Tales from the Trunk
Reading the stories that didn't make it
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Episodes
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
On this episode, we're joined by Megan E. O'Keefe, author of Velocity Weapon and its forthcoming sequel, Chaos Vector. Megan reads the first chapter of her trunked novel, Conduit of Stone, which leads us into a lively conversation about our influences and Megan's thoughts on the parallels between writing and video game development.
A transcript of the episode, provided by D. H. Dunn, is available here.
Please join us again for our next Shelter in Place episode on July 3rd, and on July 17th, when our regular guest will be Merc Fenn Wolfmoor!
Friday Jun 05, 2020
Friday Jun 05, 2020
I thought for a long time about delaying this episode or simply not releasing it at all, but for all the darkness in the world, we still need art. We need voices of hope. It is Pride month, where we celebrate who we are and how far we’ve come, and where we honor and remember those who came before us.
Stonewall was a riot against police brutality, started by Marsha P. Johnson, a Black, trans woman. We would not have Pride without queer, Black activists.
This Pride in Place episode was inspired in part by the folx at Buddies in Bad Times Theater in Toronto, a space dedicated to the promotion of queer theatrical expression.
The contributors who wished to be named for this episode are:
K. B. Wagers, Twitter @kbwagers, Insta @midwaybrawler
Jill Seidenstein, Slow Bloom
You can find your local community bail funds at bit.ly/localbailfund
Consider raising up Black spec-fic writers by subscribing to FIYAH Literary Magazine (@fiyahlitmag)
Join us again on June 19th, when our guest will be Megan E. O'Keefe
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
For this month's episode, we're joined by Annalee Flower Horne (@LeeFlower). They read the first chapter of their trunked novel, Diamonds in the Sky, and we talk about Esperanto-speaking space-Quakers, source control management, representation, appropriation, mental health, and test-driven development.
A transcript of the episode, provided by D. H. Dunn, is available here.
Things we mention this episode:
Esperanto
"Seven Things Cadet Blanchard Learned from the Trade Summit Incident," by Annalee Flower Horne, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July/Aug 2014 issue
Mary Robinette Kowal
Star Trek
Git
thefuck
The Dazzle of Day, by Molly Goss
Quaker process
Occupy Wall Street
Mass Effect 2
Civil Air Patrol
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
“Carborundorum > /dev/null,” by Annalee Flower Horne, Fireside Quarterly, July 2018
Test-driven development
"The Great Divide," Avatar: the Last Airbender season 1, episode 11
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
Mary Sue
Star Wars
LiveJournal
NaNoWriMo
Futurescapes
The MICE Quotient
"it me, ur smol," by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
it me, ur smol (Twitter bot)
The Bias
Join us again on Friday, June 5th, for our Pride in Place special!
Friday May 01, 2020
Friday May 01, 2020
Joining me live in studio for this month's Shelter in Place special is my spouse, Elizabeth! We revisit the original concept for this show with some excerpts from her story "Horse Story," and talk race-consciousness, pin-gays, and representation.
Join us again on Friday, May 15th, Annalee Flower Horne will be on the show!
Friday Apr 17, 2020
Friday Apr 17, 2020
For close to the start of our second season, I decided to turn the table on myself, and Sharon Hsu (@pensyf) was kind enough to agree to come back on the show to guest-host! I read my story, "Green Line," and we talk about Philadelphia, our evolution as writers, and why podcasting is great.
Things we mention in this episode:
Uncanny Magazine
Duotrope
The Submission Grinder
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Shimmer
"Badgers"
Lois McMaster Bujold
Wawa
Rita's Italian Ice
Flavor Brigade
SEPTA
365 Tomorrows (and my story, "Monday")
LiveJournal
Lockie Hunter
Pseudopod
Codex writer's forum
The Allusionist: "Podcast Podcast"
Fran Wilde
Warren Wilson College
Annalee Flower Horne
Be the Serpent
Fred Yost
Dorothy L. Sayers
As My Wimsey Takes Me
Archive of Our Own (AO3)
Esperanto
"And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands," by Sharon Hsu
Join us on May 1st for our next Shelter in Place episode, featuring my spouse, and on May 15th, when our guest will be Annalee Flower Horne.
Friday Apr 03, 2020
Friday Apr 03, 2020
Welcome to our first shelter in place special episode. On this episode, I'll be reading my 2009 story, "Steel Yard." Please note that things get a little spoopy, so if you need something lighter at the moment, I won't fault you for skipping this one.
Join us again in two weeks, on Friday, April 17th, when I'll be back with a regular episode featuring me and special guest host Sharon Hsu!
Friday Mar 20, 2020
Friday Mar 20, 2020
Season two starts off with guest Jordan Kurella (@jskurella) reading an excerpt of their very dark and murdery story, "Awake, Arise, and Be Forever Fallen." Following that is a great discussion of problematic storytelling, the pitfalls, and how we can write and act with empathy when representing marginalized groups in our stories. We also talk sensitivity reading and the fine art of apologizing online.
Things mentioned in this episode:
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch Book 2), by Ann Leckie
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer
Be the Serpent
Annihilation (2018)
NaNoWriMo
Madcap Retreats
Clarkesworld Magazine
Escape Pod
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Strange Horizons
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Uncanny Magazine
"The Air Gap," by Hilary B. Bisenieks, in LampLight Magazine
Mary Robinette Kowal's explanation of the MICE Quotient
"A Promise of Dying Embers," by Jordan Kurella, forthcoming at Diabolical Plots
King's Quest III
Glitter + Ashes
Join us again on April 17th, when our guest will be me, Hilary B. Bisenieks, and Sharon Hsu will be joining us as guest host.
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Friday Feb 21, 2020
On this episode, K. B. Wagers (@kbwagers/@midwaybrawler) joins us to read an excerpt from their novel, Reluctant Heroes and talk competence porn, how Twilight-bashing is shitty and counterproductive, social media, and tattoos.
This episode marks the end of season 1 of Tales from the Trunk! Thank you all so much for joining us on this ride!
Things we mentioned on this episode:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Battlestar Galactica
SFWA Grand Master, Lois McMaster Bujold
Writing Excuses
Schlock Mercenary, by Howard Tayler
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyers
The Merlin Mystery, by Jonathan Gunson and Marten Coombe
Behind the Throne, by K. B. Wagers
Doctor Who
Red Dwarf
Blake's 7
Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
NaNoWriMo
Out Past the Stars, by K. B. Wagers
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rogue One
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
"The Hades Business," by Terry Pratchett (his first published story), which appears in A Blink of the Screen
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
A Pale Light in the Black, by K. B. Wagers
Join us again next month, on March 20th, when we'll kick off season 2 with guest Jordan Kurella!
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Monday Feb 10, 2020
With awards season firmly upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to put together an eligibility-post-as-audio, not just for the show, but also for all the amazing guests I've had on this past year.
What I mentioned this episode:
Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey
"Away with the Wolves," by Sarah Gailey
Here's The Thing, Sarah's newsletter
"The Neverending Story at 40: A Children's Book Grappling with the Legacy of War," by Sarah Gailey
"The Sweetest Fruit of Summer," by R. K. Duncan
R. K. Duncan's awards eligibility post
Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
The Imaginary Corpse, by Tyler Hayes
The Library of the Unwritten, by A. J. Hackwith
"Through Doorways: Portal Fantasies as a Means of Queer Escape and Queer Hope," by A. J. Hackwith
A Choir of Lies, by Alexandra Rowland
Be the Serpent: A Podcast of Extremely Deep Literary Merit
Worldbuilding for Masochists
"Fanfiction: The Infinite Free Buffet," by Alexandra Rowland
"The Moving Stars," by Premee Mohamed
"Us and Ours," by Premee Mohamed, in A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods
"paper, incense, need," by Sharon Hsu
The transcript for this show is available here.
Friday Jan 17, 2020
Friday Jan 17, 2020
On this episode, World Fantasy Award winner C. L. Polk (@clpolk) joins us to talk being an early-career writer, losing at NaNoWriMo, her early strategies for submitting stories, and why stories don't land. Cee reads to us from a trunked first draft, "Memory and a Monkey," which is a very fun sci-fi detective story. The sequel to Witchmark, Stormsong, comes out February 11th, 2020 from Tor.com books.
On this episode, we mentioned:
Witchmark, by C. L. Polk
The His Dark Materials series, by Philip Pullman
"Writing Begins With Forgiveness," by Daniel Jose Older
nanowrimo
SFWA qualifying market list
Shimmer Magazine
on spec magazine
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Ideomancer
"Bullet in the Brain," by Tobias Wolff
Tor.com
Uncanny Magazine
FIYAH Literary Magazine
Diggers (my dad actually got me Truckers), The Bromeliad Trilogy, by Terry Pratchett
Stormsong, by C. L. Polk
The Midnight Bargain, by C. L. Polk
Skies of Wonder, Skies of Danger
"The Air Gap," by Hilary B. Bisenieks, LampLight Magazine
Join us again next month, when I'm excited to announce that our guest will be novelist K. B. Wagers.