Author : Krystal Claxton Narrator : Paul Cram Host : Marguerite Kenner Audio Producer : Jeremy Carter Discuss on Forums Originally published in Writers of the Future (Volume 31) Planar Ghosts by Krystal Claxton The walls around the town of Bootstrap are mostly old cars stacked one on top of the other and welded together. […]

• Narrated by Paul Cram • Audio production by Jeremy Carter • Originally published in Writers of the Future (Volume 31) • Discuss this story on our forum • For a list of all our stories, authors and narrators, visit our Wikia page • Come visit us on Facebook and Twitter Listen above or download here. Show Notes Krystal Claxton writes speculative fiction in the sliver of time between being a parent and a full-time computer technician. She lives in Georgia with her long-suffering spouse, a dog who thinks she’s a cat, and a number of children that is subject to change. She enjoys breaking Heinlein’s Rules, getting distracted by DragonCon, and feverishly researching whichever random topic has just piqued her interest. You can keep up with her online at and on Twitter.       The very first story Paul Cram ever narrated was here at Cast of Wonders, and he seems to have been bit by the bug. While Paul still considers his voice to be somewhat new to the world of audio, he now has a few full-length novels under his belt, including the Zombie-filled love story Flirting With Death, sci-fi action story The Face Stealer and […]

Author : Michael Merriam Narrator : John Meagher Host : Marguerite Kenner Audio Producer : Jeremy Carter Discuss on Forums Originally published in Afterburn SF (September 2007) Content Warning: This week’s story involves more profanity than usual. Parents listening with younger children may want to join us again next week. Happy birthday, Podcastle! Our fantasy […]

• Narrated by John Meagher • Audio production by Jeremy Carter • Originally published in Afterburn SF (September 2007) • Discuss this story on our forum • For a list of all our stories, authors and narrators, visit our Wikia page • Come visit us on Facebook and Twitter Listen above or download here. Read along with the text of the story. Show Notes Content Warning: This week’s story involves more profanity than usual. Parents listening with younger children may want to join us again next week. Michael Merriam is an author and spoken-word performer living in Hopkins, Minnesota. His novella, Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep, was long-listed for the Nebula Award in 2010, and his novel, Last Car to Annwn Station was named a Top Book in 2011 by Readings in Lesbian & Bisexual Women’s Fiction. Michael has appeared on stage in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Minnesota Storyfest, Story Slam Minnesota, and over the air on KFAI Radio and Minnesota Public Radio. He’s also the co-organizer of the Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers. Visit his homepage or follow him on Twitter. John Meagher is the writer and narrator of Tales of the Left Hand, an ongoing fantasy series offering […]

Author : Laura-Marie Steele Narrator : Dani Daly Host : Marguerite Kenner Audio Producer : Jeremy Carter Discuss on Forums Cast of Wonders 203: The Universe Dress is a Cast of Wonders original. The Universe Dress by Laura-Marie Steele I’ve never been the biggest fan of weddings. Some women plan weddings from childhood. They draw […]

• Narrated by Dani Daly • Audio production by Jeremy Carter • A Cast of Wonders original! • Discuss this story on our forum • For a list of all our stories, authors and narrators, visit our Wikia page • Come visit us on Facebook and Twitter Listen above or download here. Show Notes Laura-Marie Steele is a writer from Canterbury, England. Her work can also be found in Black Treacle Magazine, and you can follow her on Twitter. Dani Daly is a frequent narrator for Cast of Wonders and has been a slush reader since the Spring of 2015. You last heard her when she hosted her Staff Pick Episode in January. Come and see her in our forums where she also serves as the Cast of Wonders Community Manager, or on Twitter.         Theme music is “Appeal to Heavens” by Alexye Nov, available at MusicAlley.com. Read along with the text of the story.

Author : Vonnie Winslow Crist Narrator : Andrew Reid Host : Marguerite Kenner Audio Producer : Jeremy Carter Discuss on Forums Originally published in Potter’s Field 4 Henkie’s Fiddle by Vonnie Winslow Crist Stirred by a bone-chilling wind, the lone tree in the unsanctified section of the cemetery rattled its bare branches. Duffy had the […]

• Narrated by Andrew Reid • Audio production by Jeremy Carter • Originally published in Potter’s Field 4 • Discuss this story on our forum • For a list of all our stories, authors and narrators, visit our Wikia page • Come visit us on Facebook and Twitter Listen above or download here. Show Notes Vonnie Winslow Crist is an author and illustrator living in a rural Maryland. She is editor of The Gunpowder Review and senior editor at Pole to Pole Publishing, a speculative fiction small press. Vonnie’s books include The Enchanted Skean (a Compton Crook Award Finalist), Owl Light, The Greener Forest, and Leprechaun Cake & Other Tales. Her short fiction has been published in Chilling Ghost Short Stories, Tales of the Talisman, Dia de los Muertos, Faerie Magazine, and elsewhere. Vonnie’s paintings have been featured on the covers of Bards and Sages, FrostFire Worlds, Outposts of Beyond, Illumen, and Scifikuest. A cloverhand who has found so many four-leafed clovers she keeps them in jars, Vonnie strives to celebrate the power of myth in her writing and art. You can find her work and portfolio online, or follow her on Twitter. Born in Scotland, Andrew Reid is a […]

Author : Dantzel Cherry Narrator : M.K. Hobson Host : Marguerite Kenner Audio Producers : Jeremy Carter and Rikki LaCoste Discuss on Forums Originally published in Galaxy’s Edge (July/August 2015) Miss Darcy’s First Intergalactic Ballet Class by Dantzel Cherry Darcy walked up to the gilded starship door and it dissolved, revealing what had to be the gaudiest […]

• Narrated by M K Hobson • Audio production by Rikki LaCoste • Originally published in Galaxy’s Edge (July/August 2015) • Discuss this story on our forum • For a list of all our stories, authors and narrators, visit our Wikia page • Come visit us on Facebook and Twitter Listen above or download here. Show Notes By day, Dantzel Cherry teaches pilates and raises her daughter, and by night/naptime she writes. Her baking hours follow no rhyme or reason. She is prone to dance as the need arises, and it often does. Her stories have appeared in Fireside, Galaxy’s Edge, InterGalactic Medicine Show, and other magazines and anthologies. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, daughter, and requisite cat. Follow her online or on Twitter.       For your narrator we welcome back the fantastic M K Hobson, who has decided to follow a time-honored authorial tradition and become a bitter recluse. She swore off social media and left her website to go to seed. At the moment, she exists only as a voice on short fiction podcasts such as Podcastle and here at Cast of Wonders. She leavens the tedium of her vastly expanded free […]