In this behind-the-scenes look at “Under the Big Top,” I talk about what I like (and dislike) about mysteries — and why I tend to not write them…
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Behind the Cut – Under the Big Top
Under the Big Top
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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Behind the Cut – Christmas Miscellany III
A bit about how the annual Christmas episode came to be…and what is in store for Not About Lumberjacks in the year ahead…
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Christmas Miscellany III
For the third year in a row, it’s a handful of stories — instead of just one — all to make your holidays merry and bright! This year’s lineup:
My Grandmother Wrestled Bears – A drifter returns home to her grandmother’s house for the holidays.
The Beast in the Back – The truth behind the success of BigBoxMart. (You might remember BigBoxMart — and the manager, Susan — from last year’s Christmas episode.)
Lost and Found – A family finds more than memories when the family patriarch passes on before the holidays.
Content Advisory: Some swearing, family loss, poverty, and human sacrifice. (But humorous human sacrifice, perhaps? Up to you!)
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Taller Than The Moon
A trip home to visit his parents brings with it a flood of memories for Michael Stokowski.
[Random side notes: I believe this is the first true short story I ever wrote. Also, it is the only story I can think of inspired by one of my dreams…]
Content Advisory: A family deals with the fallout of a suicide. Mention of drug addiction following serving in the Vietnam War.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel.
Story: Christopher Gronlund.
Moon Image: Luca Huter.
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Behind the Cut – Episode 20: 7 Stories
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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7 Stories
A bit of a departure this holiday season: seven stories instead of one!
(Think of it as micro-fiction stocking stuffers.)
- “Not About Lumberjacks” – As it says in the name, this story is not about lumberjacks!
- “Be a Man” – Sometimes kids grow up faster than they should.
- “Fucking Asshole” – It’s a story about a guy named Fucking Asshole.
- “The Intersection” – Life in a tightly wound world…
- “Vlad Stovepipe” – Yeah, it’s about a vampire snowman!
- “Hardcore” – Tell this guy wrestling’s fake…
- “Another Christmas Eve” – A story about one family’s Christmas Eve tradition.
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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Behind the Cut – Episode 18: Memorial Park
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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Memorial Park
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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Behind the Cut – Episode 17: Cubicle Punks
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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