Not About Lumberjacks

Be mighty, and keep your axes sharp!

Behind the Cut – Episode 13: Strange Audio

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Behind the Cut – Episode 13: Strange AudioThis time, I sit down and chat with Cynthia Griffith about recording an audio drama instead of a narrated work of prose.

It’s the longest episode of Behind the Cut, but it gives a good peek at the process behind putting an audio drama together.

And remember, in a few weeks it’s the next Not about Lumberjacks story. It was written for a special occasion: the one-year anniversary of the show!

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Behind the Cut – Episode 12: Purvis

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Dungeons and Dragons dice - Behind the Cut – Episode 12: PurvisIf you listened to “Purvis,” it’s probably clear that I spent a lot of time when I was younger playing Dungeons and Dragons and being picked on.

If you’ve not listened to “Purvis,” I suggest you listen to the story first because there are some big spoilers in this behind-the-scenes look at the story.

But this is not wholly about what it was to be bullied — it’s also a celebration of a game that saved my life and made me the person I am today.

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Behind the Cut – Episode 11: Shadow Dancers

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Shadows - Behind the Cut – Episode 11: Shadow DancersAs far as I can remember, “Shadow Dancers” was the first story I wrote around the time I was 20 and decided to make writing a serious pursuit.

I talk about those early days of writing and how this is one of the few stories my father read before he died. He wasn’t keen on the idea of my giving up studying biology to write, but this story changed his mind.

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Behind the Cut – Episode 9: Standstill

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Pocket watch - Behind the Cut – Episode 9: Standstill“Standstill” is one of those stories that turned into something more than I expected. People seem to really like this story, and I must say I like it enough that I want to do more with it in the future.

I’ve bumped into that problem with all the new stories I’ve written for Not About Lumberjacks.

(It’s not a bad problem to have…)

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Behind the Cut – Episode 8: The Weight of the World

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Globes - Behind the Cut – Episode 8: The Weight of the WorldSometimes the weight of everyday life catches up with you and, instead of posting the story you intended to post, you end up sharing something older.

Some thoughts about twists in stories, the rush of everyday life, and how sometimes the best defense against it all is simplicity.

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Behind the Cut – Episode 4: Horus

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African Grey Parrot - Behind the Cut - Episode 4: Horus“Horus” is the first short story I’ve written in at least half a decade. (My focus in recent years has been novel-length fiction.) To get back to short fiction, my motivation was simple: write a story for my wife. My wife is a fan of parrots, so a story about an unemployed writer who lands her dream job, but gets more than she bargained for in the form of an African grey parrot named Horus seemed like a good way to go. “Horus” is almost the most downloaded episode of Not About Lumberjacks. I like to think that’s because the story is good (I, and others, believe it is), but I think so much of the episode’s success was the result of having my wife, Cynthia Griffith, narrate the story. Cynthia’s narration was the highlight of the episode for so many people…so for this episode of Behind the Cut, I interviewed Cynthia about reading the story.

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