A Novel Friend

April 2013

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:51:30 GMT

Welcome to the April BroadPod. In this edition we bring you first a reading from Elaine Isaak, author of The Singer's Crown, The Eunuch's Heir, and The Bastard Queen. Her epic fantasy novellas, Tales of Bladesend, are available online at ElaineIsaak.com. Elaine will be reading a fragment discovering in her archives while searching for new book ideas. Will it become one? We'll just have to wait and find out. She calls it, Royal Blood.

Following Elaine, we have two readings recorded at a Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading earlier this year at Arisia. First, Lisa Amowitz, writer, artist, designer, and children's book illustrator, reads from her novel, BREAKING GLASS, which will be published by Spencer Hill Press in July 2013. Then, Rose Mambert will read from her rock-and-roll vampire novel, THE MUSES. Editor-in-Chief of Pink Narcissus Press, she has co-edited various anthologies such as Elf Love, Queer Fish, and WTF?!

The BroadPod will be taking a break while we transfer to a new hosting site. We'll be sure to let our listeners know when we are back up and running with a new BroadPod. In the meantime, keep broadening your reading horizons!

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Broad Universe at Annie's Book Stop, March 2013

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:56:03 GMT

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Annie's Book Stop in Worcester MA, owned by Broad Universe member Patty Cryan, held a Celebration of Teachers in March 2013. On Saturday, March 16, Patty's store welcomed members of the New England Chapter of Broad Universe, who discussed celebrating women genre authors in the classroom. The panelists were Trisha Wooldridge, president of Broad Universe, Rachel Kenley, and Inanna Arthen. Thanks to Morven Westfield for recording the event for Broadly Speaking.

March 2013: Rapid-Fire Reading

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:09:40 GMT

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One of the benefits of being a member of Broad Universe is participation in our Rapid Fire Readings, group readings that take place at conventions and offer samples of our members' work. Here's an example, recorded at Arisia in Boston in 2013. You'll hear readings from three of the eight Broads that participated:

GAIL Z. MARTIN, the author of ICE FORGED in her new The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), plus The Chronicles of The Necromancer series (THE SUMMONER, THE BLOOD KING, DARK HAVEN & DARK LADY’S CHOSEN ) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (THE SWORN AND THE DREAD).

ROXANNE BLAND, a genre-bending author of fantasy, science fiction and romance. Her first book, THE UNDERGROUND, has just been released. Her motto: Reality is highly overrated. Find out more on her blog, Of Werewolves And Other Strangers.

KIMBERLY LONG-EWING'S work focuses on fantasy themes. and finding the unusual in ordinary objects. Her short stories have appeared in Crossed Genres, New Myths, and anthologies such as No Man's Land ( Dark Quest Books), UnCONventional (Spencer Hill Press) and the up-coming Holiday Magick (Spencer Hill Press).

Hosting the program is SUZANNE REYNOLDS-ALPERT who lives in Massachusetts with her tolerant husband and two awesome kids. She writes speculative fiction, dark fantasy, and poetry in between driving her kids around and meeting the incessant demands of her feline overlords.

Listen in, and look for us at your next convention!

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February 2013: When separate worlds touch

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:18:13 GMT

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Welcome to our February 2013 program. We bring you two authors whose stories take us to the place where separate worlds touch one other. K. A. Laity's short story, "The Rook", is from Unquiet Dreams a collection of short stories recently released by Tirgearr Publishing. The story begins in Bohermore cemetery in Galway with a persistent rook and a grieving brother.

Then, fire up your universal translators as Ellen Larson reads from her science fiction novel, The Measure of the Universe. A wide-eyed archeologist from Aldebaran lands in Greece to study with a sharp-tongued professor of paleography. They discover love among the runes, and a plot spelling disaster for both their worlds. It's Prometheus, Bloodied but Unbound! “Studded with clever double entendres and puns, this makes an engaging read for language lovers” –Booklist

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Broad Universe Annual Meeting

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:57:43 GMT

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The Mother Board consists of Vice President Kimberly Long-Ewing, Treasurer Sunder Addams, Secretary Kristi Petersen Schoonover, also Vikki Ciaffone, Carma Spence, and Catherine Lundoff. Listen in as President Trisha Wooldridge calls the annual meeting to order. Find out more about what Broad Universe does for its members, what it costs, and what plans the organization has for the future. Lots of good news and items of interest for this growing and dynamic group of awesome women. Also lots of ways that you can get involved and help develop your skills and your network as you help other Broads promote their work. They take questions from members and discuss the logistics of convention tables and readings.

January 2013: S. A. Bolich

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:40:12 GMT

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We start out this new year of the BroadPod with a very special program dedicated to S. A. Bolich. Her book "Firedancer", first in the Master of the Elements series, is a finalist in the 2013 EPIC eBook awards in the Fantasy category. A successful freelancer, Sue has run into a problem that all too many have faced: Having beaten cancer once before, the insidious decease has returned, and she faces a long, difficult and expensive battle. All of us here at Broad Universe support her and wish her strength and victory.

We are pleased to share first an excerpt from Firedancer, read by Sue, followed by an interview done by Larissa Niec this past December. Listen, and be inspired.

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Have a Magical Holiday Season with Magicians and Shamans, the December Edition of Broadly Speaking.

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 21:51:34 GMT

Welcome to the December edition of Broadly Speaking. AuthorsSarah Avery and Katherine Lampe join host T.W. Fendley to discuss Magicians and Shamans.

Sarah Avery's sword and sorcery has appeared in Black Gate, where she also writes a weekly column on teaching and fantasy literature. A collection of contemporary fantasy novellas, tentatively titled Tales from Rugosa Coven, will be published by Dark Quest Books in 2013.
http://dr-pretentious.livejournal.com/

Based in Paonia, Colorado, Katherine Lampe is the author of the Caitlin Ross supernatural fantasy series. A lifelong student of world mythology and folklore as well as a professional Tarot reader, Ms.Lampe's focus is to create human characters in a world where magic is a practical part of everyday life. She's known in Celtic music circles as a vocalist and flute player, and for fifteen years was the host and producer of "Whiskey in the Jar" on KVNF public radio. She enjoys a good single malt now and again. Find Katherine Lampe at www.smashwords.com

T.W. Fendley is the award-winning author of the historical fantasy ZERO TIME, published in 2011 by L&L Dreamspell. The novelette prequel, JAGUAR HOPE, is available on Amazon Kindle.www.twfendley.com

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December 2012: Magicians and Shamans

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:41:48 GMT

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Magicians, shamans, those with powers that confound our understanding, that seem to be drawn from some other world or time. During this time when northern climes see their longest night, magic seems most easily believed. So we bring you these tales of power, both dark and bright.

First, Jean Marie Ward reads an excerpt from from her novel, WITH NINE YOU GET VANYR (pronounced VAN-er) in which a sinister magician takes his evil too seriously--and the universe decides to do something about it.

LC Hu reads "The Witch's Death", a fairy-story style tale of a witch who captures her death on an old deer path and must decide what to do with him.

K. A. Laity offers us Shamans vs Aliens! her excerpt from a recent release, OWL STRETCHING, is an alternative history/science fiction/road trip retelling of the descent of Inanna with accidental shaman Ro Parker.

Julia Rios offers a meditation on compassion in her story, "Stone Heart."

And finally, I, your humble host, Justine Graykin, will read a bit from Archimedes Nesselrode, a novel for adults who are weary of adult novels, soon to be released as an eBook from Double Dragon Publishing. Ms. Vivian Mare is a housekeeper in the employ of an artist who makes remarkable things, no one knows how, but the secret of their manufacture could be worth millions. Having earned his trust, Ms. Mare is about to learn that secret.

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November: Faith and Fear

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:46:06 GMT

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Our host this month is Michelle Murrain, bringing you tales of Faith and Fear from readers Gail Z. Martin, Larissa Niec and Roberta Gregory.

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October Brings Spooky Treats

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 06:15:46 GMT

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This month's Broadly Speaking features two lovely broads with some spooky treats for readers and writers alike. Author K.A. Laity announces some of her new releases including a dark fiction collection; author and illustrator Vonnie Winslow Crist offers some wonderful advice for authors about Thinking Outside the Dark Fantasy box beyond the usual vampires, zombies and werewolves.

Join your host Rae Lori for this very haunting episode of Broadly Speaking

October 2012: Unnatural and Undead

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:45:31 GMT

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Hello and welcome to the October 2012 episode of the Broad Pod, "Unnatural and Undead", just in time for the spookiest month of the year. The Broad Pod is sponsored by the Broad Universe and features some of speculative fiction's shining authors. Your host this month is Rae Lori, multi-genre author, artist and voracious book lover, showcasing wonderful reads delivered right to your speakers. This month we have readings from:

- Gail Z. Martin, whose story, "The Dread", features a necromancer fighting the animated corpse gatekeeper of the realm of the undead against the Scavenger of Souls
- Vonnie Winslow Crist with an excerpt from The Return of Gunnar Kettilson
- LC Hu reads from her short story, Lump
- Shauna Roberts shares a teaser from her short story, "The Making of a Man", a mashup of historical fiction, science fiction, and zombie horror
- E. F. Watkins reads and excerpt from Dance With the Dragon.

So kick up your feet, grab your favorite treats and drinks and take a listen. You may discover some new and great reads to add to your bookshelf!

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Howling About Animals in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 00:40:12 GMT

From

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the Dragonriders of Pern to the tales of Redwall, Science Fiction and Fantasy is filled with animal characters. For the September episode of Broadly Speaking, four authors known for their work with animals in fiction joined host Tracy S. Morris to discuss the perils and successes of using animals as characters in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Carole Nelson Douglas is the author of the Midnight Louie detective novels, which are told from the perspective of a cat who thinks he is Sam Spade.

You can find her at http://carolenelsondouglas.com/

Dusty Rainbolt is the vice president for the Cat Writers’ Association, Inc. In addition to writing informative books and articles on cats including Kittens for Dummies, she is the author of several novels with animal characters that include cats that fetch and a Madagascar hissing cockroach. You can find Dusty online at http://www.dustycatwriter.com

Bev Hale is the author of The Essense of Stone, in which a sorcerer’s apprentice must deal with a princess who has been turned into a cat. She also creates Steampunk art and jewelry through her company Otherwhen Oddities. You can find her at http://www.bevhale.com/

Maggie Bonham is the author of over 28 books on dog training and pet care as well as epic science fiction and fantasy. She is also the publisher of Skywarrior Books. You can find her on the web at http://www.shadowhelm.net/ You can find Skywarrior books at http://www.skywarriorbooks.com/

Tracy S. Morris is the author of the Tranquility Mysteries, as series of urban fantasy mysteries in rural settings. One of the characters of her series is a vet who can speak to animals. Her pet ferrets are frequently in the middle of the mysteries, but because they are ferrets, they are too busy stealing keys and socks to pay attention to who the killer might be. You can find her on the web at http://www.tracysmorris.com

September 2012: Animals and Nature

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 19:59:11 GMT

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Greetings and welcome to the September edition of the BroadPod with your host, Justine Graykin, writer and free-lance philosopher. As we slide from the lazy abundance of summer towards the transformations of autumn's chill, we offer for your listening pleasure stories of the natural world and those closest to it, our animal kin.

The colors of flowers take on a life beyond life in the work of our first reader, Anne E. Johnson. 'Beyond Rainbow', is a speculative flash story about physical nature being expanded by or blurred into the metaphysical. The result is transformational, both in the destructive and the creative sense. It is also never-ending.

Nancy Jane Moore's chilling gem, "The Dog at the End of the World," was originally inspired when she heard that school children should be taught not to begin a story with "I have a dog." But it is not a dog story that most children would write.

Vonnie Winslow Crist reads an excerpt from "On A Midwinter's Eve," the first story in her book, "Owl Light." It's a dark tale of magic and Faerie about a hunter who stumbles across a blue-faced woman and her animals at twilight in the dead of winter.

Last in the line-up, a breath-taking battle between two horses, one brave and mortal, one fearful and fey, as Trisha Wooldridge shares a tempting teaser from her upcoming release, "Kelpie", from Spencer Hill Press.

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Exploring Beyond the Borders: Breaking the Conventions of Genre in SF/F/H

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 04:26:37 GMT

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Are the boundaries that define genre fiction constructs of publishers’ marketing departments? Created by readers’ demands? Or reflections of important storytelling traditions? What happens when writers and readers travel to the dangerous and exciting spaces in-between? As changes in publishing and social media offer more options for the ways in which stories are told and consumed, what will the next generation of SF/F literature look like?

Larissa N. Niec is author of The Sky Seekers novels Shorn (Mercury Retrograde Press, 2008) and Cael’s Shadow (Mercury Retrograde Press, May 2013). Currently, she serves as president for the Board of the Interstitial Arts Foundation. In addition to her work in the world of art and literature, Larissa is a clinical child psychologist, a professor of psychology and the director of the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Clinic and Research Center in the middle of Michigan. Although her writing may not always be interstitial, Larissa is herself an interstitial writer living in the fertile borderlands between academia and fiction, psychology and fantasy. Find Larissa online at www.LarissaNiec.com.

Julia Rios writes, hosts the Outer Alliance Podcast (celebrating QUILTBAG speculative fiction), and is part of the fiction editing team at Strange Horizons. She's half-Mexican, but her (fairly dreadful) French is better than her Spanish. Visit her online at www.juliarios.com.

Catherine Lundoff is the award-winning author of Silver Moon: A Women of Wolf’s Point Novel (Lethe Press, 2012) as well as the short story collections Night’s Kiss (Lethe Press, 2009), Crave (Lethe Press, 2007) and A Day at the Inn, A Night at the Palace and Other Stories (Lethe Press, 2011). She is the editor of Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories (Lethe Press, 2008) and the co-editor, with JoSelle Vanderhooft, of the anthology Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic (Lethe Press, 2011). In her other lives, she's a professional computer geek, the spouse of her fabulous wife and an occasional teacher of writing classes at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Website: www.catherinelundoff.com

Kristen McDermott is a Professor of English Literature at Central Michigan University, specializing in Early Modern Drama and Theater History. She has dedicated her teaching to bridging the gap between scholarly research and an appreciation for the living arts of drama, music, and storytelling. Dr. McDermott is the co-author, with her husband, Prof. Ari Berk, of an interactive book for young readers, The Life and Times of William Shakespeare (Templar Books 2010), and the editor of Masques of Difference: Four Court Masques by Ben Jonson (Manchester University Press, 2007). She has published articles on Early Modern Drama in the G.K. Hall anthology Critical Essays on Ben Jonson, Early Theatre, Renaissance Papers, Shakespeare Magazine, and The Language Arts Journal of Michigan. She has also written a series of articles on drama, fantasy literature, and folk traditions for Realms of Fantasy Magazine, and served on the Board of the Interstitial Arts Foundation from 2006-2008.

August 2012: Humor

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 16:54:32 GMT

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Thanks to heroic efforts on the part of everyone involved, our Humor podcast for August is up in spite of ill-timed vacations, technical snafus, power outages, exploding bathrooms, misdirected megafiles and demon attacks. Host T.W. Fendley, author of the historical fantasy, Zero Time, proudly presents this month's readers:

Justine Graykin, with an excerpt from Archimedes Nesselrode, a whimsical novel written for adults who have grown weary of “adult” books, soon to be released as an eBook from Double Dragon Publishing.

Karina Fabian’s dragon, Vern, has a penchant for puns and snide remarks as well as a knack for getting himself into ridiculous situations. No wonder her DragonEye novels come with reader warnings to not read while eating or drinking or in public where you’re worried about embarrassing yourself by laughing out loud. Live and Let Fly is her second DragonEye novel. http://fabianspace.com

Ann Wilkes will read an excerpt from a new installment in the Awesome Lavratt Universe that is, as yet, untitled. The Awesome Lavratt is currently out of print, but stories in two Dark Quest Anthologies are still available.

Tracy S. Morris will read from "The Plays The Thing," a short story she co-wrote with Brad Sinor for the Grantville Gazette. In it, a time-traveling reporter helps Cyrano de Bergerac write an infamous play while trying to outwit an unwanted suitor.

Pour yourself a cold one, sit back, and have a chuckle on us.

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Celebrating What Might Have Been and What Never Was In July With Alternate History

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:20:35 GMT

If you've been to the movies lately, you may have seen the documentary about Abraham Lincoln's hidden past as a vampire hunter.

What? He wasn't a vampire hunter? He was in the alternate history novel (and movie) Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

In this month's episode of Broadly Speaking host Tracy S. Morris, takes a look at the facts and fictions of alternate history along with three alternate history authors.

First up, Roberta Rogow discusses avenues of research for those writing alternate history.

Then Sandra Sadak discusses pre-history alternate history as well as what makes an alternate history novel alternate history when it's set before written history as well as getting your details right for the fans.

Lastly, J. Kathleen Cheney talks about researching history when you don't even speak the language that your primary sources are written in.

On a technical note: I was holding my four month old daughter while recording this podcast. Under the audio, you will hear her attempts to join in the conversation.

Celebrating Diverse Gender Identities and Orientations for Pride Month

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:48:59 GMT

June is Pride month! Julia Rios (who is also part of the QUILTBAG speculative fiction group, the Outer Alliance) hosts, and talks gender and sexuality with three differently creative women.

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Brit Mandelo is a writer and editor. Her non-fiction work has appeared at Tor.com, in Stone Telling Magazine, and in We Wuz Pushed, a volume about the work of Joanna Russ. As an editor, she's curated Beyond Binary, an anthology of genderqueer and sexually fluid science fiction stories, and she works with Julia as a fiction editor at Strange Horizons. Brit also writes fiction of her own, including "Winter Scheming" in Apex Magazine (which is the dark story she and Julia talked about in the interview).

Moondancer Drake is a Native American author of lesbian paranormal romance. Her books include Ancestral Magic, Natural Order, and Worlds Collide. Community is very important to her, and she tries to include diverse characters and relationship types in her work. Moondancer identifies as Two Spirit, a Native American term which encompasses a variety of gender identities and sexual orientations. She particularly values the fluidity of the term. Moondancer is currently holding a fundraiser to help a close friend move to Wisconsin. To donate and support Moondancer's community, visit the FundRazr page.

Rhea Ewing is an artist who does fine are, illustrations, book covers, and comics. Her current giant project is a comic about gender called Fine. If you're interested in reading the preview, participating in the interview process, or giving financial support, you can find out more at finecomic.com. Rhea got her artistic start with Urban Fey, a joint venture with Kimberley Long-Ewing (also a Broad Universe member!). Urban Fey is an urban fantasy comic with several queer and genderqueer characters.

Send in the Clones (and the AI) for May's Not Quite Human Edition

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:19:30 GMT

Welcome to the May edition of Broadly Speaking. This month Host Tracy S. Morris discusses Clones and AI with guests Phoebe Wray and Catherine Asaro.

Phoebe Wray is the author of Jemma7729 and the forthcoming sequel, J2. In addition, she is a past president of Broad Universe.

J2 is the story of a clone of Jemma from the first novel. Phoebe and Tracy talk about the science behind cloning, current issues that surround cloning and the future of cloning.

You can find phoebe on her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/phoebe.wray

The International Cloning Society maintains a website at http://www.angelfire.com/la/jfled/ics.html

Catherine Asaro is the author of over 20 novels in Science Fiction and Fantasy, has won a hugo and has been nominated for both the hugo and the nebula. She has a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard and has worked as a futurist with the science fiction writer's think tank Sigma predicting the future of Artificial Intelegence for both Homeland Security and the private sector.

Catherine and Tracy talk about the definition of AI, the Turing Test, where AI stands now, where it is going in the near future and how human beings will adapt and change because of AI.

You can find Catherine on the web at http://www.catherineasaro.net/

Sigma maintains a website at http://sigmaforum.org/

You can find out more about the Turing Test at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/

We hope you enjoy this podcast, be you android, clone, AI or just a regular old human.

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May: Not Quite Human - Automatons, AI, and Clones

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:52:38 GMT

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Greetings, and welcome to the May 2012 edition of the BroadPod. Our theme this month is Not Quite Human. Automatons, AI, clones. They can look human, talk and perhaps even feel human. But are they? Can an Artificial Intelligence truly have sentience, or is it just clever programming that mimics conscious thought? A clone may be a match for human DNA, but does a clone have a soul? Is an android merely a possession, no more entitled to rights than a toaster?

Host Justine Graykin introduces this month's readers and their visions of these not-quite-human beings: first Jennifer Pelland, who shares another excerpt from her recently published book, “Machine”, the story of a woman who was recently downloaded into a mechanical replica of her own body so she can continue her life while waiting for her flesh to be cured of early-onset Alzheimer's. In this excerpt, what happens when such a transfer goes wrong, but not wrong enough?

Kathryn Mankiller’s story, "Saving Alan Idle" is told from the point of view of a very resourceful AI who becomes aware of the peril faced by “his” programmer, and provides a lesson in what it means to be sentient (this story will be appearing in an upcoming edition of “Escape Pod”)

From Pauline Baird Jones, we have the old boy-meets-girl. In this case, the boy—Robert Clementyne—meets the girl—Emily Babcock. Mix some time travel into some space travel, send them across a dimension or two, give them some microscopic, sentient nanites to fight against some mega-size automatons, add in liberal dose of Pauline Baird Jones' imagination (and sense of humor) and you get “Steamrolled.”

Bonnie Lee reads from chapter one of her book Akuma’s Spirit, in which a women receives a late night visit from her husband’s unsettlingly youthful replicant, and a little girl with a tragic mystery.

Finally, we have an excerpt from Phoebe Wray's novel J2, coming out very soon from Dark Quest Books. It’s the sequel to Jemma7729—an action-adventure tale about a notorious rebel fighting a corrupt future government. J2 is actually Jemma’s clone: a brilliant lab rat who has escaped from the domes of Chicago, and joined the rebel army.

The BroadPod is sponsored by Broad Universe, the voice for women writing speculative fiction. Check out our companion podcast, Broadly Speaking, with interviews and discussions on the art of writing. You can link to them both from the Broad Universe website. This broadcast is copyright Broad Universe, 2012. All readings are copyright their respective authors. Music by Caligari’s Keyboard is used by permission, under Creative Commons Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike license. Kindly respect everyone’s intellectual property. Thank you.

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April Brings Growth and Transformation

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:36:06 GMT

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Welcome to the April edition of Broadly Speaking! Spring is a time of transition and growth, so this month is all about changelings and transformation. Your host, Julia Rios has three conversations with guests who visit these themes in their work.

First, Andrea Hairston, one of this year's WisCon guests of honor, talks about her Tiptree Award winning novel, Redwood and Wildfire. The story is set at the turn of the twentieth century, when entertainment is undergoing a major transformation from primarily live theatre to motion pictures. Andrea's characters also transform themselves in several ways with the help of stories, music, and conjure magic.

Next, Shira Lipkin talks about her Rhysling nominated poem, "The Changeling's Lament", which uses the changeling theme as a metaphor for genderqueerness. Shira also speaks about her own experience with that, and the thrill of discovering that she wasn't alone in feeling the way she does.

Finally, Cat Rambo talks about a few of her short stories, particularly focusing on "Clockwork Fairies". This story, like Shira's poem and Andrea's novel, visits the concept of Otherness, as the heroine is a black woman who is more inclined to be mechanical than ladylike in Steampunk Victorian England.

Andrea's characters say that we have to make the world we want to inhabit, and all of this month's podcast contributors agree! The conversations are full of hope for the future and signs of growth and positive change.

April: Changelings and Transformations

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:04:26 GMT

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Welcome to the April edition of BroadPod with host Jody Lynn Nye. This month’s stories deal with changelings and transformation. We have a fascination with metamorphosis. There’s a deep mystery in the physical way in which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, but what does the change do to the perception of the butterfly itself? And what if it was able to change back and forth between its two stages? Our authors are Carol Berg, EF Watkins, Kelly Harmon and Danielle Ackley-McPhail, with a bonus reading by Ann Wilkes. Each delve into the subject in fascinating ways.

First up, from Carol Berg, an excerpt from her story, "Transformation".
Seyonne has been a slave for sixteen years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from demon ravaging. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment. But from the hour he is sold to the arrogant heir to the Derzhi Empire, Seyonne's uneasy peace begins to crumble, and when he discovers a demon lurking in the Derzhi court, he must rediscover his past.

Next, from E. F. Watkins, in an excerpt from Danu's Children, a man discovers a new and startling aspect to a woman with whom he is infatuated. On a moonlit night, in a deserted spot, she seems to change into another form that expresses her true powers...or is it just a clever trick to make him into a believer?

Another story of transformation, from Kelly Harmon, “Selk Skin Deep,” a tale inspired by the true-life tragedy of the U.S.S. Forrestal, an aircraft carrier which exploded off the coast of Vietnam in 1967. The story is about Cade Owen, who joined the U.S. Navy trying to alleviate the boredom from his nearly immortal life. Cade is a selkie – a shape shifter who is both man and seal.

Our last reader, is Danielle Ackley-McPhail. In "The Runes", Camirel, adopted daughter of the last dragon, uses her transformation to seek out emberlings, the eggs of dragons removed from the earth before their time, confused by Man as no more than common gems. She encounters more than she expects on finding her first emberling.

And our special bonus track is Ann Wilkes, reading her flash fiction story, "Jolaneering", in which a man finds himself at the mercy of a precocious alien toddler, who just happens to be a changeling. This first appeared in the last issue of Nanobison, an online speculative fiction magazine. And if you ever thought you had a tough babysitting job, you’ll thank your lucky stars it wasn’t like this!

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March 2012: Humor

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:47:58 GMT

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Welcome to a very special Broadly Speaking! This time we’re talking about how to host Broadly Speaking, and the humor theme comes in as your host, Justine Graykin, gropes her way though her very first Broadly Speaking podcast, patiently assisted by Tracy Morris, Trisha Wooldridge, Julia Rios, Rae Lori, Larissa Niec and Terri Bruce.

How do you make a Skype conference call? Justine makes all the mistakes so you don’t have to. What do you do if a guest doesn’t show up? If you’re Julia, you get one of your other guests to channel the missing person through her left hand. What happens when an act of God interrupts your show? Larissa gave us the opportunity to find out, live.

In between the tales and travails, our aspiring hosts ask the questions and veteran hosts answer, discussing the details of how to arrange interviews, record Skype sessions and round table discussions, what software to use and how to use it, with tips and tricks based on hard and often hilarious experience.

So if you’ve ever wanted to break into podcasting, here’s a great place to start. Give a listen, and then give us a shout, and the Broads will show you the ropes. Broad Universe, helping to Broaden your horizons!

Here's some handy links including to sites and downloads mentioned in the Podcast:

MadeOfFail

Working with Tracks in Audacity

Recording in Audacity

Skype Conference Calling

Levelator for PC

Levelator for MAC

Freecorder

March 2012: Humor

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:13:34 GMT

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Welcome to the March edition of the BroadPod. Your host, Melanie Fletcher, author of the short story collection Random Realities and the fantasy novella Sabre Dance, was a bit worried about this month’s theme: Humor. Give a listen, and you’ll find out why. Also enjoy five humorous tales from our members.

First up is Sue Bolich. Twice every year, Sue's online workshop at otherworlds.net does a Short Story in a Week challenge in which the writer must incorporate five words in a coherent and complete story. "Tyke," "infamy" and "knight" were three of the words the week "The Fixer" was written, so naturally she ended up with a story about a demon, a very young Antichrist, and a world-weary and not very white knight!

Next is Jaleta Clegg's story "Always a Bridesmaid," which was inspired by the cover art for the anthology Rotting Tales. Jaleta wonders what would happen if that creepy old maiden aunt decided she was going to be the bride, but she had already died?

Roberta Gregory's story Mother Mountain is an epic that has been pestering Roberta for thirty years or more, like one big dysfunctional family, and she can't wait to share it with everyone!

K.A. Laity will read from Mangrove Legacy, her serial comic Gothic novel published by Tease Publishing under her nom de plume Kit Marlowe.

And finally, Jody Lynn Nye reveals that Dragon*Con isn't the only major August event in Atlanta with her story "Pat the Magic Dragon".

So put down whatever you're drinking and get ready to giggle at these five hilarious stories.

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February 2012: Romance

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:55:28 GMT

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Welcome to the February 2012 edition of Broadly Speaking, where this month we are romantically speaking. Your host, Heidi Ruby Miller, writes stories where the relationship is as important as the adventure. She is the author of the SF Romance series set in the Ambasadora-verse and co-editor of the writing guide MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT based on the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction graduate program. Find her at http://heidirubymiller.blogspot.com.

Heidi's guests are:

PAULINE BAIRD JONES
The "romance force" is strong in Pauline Baird Jones' family. Her parents recently celebrated 60 years of marriage and she and her hubby will clock 37 years this April. Maybe that's why romance is laced into her 12 novels of mysterious mayhem and space opera action adventure. She hangs out at all the usual social networking sites and has a website at paulinebjones.com

ALEXA GRAVE
Alexa Grave loves to tell stories--it just so happens her characters occasionally take her on an unexpected ride. Her story "Kindled Morphogenesis" can be found in the anthology Modern Magic: Tales of Fantasy and Horror. Please visit her at Born to Write--http://alexagrave.blogspot.com.

BRENDA COOPER
Brenda Cooper lives in the rain-sodden and beautiful Pacific Northwest where she works as a technology executive and writes science fiction and fantasy in the wee hours of the morning. Her most recent published novel, Mayan December, came out from Prime Books last August, and Pyr will be publishing a duology that can loosely be described as "Evita in Space" in 2011 and 2012.

No matter the level of sensuality, whether the sex is on or off the page, romance has its place among the many stories of speculative fiction from these women. After all, love stories are universal.

February 2012: Romance

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:07:18 GMT

Welcome to the February edition of BroadPod, dedicated to romance and lovers, and introduced by T.W. Fendley, author of the historical fantasy novel, ZERO TIME.

First, we’ll hear two romantic excerpts from the Renaissance Festival Tales anthology. Both take place at modern Renaissance Faires, but that’s where the similarities end. Kim Vandervort wrote "Faire Aria" at a writers’ retreat in Stinson Beach, California, in the company of fellow Broad, Julia Dvorin…and a pomegranate martini. Kim is the author of two fantasy novels, The Song and the Sorceress and The Northern Queen, as well as a smattering of short fiction. Her book Outcast is due out in July.

Julia Dvorin wrote her novella, Cupid For A Day, after asking herself the question, "What if Cupid were real and worked at the archery booth at the Renaissance Faire?"

Diane Whiteside’s story, “Vanished,” is from The Fiction Studio's April 2012 A Cast of Characters anthology. In this scene, Cindy and Richard learn just how much one dance truly means to each other.

Our next author, Jaleta Clegg, likes to mess with words. She doesn't consider herself a romance writer, but it keeps creeping into her stories. Like this one. It's in a horror anthology, not where you'd expect to find a sweet romance.

And we end with KT Pinto, who adores traveling back in time through her research and then changing history through her writing. She hopes to change the present with her writing as well, and it seems like she's on her way to succeeding.

So grab your sweetie—or at least a box of chocolates—and settle in to hear from five Broads who know how to make their stories sizzle!

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