Podcasts about Midwestern Gothic

Today's episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about the creative process or determined to turn their dreams into reality. We're sitting down with Michelle Collins Anderson, author of The Flower Sisters, a captivating novel that's been making waves since its release earlier this year.In our conversation, Michelle opens up about the journey of turning a dream into reality—what it really takes to write this historical fiction novel, face rejection, and push through the challenges to see her dream come to life. We also explore the inspiration behind The Flower Sisters—the intricate storytelling, the characters, and the heart that went into making this book something special. Whether you're a fan of Michelle's work or someone who needs that extra push to pursue your dreams, this is an episode you won't want to miss!Special Guest: Author Michelle Collins AndersonMichelle Collins Anderson grew up in the Missouri Ozarks, a place and a way of life that have shaped her writing. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri and an MFA from Warren Wilson College. Her debut novel, The Flower Sisters, was an instant USA Today best-seller. Michelle's short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appeared in Nimrod International Journal, Literal Latté, Midwestern Gothic, Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies, bosque, Literary Mama and Storied Hills: An Anthology of Contemporary Ozark Fiction. She and her husband have three adult children and live in St. Louis with two sister cats and a border collie.Follow Michelle at:https://www.instagram.com/michelle_collins_anderson/To purchase the book, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Sisters-Michelle-Collins-Anderson/dp/149674828X

A native "Thumbody," RS Deeren is an assistant professor of creative writing at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. His research interests include contemporary fiction, US working-class studies, and rural-urban dynamics. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in periodicals including The Great Lakes Review, Joyland, Midwestern Gothic, and more. Like some of his characters, he has also worked as a line cook, landscaper, lumberjack, and a bank teller. He received his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His debut story collection, Enough To Lose, was selected as a Michigan Notable Book in 2023, and it was published by Wayne State University Press. https://www.rsdeeren.com/https://wsupress.wayne.edu/9780814350409/

In today's ghoulishly delightful episode, we have our esteemed guest Ali resurfacing to explore the electric sparks of 'Lisa Frankenstein'. Buckle up as Armand, your host through the realm of reels, teams up with Ali to dig into the undead threads of this cult cinematic spectacle. We'll stitch together themes from Diablo Cody's universe, unravel the impact of streaming specters on traditional movie mausoleums, and dissect the body parts of our favorite scenes.Episode Chapters:00:00 Introduction10:18 Unintended Consequences, Fitting in, and Transformation14:47 Trespassing, Ghosts, and Bachelor's Grove18:26 Beauty Taming the Beast23:48 Desire for Female-Centric Comedies31:00 Family conflict in Lisa Frankenstein35:49 Discussion highlights themes and important points.44:08 Discussing potential sequel as "Bride of Frankenstein"50:20 Plan to save movie theaters56:10 Favorite scenes in Lisa Frankenstein01:01:05 Lisa Frankenstein: The Musical01:04:50 Outro and Ali's Upcoming Book----------Follow Ali on X----------Support Cinedicate on PatreonThe Cinedicate on InstagramThe Cinedicate's Discord Community Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Fox is the winner of the Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, The Great Midwest Writing Contest, the Jade Ring Award, and a Midwestern Gothic Summer Flash Contest. His fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, Orca, a Literary Journal, Midwest Review, Midwestern Gothic, Wisconsin People & Ideas, Whitefish Review, and others. He holds a Master of Arts in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has lived and worked in four continents. Steve now resides in his home state of Wisconsin with his wife, Stephanie, three boys, and one dog. The seventeen unrelenting stories in Steve Fox's debut story collection, Sometimes Creek (Cornerstone Press, 2023), traverse a sub-zero trail of plausible magic and grit from a kaleidoscope of broken ice at a hockey rink in Wisconsin that coils through haunted rivers and around dangling legs of jamón serrano in sweltering Spanish bars and back again to a place where Kafka and Carver meet up on the page. Fox's clean prose takes you by the hand and weaves a tapestry of tenderness, dissonance, indifference, dystopia, and charm into that gauzy space that collectively takes shape in your hands as Sometimes Creek.  You can learn more about the interviewer Megan Wildhood at meganwildhood.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Steve Fox is the winner of the Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, The Great Midwest Writing Contest, the Jade Ring Award, and a Midwestern Gothic Summer Flash Contest. His fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, Orca, a Literary Journal, Midwest Review, Midwestern Gothic, Wisconsin People & Ideas, Whitefish Review, and others. He holds a Master of Arts in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has lived and worked in four continents. Steve now resides in his home state of Wisconsin with his wife, Stephanie, three boys, and one dog. The seventeen unrelenting stories in Steve Fox's debut story collection, Sometimes Creek (Cornerstone Press, 2023), traverse a sub-zero trail of plausible magic and grit from a kaleidoscope of broken ice at a hockey rink in Wisconsin that coils through haunted rivers and around dangling legs of jamón serrano in sweltering Spanish bars and back again to a place where Kafka and Carver meet up on the page. Fox's clean prose takes you by the hand and weaves a tapestry of tenderness, dissonance, indifference, dystopia, and charm into that gauzy space that collectively takes shape in your hands as Sometimes Creek.  You can learn more about the interviewer Megan Wildhood at meganwildhood.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Fourth of July Feed Drop! Please enjoy the first episode of "Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery"! For more information on this great show go to http://www.unwellpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigration problems, climate issues, dysfunctional families, road barricades, and the division between haves and have nots play a role in this dream-like novel. Set in Wisconsin's stunning Northwoods, News of the Air (Black Lawrence Press, 2022) by Jill Stukenberg centers on a mother, father, and their teenage daughter, who voice the story from each of their perspectives. The novel opens with a pregnant Allie recalling her divorce, worried about her future, avoiding roadblocks to get to work at a Chicago museum, and frantic because of nearby eco-terrorism. In the next chapter, Allie and her husband Bud are proprietors of a far north rustic resort, and their previously homeschooled daughter Cassie, is about to finish her schooling in the local high school. Then two children show up in a canoe, and there is confusion about who they are and what they're doing in the Northwoods. Jill Stukenberg's short stories have appeared in Midwestern Gothic, The Collagist (now The Rupture), Wisconsin People and Ideas magazine, and other literary magazines. News of the Air, her debut novel, won the Big Moose prize from Black Lawrence Press. Stukenberg is a graduate of the MFA program at New Mexico State University, has received writing grants from the University of Wisconsin Colleges, and has been awarded writing residencies at Shake Rag Alley and Write On, Door County. Jill is an Associate Professor of English at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point at Wausau. She grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and has previously taught in New Mexico and the Pacific Northwest. Jill enjoys cross country skiing, hiking, and sailing on Green Bay in a small, very old, but still bright blue sailboat with a cracked wooden tiller. She lives in Wausau with the poet Travis Brown and their eight-year-old. G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Hi there, Today I am ecstatic to be arts calling Dr. Rachael Hanel! About our guest: Rachael Hanel is associate professor of creative nonfiction and journalism at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her book We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger's Daughter, _also from the University of Minnesota Press, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award. Her essays have been published in print and online in the anthology _Love and Profanity: A Collection of True, Tortured, Wild, Hilarious, Concise, and Intense Tales of Teenage Life; Slag Glass City; Midwestern Gothic; WLA: War, Literature, and the Arts; The Bellingham Review; _and New Delta Review._ Not the Camilla We Knew: One Woman's Path from Small-town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/not-the-camilla-we-knew    We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger's Daughter https://www.powells.com/book/well-be-the-last-ones-to-let-you-down-memoir-of-a-gravediggers-daughter-9780816683468 Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachael18 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachael_hanel/ Thanks for this lovely conversation Rachael! Such a pleasure! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro. If you like the show: consider reviewing the podcast and sharing it with those who love the arts, your support truly makes a difference! Check out the new website artscalling.com for the latest episodes! Go make a dent: much love, j

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jill Stukenberg's novel News of the Air (previously titled Labor Day) was selected as the 2021 winner of the Big Moose prize from Black Lawrence Press and will be published in fall 2022. Her short stories have appeared in Midwestern Gothic, The Collagist (now The Rupture), The Florida Review, and other literary magazines. An Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she has published in the area of creative writing pedagogy and has over twenty years of experience as a writing teacher. (Photo credit: Emma Whitman) ABOUT THE BOOK - NEWS OF THE AIR Allie Krane is heavily pregnant when she and her husband flee urban life after a rash of eco-terrorism breaks out in their city. They reinvent themselves as the proprietors of a northwoods fishing resort, where they live in relative peace for nearly two decades. That is, until two strange children arrive by canoe. Like the small ecological disasters lapping yearly at their shore, have the problems of the modern world finally found Allie, her husband, and their troubled cypher of a teenage daughter? This eco-novel of a family, told from three points of view, explores how we remake our lives once we open our hearts to all the news we've chosen to ignore.

Episode 213 - Erica Anderson-Senter. Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund are honored to have as our guest, Erica Anderson-Senter. Erica Anderson-Senter lives and writes in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She teaches high school English and Creative Writing. Her first full length collection, Midwestern Poet's Incomplete Guide to Symbolism, is available through EastOver Press. Her work has also appeared in Tinderbox Poetry Journal, the once CrabFat Magazine, Midwestern Gothic, Off the Coast, and Dialogist among others. Her chapbook, seven days now, was published by The Dandelion Review. Erica hosts free literary events throughout her city to bring poetry to the public. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing through the Writing Seminars at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. Buy book: Midwestern Poet's Incomplete Guide To Symbolism https://eastoverpress.com/books/poetry/a-midwestern-poets-incomplete-guide-to-symbolism/ https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781934894675 https://www.amazon.com/Midwestern-Poets-Incomplete-Guide-Symbolism/dp/1934894672 Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/ericaann/ https://www.tiktok.com/@oldladybingbong https://twitter.com/tinytoadstool Note: Guests create their own bio description for each episode. The Curiosity Hour Podcast is hosted and produced by Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund. The Curiosity Hour Podcast is listener supported! The easiest way to donate is via the Venmo app and you can donate to (at symbol) CuriosityHour (Download app here: venmo.com) The Curiosity Hour Podcast is available free on 13 platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, Soundcloud, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podbean, PlayerFM, Castbox, and Pocket Casts. Disclaimers: The Curiosity Hour Podcast may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion advised. The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are solely those of the guest(s). These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Curiosity Hour Podcast. This podcast may contain explicit language. The Public Service Announcement near the end of the episode solely represents the views of Tommy and Dan and not our guests or our listeners. Tommy and Dan requested and were provided with a review copy of the book in preparation for interviewing Erica. Thank you to the publisher and Erica for providing us with these books.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Royce Vavrek joins us for a walk-through of his body of work, Midwestern Gothic, Angel's Bone, Proving Up, and more. http://www.roycevavrek.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/connerandsmithshow/message

We had such a blast reconnecting with Helen Hayes Award winning actor, Bobby Smith! We chat about Titanic, Midwestern Gothic, Forever Plaid, and just life in general in these two Pandemic years. Grab your “nabs” for a snack and listen! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/connerandsmithshow/message

Starship Iris is still on hiatus, but in the meantime, we're dropping the first episode of friend of the show, award-winning Midwestern Gothic audio drama Unwell.You can read a transcript for this episode here: https://www.unwellpodcast.com/s1e1-homecoming-transcriptThis episode features: Clarisa Cherie Rios as Lily, Marsha Harman as Dot, Clint Worthington as Russel Epstien, Bethany Hart as Cynthia Harper, LaQuin Groves as Dale, Mark Soloff as an old man on the edge of town, Michael Turrentine as Wes, Pat King as Chester, Sebastian Orr as [REDACTED], Ele Matelan as [REDACTED]. Voices by Alex Brown, Jeff Van Dreason, Eric Silver, Julia Schifini, Amanda McSweene-Geehan, Michelle Nickolaisen, Jack Pevyhouse, Paul Miscagave and Bridge Greene. Written by Jim McDoniel, sound design by Ryan Schile, directed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner, music composed by Stephen Poon, recording engineer Mel Ruder, Theme performed by Stephen Poon, Lauren Kelly, Gunnar Jebsen, Travis Elfers, Mel Ruder, and Betsey Palmer, Unwell lead sound designer Ryan Schile, Executives Producers Eleanor Hyde and Jeffrey Gardner, by HartLife NFP.Content Advisories. This Episode contains:Jump scaresAggressive DogsAnimals in peril (but not hurt)Creepy noisesUncomfortable social situationsThreatening whispersBroken limbsAutomobile scares

In this episode of Next Up to The Mic, we welcome Wil Gibson who was our featured poet at Albany Poets Presents at Restaurant Navona on April 20, 2016 Wil Gibson currently lives in Humboldt County, California where the trees are big. He has had five collections published by kind people, and has been included in a number of anthologies and lit mags both online and in print, such as Marsh Hawk Review, Button Poetry, Midwestern Gothic, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Cascadia Rising, Collective Unrest, Yellow Chair Review and many more. He has twice been nominated for both a Pushcart and Best of the Net, and currently opening a poetry-only bookstore and art gallery. You can find links to books and more info at wilgibson.com Please welcome, next up to the mic, Wil Gibson. To find out more about the great poetry and spoken word community in upstate New York, go to albanypoets.com Our theme music was “Imagination” by Danijel Zambo (https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/imagination) License code: 44TCGFPF1L1434BE

Dynamics Of is a podcast about the "patterns and processes of change, growth or activity.” An arts and culture broadcast that speaks with people deeply embedded. People that are changing the world, even in granular ways. Hosted by Jake Leech. Devin O'Shea is a St. Louis based writer. His writing is in Current Affairs, Boulevard, CHEAP POP, The New Territory, Midwestern Gothic, and elsewhere. He went on NPR and the TrueAnon podcast to talk about his first novel—he is currently seeking representation and a publisher for Veiled Prophet. He joins Dynamics Of to discuss his upcoming piece for Current Affairs, profiling Rex Sinquefield, libertarian billionaire and chess obsessive whose trying to privatize St. Louis as we know it. We discuss how despite many failed attempts, the imminent threat of his wealth and vision continues to affect St. Louis and what the average person can do to fight it. WWW: devinoshea.wordpress.com/ Twitter: twitter.com/devintoshea Instagram: www.instagram.com/_toshea/ Devin's work for Current Affairs (topic piece forthcoming): next.currentaffairs.org/author/devin-thomas-oshea The colorway for this episode: St. Louis Cardinals

Sam takes you on a trip to a mysterious boarding house in Mt. Absalom, Ohio - a community riddled with secrets and lost memories. Learn more about Unwell at https://www.unwellpodcast.com. Family Ghosts is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Kindred Spirits, our community on Patreon. For just $5 a month, Kindred Spirits get early access to all our episodes, hear them ad-free, and get exclusive content that's not available anywhere else. If you have the means, please consider joining them at http://patreon.com/familyghosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning novelist and creative writing professor, Kali White VanBaale, chatted with me about the transition from literary fiction to true crime, her work with the PEN America Prison & Justice Writing program, and taking chances. Kali is an award-winning, Iowa-based author of novels, short stories, and essays. Her novel The Space Between (penned as Kali VanBaale), won an American Book Award, an Independent Publisher’s silver medal for fiction, and was winner of the Fred Bonnie First Novel Award. Her latest is The Monsters We Make (as Kali White), a mystery loosely based on the real-life unsolved "Des Moines paperboy abductions" of the early ‘80s. Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Martin, author of The Bright Forever, said, “[The Monsters We Make] ... kept me on the edge of my seat. I truly did read this remarkable new novel in one sitting.” Kali is a regular contributor to the A&E Network Real Crime blog series, and her short stories and essays have appeared in The Coachella Review, The Chaffey Review, Midwestern Gothic, Nowhere Magazine, Poets&Writers, The Writers’ Chronicle and others. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In this file Kali White VanBaale and I discussed: The challenges writers had to overcome in 2020 Her advocacy for social justice through writing How to cut yourself off from the rabbit hole of research On writing what scares you Why writers need to lean on revision And more! At the break I've got a special segment with an inspiring young non-fiction writer you won't want to miss. Hint: She is an influencer, author, artist, and tech-savvy 10-year-old. Stay calm and write on … Show Notes: KaliWhite.com The Monsters We Make: A Novel by Kali White (Amazon) Past Ten PEN America Prison & Justice Writing The Paperboy Abduction Cases: The Legacy of Two Des Moines Boys Who Are Still Missing Kali White VanBaale on Facebook Kali White VanBaale on Instagram Kali White VanBaale on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter _____ Prisha Hedau is a 10-year-old from Louisville, KY, and the author of PANDEMIC 2020: A 9 Year Old's Perspective. Prisha is an elementary student who holds USA state and USA national level ranking in Chess and Math Kangaroo competitions. She's also a budding philanthropist with a big heart! In this file Prisha Hedau and I talked about: The importance of note taking Staying positive through tough times Her favorite book And how she helps the less fortunate I know the audio is little rough, but it's an inspiring story. Show Notes: PrishaHedau.com PANDEMIC 2020: A 9 Year Old's Perspective by Prisha Hedau

We're back with another one of our segments, Write State of Mind, where we interview authors about mindset, their processes, and their journey. This week we have Kali White! In this episode we discussed: What to do when writing isn't going well Handling agent switches Rejection as preparation Writing as a long game Hard work as an essential tool Attitude adjustments Celebrating other writers Literary citizenship When writing goals become constricting The importance of writer friends Kali White VanBaaleis the author of the novels The Monsters We Make, The Good Divide, and The Space Between. She's the recipient of an American Book Award, an Eric Hoffer Book Award, and an Independent Publisher's silver medal among others, and her short stories and essays have appeared in The Coachella Review, Midwestern Gothic, The Chaffey Review, Nowhere Magazine, and others. Kali holds an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a faculty member of the Lindenwood University MFA Creative Writing Program. She lives in Iowa with her family. Rita hangs out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and her website. Find out more about Writer's Atelier: www.writersatelier.com www.patreon.com/WritersAtelier Find Writer's Atelier on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Find out more about Racquel Henry: www.racquelhenry.com Audio edited by Aly Grauer. Find out more about Aly at: https://dreamstobecome.com/. Music: Wooden Smile by Ziv Moran

Laura Hulthen Thomas is the author of STATES OF MOTION, a collection of short stories http://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/states-motion.      Thomas also teaches fiction and creative non-fiction for the University of Michigan, as program head for the Residential College's creative writing program. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Cimarron Review, Nimrod International Journal, Epiphany, Witness, Midwestern Gothic, and other literary journals.   "Underlying Conditions" is a very new piece (composed during quarantine) that resonates with our current moment/reality; excerpted for this podcast.  https://www.pw.org/writers_recommend/laura_hulthen_thomas 

The piece of music we're listening to in the background is the Unwell closing theme. Today, we'll break it down and get into why and how it was made. You're listening to How I Make Music, where behind-the-scenes musicians get to tell their own stories. Every Wednesday, we break apart a song soundtrack or composition and get into the insights into how it was made. My name is Steven Poon. I'm a composer based in Chicago, USA. And this is How I Make Music. Welcome back to how I make music Episode 81, the Unwell closing theme by me, Steven Poon. Thanks for listening in. 01:15 Mennonites Unwell is a Midwestern Gothic mystery. It's about a young woman returning to her hometown, the fictional place of Mount Absalom, Ohio, where everything is a bit more spooky than it seems at first. And this piece is the outro theme, which also plays under the ending credits. I'm from Ohio and the rural Ohio, we have a lot of Mennonites, which are like Amish people. They don't use a lot of technology. Like it's kind of anathema. When I'm driving to Columbus, or Cincinnati, there's some stops where you might actually run into a horse and buggy and there are some religious communities that don't make use of modern technology. And so it was really at the forefront of my mind going into this setting to not include a lot of synths and digitized music. There are loads of real, actual instruments in the track. I've been far more used to sequencing music, and to be able to go into the studio with half a dozen musicians was really rewarding. 02:50 Charango Take a listen to this. It's not a guitar. It's not a mandolin. It's a charango. It's one of a number of instruments that we recorded live for the Unwell theme. A charango is a Peruvian stringed instrument. It's 10-stringed. And traditionally, it was made from an armadillo shell. This was an instrument that I had found when I was in Peru for my honeymoon, and really took to it. I thought it was a beautiful sounding instrument. And the first thing that I even wrote for the track was on the charango when I was in Peru, and I found a luthier, who was making these instruments. And you could still smell the sawdust in the air of his shop. And he didn't even speak English. So I think it was his daughter who was translating for people who came into the shop and only spoke English. And so this was a melody that I had been picking around on. And it got stuck in my head so bad that I'm like this...this has to go somewhere. 04:49 Influences I've had a lot of influence when it comes to music over the years. So here's like a few things that came to mind as this track came together. First and foremost was The Chieftans. I really like Irish session music. There's really this tone of freedom and playfulness that comes from it. I'm thinking of a rural, less populated place. I had recently been watching Deadwood. So the Deadwood soundtrack by David Schwartz. That opening theme was also in my mind. I've always had a lot of inspiration from specifically Japanese RPG soundtracks to music from the late 80s, early 90s. There's not a lot of samples going into these songs. Very simple melodies that can very easily get stuck in your head. Because you're only working especially with the original Nintendo, there are only like four different samples that you could really fit in a cartridge. And I don't really want to go too deep into this because it's not a common game. It's like literally a visual novel. That's a spin off of an RPG that was released in the 90s. We can get into that. I just feel like it might be a little obscure! 07:19 Jeffrey Nils Gardner Jeffrey Nils Gardner was involved with this music and really all the music of Unwell too. And when they were working on an older project, Our Fair City, there was no music. And I approached them and said, "Hey, would you like a theme song?" And that was that! They did that show for eight seasons. And then when Unwell started, it was kind of a natural progression of this collaboration. And it was really cool to finally do some work with Jeffrey that involved live music. And they could, they could record they could produce and they could mix the song. 8:08 We were recording on a college campus because that's where Jeffrey was doing their masters at the time. Going into recording, I didn't I didn't know who was going to be there. I think I remember there being a list of musicians, but it hadn't really internalized before I got into the studio. It was my first time in this space. And so walking in, we're setting up the studio, no one else's there. It's me, the recording engineer. You know, we're wrangling cable. And I'm, I'm a little anxious, because there's a lot of unknown, going into the studio like that. One thing that was really important for me was to make sure we got the tone of the song right, and the atmosphere of a small town and the unspoken things that you always get in that kind of small community. This was my first time meeting, recording and performing with all the instrumental performers on the Unwell theme. So I really kind of went in with a thought of like an Irish session, where you have a bunch of musicians who come together in a pub, you don't know who's going to show up, but they all know the song If you really want to have a lot of fun with it and have that come through and the track and so on. We walk in, and all you can really hear is the sound of cable being laid on the floor. And you know, your heartbeat. Then the others arrived and we started recording the boot stomps. 10:08 The recording process So the boot stops were really important really is a form of punctuation and exclamation points at the very start. I really wanted something that could maybe slightly startle the listener, like the end credits of a TV show when you see the first name of the credit and the first note of the song hits. After that, we wanted to include even more percussion, particularly a little bit of hand percussion on top of the boot stops. So we threw an egg shakers because they just happened to be in my guitar bag to add a little bit of texture to that percussion. The next is banjo. And that's Gunnar Jebsen. And we gave him a lot of freedom to really do whatever he wanted. On top of the melody. We also had Lauren Kelly, a multi instrumentalist. We started her on guitar. And then we went in and did some individual tracks with her playing cello to add a really nice, you know, lower piece to the track. We brought in Travis Elfers, to do viola. I really wanted to have strings on this and was glad that we're able to have that fourth Unwell theme in the middle of the track. You hear this slightly dissonant voice come in. And that's Betsy Palmer. You can give her anything and she will internalize it and sing it. It's a lot of fun to work with her. I played guitar on the track, which is the first strum you hear at the start. Mel Ruder isn't just a recording engineer on the show Mel Ruder is the recording engineer on the show, and is most often present for the episode recording. 13:09 Celery Festival So when season one of Unwell was being put together, we knew what songs we wanted to include for the entire season. including an episode with a celery festival that has a jingle writing contest. So I was writing music for groups of musicians that were playing a folk song, a punk rock song, even a kind of a barbershop quartet for a jingle. I wasn't in a space or I was just thinking of one particular genre of music or even a kind of unifying style of music. It was all over the place. And it was really creatively satisfying. 14:17 Stinger So as we were putting together all the tracks for Season One, I wanted to do a very short kind of stinger intro piece that would kick off every episode. And the closing theme would start out with this mirror of that stinger. So it opens with this simple three note ascending melody. And the stinger is a three note descending melody that was really just bookends every episode as a whole. 15:02 Multiple microphones We use multiple microphones to record each instrument. And so we wanted to be able to use both of those sources. Mix them together. Let me show you what I mean. Here's what a guitar sounds like with multiple microphones, here's just pointed at the neck. Now, here's the microphone on the body. So here's what the banjo sounds like with multiple microphones. Here's the neck. Now let's crossfade to the body. Here's how the charango sounds at the neck. The body. 16:09 Rusty Standish There is a moment in season one, featuring a composition by a fictional songwriter Rusty Standish. Let's take a listen. The script originally described this song as Nick Drake, after a few cocktails and a long walk home. So that was a really fun descriptor to try to work with, especially because I'd never listened to Nick Drake before. So I took an afternoon, sat down, had a drink and just listened to like three hours of music. I wrote, played guitar and sing on the track. SHOW NOTES Listen to audio drama Unwell https://unwellpodcast.com Unwell Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/hartlifenfp Check out other work by Stephen Poon https://stephenpoon.bandcamp.com/ BONUS  Visit https://patreon.com/howimakemusic for bonus behind-the-scenes stuff from this episode. For a full credit list of music and sound effects from this episode, visit https://howimakemusic.com ABOUT THIS SHOW How I Make Music is a sound collage experience where behind-the-scenes musicians get to tell their own stories. Every Wednesday, we challenge composers to break apart a song, soundtrack or composition and get into why and how it was made. Subscribe to How I Make Music https://pod.link/howimakemusic How I Make Music https://howimakemusic.com How I Make Music is created by John Bartmann https://johnbartmann.com

Noa's first episode with a guest! Riley! Noa's sister!  Noa and Riley chat MIDWESTERN GOTHIC and LIMINAL SPACES. Midwestern gothic - an aesthetic, a genre, a negative vibe!  SO much to discuss..farmers, poverty, Coen Brothers films, an unfortunate bout of summer camp, texas roadhouse, pizza pit, SO MUCH CORN!!!!  NOA'S PODCAST REC: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/spooked/spookedseason1/2   MUSIC: Spy Glass by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4410-spy-glass License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hello! This is Jeffrey Nils Gardner, the Executive producer of Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery. In this show, Lillian Harper moves to the small town of Mt. Absalom, Ohio, to care for her estranged mother Dorothy after an injury. Living in the town's boarding house which has been run by her family for generations, she discovers conspiracies, ghosts, and a new family in the house's strange assortment of residents. This is Season Two, Episode 1: The Burning Woods. This episode contains spoilers for Season One of Unwell- to hear the first season, go to www.unwellpodcast.com. Thank you for listening, and enjoy! Transcript can be found at: https://www.unwellpodcast.com/s2e1-the-burning-woods-transcript

Melissa Faliveno's writing has appeared in Bitch magazine, the Millions, Prairie Schooner, Midwestern Gothic, and received a notable selection in The Best American Essays 2016. However, she stopped by the Jam Bunker to talk about her first book, Tomboyland, which is an absolute tour de force that examines identity, gender, class, and identity through a series of personal essays. So, join Brad and Melissa as they talk about life in their small towns, their shared love of sports, accidentally turning into townies, and their undying love of alt weeklies and 'zines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews South Carolina short story author Dustin M. Hoffman. Dustin painted houses in Michigan for ten years and is now an assistant professor of English at Winthrop University in South Carolina. His short fiction has appeared in many magazines, including Threepenny Review, Black Warrior Review, Puerto del Sol, Midwestern Gothic, and Cimarron Review, and his story “Building Walls” received a Pushcart Prize special mention. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support

On this episode of "Now, Appalachia," Eliot interviews South Carolina short story author Dustin M. Hoffman about his new collection, "No Good for Digging." Dustin painted houses in Michigan for ten years and is now an assistant professor of English at Winthrop University in South Carolina. His short fiction has appeared in many magazines, including Threepenny Review, Black Warrior Review, Puerto del Sol, Midwestern Gothic, and Cimarron Review, and his story “Building Walls” received a Pushcart Prize special mention.

Today’s guest is J. Ryan Stradal. His first novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, was published by Viking in 2015, and reached the New York Times Hardcover Best Seller list. His short fiction has appeared in Hobart, The Rumpus, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Electric Literature, and Midwestern Gothic, among others. His second novel, The Lager Queen of Minnesota, is available now. J Ryan joined me today to talk about representation of the Midwest in popular culture, the rising importance of microbreweries in small communities, and the lost stories of the middle class.

Sink your teeth into this Midwestern Gothic audio fiction from the wonderful Harlife NFP! It's got creepies. It's got spookies. It doesn't have too many scary scaries, so even those who are worried about horror (like our own sweet David Rheinstrom) should be just fine to join us for this week's feature, Unwell, and subscribe on their website: https://www.unwellpodcast.com/Like what you hear? Us too. You can support Hartlife NFP here:https://www.patreon.com/hartlifenfppatreon.com/radiodramarevival RDR’s patreonPatreon.com/WilWilliams Wil’s PatreonPatreon.com/elenafernandezcollins Ely’s PatreonPatreon.com/albasalix Eli and Sean’s PatreonFinalrune.com Fred’s website

Welcome to Mt. Absalom.  A Transcript of this trailer can be found here.   Content advisories for this trailer can be found here. This trailer was written by Jim McDoniel, with sound design by Hannah Foerschler, and directed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner. The trailer features David Rheinstrom, Marsha Harman, Jeffrey Nils Gardner, Nathaniel Ewert-Krocker, Kat Evans, Abby Doud, Krista D'Agostino, Ele Matelan, Pat King. Phoebetor by Mel Ruder. Unwell lead sound design by Ryan Schile. Unwell Executive Producers, Eleanor Hyde and Jeffrey Nils Gardner.

This week, in honor of the start of the holiday season, we're presenting stories about parents — and the ways our relationships with them intersect with science. Part 1: As a kid, Dan Souza finds it hard to appreciate his mother’s nursing expertise until he sees it in action after a series of fateful incidents. Part 2: When Michaella Thornton shares her struggles with infertility with her bachelor farmer father, his response stuns her. Dan Souza is Editor in Chief of Cook’s Illustrated and a cast member of the Emmy-Award Winning television show America’s Test Kitchen. Dan is the kitchen editor of the New York Times bestseller “The Science of Good Cooking” (2012) and James Beard Award-nominated “Cook’s Science” (2016). He is a regular contributor to The Splendid Table radio program, and his personal stories have been featured on the Peabody Award-winning The Moth Radio Hour. After graduating first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America, Dan cooked in restaurants in Boston, New York, and Hungary before finding his true calling: helping home cooks succeed in the kitchen.  Michaella A. Thornton's essays and flash prose have appeared in New South, The Southeast Review, The New Territory Magazine, Midwestern Gothic, and a University of Missouri Press anthology, Words Matter: Writing to Make a Difference (2016). She is also a staff writer for The Common Reader, "a journal of the essay," at Washington University in St. Louis. She loves her almost two-year-old daughter Lucinda, all the cannoli, Hall & Oates, and Jo Ann Beard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Zeitler is the author of the novella Like Flesh to the Scalpel. His short stories and narrative essays have appeared in Midwestern Gothic and in other print and online magazines. He lives in Tucson with his wife and son. Tone Milazzo’s Homepage: tonemilazzo.com Twitter: twitter.com/ToneMilazzo Facebook: www.facebook.com/tone.milazzo

MEET JASON ZEITLER: Jason Zeitler is the author of the novella Like Flesh to the Scalpel. His short stories and narrative essays have appeared in Midwestern Gothic and in other print and online magazines. He lives in Tucson with his wife and son. CONTACT: Jason Zeitler Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Jason-Zeitler/e/B07JGL3HK9/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1541731674&sr=8-1) SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Click on this link and Help support this podcast because I love puppies : ) https://www.patreon.com/advanceyourart (https://www.patreon.com/advanceyourart) This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years, and I love audiobooks. Click on the link to get a 30-day free trial, complete with a credit for a free audiobook download Audible.com (http://www.audibletrial.com/Yuri) QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Editor-in-Chief Omaria Pratt talks with Leesa Cross-Smith about her book "Whiskey & Ribbons," life as a writer without a MFA, and her short fiction literary journal Whiskey Paper. Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and writer from Kentucky. She is the author of Whiskey & Ribbons (Hub City Press, 2018) and Every Kiss a War (Mojave River Press, 2014) and the forthcoming short story collection So We Can Glow (Grand Central Publishing, 2020) and the forthcoming novel This Close To Okay (Grand Central Publishing, 2021.) Every Kiss a War was a finalist for both the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction (2012) and the Iowa Short Fiction Award (2012). Her short story “Whiskey & Ribbons” won Editor’s Choice in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest (2011) and was listed as a notable story for storySouth‘s Million Writers Award. The novel Whiskey & Ribbons was longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and listed among Oprah Magazine’s “Top Books of Summer.” She was a consulting editor for Best Small Fictions 2017. Her work has appeared in Oxford American, Best Small Fictions 2015, NYLON, Alaska Quarterly Review, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, SmokeLong Quarterly, Little Fiction, Wigleaf Top 50, Longform Fiction, Carve Magazine, Synaesthesia Magazine, Paper Darts, Hobart, Pithead Chapel, Gigantic Sequins, Folio, American Short Fiction (online), Midwestern Gothic, Juked, Word Riot and many others. She and her husband Loran run a literary magazine called WhiskeyPaper. Find more @ LeesaCrossSmith.com and WhiskeyPaper.com.

HartLife NFP is thrilled to bring you the very first trailer for our new flagship show- Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery, coming in February 2019.  A transcript for this trailer is available here. Content warnings for this trailer can be found here. Find out more by following us on twitter at www.twitter.com/unwellpodcast, on tumblr at http://unwellpodcast.tumblr.com, or on our website at www.unwellpodcast.com. This trailer features Shariba Rivers as Lily Harper, Clint Worthington as Charlie, Krista D'Agostino as Melody, and Sebastian Orr as Jamie, with additional contributions by Ryan Schile. Michael Turrentine and Kathleen Hoil. This trailer was written by Jeffrey Gardner and Jim McDoniel, with music and recording engineering by DJ Catnip, and sound design by Jeffrey Gardner.

Casey tantalizes you with some readings from his new book, The Spoils. And through conversation with host Marcia Epstein about: The Midwest, Stories, Men, Books, Fathers & Sons, & PS: Writing Well Is Work. Casey Pycior (pitcher) was born and raised in Kansas City. He earned his MFA in fiction writing at Wichita State University & his PhD in creative writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was awarded the Charles Johnson Fiction Prize at Crab Orchard Review. His stories have appeared in numerous journals, including Beloit Fiction Journal, Midwestern Gothic, Harpur Palate, Yalobusha Review, and Wigleaf. His debut short story collection, The Spoils, was just released by Switchgrass Books. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife & son. Follow Casey onTwitter @CaseyPycior and learn even more at www.CaseyPycior.com

Midwestern Gothic co-founder and author Robert James Russell joins us to talk about his latest novel Mesilla and all things Midwestern. Plus, we have a reading from Susan Rukeyser, author of Not On Fire Only Dying (Twisted Road Publications).

This episode stars Robert James Russell (Don't Ask Me to Spell It Out, Midwestern Gothic, Cheap Pop). It was recorded in Minneapolis, MN at AWP in April 2015.

Welcome to Cold Reads, Episode 17. Cold Reads is a weekly podcast read by Nathaniel Tower. Each week, Nathaniel invites an author to send his or her wildest, funniest, most twisted story. Without reading the story ahead of time, Nathaniel records an audio version, trying to maintain his composure as the author takes the audience on a wild ride. Week 17 brings you "Customs by Tad" by Matthew Guerruckey. “Customs by Tad” was written for Aaron Dietz’s superhero anthology project. For more information, visit timidpirate.com Matthew Guerruckey is the Editor-in-Chief of the literary website Drunk Monkeys and a freelance fiction writer. His short stories have appeared in Five 2 One Magazine, Connotation Press, Midwestern Gothic, The Weekenders, and will soon be featured at Bartleby Snopes. A West Coast native with Midwestern roots, he lives in North Hollywood with his wife, poet SC Stuckey, and their cats Lennon and Harrison. Drunk Monkeys is a part of the On Impression Network. For original short fiction, poetry, and essays, visit drunkmonkeys.onimpression.com