The Cryptonaturalist

If you stop to check, it turns out that not all barns are barns.

The voice of Valentina Blackwood was played by Sarah Rhea Werner. Sarah Rhea Werner is a professional writer and podcaster who loves to help creators find confidence and success. She is a contributor to Forbes, and creator of the Girl In Space and Write Now podcasts. She currently lives in the Midwest with one husband, two rescue cats, and a ceiling full of spiders. Learn more at sarahwerner.com.

Hidden Lore Segment poetry contributed by Amber Bulinski. Amber is an artist and writer trying survive the thralls of the Sonoran Desert by respectfully fearing the heat from indoors. Find her on twitter @ResinQuotes

This week the show takes a half-remembered expedition to a strange forest that manipulates minds, shares secrets, and consumes memories.

The voice of Cryptonaturalist Max Dean was played by Adal Rifai. Adal is the voice of Chunt on the podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern, as well as one of the hosts of Hey Riddle Riddle.

Hidden Lore Segment poetry contributed by Eric Fisher Stone. Eric is originally from Fort Worth, Texas, though now lives in Ames, Iowa as a third year MFA candidate in creative writing and the environment at Iowa State University. His poems have appeared in about 20 journals including The Hopper, The Lyric and Jersey Devil Press. His first full length poetry collection, "The Providence of Grass," has just appeared in print, published by Chatter House Press.

On this episode we visit a special amphibian perfectly adapted to life in parking lots.

Special thanks to Cal Cleary for playing the Kroger employee.

John Muir life and times: https://www.nps.gov/jomu/learn/historyculture/people.htm

A good sample of John Muir’s essays: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/john-muir/

This episode explores the wildest parts of your home. Featuring a guest voice by podcasting icon and journalist Justin McElroy. You can hear Justin on the podcasts My Brother, My Brother and Me; The Adventure Zone; and Sawbones. For more information on Justin’s work, visit www.McElroyShows.com

By Day, Evan Dicken studies old Japanese Maps and crunches data for all manner of fascinating medical research at "The" Ohio State University. By night, he does neither of these things. His fiction has most recently appeared in: Analog, Strange Horizons, and Apex, and he has stories forthcoming from publishers such as: The Black Library and Tales to Terrify. Visit Evan’s website at www.evandicken.com

Today we meet a tiny spider that defies the laws of physics in a place that is, at best, semi-real. We also hear a transmission from another Cryptonaturalist in the field and read some flash fiction by Jamie Lackey.

Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cat. She has had over 130 short stories published in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, and Escape Pod. Her debut novel, Left-Hand Gods, is available from Hadley Rille Books, and she has two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press. In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, and hiking. You can find her online at www.jamielackey.com.

We pass the long miles with a story of a rare and dangerous cryptid that lurks in the dark, lonely wilds. Not all visitors are friendly and a light in the darkness isn’t always a sign of hope. My old friend Russell Van Atta learned these hard lessons in the dark woods not far from Parkersburg, West Virginia.

A visit to Oregon’s Sky Lake Wilderness brings us a glimpse of a rare bird that fishes from its perch in the vast abyss of outer space. Hidden Lore segment contribution by Leslie J. Anderson. Leslie J. Anderson’s writing has appeared in Asimov's, Strange Horizons, Apex, Pseudopod, and Daily Science Fiction to name a few. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart and a Rhysling Award. Her collection of poetry, An Inheritance of Stone, was nominated for an Elgin Award. She lives in a white house beside a cemetery with her husband and three dogs. www.lesliejanderson.com

A fateful trip to the hidden island of Lower Nantucket brings us face-to-face with the legendary Teacup Whale (and other assorted wonders of the deep). Hidden Lore segment contribution by Judith Skillman. Judith Skillman’s recent book is Kafka’s Shadow, Deerbrook Editions, 2017. She is the recipient of a Eric Mathieu King Fund Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Washington Trust grant. Visit www.judithskillman.com, jkpaintings.com, https://www.facebook.com/judith.skillman

The confluence of Waffle House and blue spruce set the stage for new breakthroughs in the field of cryptonaturalism. A new cryptid is discovered beneath the blue spruce.