This week, we’ll be doing something a little different. I was invited to do a mutual interview with my fellow fiction podcaster, Mariah Powell, who is the host of Hobbies Include: Writing. It turned out our projects have a lot in common, so we decided to sit down and have a chat about what we’ve been up to, and why.
Rest assured, dear listeners, The Multiverse Blues will return next week, with a new episode, but for now, I hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes of the Alien Beer Podcast and hopefully check out Hobbies Include: Writing.
Have you ever wondered what Hope, the alien singer in The Multiverse Blueslooks like? I have commissioned artwork depicting her, and will be sharing it with you very soon!
I wrote this story in the summer of 2014 as a submission for, and was published in, the Seventh Star Press anthology, A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court. It is a tie-in to my Tipsy Fairy Tales series, between Blue Spirit and Restless Spirit. It takes place during the time when Skye was borrowed by R.J. Sullivan for his novel, Virtual Blue. I figured since Minnie didn’t make an appearance in that book, I wanted to write about her solo adventures in Bloomington, Indiana. On her own, Minnie gets into as much trouble as Skye, but without anyone to bail her out.
Have you ever wondered what Hope, the alien singer in The Multiverse Blueslooks like? I have commissioned artwork depicting her, and will be sharing it with you very soon!
Sometimes, you just need time to yourself, even when you’re in the best of company. In this episode of The Multiverse Blues, Jules takes a break from the crew of Hope’s Tour, venturing out to explore Delta Earth alone. Unexpected company has a way of turning up at the strangest of times. Which is why Jules finds themself visiting with someone from their past, and someone very familiar indeed. Will the call of even more adventure be too much for Jules? Listen to this episode to find out!
The Iron Writer Challenge, 2015 Summer Solstice Preliminary Round had some really weird elements. A time clock; ice cream; a parachute; told from POV of an alien on the planet Nibiru, as the Nibiru enters our solar system. Nibiru technology is not greater or worse than Earth’s. I’ll say, it was difficult to think of ways to connect the elements, and still make a story that didn’t sound completely random. I hope you enjoy what I came up with!
About half of my catalog of books is currently unavailable, as I’m having to republish my books under my Silly Hat Books imprint, as part of the Speculative Fiction Guild.
My Road Ghosts and Tipsy Fairy Tales are mostly unavailable, other than paperbacks bought directly from me, or used online, and I think the audiobooks are still up, and hopefully will be as they are transferred to me.
I’m in process of redoing layout and such to get them back in at least ebook format within a week or two.
Reality Check is also free as an ebook for the next few days as well, to celebrate 6 months and 1000 downloads of my Alien Beer Podcast. Go get your copy, and maybe leave me a review if you enjoy the book?
Last time on The Multiverse Blues: Hope’s Tour travelled through the Arch linking Gamma Earth to Delta Earth. The crew debated what to do about the recent targeted attacks, and discussed Jules’ mysterious female double from Achse.
Now, as they pass into glitzy Delta Earth, the crew looks forward to staying in a luxury hotel, and a risky scheduled show before making their move to shake pursuit.
I am excited to announce that by the time you hear this, the Alien Beer Podcast will have been downloaded a THOUSAND times! Since this is my 26th episode, that’s nearly FORTY downloads per episode on average! Thank you all so much for listening to me tell my science fiction stories!
As a way to thank you, I have set the Kindle edition of my science fiction novel Reality Check to FREE for the next five days, from July 2nd, 2020 through July 6th, 2020! In addition, I am giving away a signed paperback copy of the book. To enter the drawing, post about the Alien Beer Podcast to social media and take a screenshot and send it to me at ecg at sillyhatbooks.com. I will roll dice to determine the winner, which I’ll announce on my July 9th episode!
The Multiverse Blues and my Trans-Continental books were spun off of Reality Check, so I think it should be of interest to regular listeners. Even if you miss this promotion, I encourage you to get a copy for yourself.
For those of you expecting this week to be an episode of The Multiverse Blues, well, thank you for noticing. I have gotten behind on writing the serial, so this week, I’m giving you a special behind the scenes look at something that’s never before been published, and only read by one or two others before. It is a bit of the attempt I made at writing a sequel to Reality Check, my science fiction novel that my Trans-Continental books and The Multiverse Blues spun off of. If you haven’t read Reality Check, but plan to, I will warn you that this may contain spoilers.
It isn’t the first time I’ve taken something from the stalled Reality Check sequel. Episode 5 of this podcast, The Spark, was also from that false start, and like this episode, was too good to just put in a trunk. It answers a question left hanging at the end of Reality Check, and it shows part of the history of “The Dionnes” and the eventual Arch Network in the Multiverse Blues.
And now, allow me to present for the first time, “The Gate”!
The energy for writing can come from many places. Sometimes it’s for the sheer joy of it. Sometimes it’s the adrenaline rush of an external, or self-imposed deadline approaching, other times it’s the siren call of the Muse, demanding that a particular story be written. This one was none of those. I was angry at the world, and I used my writing as outlet for it. I fueled my creativity with fury, and it turned out to also be good therapy at the same time. I wrote it in early 2014, but it didn’t find this final form, and title, until almost a year and a half later.
Content Warning: Loss of agency, bullying, confinement.
Following the attacks in Delta Earth, Hope’s Tour beat a hasty retreat through the New Louie Arch, moving on towards Delta Earth. In this episode, the crew looks to Hope for leadership in the face of deadly danger.
Before I begin this particular episode, I want to thank my listeners for following my stories. I would love to hear from you on Twitter or Facebook, especially if you have comments or questions about the road so far. I’d love to know who your favorite characters are, who you might be shipping with each other, and what you’d like to see happen in future episodes.
Our own ‘verse (Beta Earth Prime) has been an extra hard place for everyone since I began this podcast journey in February 2020; I hope my escape to other worlds has helped some of you cope. For me, it’s been a big help to me to have this project as a focus.
