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?

Katherine 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.

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!

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.

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!

Welcome to our January 2012 BroadPod, and our theme, Time Travel.  Roxanne Bland, author of “The Underground”, introduces this month’s readers.

First, in an excerpt from her short story, “Misplaced Objects”, S.A. Bolich tells us about a pregnant time traveler who finds herself in a most extraordinary dilemma.

Then Danielle Ackley-McPhail offers a Victorian Steampunk piece in which a woman searching for a lost family member enlists an American inventor to create a machine that looks into the future.  But it brings back more than mere images.  Much more.

The novels of Pauline Baird Jones often involve time travel--for the characters, not Pauline herself, though she lives in hope.  She'll be reading from her EPIC Book award-winning novel, Out of Time, which takes us to bomb-ravaged London during WWII.

Then Sandra Ulbrich Almazan reads from her novella, Lyon's Legacy. It’s a case of culture shock when Joanna Lyon travels one hundred years back from the future to meet her great-grandfather in a Chicago very different from hers.

Justine Graykin is our last reader. Her novel Eloise and Avalon tells of a historian whose unauthorized use of an experimental device takes him to a distant, ancient planet in search of clues to the origins of his civilization.  Once there, he falls under the spell of the primal Earth and its inhabitants, one in particular.

Now, let our travels begin.

In our December 2011 podcast, we have the snowy chill of Fear and the blanketing warmth of Faith.  Justine Graykin introduces our readers:

Jennifer Pelland shares a sample from her new novel, “Machine”, about the loss of faith in love.  In which body does the true heart of Celia lie? 

 In Tracy S. Morris’s “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” four now-grown girls from four different children's stories wrestle with the fear that they may never return to fairyland and may instead be stuck in the mundane world. Some lose faith, while others keep hoping.  

Kelly A. Harmon, takes us “On the Path” with Tan, an unusual farmer, who embarks on a strange adventure when his unconventionally powered plow breaks down. 

Bonnie Lee introduces us to the eerie world of replicates in an excerpt from the novel adaptation of her screenplay, “Crazy Eyes”.

Kim Vandervort reads from “Northern Queen”, the tale of a young woman who must choose between faith in a mysterious old crone and her fear of the unknown. 

Light a candle against the December darkness, and listen to these Yule-tide samples of the story-telling art.

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the August 2011 episode of the Broad Pod, sponsored by the Broad Universe.

Rae Lori, multi-genre author, artist and voracious book lover, is hosting episode which will be showcasing some Steampunk selections delivered right to your speakers. Reading this month are: Jody Lynn Nye, who tells a tale of clock-work heart stimulation; Danielle Ackley-McPhail, who shares a singing angel in a steam-powered saloon;  Pauline Baird Jones, who explores varying levels of "crazy" in her steam-punk-sci-fi-romance mash-up; and Emilie P Bush, who discusses the usefulness of various simple and battery-powered weapons on an airship.

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!

 

The Broad Pod is sponsored by Broad Universe, an international, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, honoring, and celebrating women writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.  Find out more about our organization, including new fiction released by women, more podcasts, and information about writing and publishing for women, visit our website at www.broaduniverse.org