#70 - The Cheshire’s Grin by Irene Punti

Survivors of an apocalyptic war rebuild their world to a Roman Ideal, which includes being outnumbered by their genetically altered slaves. Wulf Moon narrates.

Content note for adult situations. 

Author Irene Punti lives in Badalona (Catalonia) with her partner. Before that, she lived for a decade in Tarragona, the former capital of a Roman province and the city which inspired this story. Irene's stories have appeared in Gaslandia: a Dieselpunk Anthology and the NonBinary Review, among others.

Narrator Wulf Moon feasted on fantasy as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he tells stories. Learn more at driftweave.com.

Full show notes at GalleryCurious.com

#69 - After Nightfall by David A. Riley

A rural town bars itself in every night. But why won't they tell the tourists why? Vic Mullin narrates a scary story for the Halloween season. 

Author David A. Riley writes horror, fantasy and SF stories. His first professionally published story was in the 11th Pan Book of Horror in 1970. He has had stories published by Doubleday, DAW, Corgi, Sphere, Roc, Playboy Paperbacks, Robinsons, etc., and in magazines such as Aboriginal Science Fiction, Dark Discoveries, Fear, Whispers, and Fantasy Tales.

Narrator Vic Mullin is a 40 something scotsman who is usually surrounded in a cloud of vapour from constant e-cig usage.  He is generally found spending time editing youtube videos or lazing around in New Babbage pretending to build something.

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode’s Chorus: Cheap Horror Fullmix Downtempo/Pond5.com

Almost in F, Long Note Two by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

#68 - Spirit in the Sky by Marlin Bressi

A pilot gets a strange warning on a dark and stormy night. CB Droege narrates.

Author Marlin Bressi is the author of Hairy Men in Caves: True Stories of America's Most Colorful Hermits (Sunbury Press, 2015) and creator of the paranormal website Journal of the Bizarre. He was also the runner-up in the 2016 Milwaukee Paranormal Conference national horror fiction contest.

Narrator CB Droege is an author and voice actor from the Queen City living in the Millionendorf. His most recent book is Peacemaker and Other Stories. His voice can be heard in commercials, cartoons, video games, and audiobooks. He is also the host of the weekly Flash Fiction Podcast from Manawaker Studio.
Learn more at CBDroege.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CBDroege
Twitter: twitter.com/CBDroege

We're taking submissions until October 21st. Read the guidelines at http://gallerycurious.com/fiction

#67 - Kutsenko’s Cage by William Burton McCormick

Two sisters take in a handsome lodger. But why does he have a cage? A dark tale of mystery and romance set in Belle Epoch Russia. Maria Rose narrates.

William Burton McCormick is a Nevada native and Hawthornden Castle Fellowship winner, has lived ten years in Ukraine and visited Odessa, the setting of “Kutsenko’s Cage” numerous times. The story’s protagonists, sisters Tasia and Eleni Karadopoulina, debuted in the Derringer Award-nominated story “The Antiquary’s Wife” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, March 2013.

Maria Rose is a graphic designer, writer, astrologer, classicist. Sometimes saturnine, mostly eccentric. You can hear her audiobook narration work in "Messengers of the Right" from University of Press Audiobooks.

Music:

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina/devmmusic.com

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

The Forest and the Trees, Plaint, Procession of the King, Long Note Two, A Singular Perversion by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

The Winter is Inside Us by Ilya Marfin from Fugue

October is submissions month. We're accepting manuscripts until the 21st.

#66 - One Last Date at the Pitside by Sebastien Mantle

H.P. Lovecraft month concludes. There will be pie.  Wulf Moon narrates.

Author Sebastien Mantle is a Canadian-born fantasy and sci-fi fanatic with a penchant for the dark, twisted, and occasionally silly. When not working on a novel or churning out short stories, he reads anything from swords and sorcery to military history.

Narrator Wulf Moon feasted on fantasy as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he tells stories. Learn more at driftweave.com.

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Full show notes at gallerycurious.com

#65 - Bright and Falling, Like an Avenging Angel by Shane Halbach

An archeologist excavates a meteor crater that appeared during a Civil War battle, what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, because HP Lovecraft month continues.  CB Droege narrates.

Author Shane Halbach lives in Chicago, where he writes software by day and avoids writing stories by night. His fiction has appeared in Analog, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and all four of the Escape Artists podcasts, among others. He blogs at shanehalbach.com, or can be found on Twitter @shanehalbach

Narrator CB Droege is an author and voice actor from the Queen City living in the Millionendorf. His most recent book is Peacemaker and Other Stories. His voice can be heard in commercials, cartoons, video games, and audiobooks. He is also the host of the weekly Flash Fiction Podcast from Manawaker Studio. Learn more at CBDroege.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CBDroege
Twitter: twitter.com/CBDroege

Story Music:

Space by Ilya Marfin from Fugue

Vibrion Phonetica No.3 by Max Sergeev from Fugue

The Release by Crust from Fugue

A Singular Perversion by Kevin Macleod/incompetech.com

#64 - The Rat and the Frog by Emma Whitehall

It's Lovecraft month, but that doesn't mean you have to put away the pretty dresses. Elizabeth Chatsworth narrates.

Author Emma Whitehall is a writer, editor and book reviewer from the North East of England. Her work has been published in the UK, USA, Mexico and Ireland, and was shortlisted for the 2017 Fish Flash Fiction Award. You can follow her at @Hire_Emma.

Narrator Elizabeth Chatsworth is a professional voice actor and a member of SAG-AFTRA. She prefers voice acting to on-screen work as in a voice-booth no-one can see your fuzzy bunny slippers. Her interests include cosplay, PC gaming, and writing. Find out more at www.elizabethchatsworth.com

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Story Music:
Dangerous Roulette, Martian Cowboy, Monkeys Spinning Monkeys, Danse Morialta, Gagool, The Chamber, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Are you a Second Life gridhopper? Visit the 7th annual Lovefest, August 17-26. We'll be there on the 20th for a special inworld streamed episode.  https://lovefest.wordpress.com/

#63 - The Thousand Injuries by Eric Cline

You think your in-laws have a few skeletons in the closet? This family has an entire catacomb. CB Droege narrates. 

Author Eric Cline is a writer living in Maryland with his wife and Greyhound (a dog, not a motorized vehicle). He has a Masters degree in English. His works have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Galaxy's Edge (edited by Mike Resnick), Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, the Writers of the Future anthology (volume 29) and other places. His story “Elizabethtown” was nominated for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History (Short Form) in 2015.

Narrator CB Droege is an author and voice actor from the Queen City living in the Millionendorf. His most recent book is Peacemaker and Other Stories. His voice can be heard in commercials, cartoons, video games, and audiobooks. He is also the host of the weekly Flash Fiction Podcast from Manawaker Studio.

Learn more at CBDroege.com

Facebook: facebook.com/CBDroege

Twitter: twitter.com/CBDroege

Theme song- Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode's Chorus- Dangerous Roulette by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

Story music- Clean Soul, Serene, & A Singular Perversion by Kevin Macleod/incompetech.com

Curiosities #3 is out now in digital & trade paperback formats. Buy a copy (or five) and help keep the Gallery open. https://gallerycurious.com/store/ 

#62 - Dem Bones by Ann Stolinsky

An elderly mother attempts to reconstitute her son after retrieving his remains from Gettysburg. Karen Bovenmyer narrates. 

Author Ann Stolinsky is the founder and owner of Gontza Games, an independent board and card game company. Her website is www.gontzagames.com. She is also a partner in Gemini Wordsmiths, a full-service copyediting and content creating company. Visit www.geminiwordsmiths.com for more information and testimonials. Several of her stories have been published in the last few years.

Narrator Karen Bovenmyer earned an MFA in Creative Writing: Popular Fiction from the University of Southern Maine. She has narrated for Cemetery Pod, Escape Pod, Far Fetched Fables, Gallery of Curiosities, Pseudopod, Silver Blade Magazine, StarShipSofa, and Strange Horizons. http://karenbovenmyer.com/

Theme song - Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode's Chorus - Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

Story Music - End of the Era, Fantastic Dim Bar, Ghost Processional, and Ghost Dance by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

#61 - The Questionable Redemption of Thomas Alva Edison by Evan Dicken & The Gettysburg Paradox by Joe Vasicek

It's an alt-history double feature! Wulf Moon and CB Droege narrate. 

The Questionable Redemption of Thomas Alva Edison

By day, Author Evan Dicken studies old Japanese maps and crunches data for all manner of fascinating medical experiments at The Ohio State University. By night, he does neither of these things. His audio fiction has most recently appeared in: Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Pseudopod, and Escape Pod, and he has stories forthcoming from publishers such as: Chaosium, The Overcast, and Cast of Wonders. Feel free to visit him at: evandicken.com.

Narrator Wulf Moon feasted on fantasy as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he tells stories. Learn more at driftweave.com.

This story was adapted for audio by Kevin Frost.

Distressed wax cylinder effect by Izotope Vinyl.

The Gettysburg Paradox

Author Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He currently lives in Utah.

Narrator CB Droege is an author and voice actor from the Queen City living in the Millionendorf. His most recent book is Peacemaker and Other Stories. His voice can be heard in commercials, cartoons, video games, and audiobooks. He is also the host of the weekly Flash Fiction Podcast from Manawaker Studio.
Learn more at CBDroege.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CBDroege
Twitter: twitter.com/CBDroege

Music:

Theme Song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

Story Music and Sound Effects:

Long Note Two, Bittersweet/Incompetech.com

Battle Civil War/Pond5.com

Civil War Drummer/SoundBible.com

Lonesome Cajun Fiddles - Full/Pond5.com

#60 - On The Path by Kelly A. Harmon

Work is so hard on the farm, especially when the spirits will not cooperate. Wulf Moon narrates.

Story music by Kevin MacLeod
Theme song by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Author Kelly A. Harmon used to write truthful, honest stories about authors and thespians, senators and statesmen, movie stars and murderers. Now she writes lies, which is infinitely more satisfying, but lacks the convenience of doorstep delivery. She is an award-winning journalist and author, and a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. A Baltimore native, she writes the Charm City Darkness series. Book 4, In the Eye of the Beholder, is out now.

Narrator Wulf Moon feasted on fantasy as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he tells stories. Learn more at driftweave.com .

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode’s Chorus: Dangerous Roulette by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Story Music: Finding Movement, Ripples, Eastminster, Mystic Force by Kevin MacLeod

June is submissions month. Don't forget to READ THE GUIDELINES. Please. That would be splendid of you.

http://gallerycurious.com

Ep. 59 - The Analytical Engine of Hester Watts, Grand Mistress of the Unseen by Laura Duerr

Smoke and mirrors, or the real thing? Maria Rose narrates. 

Author Laura Duerr is a writer and social media coordinator from Vancouver, Washington, where she lives with her husband, their rescue dog, and too many cats. She is a lifelong Pacific Northwest resident and has a BA in Creative Writing from Linfield College. Her other stories have appeared in Escape Pod, Shoreline of Infinity, and Mad Scientist Journal.

Narrator Maria Rose is a graphic designer, writer, astrologer, classicist. Sometimes saturnine, mostly eccentric. You can hear her work in "Messengers of the Right" from University of Press Audiobooks.

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Story music: Ghost Processional, Ghost Dance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Would you like to have your story read at the Gallery? We are taking submissions during the month of June. Please read the guidelines before submitting at gallerycurious.com/fiction

EP. 58 - And The Faces Screamed In The Gallery by Konstantine Paradias

We're changing our format to Bizarro Fiction. Isaiah Plovnick narrates.

Author Konstantine Paradias is a writer by choice and a member of the SFWA by compulsion. At the moment, he's published over 150 stories in a bunch of languages and has written, edited and posed for videogames, screenplays and anthologies.People tell him he's got a writing problem but he can, like, quit whenever he wants, man. His latest book, "Violence Dave-Heartless" is published by Bizarro Pulp Press.

Narrator Isaiah Plovnick is a Boston-based performing artist with a steampunk soul. Raised on a healthy diet of Lego and Great Illustrated Classics, the spirit of the retro-futurist was fostered in him at an early age. He received an education in Theatre from Salem State University, and has since been performing onstage or from behind a microphone all over the greater Boston area.

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina (devmmusic.com)

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Outro Song: Gnome & Promenade/Pictures at an Exhibition/Mussorgsky by Floyd Willems

Ep. 57 - The Mark V Eleganté by Nelson Stanley

A hard driving tale of machines and mayhem to soothe your steampunk soul.  Wilson Fowlie narrates.

Author Nelson Stanley works in a library & lives in Cornwall, UK. He has published fiction in several outlets, including the British Fantasy Award-winning anthology Extended Play, from Elastic Press. He has a new story out soon in Lethe Press’ new anthology THCock.

Narrator Wilson Fowlie has been reading stories out loud since the age of 4, and credits his parents for any talent he has for it. He's been narrating for podcasts since he answered a call for readers for PodCastle in 2008. He’s narrated dozens of stories for many podcasts, including all of the Escape Artists shows. Wilson fits all this narrating between his day job as a web developer in Vancouver, Canada, and directing a community show chorus called The Maple Leaf Singers.

Theme song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina (devmmusic.com) and used with permission. 

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) (Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution).

Story music: Heart of Nowhere, Hard Boiled, Division, and Urban Gauntlet by Kevin MacLeod (Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution). 

Buy a book from our web store. Every copy sold helps keep the Gallery open. 

Ep. 56 - The Long Afternoon of Sir Rupert Moncrief by Gareth D Jones

The early trials and tribulations of an amateur time traveler.  Vic Mullin narrates.

Gareth D Jones' website: http://www.garethdjones.co.uk/

Vic Mullin's website: http://www.vapingwithvic.co.uk/

Theme Music: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

Story Music: Court of the Queen by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com

Falling Angel by Craig Austin/freefx.co.uk

Curiosities #2 is on sale now in Kindle, Nook, Amazon Print on Demand, and our website. Buy an issue and keep the Gallery open!

Full show notes at gallerycurious.com

Ep. 55 - Tyrannosaurus Tex by Davide Mana

Pop up that corn, it's time for cowboys and dinosaurs. Steve Sutherland narrates. 

Trained as a paleontologist and geologist, author Davide Mana is currently paying his bills as a fiction writer, game designer, and translator - activities well-suited to an insomniac like him. Based in the wild hills of southern Piedmont, Italy, he is the only teetotaller in a village renowned for its wine production. When not writing, Davide cooks, takes photographs and writes on his blog, Karavansara (http://karavansara.live).

Narrator Steve Sutherland is currently working as a retail manager.  He has acted in stage plays from grade school through college, and has been an avid cosplayer and sci-fi convention goer for decades. His current project in the works is a steampunk animated story.

Music:

Long Note Two by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Il Bandito by Ivia/Pond5

Dark Western Spaghetti by Hummingbird/Pond5

Old Western Saloon Ragtime Theme by SeaportSound/Pond5

Epic Spaghetti Western Loop by MatthewCried/Pond5

Osgoode's Chorus: Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod

Theme Song: Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina

Ep. 54 - Honeyed Tongue by Deborah L. Davitt & Seeded by Susan Taitel

I almost called this one "Tainted Love Double Feature." Do enjoy.

Author Deborah L. Davitt was raised in Reno, Nevada, but received her MA in English from Penn State. She currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and son.  She’s known for her Edda-Earth novels, Rhysling-nominated poetry, and increasing number of short-story publications. For more about her work, please see www.edda-earth.com.

Narrator Richard Elen is a recording engineer, writer, and designer based in Cambridge, England. He is Technical Director of internet radio station Radio Riel, and co-host/editor of Designing Worlds, a weekly online TV show about design and designers in virtual environments. He also creates marketing materials for clients in the consumer and professional audio fields.

Author Susan Taitel grew up in Chicago. She now lives in Minnesota. She has not yet resigned herself to the winters but has been known to say "oh yeah, you betcha" unironically. Susan is a Viable Paradise graduate and has been published by McSweeneys.net. She blogs at the imaginatively named susantaitel.com.

Narrator Gabrielle Riel is the General Director of Radio Riel (http://radioriel.org), an Internet radio station with seven audio streams that has been bringing music and audio dramas to audiophiles, bibliophiles, history-lovers, Jazz babies, Classical music enthusiasts, Steampunks and other assorted geeks since June 2007. You can hear the many ways in which the Nightingale sings at https://www.mixcloud.com/gabrielleriel/ .

Theme song - Ashes Ashes by Deus Ex Vapore Machina and is used by permission

Osgoode’s Chorus - Deadly Roulette by Kevin Macleod (Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution) incompetech.com

Simulation of Victorian Street 3 by Timbre/FreeSound.org Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution Noncommercial

Egmont Overture (Beethoven) by Kevin MacLeod (Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution)

Beehive sounds by sound-idea/http://www.freesfx.co.uk (Attribution)

Music for Manatees by Kevin Macleod (Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution)