Podcasts about novels

Brooke and Tyler are done hidin', now we're shinin' like we're born to be...talking about one of the most mystical group of voyagers in the Cosmere. We look at Dyel's interlude from Wind and Truth and investigate her visitors from the 17th Shard, the mighty Cusicesh, and the history of the Iriali's Long Trail. #AllSpoilers Warning: This episode contains minor spoilers about Isles of the Emberdark. Not major plot points but aspects of the broader Cosmere. Support this podcast by becoming a Patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/CosmereConversations) Original music by David Gruwier (https://twitter.com/DGruwier). "Radiant" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5CFAZUv4C0) by David Gruwier.

✨ Think the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards caught all the best science fiction of the 1980s? Think again. In this episode of Fantasy for the Ages, Jim digs deep into the decade that gave us cyberpunk, space opera epics, and dystopian thrillers—spotlighting the amazing books that somehow slipped through the awards radar.From forgotten alien invasions to near-future technothrillers, post-apocalyptic survival tales to deep philosophical thought experiments, these are the novels readers loved but committees overlooked. For each year of the decade, you'll get Jim's pick for the “best” snubbed book plus a worthy runner-up—and maybe discover some new favorites for your TBR.

643. Part 2 of our conversation with Roxanne Harde about the Tremé series. Roxanne Harde on the Tremé series. "Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this hour-long drama series, from executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer, follows the lives of ordinary residents as they struggle with the after-effects of the 2005 hurricane. Says star and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce, 'The only things people had to hang on to were the rich traditions we knew that survived the test of time before: our music, food and family, family that included anyone who decided to accept the challenge to return.' The large ensemble cast is supported by notable real-life New Orleanians, including many of its famous musicians." "Roxanne Harde is Professor of English at the University of Alberta's Augustana Faculty, where she also serves as Associate Dean, Research. A McCalla University Professor, Roxanne researches and teaches American literature and culture, focusing on popular culture, women's writing and children's literature, and Indigenous literature." Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. William F. Waugh's Houseboat Book. The South needs “Yankees.” An ex-Confederate, discussing Alexandria, said: “A dozen live Yankees would regenerate this town, and make fortunes at it.” They would pave the streets, cover in the sewers, build up the vacant spots in the heart of the city, supply mechanical work at less inhuman prices than are now charged, and make this rich and intelligent community as attractive in appearance as the citizens are socially. One such man has made a new city of Alexandria. He has made the people pave their streets, put in modern sewerage, water, electricity, etc., build most creditable structures to house the public officials, and in a word, has “hustled the South,” till it had to put him temporarily out of office until it got its “second wind.” This week in Louisiana history. September 13, 1987. Pope John Paul II begins three day visit to New Orleans. This week in New Orleans history. Drew Brees ties Billy Kilmer's touchdown passing record September 13, 2009. The Saints team record for passing touchdowns in one game was set at 6 by Drew Brees (Saint's vs. Detroit Lions) who tied with Billy Kilmer in a November 2, 1969 against the St. Louis Cardinals. This week in Louisiana. Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site 1200 N. Main Street St. Martinville, LA 70582 337-394-3754 888-677-2900 longfellow_mgr@crt.la.gov Site open daily open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day Admission/Entrance Fees $4 per person Free for senior citizens (62 and older) Free for children 3 and under     Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site explores the cultural interplay among the diverse peoples along the famed Bayou Teche. Acadians and Creoles, Indians and Africans, Frenchmen and Spaniards, slaves and free people of color-all contributed to the historical tradition of cultural diversity in the Teche region. French became the predominant language, and it remains very strong in the region today.     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1847 epic poem Evangeline made people around the world more aware of the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and their subsequent arrival in Louisiana. In this area, the story was also made popular by a local novel based on Longfellow's poem, Acadian Reminiscences: The True Story of Evangeline, written by Judge Felix Voorhies in 1907. Postcards from Louisiana. Cajun Band at Maison Dupuy. Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

Some of the best science fiction of the 1970s never even made it onto an awards ballot. No Hugos. No Nebulas. No Locus trophies, Clarke medals, or BSFA plaques. But these are books that sold strongly, earned lasting fan love, and still hold up with terrific ratings and critical praise.In this episode, Jim digs into the hidden gems of each year in the decade—from 1970 through 1979—spotlighting two novels per year that got completely overlooked by the awards establishment. These are the award-snubbed classics you may never have read, but should definitely consider adding to your list.We'll share why each title matters, what makes it unique, and why it stood out in its year despite never receiving the genre's biggest honors. If you're looking for fresh sci-fi reads that history unfairly ignored, this is your guide.

Get your trousers on, you're nicked! The old school film club wants to tell you about fags, slags, blags, and Jags. John Caro joins us to discuss two films about hard nosed British coppers in the late 1970s. Can we make the link to the comics that we love so much, and can we work out why everyone in these films is so miserable?Find Conrad at SpaceSpinner2000.com, join John on Mastodon and find his published work online here.You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.comMusic used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub. Click here to listen to the episode online. Or Download here Right click and choose save link as to download to your computer.

John Charles in conversation with Taylor Hartley, K Valentin, Liz Parker, and Hollie Nelson

As a child, Candice Fox knew her family wasn't what most people would consider normal.  Their Christmas included lunch at Long Bay jail, where her father worked (R).At home, Candice's mother Ocean was busy rescuing lost people, injured native animals, and bringing home odd things from the council clean-up.In one 5-year period, Ocean fostered more than 140 children.  To escape the chaos of home, Candice would immerse herself in her mum's collection of illustrated true crime stories.Then she began writing her own. She grew up to become one of the world's best-selling crime authors.Further informationOriginally broadcast in March, 2024.Candice's novels High Wire and Fire With Fire are now being adapted for the screen.This episode of Conversations was produced by Nicola Harrison. Executive producer was Carmel Rooney.It explores writing, books, animals, Australian animals, wildlife rescue, conservation, childhood memories, true crime, crime novels, crime writing, foster families, foster children, blended families, how to become an author, books.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

bit.ly/ffff190 - bit.ly/vffff190We welcome David Morris from Double Windsor Photography back to the Plastic Microphone Studios to explore the chilling and imaginative world of bestselling author Dean Koontz. In this spine-tingling episode, we dive deep into the prolific writer's vast catalog of supernatural thrillers, psychological horror, and genre-bending fiction.David shares his favorite Dean Koontz novels, discussing what makes each one unforgettable - from the author's masterful character development to his unique blend of horror, science fiction, and heartfelt human drama. We explore Koontz's evolution as a writer, his recurring themes of good versus evil, and how his optimistic worldview sets him apart in the horror genre.Whether you're a longtime fan of novels like “Watchers” and “Intensity” or new to Koontz's atmospheric storytelling, this episode offers fresh insights into one of America's most successful thriller writers. Tune in for thoughtful analysis, passionate recommendations, and maybe a few spine-chilling moments as we countdown the essential Dean Koontz reads that every fan should experience.Find out more about David by visiting his Instagram ( @doublewindsorphoto ) and his website www.doublewindsorphotography.com Links can be found on our profile page and at www.linktr.ee/hulkboy. Visit & interact on Instagram (www.instagram.com/favefivefromfans), Twitter/X (www.X.com/Fave5FromFans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FaveFiveFromFans), & our website (www.FaveFiveFromFans.com). Also, check out Plastic Microphone Studios' X & Instagram accounts ( @PMStudiosPod ) for more content from The Average Home Theater Reviews, Red Dog Terrain, Sequel House, and more! #FaveFiveFromFans #FFFF #podcast #podcasts #podcasting #Invasion #Funhouse #Whispers #TheEyesofDarkness #Phantoms #Twilight #DragonTears #MrMurder #Intensity #SoleSurvivor #FromtheCornerofHisEye #TheFace #LifeExpectancy #TheHusband #TheGoodGuy

Episode #99 – John DeDakis: From White House Press Room to Novels & Edits In this episode, I talk with John DeDakis — former White House correspondent, longtime journalist, editor at CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, now novelist, writing coach, and editor. We unpack what it means to tell stories in news versus fiction, the hard lessons behind writing & rewriting, and how editing makes (or breaks) everything. We cover: ·         What it was like being a White House correspondent (including covering presidents, handling fast-breaking political stories) ·         Working in newsrooms, particularly editing for CNN's The Situation Room and what senior copy editing taught him about clarity, deadlines, and truth in storytelling ·         How John made the jump from journalism to fiction: his first novel, the process, revisions, the rejections, and ultimately getting published ·         The importance of editing: in journalism, in novels, in shaping story structure, voice, pacing — how a good editor or self-editing can elevate a work significantly  About John DeDakis ·         Former White House correspondent (during Reagan administration) ·         Senior Copy Editor on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer ·         Author of six mystery/suspense/thriller novels in the Lark Chadwick series, including Fast Track, Bluff, Troubled Water, Bullet in the Chamber, Fake, Enemies Domestic. ·         Writing coach and manuscript editor; leads workshops; teaches novel writing at literary centers/conferences. What you'll get out of this episode ·         Insights into how journalism and fiction intersect — what lessons from news help with writing novels ·         Real talk about rejection, rewriting, and patience in creative work ·         A picture of how editing isn't just polishing, but deeply structural: voice, pace, truth, character, etc. ·         Inspiration if you're a writer in transition, or thinking about how to build authenticity and ethical foundations into your work https://johndedakis.com/ The podcast I am trying to remember the name of is Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell

The 1960s gave us some of the most legendary science fiction ever written… but many incredible novels were completely ignored by the Hugos, the Nebulas, and every other major award. In this episode, Jim dives deep into the data — sales numbers, Goodreads/StoryGraph/Amazon ratings, and critical reviews — to uncover 20 sci-fi gems from the 1960s that were beloved by fans and critics alike, yet received zero recognition from the awards committees.From lost generation-ship societies to dying Earth jungles, from satirical military adventures to techno-thrillers that changed the genre forever — these are the novels that deserve a place on your bookshelf.✨ If you're looking for your next great read in science fiction, start here. Which of these overlooked sci-fi novels have you read? Which one will you pick up next? Let us know in the comments below!#ScienceFiction #SciFiBooks #FantasyForTheAges #BookTube #BookRecommendations #SciFiCommunity #UnderratedBooks #ClassicSciFi #HugoAwards #NebulaAwards #BookReviewWant to purchase books mentioned in this episode?The Andromeda Strain: https://t.ly/oSRIFBill, the Galactic Hero: https://t.ly/WSQ9LCaptive Universe: https://t.ly/QDt01City of Illusions: https://t.ly/qdpMrThe Crystal World: https://t.ly/1XI14Dr. Futurity: https://t.ly/fXTD4The Drowned World: https://t.ly/tk5wWThe Fell Sword of Mars: The Game-Players of Titan: https://t.ly/bTVz7Greybeard: https://t.ly/NxyH8The Last Starship from Earth: https://t.ly/FqwTlThe Long Result: https://t.ly/Ak6hBMake Room! Make Room!: https://t.ly/CRqhDMemoirs Found in a Bathtub: https://t.ly/wCulpPlanet of the Apes: https://t.ly/aNdi3The Planet Killers: https://t.ly/3DTdrThe Puzzle Planet: https://t.ly/1rJThThe Status Civilization: https://t.ly/61YcQThe Still, Small Voice of Trumpets: https://t.ly/aD9twThe Technicolor Time Machine: https://t.ly/LYP74Uncharted Stars: https://t.ly/Hro31Ways to connect with us:Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FantasyForTheAges Follow Jim/Father on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13848336-jim-scriven Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/jMWyVJ6qKk Follow us on "X": @Fantasy4theAges Follow us on Blue Sky: @fantasy4theages.bsky.socialFollow us on Instagram: fantasy_for_the_ages Follow us on Mastodon: @FantasyForTheAges@nerdculture.de Email us: FantasyForTheAges@gmail.com Check out our merch: https://www.newcreationsbyjen.com/collections/fantasyfortheagesJim's Microphone: Blue Yeti https://tinyurl.com/3shpvhb4 Jim's Camera: Razer Kito Pro https://tinyurl.com/c873tc2n 0:00 - Opening1:21 - Episode Explanation3:09 - Great Sci-Fi Novels of the 1960s15:34 - Conclusion & Wrap-up————————————————————————————Music and video elements licensed under Envato Elements:https://elements.envato.com/

Thank you for choosing Star Wars Alliance for all of your Star Wars News and Reviews. Star Wars Alliance Hotline: 1(830) 538-4828 Send us a text or call and leave a voicemail with your Star Wars Questions, feedback on the podcast, and reactions to the latest Star Wars TV shows, movies, comics, and Novels!You can always send us an email!Starwrsalliance@gmail.comFollow us on BlueSky or Instagram! •Star Wars Alliance- @starwrsalliance•Katie- @sliceofkatie•Clay- @FanboyClayGeek Ultimate Alliance Network Is Produced By GeekVerse Podcast Network Schedule:  Monday: Rangers Alliance Tuesday: A Walk Through the Multiverse (Bi-Weekly) Wednesday: The Animation Nation Thursday: Star Wars Alliance Friday: Marvel Alliance Saturday: DC AllianceFollow the respective shows on Twitter so when they record live on GeekVerse Podcast Network you can join the chat and add to the conversation!Remember to subscribe to the GeekVerse YouTube channel and set notifications to “ALL” to catch us when we go live every Wednesday night at 7pm EST. •https://www.youtube.com/GeekVersePodcastPlease consider joining our Patreon to support us and everyone at the GUA•https://www.patreon.com/guanetwork

Thank you for choosing Star Wars Alliance for all of your Star Wars News and Reviews. Star Wars Alliance Hotline: 1(830) 538-4828 Send us a text or call and leave a voicemail with your Star Wars Questions, feedback on the podcast, and reactions to the latest Star Wars TV shows, movies, comics, and Novels!You can always send us an email!Starwrsalliance@gmail.comFollow us on BlueSky or Instagram! •Star Wars Alliance- @starwrsalliance•Katie- @sliceofkatie•Clay- @FanboyClayGeek Ultimate Alliance Network Is Produced By GeekVerse Podcast Network Schedule:  Monday: Rangers Alliance Tuesday: A Walk Through the Multiverse (Bi-Weekly) Wednesday: The Animation Nation Thursday: Star Wars Alliance Friday: Marvel Alliance Saturday: DC AllianceFollow the respective shows on Twitter so when they record live on GeekVerse Podcast Network you can join the chat and add to the conversation!Remember to subscribe to the GeekVerse YouTube channel and set notifications to “ALL” to catch us when we go live every Wednesday night at 7pm EST. •https://www.youtube.com/GeekVersePodcastPlease consider joining our Patreon to support us and everyone at the GUA•https://www.patreon.com/guanetwork

跟好兄弟李洛克聊天， 得到一個深刻的啟發， 那就是： 「簡單比複雜難。」 為什麼這麼說呢？ 因為李洛克聊到， 他本來在罐頭工廠工作， 但心中懷有一個寫作夢。 所以在28歲那年， 跟老闆辭職不幹了， 決定專心寫作。 我問他怎麼有勇氣辭職寫作啊， 他笑了笑，告訴我： 「因為無知， 而無知者無畏。」 直到李洛克 真的全職開始寫作， 他才發現自己犯了一個大忌。 ─ 因為自己過去 讀得都是大眾小說， 像是倪匡、藤井樹、九把刀的小說， 看他們的用字都覺得好簡單， 所以覺得自己也可以嘛。 等到真的頭洗下去了， 才發現，平易近人， 其實是一個很高深的技巧。 回頭看看自己的作品， 怎麼寫怎麼拗口， 怎麼看怎麼彆扭。 原來， 簡單比複雜還難。 ─ 回到生活中， 你有沒有發現， 把事情複雜化的人很多： 概念說得彎來拐去、 流程弄得錯綜複雜、 產品介紹得萬縷千絲。 以前你可能 會懷疑自己程度差。 但現在你明白了， 搞不好這些高來高去的人， 自己也根本也沒搞懂， 才會用複雜裝得一副高深莫測的樣子。 ─ 那麼， 怎麼練就簡單， 避開不必要的複雜呢？ 諾貝爾物理學獎得主費曼， 提出了一個很好的洞見： 「挑一個概念， 不用任何專業術語， 講到讓外行人都聽得懂為止。」 這迫使你 最找出概念的本質， 過濾掉不必要的雜訊。 這個方法後來， 被稱為「費曼學習法」。 上天造物可以奧妙， 萬物運作可以複雜， 但高手總是在簡單下功夫。 ─ ❤️粉專「戀愛腦闆李洛克」｜ https://www.facebook.com/Rock.Lee.Novels

Today, we expose the dark world of steamy romance novels, from violent “smut” like “50 Shades of Grey” to monster fantasies, luring women into dopamine-fueled addiction. Online discussions like BookTok are fueling Gen Z's addiction to erotic literature. We unpack their psychological and spiritual harm, fueling discontent and demonic delusions. Join us to reject this cultural poison and pursue the purity and satisfaction found only in Christ, guarding our hearts for God's glory. Share the Arrows 2025 is on October 11 in Dallas, Texas! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sharethearrows.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for tickets now! Sponsored by: ⁠Carly Jean Los Angeles⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Good Ranchers⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.goodranchers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠EveryLife⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.everylife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy Allie's new book, "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://a.co/d/4COtBxy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Timecodes: (01:30) Dark Romance Introduction (09:40) Smut Genre (22:10) Spice Levels (30:50) Novel Sale Statistics (35:40) Psychology of Reading (45:55) Biblical Response --- Today's Sponsors: Good Ranchers — Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GoodRanchers.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and subscribe to any of their boxes (but preferably the Allie Beth Stuckey Box) to get free Waygu burgers, hot dogs, bacon, or chicken wings in every box for life. Plus, you'll get $40 off when you use code ALLIE at checkout. Constitution Wealth Management — Let's discover what faithful stewardship looks like in your life. Visit Constitutionwealth.com/Allie for a free consultation. Carly Jean Los Angeles — Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code ALLIEB to get 20% off your first CJLA order, site wide (one-time use only) and start filling your closet with timeless staple pieces. And see Allie's CJLA favorites at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠carlyjeanlosangeles.com/pages/allieb⁠⁠⁠⁠ EveryLife — The only premium baby brand that is unapologetically pro-life. EveryLife offers high-performing, supremely soft diapers and wipes that protect and celebrate every precious life. Head to EveryLife.com and use promo code ALLIE10 to get 10% of your first order today! Jase Medical — Go to Jase.com and enter code “ALLIE” at checkout for a discount on your order. --- Episodes you might like: Ep 1235 | ‘KPop Demon Hunters': Paganism & LGBTQ Propaganda for Kids https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1235-kpop-demon-hunters-paganism-lgbtq-propaganda/id1359249098?i=1000723771113 Ep 1054 | “It Ends With Us” Is Emotional Porn for Women https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1054-it-ends-with-us-is-emotional-porn-for-women/id1359249098?i=1000666041941 Ep 740 | How Porn Changes the Brain, Kills Intimacy & Harms Society | Guest: Sam Black https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-740-how-porn-changes-the-brain-kills-intimacy/id1359249098?i=1000595052837 Ep 636 | How BDSM, Porn, & Pedophilia Are Tied to Transgender Ideology | Guest: Genevieve Gluck https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-636-how-bdsm-porn-pedophilia-are-tied-to-transgender/id1359249098?i=1000568333166 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alliebethstuckey.com/book⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies' Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Dr. Kathryn Hughes, academic historian and award-winning author of George Eliot: The Last Victorian. Dr. Hughes discusses the significance of 19th-century novelist Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, in […]

Bridget, Caitlin, and Hilda are back with part 2 of "Kingdom of Ash," the final book in Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series. And in all honesty, we can probably call this Round 2 of Aedion hate, but we promise, our hosts do talk about other things too.  Join our Patreon for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and let's be friends!Instagram > @Booktokmademe_podTikTok > @BooktokMadeMe

Send us a textIn today's episode our stack of books is tied together with the common connection of Historical Fiction...we are looking to the past for inspiration!  Join us as we delve into some FAB Historical Novels!  Plus, we'll share a Book in Hand.  Who says you can't live in the past??Featured Books:The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis (LH)Vera by Carol Edgarian (LH)The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (LP)The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman (LP)Book in Hand:What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (LH)Books Mentioned in This Episode:The Address by Fiona DavisThe Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona DavisThe Spectacular by Fiona DavisThe Nature of Fragile Things by Susan MeissnerTake My Hand by Dolen Perkins-ValdezThe Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie WisemanGreen Glass House by Kate MilfordThe Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie ChangAdditional Books That Go Along with Our Stack:Homecoming by Yaa GyasiThe Lost English Girl by Julia KellyShadow On The Crown by Patricia BracewellThe Glass Palace by Amitav GhoshNews of the World by Paulette JilesWays to contact us:Join us on Patreon for extra content: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookBumblePodcastFollow us on Instagram - @thebookbumbleFacebook:  Book BumbleOur website:  https://thebookbumble.buzzsprout.comEmail:  bookbumblepodcast@gmail.comSupport the showHelp us grow... please rate and review us!

Send us a textHarry Farthing, author of two novels Summit and Ghost Moths, shares his extraordinary life journey from motorcycle enthusiast to high-altitude mountaineer to writer. His experiences—from boarding school at age eight to climbing Mount Everest and riding motorcycles across continents—have shaped his descriptive storytelling style that brings readers into vivid worlds informed by his adventures.• Sent to boarding school at age eight where he developed independence and discovered National Geographic magazines• Father's Brough Superior motorcycle (same brand owned by Lawrence of Arabia) inspired his love for motorcycles• First major adventure at 18—a three-month solo motorcycle journey through Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Italy• Lived in Italy and developed passion for mountaineering through a language exchange with an Italian climbing instructor• Climbed many peaks including Denali and Mount Everest, drawn by both the physical challenge and historical significance• Rode his motorcycle from Charleston across North America to Alaska, exploring the furthest reaches of the continent• Novels draw from his experiences but are fictionalized to create more compelling storytelling• Currently researching a non-fiction book about Lawrence of Arabia's later years• Connects his family history to mountaineering—a distant ancestor photographed early British Everest expeditions• Balanced adventure pursuits with family life throughout his careerSupport the showSpotify Apple podcastsAmazon Music all other streaming services

Author Peter Gribble discusses his new City of Magicians series. The first three books in the series—Threat, Within, and Quickening—are available now, and Peter is hard at work on books four through six. In this fantasy series, a society built on intellect and pacifism is forced to confront a brute-force barbarian invasion. Can the society survive? Peter's stories challenge the ideas of war, power and the control of knowledge as a weapon. He was inspired by his early childhood spent in France, where he was taught to never speak about WWII. This silence about the war and the practice of ignoring history's lessons unsettled him, and he decided to finally address it decades later by writing the City of Magicians series.

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 11Going DancingThey meet Mia's mum and rethink their terms and conditions.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.My name is Geoff. If you are reading my stories in chronological order you will know that my wife and I are both retired and involved, sexually, with several of her friends. One in particular, Angie, is so close to us that we have invited her to be a third person in our relationship and, to that end, we are planning a Star Wars themed ceremony to celebrate our union in front of family and friends.Gone Dancing.This account begins one Thursday, when our grandson had invited a friend's mum to visit us after school. Colin, said grandson, had asked us if he could invite Mia, a school friend, to our wedding as his plus-one. I agreed, on condition that her mum was okay with Mia attending and approved of her choice of outfit. As we were having our costumes designed and made by students at the local university's fashion design faculty, at our expense, I had veto rights and I thought Mia's choice was fine. But still, if Mia's mum thought that her daughter's costume would be inappropriate, they would have to agree on something else. That was why I wanted to meet them both.Mia's mum, well, she had told Colin that she wanted to talk to us because she was a little confused. I assumed that was because Colin had asked her daughter to accompany him to a wedding involving three people, with the participants and guests dressed in Sci-Fi characters' costumes. I respected the lady for wanting to know a little more about us under the circumstances, before she consented.Anyway, that was only one issue I faced that Thursday. The other was that the previous evening Lucy, an unhappily married artist in her early sixties, had offered herself to me as a free-use fuck-toy. Oddly enough, it took the three women to persuade me to accept her offer; I know; You would have snapped her hand off if it had been you; I'm a worrier, so I didn't.The thing is, the girls (their words) suggested that Lucy wanted to help me to explore my inner self. As a retired materials science researcher, that wasn't something that came naturally to me: as an artist, it was what Lucy tried to do whenever she could. Eventually, of course, I caved and the following hour or so found her bound and gagged, tortured with vibrators, nipple clamps, heat, cold and whips before I finally had sex with her, twice. Fortunately, she loved it. Unfortunately Marie, my wife, found my apparent excesses disturbing. That morning, she seemed as though she was still trying to come to terms with why.Marie seemed subdued as we ate breakfast. "Are we okay?" I asked, hesitantly, uncertain as to whether I'd strayed over some obvious boundary the previous evening."WE are fine," she tried to reassure me. "I, on the other hand, am finding that I'm not nearly as sexually secure as I try to try to pretend."I took a leaf out of Ronan Keating's book, or his songbook anyway. Oh, come on; 'You say it best when you say nothing at all'. Surely? Never mind. I sat quietly waiting for my wife to gather her thoughts.Her eyes filled with tears. I stood, took her hand and led her to the living room. I sat her on the sofa and cuddled up next to her. "When you're ready, I'm here for you," I told her. "You don't have to, but I hope you trust me enough to share whatever it is that's troubling you."She gave a brave little smile as she took a tissue from the box on the coffee table. "It's such a long time ago. It felt like it happened to someone else, until Lucy described what you did to her: Then something just felt so wrong. I realized, only this morning, what it was."I didn't feel so flippant now. But she was happy to talk without prompting, so I let her set her own pace.Taking a deep breath, she resumed her explanation. "We were both about ten or eleven. My cousin Paul and me. We were just playing together in the garden one summer and he found some twine. We were comfortable with each other so I let him tie my hands behind my back and he tickled me. It was awful. I cried. Then he touched me, because he could. I couldn't stop him. I was bound and totally helpless. I started to scream and he let me go. I never told anyone and, by the time I met you, he was dead. He had joined the forces; a Para. He died in the Falklands."Marie wiped her eyes. "It was wrong but, if he'd said he was sorry, I'd have forgiven him. We were only kids. But, without realizing it, I've carried that memory, buried, for years." She look apologetically at me. "I'm sorry, Geoff. When Lucy described how helpless she felt, it reminded me of that experience. I don't think I can do it."I shook my head. She didn't understand. "Marie. What I did with Lucy was for her. Yes, I went further than I would usually have been comfortable with, but I made sure that she had opportunities to back out or stop at any time. She didn't." This was important to me. I knelt in front of Marie and looked her in the eye. "If I never do that again, I won't care. If it disturbs you, it will never be repeated. But I will never ask any of you to let me do anything that would hurt you. Lucy wants to do it again. Angie is desperate to try. Sam might enjoy something similar, so might Megan. But you, my love, you don't, so I don't want you to. It's that simple.""You aren't disappointed?" She seemed surprised."Not at all." I thought for a moment. "Well, yes; a little." Marie's eyes started to fill up again so I carried on, hurriedly. "I'm disappointed that you think I'd feel like that. I will never expect you to do anything you don't want to. I will always accept "No" as a complete answer. No need to justify or explain. Are you reassured?""I think so. I think that I feel better for telling you too.""What about the others?" I decided that while we were having this conversation it was the right time to set boundaries.She understood. "I think I was worried that you doing this, with them, would normalize it. That you'd do it to me without thinking, or worse, resent me for rejecting you." She looked at with genuine concern. "You wouldn't; would you?""Never. I know who you are and I think I've come to know what you like. By all means let's test our limits, but never to the point where one of us is unhappy. Are we agreed?"She seemed much happier. "Agreed. And, to be clear, you are free to do anything the other girls ask you to. It was Lucy who bragged about what you did, not you. And she obviously relished every second." Marie pondered for a moment. "Well, afterwards, possibly not during," she grinned.We sat for a little while then went back to the kitchen, where I made us both a fresh cup of tea to replace the drinks that had cooled while we'd talked. We were just finishing the washing up when my phone rang. It was Mike. I'd offered to pay for him to take his wife and sister in law to the pub the previous night to spy on Lucy's fuckwit husband. I'd forgotten that he'd promised an update that morning. I told my wife that I'd explain later and hit the 'Answer call' icon. As Lucy was Marie's friend it seemed only fair she heard our conversation. I switched my phone to speaker."Good morning Mike. Marie is here with me and you are on speaker. Hung over at all?" We heard a snort of laughter."You should know, when you're involved with two women then obviously you get twice as much supervision. So no," he replied.Marie looked enquiringly at me. "Mike, Marie is just finding out that I asked you to do some spying for me. Tell us, was Eddie there?""He was. And the group he was with were an obnoxious crew. Loud, foul mouthed boors the lot of them. Not just the men either."Marie and I shared a look. "So he plays darts with women too?""Darts?" Mike sounded surprised. "Who mentioned darts? They don't even have a dartboard in The Fox and Hounds.""Well," I explained. "Eddie told his wife, a friend of ours, that Wednesday night is now his darts night.""Sorry Geoff," Mike replied. "The only double top your mate was interested in was bulging out of the low cut blouse belonging to the tarty looking slapper he was buying drinks for all night."Whatever vestiges of guilt I'd felt for including Lucy in our 'language classes' evaporated instantly.I needed to be certain. "Are you sure it was Eddie?""I thought you might ask, so I took a photo of my two best girls and made sure that my target was clearly visible behind them. I'm sending it now." A picture of two pleasant looking women in their forties popped on my screen. Marie and I both recognized Lucy's husband in the background. We didn't recognize the plain, big titted woman with her arm around his neck."Asshole!" Marie growled. I was puzzled. Lucy was admittedly at least fifteen years older than the woman with her arm around Eddie but she (Lucy) was slimmer, prettier and, from personal experience, a sexual dynamo. Why the Hell was Eddie rejecting sex with Lucy while he's all over the pooch in the pub?I reminded Mike that he and his ladies were invited to our wedding and suggested that they look on-line for costume ideas. I warned him that some had already been chosen but they had all of the film and TV franchises to choose from, so duplication shouldn't be an issue. He promised to send me images once they'd made their minds up. Becky, his wife, was excited to be invited and wanted to do something similar for their shared lover, Ruth, though Harry Potter was more their style.I reminded him to text his bank details so that I could pay my dues and, after we said our goodbyes, I turned to Marie. "Why?" Was all I said. She understood perfectly."I know Lucy is my friend but; That other woman, she's;” I was impressed. It takes a lot to render my wife speechless.I had to ask. "Has Lucy ever said anything to make you think that there are some er, activities, that are off limits?""For God's sake, Geoff!" She retorted. "Only last night she offered herself to you as a free-use fuck-doll. She's always been sexually adventurous." She looked puzzled. "I can't begin to imagine what that busty blob has that Lucy hasn't."Neither could I, so we shelved that conversation for later and turned our attention to preparing for our guests that evening. After changing the bedding from the previous evening's entertainment, we sat and decided on our menus for the coming week. A quick check to see if any store-cupboard items needed replenishing and we were off to our local supermarket. Marie hit the sea-food counter while I dawdled in the wine aisle. There was an offer on, so I loaded up on some old favorites and added a couple of bottles I'd not tried before. An Alvarinho vinho verde from Portugal caught my eye. It seemed an ideal partner for that evening's seafood dish. Into the trolley it went."What?" I tried to look innocent when Marie caught up with me. "There's twenty percent off. The more I buy, the more we save." She shook her head and guided me gently, but firmly, to the produce aisle. We returned home without further incident.Angie joined us after lunch and we worked happily together prepping for our evening meal. There would be six of us at the table, but we made sure that there would be some leftovers for Linda, our daughter. She was taking the opportunity to use her early finish to get her hair done while Colin ate with us.Short grain rice, seafood, onion, peppers, garlic and peas. Fish stock, tomatoes, chorizo and a pinch of saffron. All laid out ready for Marie to cook. It was her turn, once we'd had a chat with our visitors."Angie?" I asked, to get her attention.She looked up from cleaning a piece of squid. "Yes dear?" We were being unusually domesticated so her mischievous grin was probably warranted.I know you helped me cook breakfast, but you've never invited us to eat at your place. Do you cook or what?"I noticed that my wife was now concentrating very intently on de-veining a prawn, suspiciously so."I can cook," Angie admitted. I could tell that there was a 'but' about to make an appearance. "Quite well, in fact. But." Yes! I knew it was coming. "I get really bitchy if someone is helping in my kitchen and they don't do exactly as I say.""But you're okay doing this?" I persisted."Of course." She seemed to find the question rather ridiculous. "You ask me to rinse this; I'll rinse it. We're fine. But: In my kitchen, if I ask you to brown some onion in a pan, I expect you to use the correct pan, the right amount of the right sort of oil and to produce perfectly sliced onion cooked to precisely the right color exactly when I need it. Otherwise I tend to get a bit cross." She looked a little uncomfortable. "I know. That makes me sound like Gordon Ramsey with tits, but it's how I am."Marie was trying to keep a straight face but eventually surrendered. "I once tried to help her prepare a meal to impress her first husband's boss and his wife. I was slicing some carrots and the julienne were slightly different sizes. She threw them in the bin and we nearly came to blows. In the end I just did the washing up and let her highness rule the kitchen. It wasn't worth the grief." Marie reached across and hugged her friend. "I still love you though. Even after that." They were both laughing as we finished off and tidied up.We sat and watched some more of our Star Wars episodes while we waited for Mia's mum to arrive with the two teens. Exactly on schedule, the front door burst open and Colin bawled, "Hi everybody. We're here!" Marie went to greet our visitors while Angie and I turned off the TV and stood ready to meet Mia and her mum for the first time.Colin booled in first, dragging a tall, pretty teenage girl by the hand. "This is Mia," he informed us. "This is my grandad," he pointed me out to his friend. "And this is Grangie," he said proudly. "They're all really clever, but Grangie is especially smart." He dropped his voice to a hoarse whisper. "She's why your mum wants to meet. I think we're best off keeping out of the way." He dragged her away to the study giving her little chance to say anything but a squeaked, "Hi" before they disappeared.Marie ushered a buxom woman in her late thirties, an amazon, think Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, into the room and they both stood for a moment, presumably wondering where the kids were. Marie collected her wits. "Wendy, this is my husband Geoff." I nodded a welcome. "And this is our special friend Angie." Angie copied my greeting. "Obviously, this is Mia's mum, Wendy."Now the introductions were done, Marie asked if Wendy wanted a drink and we all decided on a cup of tea. Angie was anxious to help, she isn't at her best in situations like this, so it fell to me to entertain our guest. We chatted about the two kids and I took the opportunity to size up our new acquaintance. That was probably a rather Freudian slip. Wendy was a big lady. Not obese, even plump would be a misdescription; it just seemed as though there was a lot of her. She seemed to relax as we spoke. Colin was obviously comfortable in our home, the noises from the kitchen were reassuringly domestic and I made it a point not to stare at her magnificent bosom.She was, in fact, a rather attractive woman. Pleasant, open features, a nice smile, long brown hair past her shoulders and, as I may have implied, spectacularly large tits. I made a mental note to ask Marie what cup size she thought Wendy required: purely for reporting purposes, of course. The other thing of note was that she was at least as tall as me; probably an inch or more taller.Marie bustled in carrying a tray with four cups and Angie followed with a plate bearing biscuits and cakes. Marie excused herself for a moment while she went to remind Colin to make sure his guest was properly catered for. Apparently they assured her that they were fine and would raid the kitchen once homework was done.Marie looked to me. Right; I was elected spokesman. "So Wendy," I began, settling back in my seat to seem less intense. "Colin has invited Mia to be his plus one at our ceremony and you are wondering what's going on. Is that a fair summary?"She took a sip of her tea before she replied. "I'm sure you can see why that is. I don't mean to pry but Mia's welfare has to be my priority."Neither of the girls seemed inclined to contribute yet so I soldiered on. "Angie here has been my wife's closest friend, since before we were married. I've always been fond of her too. But recently," I looked at the girls, they seemed happy with my approach. "Our feelings have intensified and we both regard her as being more than just a friend. We realized that we are both emotionally attached to her, and her to us." I paused to make sure that Wendy was on the same page, or at least not stricken with horror. In the absence of any expression of disgust, I continued. "We want to declare our affection publicly and formalize, as best we can within the law, our new relationship. Marie and I have already had a traditional wedding; so has Angela; twice, in fact. We decided that a themed ceremony might be more entertaining for us and our guests."She seemed interested rather than appalled so I kept going. "Hence Colin's invitation to Mia to accompany him in a costume to fit in with our Star Wars theme." I decided that was a good place to stop for feedback."So this 'ceremony' that Colin has invited my daughter to is to acknowledge you two, a legally married couple, inviting you, Angela, into your relationship?" She paused, gazing thoughtfully at us all. "That's so lovely. I wish more people would open themselves up to their feelings like that." Her smile as she spoke illuminated the room."Does that mean you are okay with Mia attending with Colin?" Marie asked. "They will be the youngest ones there."Wendy was dismissive. "Colin is a lovely polite lad. His mother seems nice and I'm not getting any worrying vibes from any of you. I'm happy and Mia seems keen to be there.""Has she discussed her outfit?" That was me."Her dad was a fan of the films, so I think I've seen them all. Most of the costumes are fairly tame, and the one Mia showed me, the white stretch suit, is no more revealing than the tight joggers and crop tops girls her age wear every weekend to go shopping." She looked a little wistful.I glanced at my wife and got an almost imperceptible nod in reply. "Wendy. If you'd like, we'd be happy to extend the invitation to you too; if you don't think Mia would think you were being a third wheel on their date.""Who would I go as?" She snorted. "Jabba the Hutt? I mean, look at me."We did. She was tall, broad shouldered but proportioned, with an actual waistline. Her long hair and feminine features rather mitigated her size. Did I mention her boobs? She had a lovely complexion too. All in all she was a big sexy woman who didn't see what we did.Angie said what I was just beginning to consider. "Cara Dune," she blurted out. Then, putting her hand to her mouth, she looked to me to rescue her. Wendy seemed nonplussed."We're part way through watching some TV spinoffs," I explained. "Angie and I admit to being Sci-Fi nerds. One of the female characters, Cara Dune, is a powerfully built woman. Let Marie show you the costume she has chosen already while Angie finds some Cara images. Meanwhile, I'll go and check on the kids."I left the three women scrolling through their phones and sought out the two teenagers in the study. I made sure they heard me coming; I wasn't trying to catch them having a quiet cuddle. In reality, they were both reading studiously when I opened the door. I smiled to myself. Colin's book was upside down. I pointed and made circle motion with my finger. He looked puzzled then down at his book and blushed. "Drat! Mia, we've been busted."I shook my head and tapped the side of my nose. "Be sensible and be discreet. That's all we expect. Now do you want anything in the kitchen?"They both declined so I left them to their 'reading'. I left the door open, just to make a point.Back in the living room, the three women were happily comparing notes. Wendy loved the idea of Mia in white and Colin in black. She was amazed at the warrior costume Marie had chosen and how similar in principle it was to Cara Dune's. She was obviously intrigued by our idea."The thing is," Wendy said, hesitantly. "I'm not sure that I can really afford two costumes. Not this intricate, anyway.""Sweetheart, that's not your problem," Angie reassured her. "I'm paying for everyone's costume. We're having them all individually made at my expense. You just have to turn up to get measured."Wendy wasn't convinced. "You don't want

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 10Technology and Medicine.Advancements can be good and bad.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.I was standing in front of another of Lucy's works, 'The Girls', trying to decide which element was Marie when I felt an arm slide around my waist. I looked to find my favorite artist alongside me. I bent down, intending to kiss her forehead but she had other ideas. Her arm snaked around my neck and pulled me into a full on passionate kiss. Marie looked on from across the gallery, amused."There," Lucy said, sounding slightly frustrated. "I suppose that will have to keep me going until Wednesday." She strode off to talk to my wife.Jen, who had been admiring the work next to me gave me an old fashioned look. "I'm definitely not going to ask, but if you ever feel the need to explain?""I'm not sure that I can," I admitted. "If you really want to know, then ask the artist," I pointed to Lucy, still chatting to my wife. "to explain the meaning behind that work." I pointed to the one I'd found so compelling. "Be sure to tell her who you and Peter are first though."I moved on. Now that I'd realized the symbolism behind the older paintings, I found the dystopian themes of an abusive marriage disturbing. Great for a goth student bedsit. Not for our living room. I loved the other stuff though, and tried to find one that was still for sale.I found my wife examining some of the other artists' works on display. Even to my untrained eyes, none were in the same league as Lucy's. I put my arm around Marie's waist and kissed her cheek. "Hi. I'm an artist's muse. Fancy a coffee? If I ever get any etchings you'll be the first to get an invitation to come up and see them.""You should be ashamed of yourself," she protested. "You're wearing a wedding ring.""It's fine. My wife is a beautiful, successful, confident woman. She knows that I'd never abandon her for an art gallery groupie.She checked her watch. Yes, we're both that old. "Well this groupie wants her caffeine fix, and you're paying. Let's round the others up and we'll go. I'll see if Lucy wants to join us too."She did, and fifteen minutes later found the five of us round a table in our favorite little café. Lucy was fascinated by pictures of First Nation art that Peter had taken in Toronto. I could see her absorbing the way the indigenous artists portrayed movement and space. I suspected that a disentangled Lucy might be open to expanding her geographical horizons shortly.Then Jen asked about 'that' picture, Friday, four thirty. Lucy looked to me and then Marie. "They know," she said quietly. "It was the day and time of my release." Marie and I both saw the double entendre, even if Lucy didn't intend it.Lucy looked at my wife, who just smiled and nodded. She took a deep breath. "My husband has changed. He drinks, gambles and lies to me. He treated me like his whore for a while but at least I got laid. Now he can't even have sex with me. He blamed me for being too old and wrinkly, you know, down there, to be sexually attractive." Jen gasped in surprise. Today Lucy was wearing heels, a mid-thigh skirt and a blouse that only just hinted at uncontained tits beneath it. In short, she was a knockout.Our son looked at her in disbelief. "Your husband says that You are the reason he can't get it up?" Lucy nodded. "Then the man's an idiot," Peter concluded."But what does that have to do with the painting?" Jen asked, still confused.Glancing at me, Lucy explained. "I told Geoff, in the pub, what Eddie had said when he rejected me: 'Who'd want to stick their cock in a wrinkly old snatch like yours?' And Geoff told me to show him and he would tell me, honestly, if it was true. So I did; I showed him. He told me that my snatch was perfect and then he touched it. And he cuddled me, and I came. All my best friends were there and they saw me have the best orgasm I can remember, just sitting on Geoff's lap as he touched me. That happened one Friday at four thirty. That's what I painted."Jen stared open mouthed for a full minute as she unpacked Lucy's story. "Jesus!" She eventually exclaimed, "I'm going to the wrong pubs.""Lucy omitted to tell you we were with a small group of friends in a private room," Marie explained."Then I need new friends," Jen decided out loud. Peter just laughed.He looked at me. "In a way, I can understand. She was hurting. You knew it wasn't her fault. You did what you needed to do to make it better. Weren't you worried that mum would;” He stopped in mid-sentence. "But she was there; wasn't she? She could have stopped you. But she didn't because;” He thought it through. "Because she doesn't care. No! That's the wrong word. She does care about you and her friends but she isn't threatened by Angie or Lucy so she just didn't mind."Jen broke in. "That explains the kiss in the gallery. You were aiming for a platonic kiss and Lucy turned it into a full-on lip-smacker. But I saw Marie had seen you and wasn't a bit bothered. I did wonder."My wife added her contribution. "I didn't want to have to tell him, but I suppose he ought to know: it's his super-power. He just likes women; not lusts after, he just genuinely likes them, and most women respond. He's so used to it that he's never really noticed. For example; when we went to any of his company's staff parties, leaving do's or awards nights, all his female colleagues would hug him. No-one else really, just him. Not 'making a point in front of his wife' hugs, just real affection. So, when Lucy was sad, he had to help. It took nothing from me and he made my friend happy. It was actually quite moving."I find, at times like this, silence is an effective strategy. Apparently, Lucy doesn't. "My husband had rejected me," she said, wistfully. "My friends were there for me, but Geoff just held me. He treated me like a person. Not damaged, but lied to. He showed me that I was still desirable, but not in a predatory way. I fell in love with him then."I admit to being a little taken aback, even though Marie had told me how much Lucy, and the others, had appreciated what I'd done. But looking at Lucy, I couldn't reject her the way that Eddie had. I reached across the table for her hand. "I love you too, Lucy," I told her, truthfully. She squeezed my hand and smiled in reply"Bloody Hell, mum." Peter laughed. "Just how many of your friends has he worked his super-power on?"Marie looked thoughtful. "Well, Angie and Lucy obviously, there's Jo and Samantha, not Kate so much, or Megan; probably Sue and Margie and of course Jane." She looked at me for confirmation. That sounded about right. "That would be seven then," she concluded.Jen and Peter shared a stunned look. Our son recovered first. "I have so many questions that I honestly don't know where to start.Jen butted in. "I've no idea who these women are, but why not Kate and Megan?"Marie looked at me for support. I just held my hands up. After all, I'm only the empath with a cock. My wife replied thus, "Well, Kate admitted that while she really enjoyed the spooning afterwards, mainly it was the sex that made her day rather than romance; and Megan's already happily married."Peter was struggling to catch up. "You mean you've actually had sex with all seven of these women?""Not exactly," I protested. "I've only touched Lucy that once and I've done nothing with Jane.""You kissed her in the sex shop," Marie pointed out, unhelpfully to my way of thinking. "And again in the car when you dropped her off at home. I think you suggested that it was to give her some motivation when she tried out the polyurethane cock you bought for her." I cringed at the look Peter gave me."Oh, yes." added Lucy as I winced in anticipation at whatever she was going to contribute next. "I've already agreed to do a cast of his thingy so that Jane can have a full size replica. We thought a signed limited edition run would be fun. I'll definitely want one too. I can make the initial mold when it's my turn on Wednesday." She squeezed my hand. "I could feel it in your pants when I sat on your lap. I can't wait to actually see it," she added, excitedly.I looked up and noticed the café was starting to fill up. So far no-one appeared to have noticed the bizarre conversation at our table but that was unlikely to continue, so I suggested that we leave before we were evicted. Of course, Pete and Jen needed to see the painting again, now that they understood its genesis, so we trooped back to the gallery, the younger couple giving me odd sideways glances when they thought I wasn't looking. I sighed. There would be more questions tonight.The questions, of course, started much earlier than that. As we walked back home Peter strolled alongside me while Marie dropped back to keep Jen company."Is this a kind of mid-life crisis?" he asked."I hope so," I replied. "That would mean that I'd survive to about a hundred and thirty or so.""But dad: eight women.""Peter. This wasn't my idea. I'd never cheat on your mum so, when she suggested that we do this, I refused. I can't deny that they are lovely women, each different in their own way, but I refused because I was convinced this insane idea could wreck our marriage."Our son didn't look convinced.I continued. "Look. There are things that I can't tell you; personal things that the girls shared with each other and then with me. It broke your mum's heart to compare their lives with hers. But the one thing that was missing for all of them was sex. They don't expect it every night; just often enough to reassure them that they're still sexual beings. But they are independent too; Megan being a special case. They didn't want to accommodate to new partners sharing their lives and their beds, so your mum came up with this idea.""And you get to have sex with them all," Peter observed. "Isn't mum going to get jealous eventually?""Do you think that never occurred to me?" I replied. "We think we've found a solution. Ask your mum if you really need to know. But." I stopped walking and turned to him. "I truly don't regret what we have done. If, at some time in the future I realize this was what ended our marriage, that will be the time for regret. But you were there; you heard Lucy's story; you saw the painting that our shared experience inspired in her. Do you want me to wish that had never happened? That she stayed with that drunken, abusive idiot? Because now I guarantee she will have moved out before this year is over. Because another man, one that actually cared about her, told her the truth. She's lovely and she deserves to be happy and I'm glad that your mum was selfless enough to make that happen." I took a deep breath. I wasn't angry at Peter, but my passionate outburst surprised even me.By now Marie and Jen had caught up with us. "Thank you darling." Marie took my hand and kissed it. "After all of your fretting, I'm glad that you finally understand how much you've helped my friends already." She addressed Peter and Jen. "We weren't sure whether to share the whole story with you, but Linda knows, and you accepted Angie so readily that it seemed only fair that you should know too."We started walking again. Jen spoke next. "I'm sorry if this sounds judgmental, Marie, but I can't imagine knowing that Peter was sleeping with one of my friends. I think it would destroy me.""Oh, I understand, dear," my wife replied gently. "I would have felt the same at your age. Geoffrey still does." She squeezed my hand affectionately. "But you have to realize; these aren't just casual acquaintances. These women, 'the girls', are my closest friends; almost family. Seeing Geoff with them doesn't threaten me. It's beautiful. Watching them respond to my man, knowing the pleasure they are feeling but never, for a second, believing that they would try to steal my husband or that he would abandon me for one of them.""But you said one of the other women was happily married?" Jen reminded us. I decided to let my wife take that one."She is," Marie replied, her eyes filling up. "To a really wonderful man too." She glanced at Jen. "He knows and approves of his wife's visits but, again, he knows she won't leave him for Geoff. But that's all I'm prepared to say; and that's probably too much."We carried on walking, closer together, as my wife continued. "Perhaps I can explain it like this." She sighed. "Imagine you are struggling to cope financially; you see family and friends in the same straits. But you can't afford to share what little you have. That's how fidelity felt when we were younger. Other women threatened my security." She lifted my hand in hers and pressed it to her tit. "But now, I feel secure. It's as though your dad represents stability rather than a potential loss. The women he's with aren't taking anything from me; it's more like they are just guests at our table. They arrive, we chat, they dine and, at the end of the evening, they leave, content. We all cherish the time together and I've lost nothing." She looked intently at Jen. "Does that make sense?""When you say that you all cherish your time together;” Jen ventured. Peter seemed reluctant to hear his mum's reply."Yes, that was our solution. Geoff, quite understandably, had no interest in sharing me with his male friends, and nor will I ever ask, but he was probably correct about one thing: I don't think that I would have been able to cope with him sleeping with my friends while I sat alone. So we share. Sometimes in the same bed, sometimes in separate rooms." She gave one of her brilliant smiles. "I'd forgotten just how good it felt to be with another woman."Peter groaned. "So it's not just Angela then, mum?""No," she replied brightly. "In fact, Angie's a special case. We've decided that, as our betrothed, either of us can have sex with her whenever we want. With the others it always has to be as part of our regular evenings when we share." She giggled. "We call them our language classes."The rest of the walk home was subdued. Peter and Jen walked together talking quietly while Marie and I cheerfully discussed taking them out for a meal that evening.We picked up some farmhouse bread and a selection of cheeses from the deli on the way home for a quick and simple lunch. As we settled around the kitchen table Peter asked if he could add one observation to the chat we'd had walking home. We agreed, of course."Jen and I discussed what you'd told us, and we're honored that you trusted us to be open. You're my parents and I love you and Jen loves you both too. What you are doing sounds insane but, dad made it obvious you haven't done this lightly, on a whim. And, more than anything, Lucy's story really touched the pair of us. So, while I have no plans to follow in your footsteps, dad, Jen and I both pray that we are as secure in our love for each other at your age as you two obviously are."Marie reached across and touched both of their hands. "Thank you, both of you, for not judging us. We love you too," she told them, sincerely. I stood and walked round the table pulling Pete up for a man hug, finding that Jen was stood waiting for her turn when we'd finished.We spent most of the afternoon chatting about Canada and how much they had enjoyed their time there. By the time I got back from collecting Colin from school, Angie had returned and was sitting on the sofa talking to Jen."Grandad. Mum knows about Aunty Angela doesn't she?" He asked as we walked through the front door."Yes. She was surprised at first, but she seems okay with it now," I told him. His face lit up with mischief."Hi Uncle Pete, Aunty Jen, grandma." He called, walking in from the hall. He gave a wicked grin. "Hi Grangie," he yelled, throwing himself onto her lap. She hugged him, stunned at first by her new title, then burst into tears."Bloody Hell," I heard Peter mutter. "Dad's super-power seems to have skipped a generation. But Colin's definitely got it.""It hasn't skipped anything," Jen whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. "You have it too. Your only problem is that I'm not the woman your mum is." I resolved to speak to Marie about that. Peter does take after me in build, and male pattern hair loss and yes, we share nerdy interests. But Jen is a wonderful woman. She is intelligent, elegant, attractive rather than classically beautiful and with a warm personality that fills the room. I love her like one of my own and I won't have her belittle herself like that.I stood and watched as Colin reassured himself that 'Grangie' was crying happy tears, thinking to myself that the little charmer was probably more likely to get an Aston Martin than I was. Good for him. He'd probably deserve it too.I packed him off to do his homework: Photosynthesis tonight. He showed me his worksheet. His task was to use the words in the box to fill the gaps in the description of the process. He went through it as we talked, noticing that Carbon Monoxide was in there as a trap for the unwary. He was back in ten minutes and straight into deep discussion with his uncle.I gestured to Marie to follow me into the kitchen and told her what Jen had said. "Silly girl," my wife said. "She's perfect for Peter. Bullying my husband into screwing my mates hardly qualifies me as a role model for women in general." Her voice softened. "She's right though about one thing; Peter is a lot like you were at his age. The lucky girl." Marie kissed me gently on the lips and went back to our guests.I couldn't be bothered to start cooking that afternoon so I sent a text to Linda to meet us at the pub at half past five and I'd treat us all to a bar meal, but she replied to say that she would come straight to ours so we would only need two cars. That's a logistics planner at work.We had just finished off our meals when two young people greeted us. It was Adrian and Emily. She noticed me glancing at her neck and shook her head, smiling. Tonight she was here as his girlfriend, not his submissive sex slave.Adrian explained that they had waited until we'd finished eating but would understand if we felt that they were still intruding on a family moment. When we explained to Peter and Jen that our two young friends were part of our wedding planning team; they were keen for them to join us.Emily sat with Marie and Peter to talk about fabricating some lightweight body armor for my wife's costume. Colin joined them; partly as a fan of the Mandalorian, partly because I think he had an instant crush on Emily.Meanwhile, Angie and Jen were in deep discussion with Adrian about their own costumes. In both groups phones were brandished, numbers exchanged and images shared. I saw Adrian examine one picture quite closely, look over at me thoughtfully and smile. Linda, who was sitting next to me, was intrigued. "What was that?""Well, love. As far as I can tell, my outfit selection has been approved. Have you and Mike discussed costumes? I did tell you it was a Star Wars themed celebration."She shrugged dismissively. "We'll pop into that fancy-dress shop in town. They'll have something that will do."Not a chance," I told her. I leant across the table to check something with Marie and then turned back to my daughter. I showed her a picture of Bo Katan, my wife's character, on my phone. "This will be your mum's outfit. She'd like you to wear something similar, as her supporter.""Where the hell will I find something like that?" She exclaimed.I pointed across the table. "Adrian's actually in his second year of a costume design course. Angie has agreed to underwrite all the materials costs for our ceremony so he's been able to persuade several of his course mates to take part because we have a range of amazing outfits for them to design and create but at no cost to them." I patted Linda's hand. "Tell Mike to pick anything he thinks looks cool, subject to some constraints; No bad guys and full face coverings and masks are probably impractical. Other than that, we'll get him measured for whatever takes his fancy.""X-Wing pilot.""What?" I didn't see that coming."Obviously, I'll ask him but I'm absolutely sure that's what he'll choose." Linda seemed very certain. "Does it meet your criteria?"I considered. Simple, colorful flight-suit and a helmet. "If that's what he wants, I'm sure it will be fine. Can Colin and Mia choose their own outfits or do you want to be involved?"

I've been on a dark academia and campus novel kick, and today I'm sharing six novels that will cater to different reader preferences. One is an immersive and thought-provoking epic, one is a haunting academic mystery with gothic horror vibes, one features dangerous magic and toxic romance, another has tarot magic, royal intrigue, and a slow-burn romance, one is centered around morally complex friendships at an elite boarding school, and finally, one is a vulnerable campus novel with high emotional stakes. At the end, I'll share my top three that are absolute must-reads!Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/13SwD2QTWdY

In this week's episode, I take a look back at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Summer 2025. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book #1 in the Ghost Armor series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: FALLSERPENT50 The coupon code is valid through September 15, 2025 (please note the shorter expiration date). So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 267 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 5, 2025 and today I'm doing a review roundup of the movies and streaming shows I saw in Summer 2025. Before we do that, we will have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing and audiobook projects. First up, this week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book One in the Ghost Armor series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That is FALLSERPENT50. This coupon code will be valid through September 15th, 2025 (exactly one week). So if you need a new audiobook to listen to as we head into fall, we have got you covered. Now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I am pleased to report that the rough draft of Blade of Flames, which will be the first book in my new Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series is finished. The rough draft came at about 90,000 words long, which was what I was aiming for. Next up, I will be writing a short story set as sort of a bonus in that plot line called Thunder Hammer and that will be the backstory of one of the characters in Blade of Flames. And when Blade of Flames comes out (which will hopefully be later this September), newsletter subscribers will get a free ebook copy of Thunder Hammer. So this is an excellent time to subscribe to my newsletter. I am also 8,000 words into Cloak of Worlds. At long last, I am coming back to the Cloak Mage series after nearly a year's absence. Longtime listeners will know the reason was that I had five unfinished series and I wanted to spend the summer of 2025 finishing the unfinished ones and focusing up so I will only have three ongoing series at any given time. I'm hoping Blade of Flames will come out before the end of September and Cloak of Worlds before the end of October, and after that I will be able to return to the Rivah series at long last. In audiobook news, recording is finished on Shield of Power. That will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and hopefully once it gets through processing and quality assurance and everything, it should be showing up on the various audiobook stores before too much longer. Hollis McCarthy is about halfway through the recording of Ghost in the Siege, which was, as you know, the last book in the Ghost Armor series that just came out. And if all goes well, the audiobook should be coming out probably in October once everything is done with recording and quality assurance and all that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:02:34 Main Topic: Summer 2025 Movie/TV Roundup So without further ado, let's head into our main topic. The end of summer is nigh, which means this time for my summer movie review roundup. As is usual for the summer, I saw a lot of movies, so this will be one of the longer episodes. For some reason I ended up watching a bunch of westerns. As always, the movies are ranked from least favorite to most favorite. The grades of course are totally subjective and based on nothing more than my own opinions, impressions, and interpretations. Now on to the movies. First up is the Austin Powers trilogy, the three movies of which came out in 1997, 1999, and 2002. The Austin Powers movies came out just as the Internet really got going in terms of mass adoption, which is likewise why so many Austin Powers and Dr. Evil memes are embedded in online culture. Despite that, I had never really seen any of them all the way through. They've been on in the background on TBS or whatever quite a bit when I visited people, but I've never seen them all. But I happened upon a DVD of the trilogy for $0.25 (USD), so I decided for 25 cents I would give it a go. I would say the movies were funny, albeit not particularly good. Obviously the Austin Powers movies are a parody of the James Bond movies. The movies kind of watch like an extended series of Saturday Night Live skits, only loosely connected, like the skit is what if Dr. Evil had a son named Scott who wasn't impressed with him or another skit was what if a British agent from the ‘60s arrives in the ‘90s and experiences culture clash? What if Dr. Evil didn't understand the concept of inflation and demanded only a million dollars from the United Nations? What if Dr. Evil was actually Austin's brother and they went to school together at Spy Academy? Michael Caine was pretty great as Austin's father. Overall, funny but fairly incoherent. Overall grade: C- Next up is Horrible Bosses, a very dark and very raunchy comedy from about 14 years ago. It came out in 2011. Interestingly, this movie reflects what I think is one of the major crises of the contemporary era, frequent failures of leadership at all levels of society. In the movie Nick, Dale, and Kurt are lifelong friends living in LA and all three of them have truly horrible bosses in their place of employment, ranging from a sociopathic finance director, the company founder's cokehead son, and a boorish dentist with a tendency to sexual harassment. At the bar, they fantasize about killing their horrible bosses and then mutually decide to do something about it. Obviously, they'd all be prime suspects in the murder of their own bosses, but if they killed each other's bosses, that would allow them to establish airtight alibis. However, since Nick, Dale and Kurt are not as bright as they think they are, it all goes hilariously wrong very quickly. Bob Hope has a hilarious cameo. If the best “crude comedies” I've seen are Anchorman, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, and Dodgeball, and the worst one was MacGruber, I'd say Horrible Bosses lands about in the middle. Overall grade: C Next up is Cowboys and Aliens, which came out in 2011. Now I almost saw this in 2011 when it came out, but I was too busy to go to the theater in July of 2011, so I finally saw it here in 2025 and I would say this was almost a great movie, like the performances were great, the concept was great, the scenery was great, the special effects were great, and the story was packed full of really interesting ideas, but somehow they just didn't coalesce. I'm not entirely sure why. I think upon reflection, it was that the movie is just too overcrowded with too many characters and too many subplots. Anyway, Daniel Craig portrays a man who wakes up with no memory in the Old West, with a mysterious bracelet locked around his wrist. He makes his way to the town of Atonement, and promptly gets arrested because he is apparently a notorious outlaw (which he doesn't remember). While he is locked in jail, space aliens attack the town. The aliens, for unknown reasons, abduct many of the townspeople, and Daniel Craig's character, who is named Jake even if he doesn't remember it, must lead the town's effort to recover their abducted citizens. Harrison's Ford has an excellent performance as this awful cattle baron who nonetheless has virtues of courage and fortitude that you can't help but admire. An excellent performance. That said, the movie was just too packed, and I thought it would work better as a novel. After I watched the movie, it turned out that it was indeed based off a graphic novel. Novels and graphic novels allow for a far more complex story than a movie, and I don't think this movie quite managed to handle the transition from a graphic novel to a film. Overall grade: C Next up is Heads of State, which came out in 2025. This was kind of a stupid movie. However, the fundamental question of any movie, shouted to the audience by Russell Crow in Gladiator is, “are you not entertained?!?” I was thoroughly entertained watching this, so entertained I actually watched it twice. Not everything has to be Shakespeare or a profound meditation on the unresolvable conflicts inherent within human nature. Anyway, John Cena plays Will Derringer, newly elected President of the United States. Idris Elba plays Sam Clark, who has now been the UK Prime Minister for the last six years. Derringer was an action star who parleyed his celebrity into elected office (in the same way Arnold Schwarzenegger did), while Clarke is an army veteran who worked his way up through the UK's political system. Needless to say, the cheerful Derringer and the grim Clarke take an immediate dislike to each other. However, they'll have to team up when Air Force One is shot down, stranding them in eastern Europe. They'll have to make their way home while evading their enemies to unravel the conspiracy that threatens world peace. So half action thriller, half buddy road trip comedy. The premise really doesn't work if you think about it too much for more than thirty seconds, but the movie was funny and I enjoyed it. Jack Quaid really stole his scenes as a crazy but hyper-competent CIA officer. Overall grade: C+ Next up, Captain America: Brave New World, which came out in 2025 and I think this movie ended up on the good side of middling. You can definitely tell it went through a lot of reshoots and retooling, and I suspect the various film industry strikes hit it like a freight train. But we ended up with a reasonably solid superhero thriller. Sam Wilson is now Captain America. He's not superhuman the way Steve Rogers was and doesn't have magic powers or anything, so he kind of fights like the Mandalorian – a very capable fighter who relies on excellent armor. Meanwhile, in the grand American political tradition of failing upward, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who spent years persecuting The Hulk and whose meddling caused the Avengers to disband right before Thanos attacked, has now been elected President. To Wilson's surprise, Ross reaches out and wants him to restart the Avengers. But Ross (as we know) did a lot of shady black ops stuff for years, and one of his projects is coming back to haunt him. Wilson finds himself in the middle of a shadowy conspiracy, and it's up to him to figure out what's going on before it's too late. I was amused that lifelong government apparatchik Ross wanted to restart the Avengers, because when the Avengers had their biggest victory in Avengers: Endgame, they were essentially unsanctioned vigilantes bankrolled by a rogue tech billionaire. Overall grade: B- Next up is Ironheart, which came out in 2025. I'd say Ironheart was about 40% very weird and 60% quite good. It's sort of like the modern version of Dr. Faustus. The show got some flak on the Internet from the crossfire between the usual culture war people, but the key to understanding it is to realize that Riri Williams AKA Ironheart is in fact an antihero who's tottering on the edge of becoming a full-blown supervillain. Like Tony Stark, she's a once-in-a-generation scientific talent, but while she doesn't have Stark's alcohol problems, she's emotionally unstable, immature, ruthless, indifferent to collateral damage and consequences, and suffering from severe PTSD after her best friend and stepfather were killed in a drive-by shooting. This volatile mix gets her thrown out of MIT after her experiments cause too much destruction, and she has to go home to Chicago. To get the funds to keep working on her Iron Man armor, she turns to crime, and falls in with a gang of high-end thieves led by a mysterious figure named Hood. It turns out that Hood has actual magic powers, which both disturbs and fascinates Riri. However, Hood got his magic in a pact with a mysterious dark force. When a job goes bad, Riri gains the enmity of Hood and has to go on the run. It also turns out Hood's dark master has become very interested in Riri, which might be a lot more dangerous for everyone in the long run. Overall, I'd say this is about in the same vein as Agatha All Along, an interesting show constructed around a very morally questionable protagonist. Overall grade: B Next up is A Minecraft movie, which came out in 2024. I have to admit, I've never actually played Minecraft, so I know very little about the game and its ecosystem, only what I've generally absorbed by glancing at the news. That said, I think the movie held together quite well, and wasn't deserving of the general disdain it got in the press. (No doubt the $950 million box office compensated for any hurt feelings.) One of the many downsides of rapid technological change in the last fifty years is that the Boomers and Gen X and the Millennials and Gen Z and Gen Alpha have had such radically different formative experiences in childhood that it's harder to relate to each other. Growing up in the 1980s was a wildly different experience than growing up in the 2010s, and growing up in the 2010s was an even more wildly different experience than growing up in the 1960s. Smartphones and social media were dominant in 2020, barely starting in 2010, and implausible science fiction in 2000 and earlier, and so it was like the different generations grew up on different planets, because in some sense they actually did. (A five-year-old relative of mine just started school, and the descriptions of his school compared to what I remember of school really do sound like different planets entirely.) The Minecraft game and A Minecraft Movie might be one of those generation-locked experiences. Anyway, this has gotten very deep digression for what was essentially a portal-based LitRPG movie. A group of people experiencing various life difficulties in a rural Idaho town get sucked into the Minecraft world through a magic portal. There they must combine forces and learn to work together to master the Minecraft world to save it from an evil sorceress. As always, the fundamental question of any movie is the one that Russell Crowe's character shouted to the audience in Gladiator back in 2000. “Are you not entertained?” I admit I was entertained when watching A Minecraft Movie since it was funny and I recognized a lot of the video game mechanics, even though I've never actually played Minecraft. Like, Castlevania II had a night/day cycle the way Minecraft does, and Castlevania II was forty years ago. But that was another digression! I did enjoy A Minecraft Movie. It was kind of crazy, but it committed to the craziness and maintained a consistent creative vision, and I was entertained. Though I did think it was impressive how Jack Black's agent managed to insist that he sing several different times. Overall grade: B Next up is Back to School, which came out in 1986 and this is one of the better ‘80s comedies I've seen. Rodney Dangerfield plays Thornton Melon, who never went to college and is the wealthy owner of a chain of plus-sized clothing stores. His son Jason is attending Great Lakes University, and after Thornton's unfaithful gold-digging wife leaves him (Thornton is mostly relieved by this development), he decides to go visit his son. He quickly discovers that Jason is flailing at college, and decides to enroll to help out his son. Wacky adventures ensue! I quite enjoyed this. The fictional “Great Lakes University” was largely shot at UW-Madison in Wisconsin, which I found amusing because I spent a lot of time at UW-Madison several decades ago as a temporary IT employee. I liked seeing the characters walk past a place where I'd eat lunch outside when the day was nice, that kind of thing. Also, I'm very familiar with how the sausage gets made in higher ed. There's a scene where the dean is asking why Thornton is qualified to enter college, and then it cuts to the dean cheerfully overseeing the groundbreaking of the new Thornton Melon Hall which Thornton just donated, and I laughed so hard I almost hurt myself, because that is exactly how higher ed works. The movie had some pointless nudity, but it was only a few seconds and no doubt gets cut in network broadcasts. Overall grade: B Next up is Whiskey Galore, which came out in 1949 and this is a comedy set in Scotland during World War II. The villagers living on an isolated island have no whiskey due to wartime rationing. However, when a government ship carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey runs aground near the island, wacky hijinks ensue. I have to admit the first half of the movie was very slow and deliberate, gradually setting up all the pieces for later. Then, once the shipwreck happens, things pick up and the movie gets much funnier. Definitely worth watching both as a good comedy movie and an artifact of its time. A modicum of historical knowledge is required – if you don't know what the Home Guard is, you might have to do some Googling to understand the context of some of the scenes. Regrettably, the version I watched did not have captioning, so I had to pay really close attention to understand what the characters were saying, because some of the accents were very strong. Overall grade: B Next up is Happy Gilmore 2, which came out in 2025. This was dumb and overstuffed with celebrity cameos but thoroughly hilarious and I say this even though it uses one of my least favorite story tropes, namely “hero of previous movie is now a middle age loser.” However, the movie leads into it for comedy. When Happy Gilmore accidentally kills his wife with a line drive, he spirals into alcoholism and despair. But his five children still love him, and when his talented daughter needs tuition for school, Happy attempts to shake off his despair and go back to golf to win the money. But Happy soon stumbles onto a sinister conspiracy led by an evil CEO to transform the game of golf into his own personal profit center. Happy must team up with his old nemesis Shooter McGavin to save golf itself from the evil CEO. Amusingly, as I've said before, the best Adam Sandler movies are almost medieval. In medieval fables, it was common for a clever peasant to outwit pompous lords, corrupt priests, and greedy merchants. The best Adam Sandler protagonist remains an everyman who outwits the modern equivalent of pompous lords and corrupt priests, in this case an evil CEO. Overall grade: B+ Next up is Superman, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good and very funny at times. I think it caught the essential nature of Superman. Like, Superman should be a Lawful Good character. If he was a Dungeons and Dragons character, he would be a paladin. People on the Internet tend to take the characterization of superheroes seriously to perhaps an unhealthy degree, but it seems the best characterization of Superman is as an earnest, slightly dorky Boy Scout who goes around doing good deeds. The contrast of that good-hearted earnestness with his godlike abilities that would allow him to easily conquer and rule the world is what makes for an interesting character. I also appreciated how the movie dispensed with the overused trope of the Origin Story and just got down to business. In this movie, Lex Luthor is obsessed with destroying Superman and is willing to use both super-advanced technology and engineered geopolitical conflict to do it. Superman, because he's essentially a decent person, doesn't comprehend just how depraved Luthor is, and how far Luthor is willing to go out of petty spite. (Ironically, a billionaire willing to destroy the world out of petty spite is alas, quite realistic). Guy Gardener (“Jerkish Green Lantern”) and the extremely competent and the extremely exasperated Mr. Terrific definitely stole all their scenes. The director of the movie, James Gunn, was quite famously fired from Disney in 2018 for offensive jokes he had made on Twitter back when he was an edgy young filmmaker with an alcohol problem. I suppose Mr. Gunn can rest content knowing that Superman made more money than any Marvel movie released this year. Overall grade: A-   Next up is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which came out in 1988. This was a very strange movie, but nonetheless, one with an ambitious premise, strong performances, and a strong artistic vision. It's set in post WWII Los Angeles, and “toons” (basically cartoon characters) live and work alongside humans. Private eye Eddie Valiant hates toons since one of them killed his brother five years ago. However, he's hired by the head of a studio who's having trouble with one of his toon actors, Roger Rabbit. Roger's worried his wife Jessica is having an affair, and Valiant obtains pictures of Jessica playing patty cake (not a euphemism, they actually were playing patty cake) with another man. Roger has an emotional breakdown, and soon the other man winds up dead, and Roger insists he's innocent. Valiant and Roger find themselves sucked into a dangerous conspiracy overseen by a ruthless mastermind. This movie was such an interesting cultural artifact. It perfectly follows the structure of a ‘40s film noir movie, but with cartoons, and the dissonance between film noir and the cheerfulness of the toons was embraced and used as a frequently source of comedy. In fact, when the grim and dour Valiant uses the toons' comedy techniques as a tactical improvisation in a moment of mortal peril, it's both hilarious and awesome. Christopher Lloyd's performance as the villainous Judge Doom was amazing. (I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he's villainous, because his character is named Judge Doom and he's literally wearing a black hat.) Like, his performance perfectly captures something monstrous that is trying very hard to pretend to be human and not quite getting it right. And the amount of work it must have taken to make this movie staggers the mind. Nowadays, having live actors interact with cartoon characters is expensive, but not unduly so. It's a frequent technique. You see it all the time in commercials when a housewife is smiling at an animated roll of paper towels or something, and Marvel's essentially been doing it for years. But this was 1988! Computer animation was still a ways off. They had to shoot the movie on analog film, and then hand-draw all the animation and successfully match it to the live film. It wouldn't have worked without the performance of Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, who plays everything perfectly straight in the same way Michael Caine did in A Muppet Christmas Carol. So kind of a strange movie, but definitely worth watching. And it has both Disney and Warner Brothers animated characters in the same movie, which is something we will never, ever see again. Overall grade: A Next up is K-Pop Demon Hunters, which came out in 2025. Like Who framed Roger Rabbit?, this is a very strange movie, but nonetheless with a clear and focused artistic vision. It is a cultural artifact that provides a fascinating look into a world of which I have no knowledge or interest, namely K-pop bands and their dueling fandoms. Anyway, the plot is that for millennia, female Korean musicians have used the magic of their voices to keep the demons locked away in a demon world. The current incarnation is a three-woman K-Pop group called Huntrix, and they are on the verge of sealing away the demons forever. Naturally, the Demon King doesn't like this, so one of his cleverer minions comes up with a plan. They'll start a Demon K-Pop Boy Band! Disguised as humans, the demon K-Pop group will win away Huntrix's fans, allowing them to breach the barrier and devour the world. However, one of the Huntrix musicians is half-demon, and she starts falling for the lead demon in the boy band, who is handsome and of course has a dark and troubled past. Essentially a musical K-drama follows. I have to admit I know practically nothing about K-Pop groups and their dueling fandoms, other than the fact that they exist. However, this was an interesting movie to watch. The animation was excellent, it did have a focused vision, and there were some funny bits. Overall grade: A Next up is Clarkson's Farm Season Four, which came out in 2025. A long time ago in the ‘90s, I watched the episode of Frasier where Frasier and Niles attempt to open a restaurant and it all goes horribly (yet hilariously) wrong. At the time, I had no money, but I promised myself that I would never invest in a restaurant. Nothing I have seen or learned in the subsequent thirty years has ever changed that decision. Season 4 of Clarkson's Farm is basically Jeremy Clarkson, like Frasier and Niles, attempting to open a restaurant, specifically a British pub. On paper it's a good idea, since Clarkson can provide the pub with food produced from his own farm and other local farmers. However, it's an enormous logistical nightmare, and Clarkson must deal with miles of red tape, contractors, and a ballooning budget, all while trying to keep his farm from going under. An excellent and entertaining documentary into the difficulties of both the farming life and food service. I still don't want to own a restaurant! Overall grade: A Next up is Tombstone, which came out in 1993. The Western genre of fiction is interesting because it's limited to such a very specific period of time and geographical region. Like the “Wild West” period that characterizes the Western genre really only lasted as a historical period from about 1865 to roughly 1890. The Western genre was at its most popular in movies from the 1940s and the 1960s, and I wonder if it declined because cultural and demographic changes made it unpopular to romanticize the Old West the way someone like Walt Disney did at Disneyland with “Frontierland.” Of course, the genre lives on in different forms in grittier Western movies, neo-Westerns like Yellowstone and Longmire, and a lot of the genre's conventions apply really well to science fiction. Everyone talks about Firefly being the first Space Western, but The Mandalorian was much more successful and was basically a Western in space (albeit with occasional visits from Space Wizards). Anyway! After that long-winded introduction, let's talk about Tombstone. When Val Kilmer died earlier this year, the news articles mentioned Tombstone as among his best work, so I decided to give it a watch. The plot centers around Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russell, who has decided to give up his career in law enforcement and move to Tombstone, Arizona, a silver mining boomtown, in hopes of making his fortune. However, Tombstone is mostly controlled by the Cowboys outlaw gang, and Earp is inevitably drawn into conflict with them. With the help of his brothers and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer's character), Earp sets out to bring some law and order to Tombstone, whether the Cowboys like it or not. Holliday is in the process of dying from tuberculosis, which makes him a formidable fighter since he knows getting shot will be a less painful and protracted death than the one his illness will bring him. Kilmer plays him as a dissolute, scheming warrior-poet who nonetheless is a very loyal friend. Definitely a classic of the Western genre, and so worth watching. Overall grade: A Next up is Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the eighth Mission Impossible movie. Of the eight movies, I think the sixth one was the best one, but this one comes in at a close second. It continues on from Dead Reckoning. Ethan Hunt now possesses the key that will unlock the source code of the Entity, the malicious AI (think ChatGPT, but even more obviously evil) that is actively maneuvering the world's nuclear powers into destroying each other so the Entity can rule the remnants of humanity. Unfortunately, the Entity's source code is sitting in a wrecked Russian nuclear sub at the bottom of the Bering Sea. Even more unfortunately, the Entity knows that Hunt has the key and is trying to stop him, even as the Entity's former minion and Hunt's bitter enemy Gabriel seeks to seize control of the Entity for himself. A sense of apocalyptic doom hangs over the movie, which works well to build tension. Once again, the world is doomed, unless Ethan Hunt and his allies can save the day. The tension works extremely well during the movie's underwater sequence, and the final airborne duel between Hunt and Gabriel. I don't know if they're going to make any more Mission Impossible movies after this (they are insanely expensive), but if this is the end, it is a satisfying conclusion for the character of Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force. Overall grade: A Next up is Deep Cover, which came out in 2025. This is described as a comedy thriller, and I didn't know what to expect when I watched it, but I really enjoyed it. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kat, a struggling comedy improv teacher living in London. Her best students are Marlon (played by Orlando Bloom), a dedicated character actor who wants to portray gritty realism but keeps getting cast in tacky commercials, and Hugh (played by Nick Mohammed), an awkward IT worker with no social skills whatsoever. One day, the three of them are recruited by Detective Sergeant Billings (played by Sean Bean) of the Metropolitan Police. The Met wants to use improv comedians to do undercover work for minor busts with drug dealers. Since it plays 200 pounds a pop, the trio agrees. Of course, things rapidly spiral out of control, because Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are actually a lot better at improv than they think, and soon they find themselves negotiating with the chief criminals of the London underworld. What follows is a movie that is both very tense and very funny. Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are in way over their heads, and will have to do the best improv of their lives to escape a very grisly fate. Whether Sean Bean dies or not (as is tradition), you will just have to watch the movie and find out. Overall grade: A Next up is Puss in Boots: The Final Wish, which came out in 2022. I don't personally know much about the history of Disney as a corporation, and I don't much care, but I do have several relatives who are very interested in the history of the Disney corporation, and therefore I have picked up some by osmosis. Apparently Disney CEO Michael Eisner forcing out Jeffrey Katzenberg in the 1990s was a very serious mistake, because Katzenberg went on to co-found DreamWorks, which has been Disney's consistent rival for animation for the last thirty years. That's like “CIA Regime Change Blowback” levels of creating your own enemy. Anyway, historical ironies aside, Puss in Boots: The Final Wish was a funny and surprisingly thoughtful animated movie. Puss in Boots is a legendary outlaw and folk hero, but he has used up eight of his nine lives. An ominous bounty hunter who looks like a humanoid wolf begins pursuing him, and the Wolf is able to shrug off the best of Puss In Boots' attacks. Panicked, Puss hides in a retirement home for elderly cats, but then hears rumors of the magical Last Wish. Hoping to use it to get his lives back, Puss In Boots sets off on the quest. It was amusing how Little Jack Horner and Goldilocks and the Three Bears were rival criminal gangs seeking the Last Wish. Overall grade: A Next up is Chicken People, which came out in 2016. A good documentary film gives you a glimpse into an alien world that you would otherwise never visit. In this example, I have absolutely no interest in competitive chicken breeding and will only raise chickens in my backyard if society ever collapses to the level that it becomes necessary for survival. That said, this was a very interesting look into the work of competitive chicken breeding. Apparently, there is an official “American Standard of Perfection” for individual chicken breeds, and the winner of the yearly chicken competition gets the title “Super Grand Champion.” Not Grand Champion, Super Grand Champion! That looks impressive on a resume. It is interesting how chicken breeding is in some sense an elaborate Skinner Box – like you can deliberately set out to breed chickens with the desirable traits on the American Standard of Perfection, but until the chickens are hatched and grow up, you don't know how they're going to turn out, so you need to try again and again and again… Overall grade: A Next up is The Mask of Zoro, which came out in 1998. I saw this in the theatre when it came out 27 years ago, but that was 27 years ago, and I don't have much of a memory of it, save that I liked it. So when I had the chance to watch it again, I did! Anthony Hopkins plays Diego de la Vega, who has the secret identity of Zorro in the final days before Mexico breaks away from the Spanish Empire. With Mexico on the verge of getting its independence, Diego decides to hang up his sword and mask and focus on his beloved wife and daughter. Unfortunately, the military governor Don Montero realizes Diego is Zorro, so has him arrested, kills his wife, and steals his baby daughter to raise as his own. Twenty years later, a bandit named Alejandro loses his brother and best friends to a brutal cavalry commander. It turns out that Montero is returning to California from Spain, and plans to seize control of California as an independent republic (which, of course, will be ruled by him). In the chaos, Diego escapes from prison and encounters a drunken Alejandro, and stops him from a futile attack upon the cavalry commander. He then proposes a pact – Diego will train Alejandro as the next Zorro, and together they can take vengeance upon the men who wronged them. This was a good movie. It was good to see that my taste in movies 27 years ago wasn't terrible. It manages to cram an entire epic plot into only 2 hours and 20 minutes. In some ways it was like a throwback to a ‘40s movie but with modern (for the ‘90s) production values, and some very good swordfights. Overall grade: A Next up is Wick is Pain, which came out in 2025. I've seen all four John Wick movies and enjoyed them thoroughly, though I've never gotten around to any of the spinoffs. Wick is Pain is a documentary about how John Wick went from a doomed indie movie with a $6.5 million hole in its budget to one of the most popular action series of the last few decades. Apparently Keanu Reeves made an offhand joke about how “Wick is pain” and that became the mantra of the cast and crew, because making an action movie that intense really was a painful experience. Definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the John Wick movies or moviemaking in general. Overall grade: A The last movie I saw this summer was Game Night, which came out in 2016. It was a hilarious, if occasionally dark comedy action thriller. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play Max and Annie Davis, a married couple who are very competitive and enjoy playing games of all kinds. Jason has an unresolved conflict with his brother Brooks, and one night Brooks invites them over for game night, which Max resents. Halfway through the evening, Brooks is kidnapped, with Max and Annie assume is part of the game. However, Brooks really is involved in something shady. Hilarity ensues, and it's up to Max and Annie to rescue Brooks and stay alive in the process. This was really funny, though a bit dark in places. That said, Max and Annie have a loving and supportive marriage, so it was nice to see something like that portrayed on the screen. Though this also leads to some hilarity, like when Annie accidentally shoots Max in the arm. No spoilers, but the punchline to that particular sequence was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Overall grade: A So no A+ movie this time around, but I still saw a bunch of solid movies I enjoyed. One final note, I have to admit, I've really come to respect Adam Sandler as an entertainer, even if his movies and comedy are not always to my taste. He makes what he wants, makes a lot of money, ensures that his friends get paid, and then occasionally takes on a serious role in someone else's movie when he wants to flex some acting muscles. I am not surprised that nearly everyone who's in the original Happy Gilmore who was still alive wanted to come back for Happy Gilmore 2. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show enjoyable and perhaps a guide to some good movies to watch. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.  

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 9Lucy's TurnGeoff finally gets more quality time with Lucy.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.I was bringing in the bedsheets from the washing line when my lovelies got home. Colin was inside doing his art homework alone as I'm afraid that art isn't my forté. From the way Angie bounced up the path like a tall, supple Tigger, I assumed that their mission had been successful. Marie followed behind at a more stately pace, but I could tell by her expression that she was pleased."Geoff! It's perfect," Angie enthused. "Show him, Marie!"Marie finally caught up with our friend. "She's not wrong, Geoffrey," she admitted. "The moment we saw it, we knew that was the one." She felt into her handbag and took out a small square box."Just like you and me then," I reminded her, kissing the top of her head."You'll get anywhere saying things like that, you smooth devil," my wife smiled as she showed me our purchase."So what happens now?" I asked. It appeared that they were in the dark too. Did we give her it now, like an engagement ring? Or wait until the ceremony, like a wedding ring?I decided. I took Angie's left hand and dropped to one knee. "Angela, you have added a new thread to the tapestry of our lives. Will you agree to be my betrothed?"Marie was quick to respond. She took her friend's hand from me and turned Angie towards her. "Angela, you have been my closest friend for decades, will you now be my betrothed?""Oh! God! Yes! Thank you. I love you both so much," wailed Angie, hopping up and down in floods of happy tears.Marie held out the ring they had chosen and bought together and together my wife and I slipped it onto the fourth finger of Angie's left hand. As I'd suggested, they had chosen something called a Russian Ring, made of three interwoven strands of different shades of gold. It was perfect. I resolved to get my little Mediterranean goddess a matching necklace.There was the sound of applause from behind us and we turned, rather startled, truth to be told, to find Colin beaming at us, the drawing in his hand forgotten."I think you're supposed to kiss her now, Grandma, Grandad," he observed. We couldn't fault his grasp of etiquette so we did; very chastely and properly with no tongues."Mum's gonna go proper monkey poo this time," he predicted, quite astutely. "Glad I'm not the one that has to tell her." He smiled, congratulated us all and then asked for our opinions of his drawing. We were all impressed, both by his artwork and his attitude and told him so. He disappeared happily back inside to put his drawing safely in his bag."He's not wrong about Linda," I pointed out. "I was thinking about this while I was running and I think I should take her out for tea tomorrow and tell her about our, er; does 'new situation' sound about right?""Thank God!" Marie breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think she'd accept this updated version of 'the talk' from me. Anyway, I did the one about boys, boobs and periods, now it's your turn."I went and switched the oven on and chose a bottle of wine as I waited for it to reach 180°C. I'd picked up a bottle of Ribeiro in our local supermarket and a Spanish white seemed to fit nicely with the ingredients so I parked it in the fridge to chill.I got the tray with the onions, tomatoes, garlic cloves and potatoes and glugged over a little olive oil before putting it all in the oven for twenty minutes and then went off to see my girls. Angie had calmed down and they were trying to decide her outfit for our ceremony."What about Padme's rainbow dress?" I suggested. I'd had nothing urgent after lunch and had done some research. Angie gave me a long appraising look and typed 'padme rainbow' into the search engine on her phone. She selected 'images' and then studied the screen intently for longer than I expected. Still silent, she showed Marie the dress. "He's a clever old sod, really, isn't he?" My beloved observed. "That's beautiful, and it's perfect for your body shape."Angie agreed. "That's it. I was considering Rey's outfit but this is better. This is the one I want.""You can actually buy these on-line," I offered."Not a chance!" Retorted Angie. Marie looked as puzzled as me at how emphatic Angie's response was. "I'm sure that some are okay," Angie conceded. "But I've seen too many instances on Facebook where the seller shows an image of the original but what actually arrives looks like it was sewn in the dark from old curtains by an arthritic chimp. I want it to look just like that picture.""But at least you'll know how much it is going to cost, dear," Marie said. "Who knows how much your student friends will have to pay to find a fabric like that?""Don't care," Said a defiant Angie. "I can afford whatever I want and it's my money after all."Marie leaned in for a kiss. "We'll contribute too. We always intended to.""No. Thank you, but no." Angie was adamant. "You bought me that beautiful ring. I realize that it would be rude to offer to pay for that, but everything else; everything," she stressed that last word, "is on me."My wife and I shared another look of surprise at our friend's determined outburst. "But Ange," Marie began."Everything, Marie. You've been so kind to me for so long. And these last few weeks;” She teared up again. "You really don't know, do you?"I shrugged. We were into Donald Rumsfeld territory here with 'unknown unknowns' and I didn't think that this was the moment to dive down that particular rabbit hole."You know that apartment I live in?" Angie asked. We did. It was in a massive, tastefully converted, Victorian building near the university. "Don't you think it's rather large and expensive for just one person?" We both just did some head wobbles, shoulder shakes and comme ci, comme ça, hand gestures to indicate that we had wondered but."It's not that expensive," she continued, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Not for me, anyway. You see." She paused for effect. "I own the entire building. A lettings management company deals with renting the other apartments; I just live off the income. I only do the consultancy work for you know who," she tapped the side of her nose. "to stop me getting bored and my brain shutting down." She was winding me up because she knew I suspected that she was some kind of spook."Don't worry about the cost," she said cheerfully. "I can afford it. Last time I checked I had over two million pounds just in my savings accounts."She looked gleefully at the expressions on our faces. "And, once we're officially joined, I'm changing my will to leave it all to you and your kids. Colin certainly won't need a student loan when he goes to Uni.""Angie, darling. There's no need," Marie protested."Who else then?" Angie challenged her. "You two are the closest I've had to a family since I ditched that last useless waste of DNA. I've had more fun, romance, sex and affection from you two lunatics in the last six weeks than from both my husbands combined over two decades."Marie looked helplessly at me. I knew exactly what to do. I leaned forward. "Angie?" I said softly, taking her hand in mine."Yes, Geoff?" She replied, returning my loving gaze."Please can I have an Aston Martin DB12?"We collapsed in each other's arms in fits of giggles. Marie swiped me fondly across the head. "You nutcase. Get back in the kitchen and get our tea ready."I checked, and the potatoes were starting to cook, so I laid the chicken and chorizo slices on top, added the herbs and spices and put the tray back in the oven. "Alexa, set a timer for twenty minutes." Then I went off in search of Colin.I told him that I needed a private chat with his mum. "You think?" Was his smart-ass response. Sometimes he makes me so proud.Anyway, he texted one of his friends and persuaded her to wangle an invite to go over straight from school the following evening to do their homework together. Linda would collect him around seven."So Colin. Mia. Is she nice?""Yes Grandad. She's nice. No Grandad, she's not my girlfriend. We're only thirteen but we get on just fine as friends." Hell. The kid's more mature than half of the lads I used to play rugby with.We chatted some more until Alexa's alarm went off and I hit the kitchen again. Dropped the sliced peppers into the tray, a good mix up and back in for the last twenty minutes.I was starting to set the table when Marie and Angie came in to take over and chased me away to watch the news on TV. Angie had already taken her ring off and had decided to keep it in its box until they were with their friends. Then Marie intended to propose again in front of them all. It sounded lovely and I would have liked to see it, but I'd agreed that this was their moment.Linda arrived on time and about ten minutes later we sat down to eat. She'd called to collect a baguette on the way home as I'd asked and we used it to mop up the juices from our plates. The wine paired well; even Colin agreed, though he only got a sip of his mum's. Perhaps, when he's sixteen, Linda will let him have a glass with his meals.After we'd finished, the ladies declared that they would clear the table as I'd done all of the cooking. It had hardly been a chore but I wasn't about to argue. Instead, I went and asked Colin if he was okay with Aunty Angie being, well, betrothed to Grandma and Grandad.He thought carefully for a while. "Is anyone going to get hurt?"It was a reasonable question. "I hope not. But it's always possible. Even two people who love each other can eventually drift apart.""But you're all happy now?" He persisted. "You all want this?""Yes. All of us." I confirmed."What will I call her then?" He asked.That hadn't occurred to me. "Whatever you and Angie decide. That seems the fairest to me."His face lit up. "When you've told mum, I'm going to ask Aunty Angie if I can call her; Grangie." He announced triumphantly. There were still tears of laughter streaming down my face when the women joined us five minutes later. They all looked suspiciously at the pair of us."You had to be there," I told them, then we cracked up again.Before Linda and Colin left I told her that, as Colin had a homework date the following day, earning a glare from him, I'd treat her to a meal after work as we'd both be on our own. I suggested a Thai in town and we agreed to meet there at five fifteen. She looked warily at me, but I'd been practicing my innocent expression and gave nothing away. Certainly, nothing had been said that evening to suggest there was a problem.Angie saw them off with us and then said her own goodbyes. I copped a feel of her bum as we kissed, well, we're engaged now, or something. Marie must have shared my sentiment only she went for a tit. I slapped her hand gently. "Enough of that. She'll never get away if you start on her nipples." They both reluctantly agreed and then there was just the two of us again."Are we being silly, Geoff? Starting a new way of living? At our age? Is this just desperation?" It wasn't like Marie to second guess herself.I hugged her to me. "I don't think so. We have time, money and our health. The kids are okay so this is our opportunity to be us. Not teacher, boss, researcher, mum or dad; just us. If this is what makes both of us happy, why fight it? You promised, if we reach a place where you're uncomfortable, then you'll tell me. I promise you the same. So let's go and see what's out there.""Tell you what," she replied pulling me closer. "Get the rest of that wine and I'll sit on your lap and we'll finish it while we cuddle then, maybe, an early night?"I was up early next morning. We did make love the night before and it was slow, sensual and fulfilling. We'd both slept like babies.When I'd finished in the bathroom, Marie was looking at her phone. "That was a text from Peter. He and Jen are coming back from Canada on Monday and thought they might stop in to see us on the way back home." She looked worried. "Do we tell them? Or just Pete? But then how do we tell Pete without Jen hearing? Do we insist he keeps it a secret from her? ""We need to make a choice," I told her. "We're telling Linda because she deserves to know the unconventional relationship that Colin will see when Angie is here. Pete isn't in that position but, I think that if Linda knows then her brother should too. And I also think that, if Pete knows, it would be unfair to expect him to keep it from Jen. I'm not sure about discussing the rest of the girls with him; I'm tempted to tell Linda because she'll get suspicious if we're never free to look after Colin on Wednesdays if she wants to go out with Mike or if she has to work late."That's fair. I'll tell Pete that they are welcome to stay and we're looking forward to seeing them. But, Geoff?""Yes?""For pity's sake, will you move the toy box out of the playroom and make sure there's no lube or condoms left in the drawers?""I'll do it now."The rest of the day was quite mundane. Breakfast, grocery shopping, coffee at home and then a walk to the park. "I think I'm happy, Geoff," my wife announced as we strolled. "Not just content; actually happy. My friends have you in their lives, I'm even closer to them than ever and Angie," Marie's voice choked. "I've never seen her so alive. Thank you."I wasn't even tempted to be flippant. "Thank you too. It's strange, but making love to your friends seems to have brought me closer to you. I'm just so relieved you aren't jealous. You aren't are you?"She considered. "No. Truthfully; not at all. What about you?""No. Me neither. In fact, I know you have a bit of a thing for Sue, and it's, I dunno, sweet."She punched me playfully. "I still like Sam though," she admitted."So, now you have both, and me and Angie too."She gave a big happy sigh and we turned and made our way home.The weather was still fine so Marie set off at ten to four to walk to the Black Swan to meet her friends. I red for half an hour and then caught the bus into town. Linda could drop me back off at home on the way to collect Colin from Mia's house.I'd reserved a table and waited at the bar for Linda. She rushed in, all flustered, only two minutes late. "It's okay," I told her. "We're not running to a timetable here."Sorry, Dad," she apologized. "Isn't there always some clown who decides that half past four on a Friday afternoon is the perfect time to start making urgent phone calls?""Is it settled?" I asked her. "Or do you need ten minutes to make some more calls of your own?""God, no!" She laughed. "I'll start working for free after finishing time when my boss stops checking her watch when folk arrive in the morning with just minutes to spare."The waiter saw that my guest had arrived and invited us to follow him to our table. The place was quiet that early so he gave us a place with a nice view over the river."Is your job getting you down?" I asked. She worked in the distribution office for a large retailer."No, the work is fine, the people are great, it's just that our boss is so insecure in her abilities that she sticks rigidly to corporate policy, and it sometimes gets in the way of actual work.""Go on," I invited her. We didn't get to chat like this as much as I'd like."Okay. So: There are six people in our office; two men, four women. We lost both of the guys for a full day on Tuesday to go on a gender harassment awareness course. One's gay and the other is a fifty year old sweetheart. They could have done effectively the same course on-line in an hour but no, she had to make sure that her boss saw our guys in person to make her look good." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "Those lads get more grief from us girls than they'd ever; Oh! It's so frustrating.""I know," I sympathized. "I regarded part of my role as lab manager as insulating the people who actually generated income from stupid policies like that. I'd do what the law required but, if an adult technician doesn't know that it's not okay to touch a colleagues bum, no matter how cute or pert it is, a course isn't enough; a dismissal is much more effective. It solves the immediate issue and also serves 'pour encourager les autres' as your Great Gran would have said. An object lesson to the others," I said in reply to her unspoken question.We chatted in the same vein as we looked through the menu and had just finished our deliberations when our waiter appeared.We ordered spring rolls and prawn toast, I ordered a pork massaman, Linda chose a chicken panang and we decided to share a green papaya salad.

THE SWIMMER (1968) We dive deep in to The Swimmer and discuss and analyze, maybe just a little bit the glorious film directed by Frank Perry, based on a screenplay by Eleanor Perry, from the 12 page short story by John Cheever. "Well-off ad man Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) is visiting a friend when he notices the abundance of backyard pools that populate their upscale suburb. Ned suddenly decides that he'd like to travel the eight miles back to his own home by simply swimming across every pool in town."If you're reading this I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. Death By DVD has almost existed for 2 solid decades, please consider supporting Death By DVD directly on Patreon to secure the future of this very show. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ Thank you for choosing Death. DEATH BY DVD FOREVER. FOREVER DEATH BY DVD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ CHECK OUT DEATH BY DVD ON YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/@DeathByDVDDon't forget, Death By DVD has its very own all original audio drama voiced almost entirely by Death By DVD!DEATH BY DVD PRESENTS : WHO SHOT HANK?The first of its kind, (On this show, at least) an all original narrative audio drama exploring the murder of this shows very host, HANK THE WORLDS GREATEST! Explore WHO SHOT HANK, starting with the MURDER! A Death By DVD New Year Mystery WHO SHOT HANK : PART ONE WHO SHOT HANK : PART TWO WHO SHOT HANK : PART THREE WHO SHOT HANK : PART FOUR WHO SHOT HANK PART 5 : THE BEGINNING OF THE ENDWHO SHOT HANK PART 6 THE FINALE : EXEUNT OMNES 

“How could Jane Austen write so convincingly about love and heartbreak if she never fell in love?”In this episode, I'm joined by author and literary critic Paula Byrne to explore Jane Austen's love life, beyond the well-known stories.You might already know about the dashing Tom Lefroy, made famous in Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. Or perhaps you've giggled at the tale of Harris Bigg-Wither, whose proposal Jane accepted only to change her mind and flee less than 24 hours later.But what if there was another man in her life... one whose story is filled with passion, longing, and heartbreak?Paula and I dive into the mysterious seaside romance Jane is believed to have experienced in the summer of 1801. Could this be the man who truly captured her heart? Paula's new novel Six Weeks by the Sea is her fictional reimagining of this emotional and enigmatic chapter of Austen's life.

Join us as we talk about Summer 2025 Anime, and poop!This episode's members: DoctorKev, Hybridmink, Requiem and Thatsmapizza with Reikaze handling the editing duties.The AniTAY Podcast is a bi-weekly podcast brought to you every other Wednesday. It is available on all your favorite podcast services! If you like us, be sure to subscribe to your favorite service and give us 5 stars! Your support is much appreciated and will help us grow and continue to provide this style of content.ItineraryIntro 0:00:00–0:01:12 Housekeeping : 0:01:12–0:02:32 Shows To Be Hero X : 0:02:32–0:00:45I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability Season 2 : 0:15:12–0:20:26CITY The Animation : 0:20:26–0:21:02Mr. Osomatsu : 0:21:02–0:25:27Gachiakuta : 0:25:27–0:30:33TOUGEN ANKI : 0:30:33–0:37:13Ruri Rocks : 0:37:13–0:41:08Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube (2025) 0:41:08–0:45:31DAN DA DAN Season 2 : 0:45:31–0:50:46Scooped up by an S-Rank Adventurer! : 0:50:46–0:53:32New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT : 0:53:32–0:57:00 News 0:57:00–1:06:06 Question of the week: Best Anime Premiere 1:06:06–1:34:02 End 1:34:02–1:35:34Missed the previous episode of the AniTAY Podcast? Check it out here: https://medium.com/anitay-official/anitay-podcast-s10-e14-rascal-does-not-dream-of-anime-cats-4b0bfbb430eb

A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case.Get all the news you need by listening to WBZ - Boston's News Radio! We're here for you, 24/7.

Words to Live by from the WTF Podcast. Get all the news you need by listening to WBZ - Boston's News Radio! We're here for you, 24/7.

The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City.Get all the news you need by listening to WBZ - Boston's News Radio! We're here for you, 24/7.

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 8Feel The ForceGeoff faces some peculiar challenges.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Angie arrived in time for tea on Tuesday evening and, being a math genius, helped Colin with his math homework. Well why waste an opportunity like that? Marie politely declined our invitation to join us at the pub later that evening for two reasons; first, it was likely to be a very nerdy conversation and she'd just feel marginalized; second, it was likely to involve a discussion of submissive lifestyles, something she really doesn't really engage with: She prefers Angie as a playmate rather than a plaything.So anyway, she thought it would be better for all concerned if it were only Emily, Adrian, Angie and me involved. Truth be told, she had the latest Richard Osman book to start, and she fancied a quiet night in.We watched the first episode of The Mandalorian before we left for the pub and I'm sure that my wife enjoyed it even more than her muted, "I suppose it was okay." suggested.We arrived just before the kids and I got the beer in; All four of us were drinking pints of locally made IPA. We settled down and just caught up before we got down to business. Adrian had made some discrete enquiries and the University's Department of Fashion Design would be interested in creating costumes for our guests if we would be prepared to underwrite the cost of the materials. Angie agreed without even asking how much.I glanced at her and she just frowned and shook her head. "Not now Geoff."When we described Marie's fascination with a Bo-Katan outfit, Emily got quite excited. It turned out that she was on an engineering course and looking for a CAD (computer aided design) project for her coursework. She would love to create Mandalorian armor components in either aluminum or polymer but they would need painting.Angie and I looked at each other and spoke together. "Lucy!" Yes. One of our little sex circle is a talented professional artist.Then Adrian raised the issue of Intellectual Property Rights. He was concerned that Lucas Films or Disney or someone would sue the University for I P R infringement. Again, in chorus, "Megan!" Yes. Tomorrow night, Marie and I would be entertaining a well-respected solicitor. It wouldn't be something I'd be discussing during her visit, but I was rather hoping that we would have her feeling particularly well disposed towards us before she went home to Charles.We also chatted about our costume or character debate but the kids couldn't help us to decide either. Talking about costumes eventually led us, reasonably neatly, to Angie's collar and what it represented. Angie tried to explain. To be fair, it was much as Marie had described to Emily on Sunday."Sometimes," she said. "There's just so much in my life, in my head, that I just need to turn it right down. When I submit to Geoff, I give myself entirely to him. My problems just don't matter anymore; I am entirely his to control. Wearing his collar just symbolizes that. But," she paused and looked intently at the young couple. "It only works because I trust Geoff implicitly. If he ordered me to humiliate myself, here now, then I probably would, and that thought alone strangely excites me. But," she paused again. "At the same time, I feel safe in his power because I know that he would ever do anything that would hurt my body, my mind or my reputation."That's when Emily spoke up. "I think that's how I feel sometimes. As a woman, a shy woman at that, on an engineering course, sometimes it feels so; so; intense. Having somebody to take that weight off me, even just for a while, sounds so appealing." I was proud of the girl.Angie smiled. "Yes, sweetheart. It's like meditation. Losing yourself in the moment." Then the smile morphed into her muckiest grin. "But the orgasms are so much better our way."Adrian sat quietly, just listening. "Do you understand, Geoff?" He asked. "I want to, but I feel a bit lost."It was a hard question to answer but I admired the lad for asking it, so I did my best. "Emotionally, No. I don't understand. The same way that I can't 'understand' being gay. It's personal and probably even individuals with the same inclinations experience them in their own way. But I do try to understand what Angie needs from me. So, while I will only do things that I'm okay with, they're mainly for her benefit, not mine. Does that make sense?""I suppose so," he admitted, as the girls looked on hopefully."Angela." I looked at her. "Did you bring your collar?"She beamed at me. "Yes sir. May I put it on?""You may." I allowed.She reached into her bag and took her gold collar from its box and turned so that Emily could fasten it for her. Adrian sat quietly watching and Emily's hands were trembling as she helped. Her chest was rising and falling in a most intriguing way too."Angela. You and Emily are to go to the ladies' room now. When you return, neither of you will be wearing underwear. Do you both understand?" They both nodded. "Then go." I instructed them. We watched as two pair, both in skirts and sweaters, bolted towards the ladies' loos.I turned back to Adrian. "The issue I have is finding new things that she wants me to tell her that she has to do. I have to retain Angie's respect and affection because, well because I love her. But, at the same time I have to push her boundaries or else I'll disappoint her. The thing is, I'm not a natural Dom. I do it only for Angie's benefit. I really have no pool of experience to draw on.""So where do you get your ideas from, Geoff?" he asked."There are a few websites that publish stories that include submissive fantasies." I explained. "I read through them to find ideas that might excite Angie without going too far." I thought for a moment. "I suspect that Emily may well be far more engaged than even Angie is. Would you be prepared to be her master?" I looked him in the eye. "I know she likes you. I think that she trusts you too. Are you interested enough to take on that responsibility though? are you worthy?"He mused. "You seem to be acting as a surrogate Dad." He was obviously thinking it through. "I don't suppose though that this is a normal father boyfriend chat though, is it? He alternated between voices;'What are your intentions towards my daughter?''Well, I'm going to tell her to do sexually perverted things and spank her if she displeases me.''Well, that's great son. Welcome to the family'."I conceded the point. "So?""Actually, I've wanted to ask her out for a while, but I enjoy her company so much that I was afraid to spoil the friendship we already have. If I do ask her out, then she'll have to guide me how to be a good Dom.""Here's my first bit of advice," I offered. "Agree in advance what are your boundaries, lines that won't be crossed. Will you give her to other men as a sex toy? I couldn't do that to Angie. I'd hope you wouldn't do it to Emily. She might, or might not, be excited at the thought that you could, though. How do you deal with that?"He shook his head. "Fuck! aren't women complicated?" He stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to him. "You realize that when they come back, if Emily's complied, that means that she has submitted to you?""Okay," I stretched the word out, wondering where he was going."Then yes. I'll be her Dom. But I think that if she has submitted to you tonight, it makes sense that you should give her to me. Pass over the mantle, as it were.""You sneaky little fucker!" I complimented him. "You may just be a natural at this. Heads up! They're coming back."The two women returned and went to sit down. I checked to see if there was anyone taking notice but the pub was still fairly quiet apart from a group of lads playing pool in the far corner; and they were making enough noise to keep our conversation private."Stop!" I spoke quietly but firmly. "Who told you to sit down?""No-one, Sir," Angie replied, looking chastened."Then stand in front of your master until you are given permission." I ordered."Yes sir," said Angie."Sorry sir," said Emily, breathing heavily again."Are you still wearing underwear?" I asked them both."No sir," they replied at the same time."Who do you belong to?" I directed this to Angie.You and only you sir." she responded."That's better. You may sit now," I told her. She thanked me and took her seat."Who do you belong to?" This time aimed at Emily."You and only you sir. If you'll have me," she replied, looking hopefully at me."I have no time to train another sub," I told her. She looked devastated. "I think instead I shall give you to Adrian to play with. Do you want her Adrian? Can you think of games to play with your new toy?"Emily was almost quivering with excitement as she waited for his answer. He looked her up and down. "She's a pretty thing," he admitted. He took his time before he answered, dragging out her suspense. "Yes, Geoff. Give her to me and I'll look after her.""Emily. You belong to Adrian now. Please him as you would have pleased me. Do you understand?""Yes sir," she gasped. I suspected that she'd been on the verge of a minor orgasm, just standing there listening to us discussing her ownership.Then Adrian took over. "Emily. Who do you belong to?""You sir, and only you." she answered, breathlessly."Then sit quietly while I decide how to play with you." She thanked him and sat next to Angie."Adrian?" That was me. "Do you think that our toys would like to play with themselves?" Both girls gasped."Does it really matter, Geoff?" He replied. The girls sat rigid with anticipation. "Emily, put your hand between your thighs," he instructed her. "Touch your cunt."The atmosphere at the table was electric. Ever so slowly Emily's tiny hand crept under the hem of her skirt. Angie, watching, licked her lips. Suddenly Emily stiffened in her seat. We had a fair idea of where her hand had reached."Angela. Touch yourself the same way. You may come, but make no noise." I told her, firmly. She too put her hand under her skirt. Adrian added the same instructions to Emily and then we sat and watched, looking around periodically to make sure that our little play was going unobserved, until Emily and then Angie shuddered quietly and sank back in their seats. The smell of their sex was noticeable by then, so I suggested that we send them to the loos again, this time to mop up their lady juice and put their pants back on.While they were gone, Adrian and I discussed some practicalities that two novices like us needed to deal with. One example was putting the girls into Sub mode and then recovering them. In my case, telling Angela to remove her collar worked, but the collar wasn't a pre-requisite; I could dominate her with my tone of voice alone. We also needed a voice command to release them. Adrian had an inspired idea. "We'll just tell them that when we say, 'you are released' they will have independent will again." I told you he was smart.When they got back we gave the girls their new command and they reluctantly resumed their normal demeanor, though Emily's eyes had a sparkle I'd not seen before. Angie leaned over the table so only the four of us could hear. "Geoff," she whispered. "That was so fucking HOT. I'm going to ask Marie if I can give you a proper seeing-to tonight." Emily giggled, not repelled, as I thought she might be, at the thought of wrinklies like us 'doing it.'"Well," I said. "Not to put a damper, as it were, on things. But do you have any wet-wipes in your bag? Your seats could do with a little attention."We chatted some more before Angie and I decided to leave the youngsters to come to their own understanding. The two women had seemed to be happy sharing their secret desire with someone else who understood. Adrian and I'd had our own chat about the moral challenges involved in dictating someone else's sexual activity. Although I had no business really, I did feel somewhat paternalistic towards Emily but I thought that she had chosen wisely with Adrian. I hoped that I was right but, short of keeping her to myself, it wasn't my decision to make.We got home a little before ten, to find that Marie had three coffee cups prepared ready for our return. As we drank, Angie excitedly updated Marie on the plans for our ceremony and even more excitedly described what Adrian and I had made her and Emily do in the pub. "Can we take him to bed and fuck him now, Marie?" She pleaded. "I'm so horny that my knickers are damp."Marie picked up her book and found where her bookmark was. "You two go now and I'll finish this chapter, tidy the kitchen and then join you." She smiled at us both and then added. "And, Geoff. Take one of your tablets 'cos that story got my knickers damp too."Sometimes we like to take turns to make love, but that evening the girls were on a mission. Even before Marie made it to the bedroom, Angie had swallowed so much of my cock that her nose was touching my belly. She'd pulled away before I was too close to finishing and hauled me on top of her. When I tried to return the compliment, she seemed almost annoyed."No fucking way," she told me, in no uncertain terms. "You stick that cock in me this minute and pound me until you come. I'm so fucking turned on I just want you inside me." Well, how could I have argued with a charming invitation like that?Marie arrived just in time to hear Angie yelling, "Yes, yes, fucking yes!" as I approach my climax. To be honest, I'm not sure whether she came or not. That didn't seem to be her objective just then. To use the vernacular, I think she just needed a good dicking.After a couple of minutes cuddling, we calmed down enough to welcome Marie into our embrace and the next ninety minutes or so were only a little less, shall we say, physical. There was kissing this time though. The girls lay face to face as I took Marie from behind until we came and then Angie laid between my wife's thighs as I took her from behind and then Marie rode my cock as Angie straddled my face and they groped each other. By the time we'd cleaned up and settled down, just before midnight, I was content that Angie, and Marie, had both at least come a couple of times.Angie left after breakfast on Wednesday morning. There was some pleasant snuggling and kissing before we all got up but the girls had decided that we should remain fairly chaste because Marie and I were entertaining Megan and Sam that evening and little Geoffrey might need time to recuperate from his efforts the night before. I reluctantly agreed but 'he' wasn't happy at all. But I knew we'd make it up to him that evening.Marie and I did some housework that morning, to prepare for our guests. We changed the bedding and made sure that all the toys were clean and sanitized. (We always do, both before we put them away and before we have guests again.) Marie had an early lunch before she went into town to the charity shop where she had offered to cover a lunchtime shift.I had a lunch date with Jane, the widow of an old friend. She's a pleasantly rounded lady, a little taller than my wife with black hair, brown eyes and an engaging personality. We had agreed to meet the previous week but she'd had to cancel. I hoped everything was okay. We met in a local café as I felt as though I'd spent a lot of time in the pub of late. I was already in the queue when she came in so I ordered two lattes and a couple of slices of carrot cake while she claimed an empty table for two.We chatted amicably for nearly an hour. Apparently, she'd had to postpone our last meeting because Ben, her 19 year old son, had been unwell and she would have felt guilty leaving him. I liked Ben so I was relieved to hear that he was recovered and back at work. We talked about his job, which he hated, and his other options, which were limited. It was odd; he was deceptively bright but his quiet nature and succinct way of speaking led some people to think he was, well, a bit dim. Let's be honest here: His interview technique sucked. I promised to give some thought to careers where, should we say, he might shine more brightly in a solo capacity. We moved on.Jane told me that she'd enjoyed meeting Marie the previous week and lamented that they couldn't see more of each other. I just kept quiet at that point. She then showed some self-awareness that surprised me. "I think Marie was disappointed at some of the gossip I shared with her. Did I offend her?" She asked.I had to be honest. "Well, my work used to involve commercially sensitive information, Marie used to provide pastoral support to her students and some of her friends in the health or legal professions have similar experiences. We just aren't used to sharing information about folk that might embarrass them."She looked shocked. "Oh, dear. And now she can't share any girl talk with me because she'll be afraid it'll be all over town in an hour?" I shrugged, but she was right; that was exactly how my wife felt. "Do apologize for me, won't you?" She asked. "I was never that woman but, just lately, there's so little of interest in my life that I seem to live vicariously through other people's."I asked if she was seeing anyone. She smiled. "Would you be jealous?" She asked, playfully.I replied in kind. "Devastated, my dear. But my love for you would only hold you back."She shook her head. "If only, Geoff. If I could persuade Marie to share, I would be a very happy girl." Oh Jane! If only you knew.I persisted but she was adamant that she had no appetite for on-line dating and gorgeous single men rarely turned up at her door, so she was left to her own devices. I asked her how many devices she actually owned. She looked horrified for a moment and then we both lost it in a fit of the giggles. When we'd composed ourselves, and the other patrons had stopped staring at the pair of us, she admitted that she was tempted to buy a plastic pal but didn't know how or where to start.I looked at her. "If you are serious, would you go in an adult store if someone took you? I mean it, but this must go no further."She sat back, speechless. "Who?" She eventually managed to say."Let's see," I replied. I sent a text to Marie. "Jane lonely. Wants to buy sex toy but too shy. Can I take her to naughty shop? Do you want to come too to keep us out of mischief?"I changed the subject to ask about her plans for Christmas but she seemed distracted. It took three or four minutes for Marie's reply. "We've had a no-show. If I cover, you take Jane now. Be home for half past three. BEHAVE! xxx"

I met up with Giles Wright at the Enniskillen Comic Fest to discuss another eclectic collection of Judge Dredd stories which tells us more about the world beyond the boundaries of MC1. We also discuss the convention and Paul Trimble's astonishing line-up of guests.You can find a list of all the upcoming books on the Facebook page, follow the podcast on instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and BlueSky. And email me comments and suggestions to MCBCpodcast@gmail.comMusic used in this episode is Circuit Breaker by the artist Robodub. Click here to listen to the episode online. Or Download here Right click and choose save link as to download to your computer.

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 7Quiet Little OrgyA retired couple invite some new friends home.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Eventually, by nine o'clock that Saturday morning, we had all showered and made our way downstairs for breakfast. I was last into the kitchen as I'd graciously allowed the women to go first. The dressing gowns that we'd bought for our Wednesday sessions came in useful in that Sue and Margie weren't faced with wearing their dancing dresses to eat in.I think they were both surprised at how relaxed the atmosphere was, I mean they had both fucked their hostess's husband the night before. Angie broke a comfortable silence as we ate. "Geoff. You know what you promised?" She meant the anal bareback that she'd been harping on about for a while."Yes my love?""Well," It was unusual for Angie to hesitate; if anything, her life would be much simpler if she did think more before speaking. "The thing is, would you mind if Sue and Margie came shopping to the naughty store and, maybe?" She looked at me as shyly as I'd ever seen her. "Could they watch while you sort of; do me? You know? Up the bum?" Marie snorted at the look on my face.I turned back to Angie. "Are you seriously suggesting that we take two women, who we've barely known for twelve hours, take them shopping in a sex store and then bring them back her to watch you and me having anal sex without a condom?""That pretty much sums it up," she conceded."Okay. As long as we're on the same page. It's fine by me."And so it was agreed. The two 'new girls' would go home in Sue's car, grab an overnight bag each and re-join us at our house for another evening of sexual exploration, including Angie's loss of her last virginity, and then they would go home on Sunday morning.This wasn't quite the weekend I'd imagined!Anyway, the five of us set off about twelve thirty and stopped at the little bistro we'd found on the way to the adult store. Margie and Sue insisted it was their treat to repay us for our hospitality. My clam linguini in white wine and cream sauce was excellent and the women seemed content with their meals too, so it was a contented crew who breezed into the store about an hour or so later.I left the girls to browse at their leisure as there was a particular item that I was interested in. Angie, very much a woman who was happy to get 'in your face' if you pissed her off, also had a well concealed submissive side that we had found by accident. I had resolved that, as a treat, I would buy her a collar that she could wear when she, and only she, decided she wanted to be dominated. I was aware from some basic research that there was an entire sub-culture around this behavior but, in our case, my only interest was to give my lover another way to express herself sexually. When we had experimented before, Marie was happy to play along but got no actual satisfaction from being submissive. With Angie though, as long as we were careful, she could use the experience to deal with some issues from way back.I found the relevant display and, satisfied that the girls were giggling together over something obviously particularly intriguing and probably disturbing from my point of view two aisles over, I made my choice and took it to the counter. The shop assistant approved of my choice. "So sir, for one of your ladies?" He enquired. I nodded. "Not S and M?""No. Just something she can wear to signal when she wants to be more, erm, passive," I explained."Perfect choice in that case," he replied.I took the collar and the receipt and put them in my pocket. I'd decide later when to give them to Angie. There was something else bothering me too, but I needed to speak to Marie first; a proper conversation that would have to wait until this weekend was over. I had an idea, and I hoped that she'd approve, but it was too important to risk getting it wrong.We left, not quite as laden as last time we visited, each of us carrying something designed to make sex even better. Isn't it sad that we're conditioned to find that somehow shameful? Marie regards me as a work in progress to break that conditioning. Ironic really, that it was her reaction to some sexy underwear that led us to where we found ourselves that day.We arrived back home a little after three and, while Marie took Angie upstairs to prepare, I led Margie and Sue into the kitchen to help make a brew while I checked the fridge to make sure that we had something to snack on later, having already had one substantial meal that day. I took Marie and Angie a cup of tea and a plate of chocolate biscuits and left them in the bedroom. I had no wish to be part of whatever they were doing in the bathroom with the bags, tubes and whatnot they had bought that afternoon.While I chatted with our new girls I diced a red onion, prepped some chorizo and sliced some Brie and Blue Wensleydale cheeses. I took a bag of ciabatta rolls out of the freezer to defrost and put a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge to chill. Okay, so it wasn't a fine vintage wine but it was going to pair with onion, blue cheese and spiced sausage: why the Hell would I use an expensive wine to wash that down?Our prep done we retired to the living room and chatted about, well, sex while we waited for Angie to make herself ready. I confess that I was a little concerned that she'd invested a lot of anticipation in what we were about to do. It would be her first time and only my second. What if it all went wrong? What if she hated it?I had a thought and dashed to the kitchen. When I returned a minute later both girls looked at me enquiringly."ED22," I explained, rather unhelpfully. The look on their faces made it clear that this was not only insufficient but actually demanded a more detailed explanation than if I had just said that I'd forgotten something. I reminded them of my sexual performance the previous evening and pointed out this would have been remarkable for a man in his twenties, let alone someone of my vintage.I told how I was now in a user trial of a new generation of drug for erectile dysfunction which allowed me, with no particular clinical need, not to put too fine a point on it, to fuck like a steam train for hours. We chatted about that for a while until my wife shouted downstairs. "Geoffrey, ladies, if you're ready, the ceremony is about to begin. Please join us upstairs, remove your clothing and take your seats." It seemed like an excellent idea so that's exactly what we did.Somehow, between helping Angie with her 'purges', my wife had managed to get another couple of chairs into our bedroom though admittedly one was a folding chair from IKEA that we kept for situations where the six seats that came with our dining room suite weren't sufficient. I stood in my dressing gown, waiting for Angie to emerge from the bathroom, feeling like a nervous groom at the altar. Sue and Margie sat in the seats behind me wearing only their bras and panties.Marie, acting as mistress of ceremonies also dressed for effect in a pale blue Basque and, well, that was it actually, waited for the tension to rise before she opened the bathroom door with a theatrical flourish. "Angie," she announced, in her most sultry voice. "Your lover is here to rid you of your last virginity. Do you willingly surrender to him?"Angie stepped naked into the bedroom and stood before me. She looked at her friends assembled to witness something that seemed to be really important to her and smiled. "I surrender my body totally to him. I ask that he takes my anal virginity in the knowledge that no man has had my ass before him and nor will any other man after him."If I hadn't realized before, it was out there now. Angie was making a point here, she was giving herself, pledging herself, to me! Fighting the urge to, yes, panic is probably the most appropriate word, I looked to Marie. My wife seemed not just content but actually happily engaged with this small but weird ceremony. I had really wanted to talk to Marie before I took this step but the situation seemed to have arisen before I had the chance, so I decided to take the risk.Stepping to my bedside drawer, I took out a small gift box. It was a generic necklace box I'd found in the loft but it was fine for my purposes. "Angela," she stiffened at my using her full name: that reminded her the time I had hypnotized her and left some interesting legacy imperatives in her subconscious. "Angela, I accept the honor you bestow upon me. It would please me if you would wear this collar as a sign that your body is mine to take, use and bestow at my pleasure."We all watched entranced as she swayed slightly as she comprehended what I'd said. Almost before she could react I was in front of her. "Angela, will you wear my collar?" She looked at me wide eyed and nodded fervently. I continued before she could speak. "You may wear or remove it as you wish but, when you wear it, You. Are. Mine and mine alone. Do you understand?"Angie looked beseechingly at her best friend in the world, my wife, Marie. How would she respond to her husband claiming her best friend's body? With obvious delight was the honest answer. Marie ran to Angie and gave her a massive hug. "Oh, sweetheart," Marie sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. "You'll be like my Sister-Wife. I love you so much."Then Marie turned to me. "God! I love you so fucking much too! When you've finished with Angie, me and the girls are going to fuck you so hard we're all going to be sitting on soft cushions for the rest of the week. Fuck! But you're amazing, you wonderful old softie."While Marie was kissing and hugging me, the other girls descended on Angie. They helped her to put her collar on. Oh! I suppose I ought to describe my gift; The description in the store's on-line catalogue was, 'A discreet, rose gold, slave day-collar for submissives'. It was a fetching circlet of engine-turned pinkish-gold with a small ring, presumably for a leash, at the throat.When the women all settled down, Angie finally replied. "I understand. When I wear your collar my body and mind are yours, and I give them willingly." She thought for a moment. "How shall I address you? Do I call you Sir? Are you my Master?"I'd given that question some thought, even as I was deciding whether to buy the collar in the shop. "I'm still Geoff, and you are my lover, not my slave. You will obey me, though, and I will discipline you if you don't." I looked around the room. The other women seemed content with my approach. Now for the big moment."Angela. Lay on the bed and expose yourself."She took a deep breath. "Yes Geoff."She settled on the side of our bed, sitting upright, facing our little congregation. Slowly she parted her thighs to display a tiny jewel decorating the anal plug that her little ring of muscle was already accommodating to.I looked at the new girls. "Ladies. How would you like to share my new toy?" Without waiting for them to even consider how to reply, I turned to Angie and gazed into her eyes. She knew we were connecting and quivered as her body anticipated my next words. "Angela. Your master commands you. Go to your happy place and come."Sue and Margie were stunned when, at my words, Angie clenched her thighs together and slumped back on the bed giving every sign of climaxing. Margie spoke. "I am definitely asking if I can have whatever Angie's got, for Christmas.""Go on girls," I entreated them. "Before she comes down. Get her prepared. The more aroused she is the less discomfort she'll feel."Marie crossed to stand beside me. "That was lovely what you did for her, just now," she said, hugging me.I kissed the top of her head. "I actually wanted to talk to you first but when I saw how important this was to Angie, I just decided it was too perfect a moment to miss. Did I do right?""You did very well dear," she smiled.We stood like that for a couple of minutes watching two women we'd only met practice their newly discovered lesbian skills on our best friend. "Marie?" I began."Yes dear?""What are we? I mean you, me and Angie? Are we a;” I hesitated to even say the word. "Are we a throuple?""Geoffrey, I adore you but, if you ever use that word again, you and I are going to have a problem.""I know, I felt dirty just saying it. But seemingly not as dirty as Sue." We stopped our conversation and watched, fascinated, as Sue appeared to make Margie and Angie simultaneously shriek with delight. I shook my head to clear it. "Anyway." I tried to maintain my train of thought. "I was going to ask you about Angie's status; you know? Your friend, our lover. What is she? Is she part of our relationship? Or is she just a woman we have sex with? Will you think about it anyway? In the meantime, I think it's time to claim my thrall's last virginity."At some point, Sue and Margie had got naked and I managed to grab some delectable handfuls of flesh as I gently peeled them off Angie's body. I had red somewhere that anal sex in the doggy position is less comfortable for novices than when done prone. It looked like I may be on the way to having enough experience to comment but, for now, I decided missionary would do just fine.Again, research suggested that we should have vaginal sex first to relax my partner; this time, local knowledge, that is my Dom's command to his Sub, emphasized by a post hypnotic suggestion to orgasm followed by a two pronged lesbian assault, suggested to me that she would be about as sexed up as a woman can get without actually having three cocks inside her at the same time.And so, after Angie's lovely ceremony gifting me her last virginity, the moment arrived. Marie stepped up with the dispenser of lube and delicately applied it along little Geoff's length. She stood on tiptoe and kissed me. "Try not to hurt her, Geoff. She's been looking forward to this so much." I nodded. I knew that only too well.I knelt between Angie's thighs and felt rather than saw Marie, Margie and Sue draw close behind me. Angie looked up at me pleadingly. I smiled down at her and gently pulled out the tapered stainless steel plug that she'd inserted to ready her sphincter for penetration. Marie took it from me. Before the ring of muscle could recover its usual resting state I pushed forward as firmly as I could without hurting her.Angie gasped as this new intruder made its way inside her bowels. I paused. "Are you okay, babe?" I asked."It's so; It's such a strange feeling," she murmured. "It's not like anything I've felt before. Let me just get used to it for a moment."I paused. I was about two thirds inside her and I didn't seem to be causing her actual pain. I have to admit that I was having to get used to some odd sensations myself. The ass plug made my penetration less awkward than I'd expected, but her ring was tighter around my shaft than a cunt would have been. It was odd too, knowing that the skin on my cock was directly touching her bowel walls. Like Angie said, "such a strange feeling.""Go on. A bit more. I think I'm ready." She tensed, waiting for me to push."No babe. Relax," I told her. "We're nearly all the way there. A bit more lube please." That last comment aimed at Marie.How strange is my life that I can casually ask my wife to lube the part of my cock between my balls and her best friend's backside so that I can take her friend's anal virginity? How strange is her life that she did it anyway with a smile and another kiss for me. I pressed forward again and marveled at the sensation."Oh fuck!" Angie moaned as I bottomed out (Sorry, but I couldn't resist). "Fuck me Geoff. Do it now. Do it hard and fast."So I began, slowly at first, and not my favorite long strokes as I didn't want to pull out accidentally. Another time it might not matter, today it had to be right. So, gradually speeding up, I began to thrust in and out, each time as deep as I could get. I looked wordlessly at Marie and saw that she understood. The bowel doesn't have the same nerve endings as a cunt. We'd discussed this earlier, so Marie and the others began to use their hands on Angie's cunt and clit and their tongues on her tits.I could tell that she was getting close, Hell, so was I, but she wasn't able to keep focus on anything. Her body was just searching for that position, any position that would enhance the pleasure she was striving for. Her hands clutched at the sheets, the heads of the women suckling her tits, her own hair, as if she was trying to contain the sensations in her head. And then, she reached the peak. She seemed to freeze, as if movement would break the spell, and then she cried out, "O fuck! Yes! Yes! Yes!" And then, trembling, she began to relax.It was a relief when she blew, because I was so close myself. I wasn't sure if she even realized I'd come. As we all relaxed, my cock finally softened and slipped out of her bum and I sloped off to the bathroom to clean up. A surreptitious look on the way confirmed the effectiveness of the girls' preparation. I looked clean anyway. Regardless, little Geoff was getting a good wash.When I came out of the bathroom, Angie was sitting up on the bed, excitedly comparing notes with Marie, who'd had anal sex with me once before, although with a condom, and describing the sensation to the new girls who hadn't. From their conversation their attitude could more properly be described as, 'hadn't yet'. My alternate Friday nights for the next few weeks could end up being 'bareback bottom nights', particularly as Marie still wanted to try bareback too, at least once.What about me? Let's be clear, I'm not selfless, but I get pleasure from giving pleasure. I can't understand a man who would pump and dump in a woman in five minutes and think that was fun. I'd rather spend ten minutes loving her tits and at least the same again between her legs, knowing that when I actually enter her the resulting sex will be spectacular. So did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I do it again. Yes, if one or more of the girls wants to. Would it ruin my life I didn't? No. I have a wife and her permission to screw eight mature but attractive sex partners. I'm not going to moan about a shortage of anal sex. It's fun but I sometimes wonder if it's worth the attendant preparation and fuss.Sorry, got a bit introspective there. I went and sat next to Angie. She surprised me when she slipped off the bed and knelt in front of me. "Did I please you, Geoff? " She asked. Good girl. She's remembered she was wearing her collar."You did well," I reassured her. "Even when you wear your collar, I'll keep my promises to you. I was concerned that you were too invested in doing this for the first time. Was it what you hoped for?"She looked serious. "It was amazing and it was something I'd never done and I wanted the experience. But." She looked up at me. "Just as important, I wanted to do something with you that I'd not done with another man; and I knew Marie would be part of it.""Thank you, sweetheart, that was a lovely and special gesture." I bent down to kiss her. "Love you, Angie."As I sat back up I caught Marie's eye. She smiled and inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement of our previous conversation. She'd think about it and then we'd talk.Again, Sue and Margie joined me downstairs while Marie helped Angie clean up. They were only ten or fifteen minutes and when they came down Angie had taken her collar off. Good. I only wanted her to be submissive in the bedroom, anything else might be a step too far.By the time they got downstairs our filled ciabatta were already in the oven and the wine was open and ready to be poured. We sat at the dining table, the five of us just chatting and getting to know each other. Marie explained how our sexual reawakening happened and how it spread to include her friends and then Sue and Margie.When she got to the episode where we made a dirty video they insisted on seeing it so I went into the living room and set up the TV so that I could cast from my phone onto the big screen. When the girls had finished eating, they carried their drinks in to join me and I pressed play.I sat on one sofa with Marie and Angie while Margie and Sue sat together on the other. By the time the video finished I was in the presence of four rather horny women. Marie took charge. "Geoff, you promised Angie that your cock was hers today. So you take her to our room and I'll entertain our guests in the other. See you in a couple of hours." She gave me a huge kiss and herded Sue and Margie upstairs.I turned to Angie. "I'm all yours, sweetheart. What do you want to do?"She looked shyly at me. "You'll think I'm weird.""That ship disappeared over the horizon a long time ago, babe," I replied."Then; Then can we just go to bed and cuddle? I feel, I dunno, overwhelmed? I loved what you did for me but now I think I just want someone to hold me until the world settles again. See? Weird.""Not at all. You feel how you feel. If you need comfort and affection instead of sex, that's fine. I will warn you now though that if we both doze off there's a fair chance you'll wake up with little Geoff wedged into your bum crack."

Every fall brings the promise of some of the year's biggest books and this one is no different. On this week's episode of the Book Review podcast, the host Gilbert Cruz and fellow editor Joumana Khatib talk about several of their most anticipated titles as well as a few upcoming big screen adaptations. (Come back next week for our fall nonfiction preview.)Books mentioned in this episode:“The Secret of Secrets,” by Dan Brown“The Wayfinder,” by Adam Johnson“Clown Town,” by Mick Herron“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” by Kiran Desai“The Impossible Fortune,” by Richard Osman“We Love You, Bunny,” by Mona Awad“Shadow Ticket,” by Thomas Pynchon“What We Can Know,” by Ian McEwan“Trip,” by Amie Barrodale“King Sorrow,” by Joe Hill Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

642. Part 1 of our conversation with Roxanne Harde about the Tremé television series. "Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this hourlong drama series, from executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer, follows the lives of ordinary residents as they struggle with the aftereffects of the 2005 hurricane. Says star and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce, 'The only things people had to hang on to were the rich traditions we knew that survived the test of time before: our music, food and family, family that included anyone who decided to accept the challenge to return.' The large ensemble cast is supported by notable real-life New Orleanians, including many of its famous musicians." "Roxanne Harde is Professor of English at the University of Alberta's Augustana Faculty, where she also serves as Associate Dean, Research. A McCalla University Professor, Roxanne researches and teaches American literature and culture, focusing on popular culture, women's writing and children's literature, and Indigenous literature." "Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. Mona Lisa Saloy. "Daddy's Philosophy: II." La joi de vivre, he says. The joy of life? I ask. Sure, the New Orleans motto, he says, the reasons for heavenly hips, drumstick thighs, and hug-able bellies. Yeah, ya right, even the French say that Daddy. No girl, not like we do. “We work like we don't need the money. We love like we never been hurt. We dance like nobody's watching. We eat like there's no tomorrow.” This week in Louisiana history. September 6, 1717. John Law's Company of the West chartered. This week in New Orleans history. De La Salle High School opened on Tuesday, September 6, 1949. Operated by the Christian Brothers, they opened the doors to 76 Catholic freshman boys in an old house on Pitt Street. This week in Louisiana. Hollywood Down South: Louisiana's Film Trail Website Explore iconic locations of movies and TV shows on Louisiana's film trail.     Thanks to our diverse settings for movies (Louisiana has everything, including bustling cities, antebellum mansions and lush wilderness areas), generous state tax incentives for film producers and a sea of production support businesses ranging from state-of-the-art soundstages and post-production facilities to large-scale catering and transportation operations, Louisiana is a global player as a movie and TV filming location. We'd be remiss not mentioning that movie and TV stars rave about enjoying our food, music and joie de vivre away from the sets.     Louisiana has tours of sites for such shows as Easy Rider (1969) Steel Magnolias (1989) Interview with the Vampire (1994) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Tremé (2010-2013) Swamp People (2010–present) Duck Dynasty (2012-2017) NCIS: New Orleans (2014-2021)     Visit our website to learn about specific tours. Postcards from Louisiana. Terry Gillum, Nurse at Hands Off Protest Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

This episode was a fun one hanging & laughing with the boys and getting away for a bit from this race we call life!!! On this episode Guest host David from (DTRH & David Don't Know Podcast) and I chat with our home boy Kevin the host of (Where the Weird Ones are Podcast) & we dive into Kevin's book he wrote, Movies, Conspiracies , Cryptids and something new he has in the works in the Near Feature!! Be ready to laugh and have a good time.    Ways to Support and Connect with Kevin and David:  ✅Kevin (Where The Weird Ones Are PC - https://linktr.ee/wheretheweirdonesare?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=88bcd0b7-499e-426a-9e9f-a0b1439f2467   David (DTRH, David Don't Know PC)- https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdeeperdowntherabbithole.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafxTiKqvFD80nsZadP3F3iCO6lkq8H8wBliEF3DkaFB_JlfSSGWzhWTxat-cw_aem_ZHcrWduSZWWst1akpvtp0w&e=AT1LiufaGxoX4R4gmJ8EYAMe8gJNXYnnTtXU1dlMode0x0BxewA7ETTpwKCWN25ZFe8DnNAVYZIRdViITI36DUXuTo3ZZdFRUFnZ8qYeKydnbHaUYSbc55bzsw https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fspreaker.onelink.me%2FA4NZ%2Fq3b5kwyt%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadtHjs084LD_SeZrPxBZtxBNU3rg0w5fXtm8-y99N_0cCGriVzVG5fPHvTbJg_aem_-1pPe-nqbQ07-dA9gl6Ezg&e=AT1mOuCU5ieALC96s-TqgJC37FF_l6QZGCPASADnMT85Bx5iga8ZWxaPSsmVPOsjN_BpVO20xjoUbULNh6W_v4IvPCdIGuYCsoqV8CBXngzwNWzzQE2UtbeFnw                           Help a brother out and buy me a Coffee ☕️ (Monthly or one time donation keeps the show going): We know there is room for improvement and have decided to ask you (Our amazing listeners) to help the podcast grow! This will help with better audio, expedition funding, and much more!  ✅ https://venmo.com/u/cryptidwarfare     Email me:  Podcast Cryptidwarfare@gmail.com   Critter/Cryptid Control/Consulting  C.WOPPS@protonmail.com C.woperations17905@gmail.com         Help support our mission in giving you the best podcast on ? Anchor.fm/Spotify, iTunes, Podbean +   Make sure to give me a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review :). Thank yall!   ✅ Cryptid Warfare: https://www.instagram.com/cryptid_warfare_pod_cast/ youtube: www.youtube.com/@cryptidwarfare     Awesome Friends to Follow: The Cryptid Huntress: https://thecryptidhuntress.com/  Josh Monday: https://www.instagram.com/joshmonday_podcast/  Shannon Ray Davis : https://www.omegamanradio.com/ Randy Richey : https://christoutreachoklahoma.com/ Kevin (Where the Weird Ones Are Podcast) : https://linktr.ee/wheretheweirdonesare?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=ae3f5382-235d-49a1-8e57-2483c7d1db7d Ryley (Midwest Mythos Podcast) : https://linktr.ee/midwestmythospodcast?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=04c1a648-29eb-4e6d-adbb-2441c3b090cf Kenny boy (MidnightLycanthropy) : https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2F%40MidnightLycanthropy%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafBNw3B-19HaJlPxdGB0VfH17137NnvwJv2d0iZJ8l0G8DypTXlGTR2fEbsgQ_aem_KKA8f2PLcCOoczwMXOB4Uw&e=AT07rj4AdwOF6DowVy0OYlwjRcfRWAfN0lPNUQya4he-PltGe_GStLBD70PAuUjHhRhJWXOkcrJlAHtqSMubcqDoGbdwT0_5seWfw1SAJat_UtcA4qSCTx0 Doc (Prometheus Lens Podcast) : https://prometheuslenspodcast.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacMhzmC7J7zOPvpf_yE4WX3EqGp0tyIqrI6viGuq11ZSYnXKm9df90DHSy_2A_aem_KvXHR1mTOCOC0NYJhJS5eQ AG (Paranoiradio) https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fparanoiradio.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaddqk8iVFqv0Z0gM3-i_-1OTwZzUA457zp47caz-HZ_JOsoE7axzP-JUQaOnQ_aem_uOpbs_YqSh38WecKxVCn_Q&e=AT1-3GftOpDYdmfDiZox6r63G3ZfBkissS0ZV5WiXzuZ85Hg2E8-4YGQWQz48ft8qR6GcLGPlPC9xot4OvZgtj9SpCeTRGEFButqr3lWFwvyy46JahmmC3k     Business Shout Outs:   C.W OPERATIONS & SURVIVAL  Owner & Operator : Drew M Critter Hitters / Monster Hunters for Hire email: c.woperations17905@gmail.com. or  C.WOPPS@protonmail.com    Tier1 Restoration  Brain Cochrans phone = 615-809-9839 https://tier1restoration.godaddysites.com/   Bearded Brothers Trucking  Danny Vega  https://vegabrostn.com/   BerryHill Window Cleaning  https://www.berryhillwindowcleaningtn.com/   New City Hustla (Clothes & Designs) Owner : Chris  Email: Newcityhustla@gmail.com  Phone: (615)-624-4078 https://www.instagram.com/newcityhustla?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   The Tac Patch  https://www.instagram.com/thetacpatch_?igsh=MWFidzk3d2tib3Ztdw== https://thetacpatch.com/   FLatTopK9  Owner - Tim Russell  www.FlatTopK9.com   Stead Fast OverLand Owner - Jerrett Hudson https://www.instagram.com/steadfastoverland?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   Black Wolf Tactical Solutions Group https://blackwolftacticalsolutionsgroup.com/ Email - blackwolftsg@gmail.com         Amazing outtro ? by my friend D & Andrew (Walking Lightly Tones Studios Music) Check out CallhimD Spotify and Instagram give him a listen/follow https://open.spotify.com/artist/16BHUS6UGILgxsBEUxqQJ https://www.instagram.com/call.him.d?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Hello Giant Robot FM listeners! Zeta coverage starts now! Apologies for some scratchy audio this week, we had to resort to the backups but don't worry there's plenty of beautiful info here about how the Zeta Gundam novels were translated into English and what you can expect from all five(!!!) going forward.Zeta Gundam Book 1: https://gunbusternovels.wordpress.com/2024/01/30/mobile-suit-zeta-gundam-1/Mark Simmons's Z Gundam production history: https://www.gundamunofficial.com/production/zgundam.htmlPlease find TheIdeon at these links:Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/theideon.bsky.socialPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/BystonWellStoriesPlease find FlyAwayNow at these links:Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/flyawaynow.bsky.socialTwitter: https://x.com/flyawayn0wProject Wingman: https://store.steampowered.com/app/895870/Project_Wingman/Project Red Sun: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3437690/Project_Red_Sun/Skeet us @giantrobotfm.bsky.social and write to us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠giantrobotfm@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Giant Robot FM is hosted by Stephen Hero and pmcTRILOGY Support us directly at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/giantrobotfm⁠⁠⁠⁠  Graphic Design by DuarfS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.behance.net/maezurita⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/duarfs⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Art by Szkin https://bsky.app/profile/szkinart.netMusic by fretzl (@fretzl) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/fretzl⁠

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 6An Academy of Coitus.Marie's friends take turns to visit her and her husband.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.When we heard voices from the other bedroom we got up and followed the others downstairs. Marie and Jo were laughing together when we arrived in the kitchen, so lesbian love hadn't offended Jo too much. Marie looked at Kate as we entered. "Hi babe. How was it for you?"Kate smiled at her friend. "I just need to get laid so much. Now I feel so good that I can't find the words to describe it."Marie looked at me. "And what about you?""A gentleman never tells," I said. "Other than to compliment you on your choice of friends. I have enjoyed this evening immensely; but I'm wondering how you ladies would like to end it. Shall I take a quick shower while you pour me a glass of wine and decide?" And I left them to it.I was back downstairs in less than ten minutes, intrigued as to Jo and Kates' decision. Were they orgasmed out, did they want to play together or did they want to try a foursome?Marie passed me a glass of wine as I joined them. I took a sip as Marie explained that the girls couldn't decide what to do for the rest of the evening. She saw the look on my face and grinned at her friends. "Mr. Smarty Pants here obviously has some ideas." She turned to me. "Go on then. What are you thinking.""It might be better if I showed you," I suggested. I put my glass on the kitchen table and walked across to Jo. I kissed her firmly on the lips and then untied the belt on her dressing gown, allowing it to fall open. I reclaimed my wine glass and, after dipping my index finger into the ruby liquid, anointed her nipples with wine. I bent to lick it off as she stood, mesmerized, as her friends watched me."It's my belief that our Jo is a closet exhibitionist," I explained. "I think that she would enjoy an audience while I fuck her bent over the kitchen table."Jo didn't say anything but her pupils dilated even further and she licked her lips while Marie and Kate considered my words. "Is that true, Jo?" My wife purred as she approached her friend. "Do you really want Kate and I to watch while my husband fucks you over my kitchen table?"I saw a flush spread down Jo's neck down to the top of her chest. Fuck! She wasn't even this turned on while I was actually doing her!"You dirty, dirty girl." Now Kate had joined in. "I bet you even expect Marie to touch you while her husband's banging you. Is that right?"Jo was breathing heavily now. I stepped behind her and slipped the gown off her shoulders and cupped her tits as it fell to the floor. "I think that we all know what's going to happen now," I whispered in her ear. "Lean forwards with both hands on the table and don't move." I looked at the other two women. "Take your seats ladies. The show is about to start."Jo took a single step to reach the table and silently bent at the waist to lean against it. She still hadn't said a word. I stood behind her and slipped my hand between her thighs. I couldn't believe how wet she felt. "You've never done this before. Am I right?" She shook her head. ""How long have you wanted to be fucked senseless while other people have watched you?""I was on holiday in Amsterdam, before I met Patrick. There was a group of us and we got high and found a live sex show." Her voice was soft and wistful. "Everyone else thought it was a hoot but," she paused as she remembered that night. "But I watched that woman on the stage as her lover penetrated her and it was the most arousing sight I'd ever seen. I wanted to be her; to do that; to be so free."Now she sounded sad as she continued. "But life's not like that, is it? I didn't want to be a prostitute or a stripper: I just wanted to be able to do what she did, even just once."I slipped off my own dressing gown. "Will this do, Jo? It's only an audience of two, but they are going to sit and watch you being fucked. Two of your very closest friends are going to watch you take my cock. Will that do for a start? Then you can fantasize about doing it with a different audience next time."She had already come at least three times with me that evening and God alone knows what Marie had done to her, so she was already aroused when we started this game. I also had an agenda of my own that this was playing quite nicely towards. I glanced at Marie and Kate to see them staring at my cock as I placed it at Jo's entrance. Jo gasped as she realized that the game was about to get real.I slipped gradually inside her and used my hands on her hips to embed myself balls deep. Marie decided to help her friend's fantasy as I started to pump back and forth. "Look Kate. Look at how Geoff's cock is slipping in and out of Jo's cunt. Look how wet and shiny he is."Kate was genuinely excited too. "This is the first time that I've ever seen two people having sex in real life," she said, breathlessly. "This is so fucking hot. Jo you dirty bitch.""Is this what you wanted Jo?" I murmured in her ear. Two of your best friends watching while one of their husbands fucks you?""Oh, yes," she groaned. "I've wanted to do something like this for so long.""Ask Marie what it's like, watching you fucking her husband on her kitchen table," I told her."Is it, oh!" She gasped. "Marie. Is it hot watching; Oh!" Another gasp."It's beautiful, babe." Marie reassured her. "I can see his cock slipping in and out of you. It's really sexy. Maybe." My wife paused for effect. "Maybe another time you could let us watch him take you up your bum. Would you like that, you dirty girl?"Jo couldn't answer. It didn't take long before I could feel her internal muscles starting to grip as she approached her climax. She was making cute little moans in time to my thrusts and they were getting louder and more urgent every passing second. Eventually she threw her head back and cried out as she hit a massive orgasm. I kept on thrusting trying to fuck her through it, but she was spent. We helped her to a chair and left her to recover.I smiled and looked at Kate. "You next. Take up the position." Then I turned to Marie. "I don't know what you're grinning at. Line up next to her." The two women looked nonplussed for a moment, then hurried to take up position side by side in front of me. I stood for a moment wondering how this could be. Only a couple of months ago I was convinced that my wife had gone off sex, and off me. Then I had a bit of an episode when she was berating our daughter's sex life, and here we were; she and her friend are bent over the kitchen table presenting their naked backsides to me while a spent friend recovers from yet another orgasm as she watches. I was sure that there was a life lesson in there somewhere but, on the other hand, there were two naked ladies anxious to be serviced, so I decided to put existential angst on the back burner and make the most of it.I decided to take my wife first as she hadn't had any cock at all that evening, unless I counted one of the rubber ones from the naughty shop. Either way she sighed gratefully as I guided my cock into her lovely moist tunnel. "Hi honey. I'm home," I warbled as we moved together. I tried to keep count as I stroked into her. After ten, I dismounted. "I'm just popping next door," I explained as I pushed my cock into Kate. They both giggled. Ten strokes into Kate as I admired her shapely bum and then back to Marie. For the next ten minutes all you could have heard in the kitchen was the sound of my belly slapping into the buttocks of the two lovely women in front of me, punctuated by the moans as we all got closer.I was glad when Kate came first, as I was getting close myself and I really wanted to finish inside my wife. As it happened, I couldn't hold back and I spent my load into Marie before she was ready. Jo came to the rescue though, and while I was trying as hard as I could to keep going before my erection subsided, she knelt by my wife and started to rub Marie's clit. Marie was completely unprepared for it and only lasted a minute longer before she succumbed to the inevitable and gracefully collapsed onto the table giggling quietly to herself.That seemed to be an appropriate moment to bring the evening to a close, so Jo and Kate each retired to one of the en-suites for a shower before they got dressed and joined us back downstairs. It struck me that this should have felt really awkward, but it didn't; honestly. We all kissed, rather chastely under the circumstances and we wished them a safe journey home as they left together.I looked at Marie as we held hands at the door. "Well babe." I said. "Are we still a couple?"She cuddled up close. "Nothing that you did or said tonight made me anything but proud," she said. "I asked you to make my friends happy, and you did. I know that every time you make love to them you form an attachment. That's 'cos you're a big softie really; and I love you all the more for it. Let's go to bed. I want to hold you even if you can't make love again." As it happened, I could.On Thursday we had a bit of a lie in {that's married people talk for having morning sex) and then we had a light breakfast as Marie was meeting Jane for lunch. We chatted about the night before, but didn't break our promise to the girls to keep the intimate details private. I was reassured now that Marie seemed comfortable watching me have sex with her friends and I was relaxed about her lesbian quid pro quo. I admit that I was uneasy about something, though. Everything that I had been brought up to believe told me this was wrong. I was still troubled by this cultural indoctrination even though I had no logical explanation for why I was supposed to feel guilty for making two friends happy. Fuck it. I love my wife, and her friends deserve physical affection.Anyway, we changed the beds and put the soiled sheets in to wash then went to get the weekly shopping. After we'd packed everything away Marie went to meet Jane while I went to the pub for lunch. I'd decided I'd had a good workout the previous evening and deserved a treat.Marie was preparing a tagine for tea when I got home; just the two of us tonight, Colin had football practice. "Hello love," I said as I gave her a kiss. "How was your lunch date?""It was okay," Marie said thoughtfully. "Jane enjoys your flirting and she understands that I wasn't offended by her playing along. But." I wondered what was coming next. "But, I'm sorry Geoff," she said hurriedly. "She's just such an awful gossip. She told me things in confidence that I had no need to know, about people who'd be terribly embarrassed if they found out what she was saying about them. I tried to call her out on it but she doesn't seem to care."There's no way that I can invite her to meet the girls; She'd be forever pestering a solicitor, a nurse and a copper for juicy titbits, and I know your suspicions about Angie's;  activities. And if she ever found out about our language classes, it would be all over town in an hour."I was actually relieved. Yes, Jane was attractive and yes, she was young enough to be our daughter, but there was something comfortable about our arrangement with Marie's friends. Even now, I can't really explain it, but somehow it was okay for me to help my wife's friends, but screwing a friend of mine would cross a line. I think that I may be even more broken than I realized.On Friday Marie asked if it was okay if Angie stayed for the weekend. They had enjoyed our previous dance evening so much that they wanted to do it again, if I was willing. Was I ever! I rang to arrange for a taxi that evening and asked if Ken was free. He'd taken us the last time we went out together and I rather enjoyed his company. I have to admit that I was looking forward to finding out if my companions' behavior that night had any; repercussions in his own marital relations.That afternoon, I picked Colin up from school and we discussed his homework, population dynamics and how women's reproductive choices could affect prosperity and economic growth. It was interesting and we lost track of time until his gran called him for his tea. We sat with him and chatted while he ate. We'd decided to eat out later with Angie. Colin's ears pricked up when we explained why we weren't eating with him. "Oh," he said. "Will mum be acting all weird again on the way home then?"Marie explained to him that she and Angie were very good friends and loved each other very much. But his mum had misunderstood and thought that meant that Gran didn't love me anymore. She reassured Colin that she loved his grandad more than ever and we both wanted Angie to have people in her life that cared for her; so we were happy for her to come and stay and spend time with us both.Colin gave me a very thoughtful look before he went to finish his homework. Marie and I glanced meaningfully at each other, shrugged and went to get showered and changed.Angie arrived just after six, as I was on the phone to Linda. Angie dashed into the study to give Colin a hug while I called upstairs to tell Marie that Linda was on her way home from work and would be with us to collect Colin in quarter of an hour. Angie grabbed her case from near the door to go and get changed upstairs as Marie came down to meet her. Colin came out of the study to show me his homework, and he watched as the two friends met and gave each other a loving hug, and a passionate kiss."Oops," said Colin. "Good job Mum missed that. She'd have seriously got her knickers in a twist." We just grinned at each other and then went to sit in the kitchen so he could show me his work. It was a thoughtful piece that contrasted, in a thirteen year old's words, the importance of women to an economy and their lower status in too many societies. Open minded and empathetic, he was going to be a real catch when he grew up. That decided me: I needed to have a long chat with his mum.By the time Linda arrived we were all downstairs. The girls looked stunning. Marie was in a long dark blue dress with a scooped neck, showing her amazing cleavage. Angie was in a long burgundy dress with a split to mid-thigh. Their makeup was subtle but they glowed.Me? Really? Okay: I was in a blue two-piece suit, a shade darker than my wife's dress. I thought it would be nice to coordinate with both my girls so I put on a burgundy silk tie, with an Eldridge knot, to match Angie's dress. Smart brown shoes completed the ensemble, as though anyone would be looking at me!Linda followed the voices to the kitchen when she arrived. Marie and her friend were raiding my wine rack for a nice white to chill in time for our return home. "Wow! Mum, Angie, you both look amazing."My wife waited for a second, probably to see if there were any judgmental caveats to follow before she replied. "Thank you love. That's very nice of you to say so. Your Dad and I really enjoyed our last dance night with Angie, so we thought it would be nice to do it more often."Colin and I joined them in the kitchen as she was speaking and I stood between Marie and her friend with an arm around both of their waists. "Aren't I the luckiest man?" I gave Marie a peck on the cheek and then did the same to Angie. I looked squarely at Linda. "Two gorgeous women all to myself tonight." Linda flushed and I swear I heard Colin snort behind me.The three women went into the living room to chat, while Colin and I tried to find a nice wine for later. In the end, Colin chose a Pinot Grigio for us;  he said that he thought we might enjoy the white pear and lychee taste;  so we put a bottle in the fridge. Seeing as we were already in the kitchen, I took one of my 'special' tablets, making sure that Colin didn't see me. It was one thing telling Colin that Marie and I loved Auntie Angie: I wasn't about to explain that I was taking an erection enhancing drug so that I could have sex with them both all night!Anyway, Linda and Colin left without any drama just as our taxi pulled up. Marie went through her checklist for me. "Have you got your wallet, door keys, handkerchief?"I probably looked a bit insulted. "Yes dear," I sighed."Have you taken your tablet?" Marie asked. Angie gave me a look; at my groin."Yes dear.""Did you remember the condoms?" She fell about laughing. "Oh Geoff. The look on your face."I smiled. "Come on you daft bat. We're not getting any younger."The girls walked together towards the taxi and, as I locked up, I heard a squeal of joy from Angie. "Geoff! You complete genius. You got Ken to drive us." She all but skipped down the driveway and threw her arms around the poor man's neck. "Ken! You're my favorite cabbie. I'm so pleased to see you again." She demonstrated her sincerity by planting a big kiss on his mouth. I'm as certain as I can be that there was tongue involved.I looked at my wife. "I bet you're pleased to see Ken too." She nodded shyly. "I imagine he's your favorite cabbie as well." She just smiled. It seemed to be my night for sighing. "So go and show Ken how glad you are that he's our driver tonight." To her credit, she gave me a lovely hug first and then went to give Ken a big kiss. He also got the bonus of a lovely bosom pressed up against him, as well as a damn good look down a damn fine cleavage.We set off for the country hotel hosting the dinner dance, with me in the front with Ken and my two ladies plotting in the seat behind us. "Do you remember us Ken?" I asked."Vividly." He replied, apparently surprised that I should even have asked."You mentioned, as you dropped us off last time, something about your wife, er, may perhaps be going to benefit from the experience," I said, rather hesitantly.He looked both embarrassed and rather smug. "Er, well yes. She 'benefitted' twice that night and once again the next morning.""Oh, Ken!" Came a chorus from the rear seats."You naughty saucepot," said Angie. Ken smirked. "So did you do it up her bum?" Angie continued conversationally. It was fascinating watching his satisfied expression morph into a rictus of terror as he recalled how Angie had tormented me the first time that he drove us. "Well?" She persisted. "Do you sometimes go 'in' the 'out' door?""You know you're going to have to answer her, don't you?" I observed, as kindly as I could, when I saw his hesitation. "She's relentless, especially when she's interrogating someone about sex.""N, No," he stammered eventually. "We've never done that.""Me neither," she said wistfully. "She has." She meant Marie. "The luck bitch. Do you think Geoff would do me up the bum, if I ask him nicely?""Do women actually like that sort of thing?" He asked warily."Well I don't know, do I?" She was getting a little testy now. "I just admitted that I've never done it. You'll have to ask Mrs. Smuggy McSmugface here."Marie spared him having to ask. "It was an odd feeling," she volunteered cheerfully. "And it felt very naughty." She thought for a moment. "I did have a massive orgasm though. We're definitely going to do it again, but next time we'll prepare better, so that we can do it bareback." She sat back in her seat and looked fondly at her best friend. "I'm sure Geoff would love to do yours too. Shopping trip tomorrow? To get some enema kits?"Ken looked me helplessly. "Are they always like this?"I gave his question some serious thought. "Individually, no; together, sometimes but together with the prospect of sex; always!"I heard some more whispering behind me and I was sure one of the women murmured, "We'll keep that for the trip home." The dirty laughs that followed convinced me that they were on a hyper tonight and, I'm not sure if you'd noticed, they haven't had a drop to drink yet!We drove more or less in silence for the rest of the journey. It wasn't far. I knew the return trip was likely to be; challenging; but I didn't say anything to Ken. No need to alarm him prematurely after all.When we arrived at the hotel, the girls stayed in the back of the taxi until Ken realized that they were waiting for him to open the doors for them. Angie was sitting on the driver's side so he let her out first. I swear that I saw her rub her hand along the front of his trousers as she got out. She bobbed down and looked across to Marie, still sitting behind my seat, "I think Ken enjoyed our company."The poor man walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Marie and stood to attention with a look of resignation on his face as Marie stepped out and 'accidentally' stroked his groin too. She grinned across the cab roof at her friend and said, "Perhaps we should talk about something else on the way home. Do tell us you'll be driving us back tonight, Ken.""Er, Yes Madam, The gentleman insisted.""Oh goody! We love our little chats," Marie beamed.I paid our fare, with a generous tip, and clapped him gently on the shoulder. "It's only a ten minute drive," I told him. "It probably won't be too bad. Probably."

This week on Smut Club Chelsea and Hannah are reviewing The Billionaire's Obsession by J.S. Scott.You can find every episode of Smut Club at www.smutclubpodcast.com

Author Veeda Bybee discusses her new cookbook, A Few of My Favorite Things: Recipes Inspired by Family-Friendly Musicals. Once upon a time, Veeda Bybee was a food blogger. But as family and other commitments grew, maintaining the blog became too much work, and she eventually gave it up. This cookbook marks a return to writing about food and cooking, and she admits that it is a dream come true. During the pandemic, Veeda and her family began enjoying Family Musical Fridays, during which they watched a musical together, and Veeda prepared a recipe mentioned in the movie or inspired by the relevant time period or setting. By doing this, she found she was able to give her kids a good reason to try new foods. Family Musical Fridays were a big hit with her family, and they inspired her to create a cookbook featuring her family's favorite recipes and musicals.

This week on The Writing Community Chat Show, we were honoured to welcome back one of the UK's most beloved authors — Adele Parks MBE. With over five million copies sold, novels translated into 31 languages, and a career spanning a quarter of a century, Adele is a true literary powerhouse.Her brand-new book, Our Beautiful Mess, has just been released, marking an astonishing 25th novel in 25 years. It's an extraordinary milestone, and one we couldn't wait to celebrate with her.Our Beautiful Mess.In her latest novel, Adele brings back Connie, the heroine from her very first book Playing Away. But now, 25 years later, Connie's life looks very different. She's still with her husband, preparing for Christmas with her daughters home — until one new arrival stirs old ghosts.When her daughter Fran introduces her new boyfriend Zac, Connie is instantly unsettled. He reminds her of the one man who nearly destroyed her marriage decades earlier. As family secrets begin to unravel, Adele delivers another of her trademark gut-punch twists in a story that is as much emotional family drama as it is gripping thriller.This is Adele at her finest — exploring love, motherhood, secrets, and the terrifying lengths a parent will go to in order to protect their family.The Interview.In our conversation, Adele shared:* What it feels like to look back over 25 years of writing.* The challenges and joys of sustaining such a long and successful career.* Why she chose to revisit Connie and how the character has evolved.* How themes of motherhood, family dynamics, and secrets shape her work.* Her advice to writers on discipline, longevity, and embracing change.It's a warm, insightful, and inspiring chat with an author who has become a cornerstone of contemporary British fiction.

Brooke and Tyler hail the arrival of Emily Sanderson (!), Chief Operating Officer of Dragonsteel Books. We discuss the business practices and Dragonsteel's growth over the last decade, the Lightweaver Organization charity started by Emily and Brandon, and the logistical plans and challenges for this year's Dragonsteel Nexus 2025. There are no major spoilers discussed in the episode and it can be listened to by anyone. #NoSpoilers Link to learn more about the Lightweaver Foundation (https://www.lightweaverfoundation.org/) Link to Intentionally Blank Podcast Ep. 149 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GmTEBZZXL6w) Dragonsteel Books (https://www.dragonsteelbooks.com/) Check out our website (https://cosmereconversations.com) Support this podcast by becoming a Patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/CosmereConversations) Original music by David Gruwier (https://twitter.com/DGruwier). "Radiant" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5CFAZUv4C0) by David Gruwier.

Creativity doesn't come easy. It is often an act of resistance against chaos and other de-personalizing forces. In this episode, author Mitali Perkins joins Mark Labberton to discuss her latest book Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives. Known for her acclaimed novels for young readers—including You Bring the Distant Near and Rickshaw Girl—Perkins reflects on the creative life as both a gift and a struggle, marked by tenderness and tenacity. With candour about rejection, moments of mortification, and the relentless call to keep making, Perkins offers encouragement for artists who want their work to be both beautiful and just. Episode Highlights “I was very, very close myself to giving up on the creative life.” “Any time we're bringing order from chaos, there's going to be pushback—and it's diabolical pushback.” “Stories widened my heart, they widened my mind, they gave me a sense of calling that I was not just here for myself.” “We can't put on our faith like lace and bows; it has to be in the bones of the story.” “When I feel that embarrassment, that mortification, if I can just stay and do something physical to honour my work, goodness comes pouring back.” “To not write it, after hearing your passion to combat this foe of our age, would be exactly what the diabolical enemy wants us to do.” Helpful Links and Resources Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives by Mitali Perkins *You Bring the Distant Near* by Mitali Perkins (National Book Award finalist) Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film) *Steeped in Stories: Timeless Children's Novels to Refresh Our Tired Souls* by Mitali Perkins The Dangerous Act of Worship by Mark Labberton Kiva Microloans About Mitali Perkins Mitali Perkins writes novels for young readers that cross borders and break down walls. Her books include You Bring the Distant Near, a National Book Award nominee; Rickshaw Girl, now a feature film; and Tiger Boy, winner of the South Asia Book Award. Born in Kolkata, India, Perkins immigrated to the United States as a child and has published with major houses including Penguin Random House, Charlesbridge, Candlewick, and Little, Brown. Her newest book for adults, Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives, encourages artists to persist with both tenderness and tenacity. She speaks widely at schools, libraries, and conferences. More at mitaliperkins.com. Show Notes Perkins describes the heart of Just Making as born from nearly giving up on the creative life during the pandemic. Creativity, tenderness, and tenacity “I was very, very close myself to giving up on the creative life.” Just Making: a survival guide for writers and artists facing rejection, discouragement, and the sense that their work doesn't matter The struggles of the creative life Perkins speaks candidly about rejection, failed manuscripts, and the long twelve-year gap between her first and second published books. “You end up looking at the exterior packaging—my career looks amazing on social media—but inside it's pride, vainglory, rejections, bad reviews.” Practices such as finding “third spaces” and championing one's own work sustain her through rejection. Childhood, immigration, and storytelling Born in Kolkata, India, Perkins immigrated to New York at age seven. She calls herself a “feral reader,” devouring fourteen hundred novels in four years as a child “Stories widened my heart, they widened my mind, they gave me a sense of calling that I was not just here for myself.” Obstacles and motivation during her upbringing as the daughter of refugees Encountering faith through story Growing up in a Hindu home and finding coming to Christ in college Through reading the Gospels and C.S. Lewis, she encountered Jesus as “the true story behind all the stories.” Conversion and baptism while a student at Stanford Writing, justice, and flourishing “We can't put on our faith like lace and bows; it has to be in the bones of the story.” Fiction that tackles themes of poverty, gender, courage, and flourishing Justice is defined not only as righting wrongs but fostering shalom—wholeness and human flourishing. Publishing industry and perseverance Perkins recounts the twelve-year struggle to publish her second book, revising manuscripts dozens of times. “It was twelve years between my first book and my second book.” Tenacity grounded in prayer and a sense of God's invitation: “I've got the heavy yoke; will you walk with me?” Moments of humiliation Perkins shares a public humiliation at a book signing where no one lined up for her book. Choosing not to leave, she pulled out her manuscript and began editing “When I feel that embarrassment, that mortification, if I can just stay and do something physical to honor my work, goodness comes pouring back.” How Rickshaw Girl was published and adapted into a film Coaching for creatives Perkins counsels Mark Labberton on his unfinished book about fear “To not write it, after hearing your passion to combat this foe of our age, would be exactly what the diabolical enemy wants us to do.” How to embrace imperfection and see writing as part of a larger communal conversation Community and the impact of children's literature Direct engagement with children in classrooms and libraries How young readers form friendships with her characters and are inspired toward justice How books like Rickshaw Girl and her forthcoming The Golden Necklace connect global justice issues with young readers' imaginations Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.

On today's episode of The Literary Life Podcast, Angelina and Thomas are joined by Atlee Northmore to discuss film adaptations of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. After sharing their commonplace quotes, Atlee begins outlining the history of screen adaptations of Edith Wharton's novels, some of which were made during her own lifetime. Angelina and Thomas talk about their high standards for movie adaptations of books and how Scorsese's film surpassed their expectations. Together they discuss Scorsese's inspiration for this film, the painstaking detail of each scene in the film, how the editing enhanced the audience's understanding of the characters' emotions, and so much more! Also, Atlee's list of Scorsese's influences for making The Age of Innocence can be found here. Tune in again next week to learn more about what we mean when we talk about “the literary tradition”! For full show notes, including links to everything mentioned today, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/292. 

In this episode, a few pages of the following books will be read:Heaven and Hell by Jon Kalman Stefansson, translated from the Icelandic by Philip RoughtonMiss Iceland by Audur Ava Olafsdottir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbonHotel Silence by Audur Ava Olafsdottir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon

Part 2 of our conversation with Josh Neufeld about his non-fiction graphic novel, A. D. After the Deluge. “A stunning graphic novel that makes plain the undeniable horrors and humanity triggered by Hurricane Katrina in the true stories of six New Orleanians who survived the storm. A.D. follows each of the six from the hours before Katrina struck to its horrific aftermath. Here is Denise, a sixth-generation New Orleanian who will experience the chaos of the Superdome; the Doctor, whose unscathed French Quarter home becomes a refuge for those not so lucky; Abbas and his friend Mansell, who face the storm from the roof of Abbas's family-run market; Kwame, a pastor's son whose young life will remain wildly unsettled well into the future; and Leo, a comic-book fan, and his girlfriend, Michelle, who will lose everything but each other.” Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. William Cullen Bryant. "The Hurricane."      Lord of the winds! I feel thee nigh, I know thy breath in the burning sky! And I wait, with a thrill in every vein, For the coming of the hurricane!      And lo! on the wing of the heavy gales, Through the boundless arch of heaven he sails; Silent and slow, and terribly strong, The mighty shadow is borne along, Like the dark eternity to come; This week in Louisiana history. August 30, 1893, Gov. Huey P. "the Kingfish" Long born in Winnfield. This week in New Orleans history. August 29, 1985. Shouting "Bring Back American Jobs to America" and anticipating layoffs, 30 local employees to form a picket line outside of the telephone company's Central Office in the Central Business on August 29, 1985. This week in Louisiana. Bluesday Tuesday Tuesday, September 2, 2025 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm East Side Daiquiris on the Circle 2214 Worley Drive Alexandria , LA 71303 Website Every Tuesday from 7 to 10, we celebrate Bluesday with some of the most talented musical performers in the Cenla area including Odell Wilson, Jamey Bell, & Trey Huffman! Enjoy great LIVE music, yummy drink specials, and delicious food from our new menu! Postcards from Louisiana. Cajun Band at Maison Dupuy Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook.