and jocks. His two-hour long show was broadcast on Friday nights from 10 until 12. His show was unique because the guy was pretty out-there, like Max Headroom or The Firesign Theatre. It was also unique because he would play extended sets of one band anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes in length. In between songs, he did his “2000Man” thing, and nobody ever knew what it would be. One night a listener called in and screamed, “What are you DOING?” and hung up. Here is an abbreviated version [just under an hour] of his now-famous “Dark Valentine” show. We…

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January 27, 2017

Podcast: Improbable Fortunes,” Part 3

Podcast: Improbable Fortunes,” Part 3

OK, here’s the third and last enticement for you to listen to Jeffrey Price’s hysterically funny Audible novelmovie, “Improbable Fortunes.” Now, I just want you to consider that title. Improbable. Fortunes. Do you get a little twinge of Horatio Alger? Well, if you do, Price’s Horatio is young Buster McCaffrey, an archetypal orphan who seems like a sweet cowboy but who cuts quite a swath through the lives of the people of Vanadium, Colorado. I’ve nearly finished listening to the entire novel and can’t count the number of times I’ve LOL’d. I mean, really Laughed Out Loud. If you’re seeing this post for the first time, please go back and listen to Part One and Part Two. You’ll be glad you did. Please click on the arrow below to listen to the first excerpt from “Improbable Fortunes.”

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January 20, 2017

Podcast: Part 2 of “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

Podcast: Part 2 of “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

We continue with the second installment of the podcast of ‘Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price, read by Jonathan Davis. It’s from Price’s (first) novel of the same name and excerpted here from the Audible version. Note: on either of these Amazon links, a Kindle version and an MP3 download are also available. You might not recognize the name Jeffrey Price, but he’s the Hollywood scriptwriter of hit movies such as the screamingly hilariously snarky “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “Shrek the Third.” The narrator may or may not be the Jonathan Davis of Korn. In any case, “Improbable Fortunes” is a ribald western movie leaking out around its edges: Owen Wilson as Buster McCaffrey, Margot Robbie as the unfaithful wife [and Buster’s lover] of Marvin Mallomar, the now-dead richest men in America,…

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January 15, 2017

Podcast: “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

Podcast: “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

January’s podcast is ‘Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price, read by Jonathan Davis. It’s from Price’s (first) novel of the same name and excerpted here from the Audible version. Note: on either of these Amazon links that a Kindle version and an MP3 download are also available. You might not recognize the name Jeffrey Price, but he’s the Hollywood scriptwriter of hit movies such as the screamingly hilariously snarky “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “Shrek the Third.” The narrator may or may not be the Jonathan Davis of Korn. In any case, “Improbable Fortunes” is a ribald western that might claim to be “like” “Blazing Saddles” or Kinky Friedman meets Carl Hiasson meets Tom Robbins meets The Firesign Theater. As is our practice, two more excerpts follow on the next two Fridays…

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November 25, 2016

Podcast: Madrone is now an Audible Book!

Podcast: Madrone is now an Audible Book!

You not only listened to Jack’s first novel, Wild Blue Yonder, here first, but now you can listen to Madrone, its sequel, here in the Audible version as well! Amazon’s done something pretty cool with books in Kindle and Audible formats: You can switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice. Add narration for a reduced price of $1.99 when you buy the Kindle book. But I wouldn’t ask you to buy without giving you a sample, so here’s Chapter 1. The recording begins with the brilliant poem, “Mr. Robinson Jeffers Contemplates the Pacific,” by J. E. Shepard, and as before, it is read by my friend and colleague Len Mailloux.  

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November 18, 2016

Podcast: Wild Blue Yonder is now an Audible Book

Podcast: Wild Blue Yonder is now an Audible Book

You listened to it here first, Jack’s first novel, Wild Blue Yonder: A Novel of the 1960s. Or maybe you didn’t, because it was hard to keep up with 24 consecutive weekly podcast episodes. Well, now you can hear the entire novel, which is Part 1 of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Flowers trilogy, in one fell swoop by getting the Audible version from Amazon. Amazon’s done something pretty cool with books that are in Kindle and Audible formats: You can Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration with Whispersync for Voice. Add narration for a reduced price of $1.99 when you buy the Kindle book. But I wouldn’t ask you to buy without giving you a sample, so here’s Chapter 1.  

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November 11, 2016

Podcast: “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

Podcast: “Improbable Fortunes” by Jeffrey Price

In an interview posted on his LinkedIn page, Jeffrey Price, perhaps unknown to most but renowned for co-authoring the script of the animated movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” says of  his latest work: “Improbable Fortunes is my Funny Valentine to the land I love and the craziness that is not so different from America at large. I should also say that women readers have told me that they found the book romantic.” Improbable Fortunes is a novel in print, Kindle and Audible formats on Amazon. Set in a small fictional town in Colorado, it’s the story of the adventures of one Butch McCaffrey. It’s a terrific satire on the New West with a main character who embodies literature’s greatest picaresque “heroes,” from Don Quixote to Ignatius J. Reilly. The Prolouge, a half-hour long excerpt, will give you…

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October 30, 2016

Podcast: Radio Stories for Halloween

Podcast: Radio Stories for Halloween

Happy? Creepy? Horrific? Halloween! Take your pick, All Hallow’s Eve is for all of us and different for all of us, especially in these days when it’s moved around to accommodate marketing promotions and convenient times to trick ‘n’ treat. But no such concerns here: You can listen to these great old-time radio Halloween stories any time you like! Here we present three for your listening – ah – pleasure. They’re really old, from the 1940s and 1950s, and yet they’re ageless as well. Our first ghoulish tale is Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat,” starring one of the greatest actors of the horror genre, Peter Lorre, who was also host of  Mystery in the Air. Lorre’s German accent gave his characterizations an intense dash of the macabre. Please click the arrow below to listen.  …

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October 28, 2016

Podcast: “Homer the Hobo and Ulysses the Goat”

Podcast: “Homer the Hobo and Ulysses the Goat”

Submitted for your appreciation, a third children’s story written and read by Michael Larrain for his young daughter, Wilder Kathleen The Rage of Pais Larrain. While the first two were focused mostly on Wilder’s magic loom, in this podcast we meet two new characters named after the poet Homer and his character Ulysses in “The Odyssey.” Some pretty famous ancient Greeks. Will they live up to their namesakes? Will they drink the lemonade? Will Ulysses take off wandering again? All these questions will be charmingly answered in the story which follows. If you haven’t listened to the preceding stories, they are here and here. We’re really quite pleased to be extending the definition and boundaries of the podcast with these readings. The fourth and last will appear next Friday. Please click on the arrow below to…

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October 21, 2016

Podcast: Daddy Michael Reads Another Story He Wrote For Daughter Wilder

Podcast: Daddy Michael Reads Another Story He Wrote For Daughter Wilder

I hope you listened to last week’s podcast of Michael Larrain reading his children’s story, “The Girl with a Loom in Her Room.” Why? Because it was charming and delightful and read so eloquently by the author who is, of course, Wilder Kathleen The Rage of Paris Larrain’s father. Now comes the second of three stories, “Heaven & Earth,” in which Wilder is back at work on her magical loom in her room. Her loom skills are emerging, and with them – a giraffe? And a homeless old gentleman named Charlie. And an apple orchard. And an adventure involving all three and a bit more as well. You won’t want to miss this continuation of the first story – and find out how it got its title. Please click on the arrow below to listen to “Heaven &…

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