Not About Lumberjacks

Be mighty, and keep your axes sharp!

Christmas Miscellany 4

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For the fourth year in a row, it’s a handful of stories (five, in fact) to make your holidays merry and bright! This year’s lineup:

Tracks – A tale of drifting teenage friendship.

Homecoming – Callan returns home for his annual visit with his father.

The Last Wish – If a genie grants you three wishes, and the first two don’t work out as planned, what should you do with the third?

Monkey-Wrenching Suburbia – A story about misplaced teen angst in 80s suburbia.

Christmas in Kansas – Most people reach an age when they recognize their parents’ flaws. Is it a gift, or a curse?

Blooper Reel – Yep, you read that right! Stick around until the very end for a gift many have requested.

Content Advisory: Some swearing, family loss, alcohol consumption, vandalism, divorce, and minor gore.

Also, I mentioned that I’d leave a link to Jennifer Moss’s novel, TOWN RED. Here it is!

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Credits:

Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Johannes Bornlöf, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Stories: Christopher Gronlund.

Narration: Christopher Gronlund.

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Behind the Cut – Geocached

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In honor of five years of Not About Lumberjacks, this behind-the-scenes look is not the usual commentary about the latest episode. If you want to know how “Geocached” came to be, here’s the quick version:

My wife and I love hiking, but we’ve never gotten into geocaching. Still, it’s never lost on me the things we likely pass on our hikes. I jotted down a simple story idea in the file where I keep thoughts about future episodes:

A hobbyist begins finding strange items in geocaches.

The story was initially going to be part of the annual Christmas episode full of micro-fiction, but when I saw there was more to the story, I decided to make it this year’s anniversary issue. (With the 2020 election still lingering almost a month later, no one needed the humorous story about an election I planned to write anyway…)

Now you know!

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So, what is this episode of Behind the Cut about then?

It’s a Q&A from listeners of the show; specifically, these questions:

  • How did I come up with the name for the show?
  • How do I make and find sound effects…and know where to place them?
  • How do I plan to better promote Not About Lumberjacks in 2021?
  • What does my editing process look like?
  • How long does it take to produce an episode?
  • What fiction podcasts do I enjoy listening to…and what novels do I like reading?
  • Is it easier to do solo episodes or have guest narrators?

It was fun answering these questions — thank you to everyone who asked!

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If you’ve listened from the start, thank you for five years of caring about what I write.

If you’re new to the show, check out The Quick List for summaries of all the stories on the site.

I’m not about to run out of story ideas, so as long as there’s time, I plan to write, record, and release stories for years to come…

– Christopher

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Geocached

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When Wayne finds strange items in geocaches along the old lumber roads of northern Minnesota, he becomes obsessed with discovering who’s leaving the items behind. What he finds changes his life forever…

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Credits:

Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Headlund, licensed from Epidemic Sound.

Photo: Cache Mania.

Story: Christopher Gronlund.

Narration: Jesse Harley.

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The Cold of Summer

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Four strangers come together when they contract a mysterious illness from an old woman in line at a pharmacy.

Content Advisory: This story deals with illness, including mentions of COVID-19. It’s also not without moments of anxiety, regret, abandonment, nightmares, and even death. I know that makes it sound like it’s a rough tale, but this is still a story of hope.

Oh—and just like almost every episode—there’s some swearing…

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Credits:

Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Oscar Colling, Ethan Sloan, and Sionya (featuring Emmi), all licensed from Epidemic Sound.

Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund.

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Behind the Cut – Pepper

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My good friend, Curtis Hart, requested this episode. He wanted to know why sometimes I tease an episode…only to release it much later — sometimes even releasing multiple episodes before it.

He gets his answer in this behind-the-scenes look at what goes into an episode of Not About Lumberjacks.

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Pepper

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A father returns as a reincarnated, talking dog in an attempt to make amends with his estranged son.

Content Advisory: Language, some [gloriously] crude humor, and discussions about the death of a family member from cancer. Yeah, Pepper dies, so it’s technically a dead-dog story…but it’s the protagonist’s dad.

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Credits:

Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Chad Crouch.

Story: Christopher Gronlund.

Narration/Voices: Christopher Gronlund, Rick Coste, Cynthia Griffith, and Mandie Coste.

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Under the Big Top

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An FBI agent nearing forced retirement races to solve the case that’s haunted him for years. Will he find the break he needs at a traveling circus?

Content Advisory: Swearing, mention of child abduction, mention of sexual assault, mention of child murders, eating disorders, and violence (fighting and a shooting). Cannibalism.

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Credits:

Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Howard Harper-Barnes, Christian Anderson, and Gavin Luke, licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Story: Christopher Gronlund.

Narration: Christopher Gronlund.

Episode Transcript Coming Soon >>

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