Be mighty, and keep your axes sharp!
The last episode was a bit of a departure, with seven bits of micro-fiction. The most fascinating thing was hearing which stories people loved most (“Vlad Stovepipe” won).
So…for this episode of Behind the Cut, a bit about each of the stories…
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A bit of a departure this holiday season: seven stories instead of one!
(Think of it as micro-fiction stocking stuffers.)
Content Advisory: “Be a Man”: Child abuse, mention of a dead dog (by gunshot), alcohol abuse, and murder. “Fucking Asshole”: Uhm…swearing! “The Intersection”: Anger, violence (shooting), and family loss of a child (shooting). “Vlad Stovepipe”: Cartoon violence. “Hardcore”: Swearing and violence. “Another Christmas Eve”: Divorce, violence (family fistfight), swearing, depression, loneliness.
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Credits:
Story and narration: Christopher Gronlund
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch (aka Poddington Bear)
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Something a little different this time…
Because “The Hidebehind” was the first episode of Not About Lumberjacks with a male narrator other than me, I chat with Defender Radio’s Michael Howie about what it was like to work together on the story’s production.
It’s a glorious tale of friendship, creativity…and majestic beards!
(Also, you should totally follow Michael on Twitter and Instagram.)
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Something lurks in the woods outside a lumber camp in this story I SWEAR is NOT about lumberjacks…
Content Advisory: Swearing. Violence (involving fights and knives). Alcohol use. Mass poisoning. Horror (monster in the woods). Dementia brought on by environmental factors. Implied cannibalism.
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Credits:
Story: Christopher Gronlund
Narration: Michael Howie, of the Defender Radio Podcast. (Follow Michael on Twitter!)
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel
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There really is a Memorial Park where after-school fights took place when I was in junior high school.
And I was involved in one myself; in fact, some reality creeped into “Memorial Park.”
If you’re interested in what’s real and not in the story, look no further than this…
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An after-school fight pits the meanest kid in Walt Whitman Junior High School against one of its shyest geeks.
Content Advisory: Swearing. Bullying. Violence (bullying and an after-school fight). Humiliation.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch
Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund
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It is officially autumn, fall, whatever you call it in your part of the world. For pagan friends, it’s Mabon on top of other things, so eat well tonight.
For me, it is the second wind of September. September 1 is kind of like my writing new year. And then comes the autumnal equinox, the official start of my favorite season — even though it will be in the 90s in north Texas.
I like the image above because it’s what I love about autumn: it is quiet and often a bit obscured. It’s a time when my mind craves [even more] silence, and deliberate slowness seems to take over — even though it’s also the beginning of the more active part of the year for me. (I hate being outside in the summer…give me fall, winter, and early spring year-round!)
Obviously, I’m back to recording stories…the next one being a much happier story dealing with a bully than last year’s bully story.
And now, a return to the silence of a darker morning. Much like the trail above, there’s a path to finish walking with a bigger writing project and plenty more shorter trails to be walked.
I was never the punk that Bobby McGarvey or Stevie Saturn were in “Cubicle Punks,” but I do have something in common with them: I have always struggled with certain things that come with a “responsible” job.
The pull between a day job that pays the bills and pursuing one’s dreams is a recurring theme in several of my stories.
I talk about it on this episode of Behind the Cut…
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Two aging punks come to grips with who they once were…and what they’ve become today.
Content Advisory: Swearing. Drug and alcohol use. A small fight. Mention of violence (a large, back-alley fight). Midlife crisis. Dissatisfaction with work and life.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Punk Rock Opera
Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund
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It’s been a bit quiet out here in the forest. The change in schedule has meant I’ve not been updating monthly…or even every other month. But deep in the timber, things are moving.
While I have stories I can fall back on at any time, I have a small pile of new stories in progress. (I even have an audio drama idea knocking around in my head.) Progress on this draft of the novel is showing some light at the far end of things. I’m typically most productive in the fall and winter, but it feels like the log jam is about to break open this summer.
I’ve always been a confident writer, but Not about Lumberjacks has made me a sharper writer. I miss regular updates.
Despite the Texas heat preparing for battle, I look forward to the coming months.