Episodes – Page 13

Behind the Cut – Episode 4: Horus

February 27, 2016 by cpgronlund 3 Comments

“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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Horus

February 15, 2016 by cpgronlund 12 Comments

Sarah Nelson is an unemployed writer trying to find her next gig while dealing with her overbearing mother. Her world changes the day she answers an ad as a writer’s assistant for a famous author.

With time to focus on her own writing and learn even more about the industry from her new mentor, everything seems perfect until the day Sarah gets more than she bargained for in the form of an African Grey parrot named Horus.

Content Advisory: Swearing, an overbearing mother, and two instances of death from natural causes.

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Credits:

Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch (aka Podington Bear)

African Grey Photo: BlondieB38

Story: Christopher Gronlund

Narration: Cynthia Griffith

Episode Transcript >>

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Behind the Cut – Episode 3: Mr. Knowitall

January 31, 2016 by cpgronlund 5 Comments

You don’t think, “What does the voice of a Magic 8 Ball sound like?” until you’re faced with recording a story in which the old toy is a character. I didn’t think about any of the voices in “Mr. Knowitall” until I was sitting before the mic, recording. This episode of Behind the Cut is all about turning the voices heard in our heads when reading to ourselves into something physical for people to hear.

A little departure with this episode: no sneak peek of the next episode of Not About Lumberjacks. I don’t want to give too much away with the next story (other than it’s about an unemployed writer who lands her dream job, only to discover it comes with more than she bargained for in the form of an African grey parrot named Horus), so…you get a bonus story called “Be a Man.”

“Be a Man” is probably the shortest story I’ve written…and definitely one of the most brutal as well.

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Mr. Knowitall

January 16, 2016 by cpgronlund 3 Comments

Jerry Hachard was destined for big things, but left his family fortune behind for a quiet life of adventure and travel. When his parents are killed in an accident and he returns to his hometown, he’s amazed to find only one thing left to him in his parents’ will: a plastic Magic 8 Ball.

Jerry’s brother got the family business, and his sister got the family fortune. The Magic 8 Ball seems like a strange thing to leave to the first child in the family. It’s only when Jerry’s life begins changing in dramatic ways that he understands the gift…and all that comes with it.

Content Advisory: Loneliness, swearing, family rivalry, family fistfight, parental death, gambling, hospitalization.

[A $0.99 e-book version of Mr. Knowitall is available in the Store.]

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Credits:

Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch (aka Podington Bear)

Magic 8 Ball Photo: BarkBud

Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund

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Behind the Cut: Pride of the Red Card

January 3, 2016 by cpgronlund 1 Comment

They say truth is stranger than fiction. My reply to that is those who make the claim aren’t reading the right fiction. I understand where they’re coming from, though — sometimes life can get strange. Add to that writers being told to write what they know, and it’s no wonder so much fiction takes reality and skews it a bit to a point a writer can say, “What? That’s just a story,” when accused of writing about things that really happened.

I tend to not pull from my life in the fiction in my life — at least directly. With “Pride of the Red Card,” I wanted to change that. Because the story is based on real-life incidents, I decided to use this episode of Behind the Cut to share what is true and what is not in the story. I also share a preview of the next episode of Not About Lumberjacks, a story about a 40-something-year-old drifter who returns to his hometown after his parents’ death, where he discovers the only thing left to him in their will is a plastic Magic 8 Ball.

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Pride of the Red Card

December 17, 2015 by cpgronlund 2 Comments

A mechanic is happy to hear his son wants to sign up for football; that is, until he realizes what his son really means is soccer…

Content Advisory: Swearing, alcohol use (including a child drinking), smoking, shooting a gun, teasing, violence.

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Credits:

Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch (aka Podington Bear)

Soccer Goal Photo: Naphtali Marshall (Naphtali’s Personal Webpage)

Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund

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Behind the Cut – Episode 1: Gutterball

December 6, 2015 by cpgronlund Leave a Comment

With the monthly episodes of Not About Lumberjacks, I want to get into the story as quickly as I can and then close things out. Click play and you get a story.

I know there are people who like hearing the story behind stories, though — or finding out what the people they listen to or read are up to. So for those people, I’ve made a new show called Behind the Cut.

Behind the Cut is the companion to Not About Lumberjacks, and this is the first episode. I talk about the inspiration that led to writing and recording “Gutterball,” and offer a sneak peek at the next story episode.

I plan to keep episodes of Behind the Cut to 5-10 minutes. If this sounds like your kind of thing and you want to know what inspired me to write “Gutterball” the answer is a click away!

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And a big thanks to Cynthia Griffith for providing the intro voice work! I look forward to working with Cynthia more soon.

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Gutterball

November 17, 2015 by cpgronlund 7 Comments

Welcome to the first episode of Not About Lumberjacks, a monthly fiction podcast by me, Christopher Gronlund. Sometimes the stories I tell contain truths, but most of the time, they’re made up. Sometimes the stories are funny — other times they’re serious. Occasionally, the stories are just plain odd. But you have my word about one thing: I will never — EVER — share a story about lumberjacks.

This month, it’s a Thanksgiving tale about an English bulldog named Gutterball. Gutterball (and the family who loves him) must contend with the dog’s bad habit of eating everything in sight.

I hope you enjoy this all-ages tale.

Content Advisory: Gutterball does die…

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Credits:

Music: Ergo Phizmiz

Bulldog photo by Click

Story and narration: Christopher Gronlund

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Not About Lumberjacks Launch Date

November 15, 2015 by cpgronlund 2 Comments

I originally planned to launch on November 30, but I may launch a week sooner. I’m ahead of schedule, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it would be nice to have the first episode out before people begin traveling. (That, and there’s a little Thanksgiving theme to the first story I haven’t really considered until just now.)

So yes, the first episode will launch a week earlier than planned.

(And who knows…maybe even sooner.)