Alien Beer

Sometimes, you just need time to yourself, even when you're in the best of company. In this episode of The Multiverse Blues, Jules takes a break from the crew of Hope's Tour, venturing out to explore Delta Earth alone. Unexpected company has a way of turning up at the strangest of times. Which is why Jules finds themself visiting with someone from their past, and someone very familiar indeed. Will the call of even more adventure be too much for Jules? Listen to this episode to find out!

The Iron Writer Challenge, 2015 Summer Solstice Preliminary Round had some really weird elements. A time clock; ice cream; a parachute; told from POV of an alien on the planet Nibiru, as the Nibiru enters our solar system. Nibiru technology is not greater or worse than Earth's. I'll say, it was difficult to think of ways to connect the elements, and still make a story that didn't sound completely random. I hope you enjoy what I came up with.

Last time on The Multiverse Blues: Hope's Tour travelled through the Arch linking Gamma Earth to Delta Earth. The crew debated what to do about the recent targeted attacks, and discussed Jules' mysterious female double from Achse.

Now, as they pass into glitzy Delta Earth, the crew looks forward to staying in a luxury hotel, and a risky scheduled show before making their move to shake pursuit.

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I am excited to announce that by the time you hear this, the Alien Beer Podcast will have been downloaded a THOUSAND times! Since this is my 26th episode, that's nearly FORTY downloads per episode on average! Thank you all so much for listening to me tell my science fiction stories!

As a way to thank you, I have set the Kindle edition of my science fiction novel Reality Check to FREE for the next five days, from July 2nd, 2020 through July 6th, 2020! In addition, I am giving away a signed paperback copy of the book. To enter the drawing, post about the Alien Beer Podcast to social media and take a screenshot and send it to me at ecg at sillyhatbooks.com. I will roll dice to determine the winner, which I'll announce on my July 9th episode!

The Multiverse Blues and my Trans-Continental books were spun off of Reality Check, so I think it should be of interest to regular listeners. Even if you miss this promotion, I encourage you to get a copy for yourself.

For a link to the book, and details, go to sillyhatbooks.com/rcfree

For those of you expecting this week to be an episode of The Multiverse Blues, well, thank you for noticing. I have gotten behind on writing the serial, so this week, I'm giving you a special behind the scenes look at something that's never before been published, and only read by one or two others before. It is a bit of the attempt I made at writing a sequel to Reality Check, my science fiction novel that my Trans-Continental books and The Multiverse Blues spun off of. If you haven't read Reality Check, but plan to, I will warn you that this may contain spoilers.

It isn't the first time I've taken something from the stalled Reality Check sequel. Episode 5 of this podcast, The Spark, was also from that false start, and like this episode, was too good to just put in a trunk. It answers a question left hanging at the end of Reality Check, and it shows part of the history of "The Dionnes" and the eventual Arch Network in the Multiverse Blues.

And now, allow me to present for the first time, "The Gate"!

The energy for writing can come from many places. Sometimes it's for the sheer joy of it. Sometimes it's the adrenaline rush of an external, or self-imposed deadline approaching, other times it's the siren call of the Muse, demanding that a particular story be written. This one was none of those. I was angry at the world, and I used my writing as outlet for it. I fueled my creativity with fury, and it turned out to also be good therapy at the same time. I wrote it in early 2014, but it didn't find this final form, and title, until almost a year and a half later.

Content Warning: Loss of agency, bullying, confinement.

Following the attacks in Delta Earth, Hope's Tour beat a hasty retreat through the New Louie Arch, moving on towards Delta Earth. In this episode, the crew looks to Hope for leadership in the face of deadly danger.

Before I begin this particular episode, I want to thank my listeners for following my stories. I would love to hear from you on Twitter or Facebook, especially if you have comments or questions about the road so far. I'd love to know who your favorite characters are, who you might be shipping with each other, and what you'd like to see happen in future episodes.

Our own 'verse (Beta Earth Prime) has been an extra hard place for everyone since I began this podcast journey in February 2020; I hope my escape to other worlds has helped some of you cope. For me, it's been a big help to me to have this project as a focus.

For Halloween 2014, I joined a bunch of writer friends in a sort of blog-based celebration of the holiday in an event called the Coffin Hop. I asked for story elements from those friends, and this is what they came up with: Axel Howerton: peanut butter; Lori Michelle: a dead bush; Katie John: Doll’s pram; Julianne Snow: styrofoam plates. My absolute idol in the flash fiction format is the late Fredric Brown, and his collection of tiny stories, Nightmares and Geezenstacks, served as inspiration for the title and creepy style of this particular story.

 

Content Warning: Loss of agency.

The show must go on! After the attack, the crew of Hope's Tour gives the people of New Louie on Gamma Earth what they came for -- a most unusual rock and blues concert!

"Spectral Delivery" started life in early 2013 as a sample story to serve as introduction to my Road Ghosts Trilogy. Its chronological place in the series is somewhere between the second book, Sinking Down, and the third one, Me and the Devil, but it's meant to stand alone, and contains no real spoilers. The story is included as a part of The Road Ghosts Omnibus and is read wonderfully in the audiobook by Sean Duregger. I'm not including his reading here on the podcast. If you'd prefer his professional reading over this free "read by the author", then you'll have to buy the audiobook. You should anyway, it's worth it for Sean's amazing reading of three books and this short story.

It's told from the point of view of Enid, who's an outsider to the supernatural adventures of Brett, Gonzo, and their friends, but she ended up charming me enough that I revisited her in "Christmas Special", which is later in the Alien Beer stories series.

P.S. I used to deliver pizzas for a living; the Hey Dudes are real.

When alien rock star Hope fails to show up for her own concert, Jules must spring into action to find out what's behind her disappearance; they make a startling discovery.