August 26, 2016

Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” Part 4

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Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” Part 4

Here’s the last excerpt from Artemis Greenleaf’s delightful coming-of-age novel/podcast. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve listened to over the past four weeks, please visit Podiobooks to download the entire novel [or the remaining chapters – you get to choose!]. When you visit Artemis’s site or podcast, please remember to praise and reward the author’s work with a review and a tip. Thank you. We really do appreciate it. Please click on the arrow below to listen to Part 4 of “Confessions of a Troll.”

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August 18, 2016

Partners in Caffeine: The Best Coffee This Side of Arcturus

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Partners in Caffeine: The Best Coffee This Side of Arcturus

We’re partners in caffeine-imbibing with a real coffee shop, the Cafe Monte Alto in Plymouth, New Hampshire. It’s a very cool place on Main Street, across the town green and down the street from Plymouth State University. They grow and sell fair trade coffees from their plantations in Peru, and boy, it’s a great coffee! We’re fortunate that their various roasts are not only outstanding, not only 100% Arabica shade grown, not only reasonably priced, but also available by mail order from their website. I never want to be without Monte Alto’s Dark Roast, so I order it in five-pound bags! We have a link to Monte Alto on our Home page. The owners are not only artistes in coffee roasting, but also love to have artists hang their work on the cafe walls and exhibit on their…

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August 11, 2016

Book Review: “Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever” by Stephen Seitz

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Book Review: “Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever” by Stephen Seitz

I recently attended “Bookstock 2016,” the Woodstock, Vermont, annual book festival. Many of us authors had our published works on display, for sale, and it was there I met author Stephen Seitz and his wife Susan. He’s written quite a few novels in the mystery genre and as we talked I became more interested in reading his work. I bought this one, Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever, in paperback. The story begins innocently enough, focusing on the trials and tribulations of Ace Herron, the crime reporter for a small local newspaper that’s been bought by a media conglomerate. In the course of his work he learns of a father who has embezzled a large sum from his employer, kidnapped his son, and taken off for parts unknown. Ace pursues the story, which takes many surprising twists…

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August 5, 2016

Our First YA Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” by Artemis Greenleaf

Posted by in Podcasts
Our First YA Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” by Artemis Greenleaf

Enter the world of Mordecai “Cai” Peterson, a regular ole everyday teenager who is about to fall down a social media rabbit hole. This is one heck of a fun podcast, whether you’re a young adult or an old one, like me. You can watch a well done video preview of “Confessions of a Troll” on Artemis Greenleaf’s website here. It’s a novel that’s been turned into a podcast from our friends at Podiobooks.com. Artemis Greenleaf, she of the lovely name, is indeed a real person and this is her real name. She lives in a small town near Houston, Texas. And if a woman writing in the first person as a 16-year-old boy isn’t enough for you, it’s read by an Englishman whose first name is Andrew. And very well read, I might add….

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July 29, 2016

Podcast: How To Save The World From Itself

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Podcast: How To Save The World From Itself

As the Firesign Theater once said, “You know, this is the midst of the disillusionment and heartbreak season and with the recent outbreak of that suicidal strain of despair up in Boston [Philadelphia? Cleveland?], well, you’d better keep a close watch on your emotions.” Yes, friends, irrespective of the turmoil between The Donald and Hillary, the madness of ISIS, our police shooting people of color, we live in a desperate world. How can things be made right? A long-time surmise is an attack on earth by aliens might bring the peoples of the world together and unite our squabbling against a common enemy: little green creatures from Mars. The basic plot probably came from the most-prescient English author, H.G. Wells [also featured in last week’s Podcast of “The Time Machine”], and was aptly titled The War of the Worlds, published in…

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July 22, 2016

Podcast: “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells

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Podcast: “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells was a true science visionary, as well as an accomplished fiction writer, exploring ideas such as burrowing into the heart of the earth, flying to the moon, and traveling through time. His novel The Time Machine was published in 1895 and has subsequently been adapted to radio, TV and film versions for over a hundred years. What you’re about to listen to is perhaps the finest adaptations I’ve experienced, created by the Alien Voices production company. Their production was released as a Simon & Schuster abridged audiobook, but I heard it on Mystery Play Internet Radio, one of my Old Time Radio [OTR] Internet radio stations. Here it is, and it is done well in two parts, each about an hour in length. Please click on the arrows below to listen to “The Time Machine” parts 1…

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July 15, 2016

“Call Me,” a Podcast by Alain Bezançon

Posted by in Audio Arts, Podcasts
“Call Me,” a Podcast by Alain Bezançon

I assure you this is a simple coincidence but as some of you know, I recently returned from a six-month writing sabbatical in France, where I wrote the complete first draft of my latest novel, Anarchy, the third Nathaniel Hawthorne Flowers novel. My head and heart are still in France, so finding a podcast by a French novelist and podcaster might seem like the dog who can’t help but walk into the path of an oncoming car…. In any event, herewith meet Alain Bezançon, a technology entrepreneur by day, a very busy writer by night, and “Call Me.” Although this is a short work – perhaps a novella in print and about 40 minutes of well produced audio – I recommend you pay close attention to the details as you begin listening, for it all comes together at…

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July 15, 2016

Science Fiction Podcast Month!

Posted by in Audio Arts, News, Podcasts
Science Fiction Podcast Month!

Tonight we begin the July podcasts and an all-science fiction series. We have a special treat for you: Each is a complete audio presentation so you can listen to the whole thing and won’t have to wait a week for another installment. It’s kind of like, um, going to the movies! So, watch out for monsters and instead watch your email tonight or tomorrow for the first sci-fi podcast from your friends here at the Fictional Café! Cheers, Jack  

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June 26, 2016

The Last Novel of Alexandre Dumas – Troisieme Partie (Part 3)

Posted by in Book Reviews, News
The Last Novel of Alexandre Dumas – Troisieme Partie (Part 3)

If Alexandre Dumas were alive today, he would be living fat, admired and happy with the royalties just from his two biggest hits, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. In all likelihood, you have read one or both of these novels, which are among the finest examples of the thriller genre – and glorious writing to book. Dumas, writing some 200 years ago, knew what audiences liked, and he gave it to them. Michael Ross writes in his biography, “Of ten plays by Dumas and Victor Hugo, eight of the characters are adulteresses; five are common prostitutes; six are seduced; four mothers are in love with their sons or son-in-law; eleven persons are murdered; and in no less than six of these plays the leading character is either a foundling or a…

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