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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October 14, 2016

Podcast: A Father Reads His Stories to His Daughter

Podcast: A Father Reads His Stories to His Daughter

Michael Larrain is a poet and novelist whose poetry has appeared before in the Fictional Café. We welcome him back, this time as a storyteller in the Podcast section of the Café. Our October offerings are devoted to three of Michael’s stories, created especially for his darling daughter Wilder Kathleen The Rage of Paris Larrain – yes, that is her real name – which he not only wrote but which he has recorded for her, and our, listening pleasure. The first is entitled “The Girl With The Loom In Her Room.” Click on the arrow to listen. * Michael Larrain was born in Los Angeles in 1947. He is the author of four collections of poems: The Promises Kept in Sleep, Just One Drink for the Diamond Cutter, For One Moment There Was No Queen, and How…

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