E. Chris Garrison

This week at the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub, some technology malfunctions in a wondrous way, an infamous character returns, bearing a great treasure, but also needing help. Trust can be a difficult thing in a liminal space like the Rosedale.

https://alienbeer.podbean.com/e/rosedale-pub-true-peril

Dear listeners, thank you. The Alien Beer Podcast recently passed 5,000 downloads! What does this mean? Well, it means that each episode has been downloaded over 80 times, on average. It means that my podcast is in the top 50 percent or better. But these are just statistics. What it really means to me is that you’re out there, listening to my stories. And for that, I’m grateful. I hope you’ll continue to tune in to join me in this adventure.

I was honored to be a featured guest at InConJunction Science Fiction and Fantasy convention over the 4^th of July weekend. I was anxious about being around many people in person for the first time in 16 months, but I think I did better than I expected at that. One of the presentations I gave was on using randomness as the seed for a story. I called it “Storymancy” because often I get elements from divinatory sources: Tarot cards, for example. Or I’ll look for ideas from the next three songs my  iTunes plays on shuffle. I’ll think about the Random elements that have been given to me and try to shape it into a story. Sometimes inspiration will strike, and I’ll throw out most or all of the elements and go with that instead.

https://alienbeer.podbean.com/e/rosedale-pub-ghost-of-a-chance

Most of the Rosedale pub stories have had some randomness in their inspiration. I sat down to brainstorm this story when I wasn’t feeling any inspiration. I listened to a few songs on shuffle, I laid out some cards, and then I went to work trying to piece the resulting elements together into a cohesive story.

What were the elements of this story? Oh, a certain Beastie Boys song for the character’s origin, the Queen of Wands, and the Four of Wands, to name a few. Make of that what you will.

I didn’t get to sit down and write the story for another couple weeks, so I guess it simmered somewhere in the back of my mind, and what came out is the story I’m reading you today.

I had always intended there to be a cat character in the Rosedale Pub, but recent events helped me decide the form that cat would take. That, and an old song that I repurposed to be kinder and more magical than it was intended to be.

https://alienbeer.podbean.com/e/rosedale-pub-the-cat-came-back

I deal with grief and other hard emotions, in part, by channeling that energy into something else. Writing can be therapy for me; for example, Trans Witch was written during a time of great stress and distress for me. The result wasn’t a big block of angst or gloom and doom, but a peek into a world where hard things can be overcome, and love wins out in the end.

This story comes in the wake of losing one of my best friends. Stella was always my buddy, from the very first day she came into my life, for twelve years, until early this month when she passed away. If, when I tell you that Stella was a cat, you react by dismissing that as not the same as losing a human friend, then I feel sorry for you.

Anyway, here’s “Rosedale Pub – The Cat Came Back”

Sometimes, it’s hard to let people go. It’s hard to accept that someone you once shared something special with has moved on, especially when you haven’t. In our visit to the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub this week, we’ll meet someone who’s been led there by one last hope of making things work with their special someone.

https://alienbeer.podbean.com/e/rosedale-pub-me-time