Tales from the Trunk

Tales from the Trunk

By Tales from the TrunkArtsBooksFictionScience Fiction
Download on the App Store

Tales from the Trunk episodes

  • Episode 16: Megan E. O’Keefe - Conduit of Stone

    On this episode, we're joined by Megan E. O'Keefe, author of Velocity Weapon and its forthcoming sequel, Chaos Vector. Megan reads the first chapter of her trunked novel, Conduit of Stone, which leads us into a lively conversation about our influences and Megan's thoughts on the parallels between writing and video game development.

    A transcript of the episode, provided by D. H. Dunn, is available here.

    Please join us again for our next Shelter in Place episode on July 3rd, and on July 17th, when our regular guest will be Merc Fenn Wolfmoor!

    54 min
  • Pride in Place: What Queer Fiction Means to Us

    I thought for a long time about delaying this episode or simply not releasing it at all, but for all the darkness in the world, we still need art. We need voices of hope. It is Pride month, where we celebrate who we are and how far we’ve come, and where we honor and remember those who came before us.

    Stonewall was a riot against police brutality, started by Marsha P. Johnson, a Black, trans woman. We would not have Pride without queer, Black activists.

    This Pride in Place episode was inspired in part by the folx at Buddies in Bad Times Theater in Toronto, a space dedicated to the promotion of queer theatrical expression.

     

    The contributors who wished to be named for this episode are:

    K. B. Wagers, Twitter @kbwagers, Insta @midwaybrawler 

    Jill Seidenstein, Slow Bloom 

     

    You can find your local community bail funds at bit.ly/localbailfund 

    Consider raising up Black spec-fic writers by subscribing to FIYAH Literary Magazine (@fiyahlitmag)

     

    Join us again on June 19th, when our guest will be Megan E. O'Keefe

    15 min
  • Episode 15: Annalee Flower Horne - ”Diamonds in the Sky”

    For this month's episode, we're joined by Annalee Flower Horne (@LeeFlower). They read the first chapter of their trunked novel, Diamonds in the Sky, and we talk about Esperanto-speaking space-Quakers, source control management, representation, appropriation, mental health, and test-driven development.

    A transcript of the episode, provided by D. H. Dunn, is available here.

    Things we mention this episode:

    Esperanto 

    "Seven Things Cadet Blanchard Learned from the Trade Summit Incident," by Annalee Flower Horne, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July/Aug 2014 issue

    Mary Robinette Kowal 

    Star Trek 

    Git 

    thefuck

    The Dazzle of Day, by Molly Goss

    Quaker process 

    Occupy Wall Street 

    Mass Effect 2 

    Civil Air Patrol 

    Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 

    “Carborundorum > /dev/null,” by Annalee Flower Horne, Fireside Quarterly, July 2018

    Test-driven development 

    "The Great Divide," Avatar: the Last Airbender season 1, episode 11

    Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

    Mary Sue 

    Star Wars 

    LiveJournal 

    NaNoWriMo 

    Futurescapes 

    The MICE Quotient 

    "it me, ur smol," by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

    it me, ur smol (Twitter bot)

    The Bias 

     

    Join us again on Friday, June 5th, for our Pride in Place special!

    1 hr 14 min
  • Shelter in Place 2: ”New Horse Thing”
    Joining me live in studio for this month's Shelter in Place special is my spouse, Elizabeth! We revisit the original concept for this show with some excerpts from her story "Horse Story," and talk race-consciousness, pin-gays, and representation.
     
    Join us again on Friday, May 15th, Annalee Flower Horne will be on the show!
    1 hr 1 min
  • Episode 14: Hilary B. Bisenieks - ”Green Line”
    For close to the start of our second season, I decided to turn the table on myself, and Sharon Hsu (@pensyf) was kind enough to agree to come back on the show to guest-host! I read my story, "Green Line," and we talk about Philadelphia, our evolution as writers, and why podcasting is great.
     
    Things we mention in this episode:
    Uncanny Magazine
    Duotrope
    The Submission Grinder
    Fantasy & Science Fiction
    Shimmer
    "Badgers"
    Lois McMaster Bujold
    Wawa
    Rita's Italian Ice
    Flavor Brigade
    SEPTA
    365 Tomorrows (and my story, "Monday")
    LiveJournal
    Lockie Hunter
    Pseudopod
    Codex writer's forum
    The Allusionist: "Podcast Podcast"
    Fran Wilde
    Warren Wilson College
    Annalee Flower Horne
    Be the Serpent
    Fred Yost
    Dorothy L. Sayers
    As My Wimsey Takes Me
    Archive of Our Own (AO3)
    Esperanto
    "And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands," by Sharon Hsu
     
    Join us on May 1st for our next Shelter in Place episode, featuring my spouse, and on May 15th, when our guest will be Annalee Flower Horne.
    1 hr 20 min
  • Shelter in Place 1: ”Steel Yard”
    Welcome to our first shelter in place special episode. On this episode, I'll be reading my 2009 story, "Steel Yard." Please note that things get a little spoopy, so if you need something lighter at the moment, I won't fault you for skipping this one.
     
    Join us again in two weeks, on Friday, April 17th, when I'll be back with a regular episode featuring me and special guest host Sharon Hsu!
    35 min
  • Episode 13: Jordan Kurella - "Awake, Arise, and Be Forever Fallen"
    Season two starts off with guest Jordan Kurella (@jskurella) reading an excerpt of their very dark and murdery story, "Awake, Arise, and Be Forever Fallen." Following that is a great discussion of problematic storytelling, the pitfalls, and how we can write and act with empathy when representing marginalized groups in our stories. We also talk sensitivity reading and the fine art of apologizing online.
     
    Things mentioned in this episode:
    Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
    Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch Book 2), by Ann Leckie
    Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer
    Be the Serpent
    Annihilation (2018)
    NaNoWriMo
    Madcap Retreats
    Clarkesworld Magazine
    Escape Pod
    Fantasy and Science Fiction
    Strange Horizons
    Beneath Ceaseless Skies
    Uncanny Magazine
    "The Air Gap," by Hilary B. Bisenieks, in LampLight Magazine
    Mary Robinette Kowal's explanation of the MICE Quotient
    "A Promise of Dying Embers," by Jordan Kurella, forthcoming at Diabolical Plots
    King's Quest III
    Glitter + Ashes
     
    Join us again on April 17th, when our guest will be me, Hilary B. Bisenieks, and Sharon Hsu will be joining us as guest host.
    1 hr
  • Episode 12: K. B. Wagers, ”Reluctant Heroes”
    On this episode, K. B. Wagers (@kbwagers/@midwaybrawler) joins us to read an excerpt from their novel, Reluctant Heroes and talk competence porn, how Twilight-bashing is shitty and counterproductive, social media, and tattoos.
     
    This episode marks the end of season 1 of Tales from the Trunk! Thank you all so much for joining us on this ride!
     
    Things we mentioned on this episode:
     
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
    Battlestar Galactica
    SFWA Grand Master, Lois McMaster Bujold
    Writing Excuses
    Schlock Mercenary, by Howard Tayler
    Twilight, by Stephenie Meyers
    The Merlin Mystery, by Jonathan Gunson and Marten Coombe
    Behind the Throne, by K. B. Wagers
    Doctor Who
    Red Dwarf
    Blake's 7
    Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente
    King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
    NaNoWriMo
    Out Past the Stars, by K. B. Wagers
    The Magnificent Seven (2016)
    Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    Rogue One
    Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
    We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
    The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
    "The Hades Business," by Terry Pratchett (his first published story), which appears in A Blink of the Screen
    Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
    A Pale Light in the Black, by K. B. Wagers
     
    Join us again next month, on March 20th, when we'll kick off season 2 with guest Jordan Kurella!
    1 hr 3 min
  • 2019 Awards Eligibility Mini-sode
    With awards season firmly upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to put together an eligibility-post-as-audio, not just for the show, but also for all the amazing guests I've had on this past year.
     
    What I mentioned this episode:
     
    Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey
    "Away with the Wolves," by Sarah Gailey
    Here's The Thing, Sarah's newsletter
    "The Neverending Story at 40: A Children's Book Grappling with the Legacy of War," by Sarah Gailey
    "The Sweetest Fruit of Summer," by R. K. Duncan
    R. K. Duncan's awards eligibility post
    Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
    The Imaginary Corpse, by Tyler Hayes
    The Library of the Unwritten, by A. J. Hackwith
    "Through Doorways: Portal Fantasies as a Means of Queer Escape and Queer Hope," by A. J. Hackwith
    A Choir of Lies, by Alexandra Rowland
    Be the Serpent: A Podcast of Extremely Deep Literary Merit
    Worldbuilding for Masochists
    "Fanfiction: The Infinite Free Buffet," by Alexandra Rowland
    "The Moving Stars," by Premee Mohamed
    "Us and Ours," by Premee Mohamed, in A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods
    "paper, incense, need," by Sharon Hsu
     
    The transcript for this show is available here.
    4 min
  • Episode 11: C. L. Polk - "Memory and a Monkey"
    On this episode, World Fantasy Award winner C. L. Polk (@clpolk) joins us to talk being an early-career writer, losing at NaNoWriMo, her early strategies for submitting stories, and why stories don't land. Cee reads to us from a trunked first draft, "Memory and a Monkey," which is a very fun sci-fi detective story. The sequel to Witchmark, Stormsong, comes out February 11th, 2020 from Tor.com books.
    On this episode, we mentioned:
    Witchmark, by C. L. Polk
    The His Dark Materials series, by Philip Pullman
    "Writing Begins With Forgiveness," by Daniel Jose Older
    nanowrimo
    SFWA qualifying market list
    Shimmer Magazine
    on spec magazine
    Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
    Ideomancer
    "Bullet in the Brain," by Tobias Wolff
    Tor.com
    Uncanny Magazine
    FIYAH Literary Magazine
    Diggers (my dad actually got me Truckers), The Bromeliad Trilogy, by Terry Pratchett
    Stormsong, by C. L. Polk
    The Midnight Bargain, by C. L. Polk
    Skies of Wonder, Skies of Danger
    "The Air Gap," by Hilary B. Bisenieks, LampLight Magazine
     
    Join us again next month, when I'm excited to announce that our guest will be novelist K. B. Wagers.
    57 min

About Tales from the Trunk

From the publisher's feed

Reading the stories that didn't make it