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Stefan Kiesbye is the author of the recently released novel Berlingeles, a dystopian cyberpunk story that conjures up names like William Gibson, Philip K Dick, Franz Kafka and the television series Black Mirror. Stefan teaches creative writing at Sonoma State University in Northern California and Berlingeles is his sixth novel. It’s set in a future Los Angeles that has been walled in, much like Berlin back in the day, and follows the stories of Gaz, a rising member of the city’s most notorious street gang, and a 96-year-old man known only by the letter K. Here’s a line from the synopsis of the book: “Seeking a way out of this hellish maze of sweeping slums, waves of violence, and little hope, Gaz might just have found his path to salvation, while the underworld hangs on the prophecies of blind prophet Gerut, and the rest of the lost city still smolders in the ashes of a civil war.” And a story like that, with themes like this, combined with Stefan’s background, made for quite the chat, so hopefully you take something positive from this. Maybe the following dialogue will help you tear down whatever wall has been built around you. PATREON EXTENSION Listen at patreon.com/occulture More about the virtual & augmented reality Religion & divination The future of the little things Pop culture in the future Lizard people & labyrinths in LA Stefan chooses a city to wall himself in & the three books he’d take with him RESOURCES Berlingeles on Revelore Press Berlingeles on IndieBound Berlingeles on Amazon Stefan’s website Stefan on Twitter DONATE If recurring monthly support via Patreon isn’t your thing, we do accept one time-donations via PayPal, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple. Every little bit helps. Click here if you’re interested. MERCH We recently released new merch! Check it out on our website or at our Etsy shop. SOCIAL Twitter Instagram Facebook Tumblr MUSIC Vestron Vulture - “I Want to Be a Robot (Tribute to Giorgio Moroder)” Occams Laser - “Martyr Farker (Occulture Edit)” PRODUCTION & LICENSING This podcast is produced in the Kingdom of Ohio and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Executive Producers: Mike K., Carter Y., Mauricio G., Alyssa S., Daniel R., Kelly C., Kaleb H., Bruce H., Corey T., David G., Jeremy V., Marcelo T., Christopher B., Leonidas, Timothy W., Caleb C., VH Frater RC’s Hermetic Study Group, Nick F., Michael Q., Jamaica J., Mute Ryan, John W., Paul S., Andy E., James B., Colleen F., Ed O. REMINDER Love yourself. Think for yourself. Question authority.
Several of Gil Mansergh’s previous Word By Word guests lost homes and businesses in the recent wildfires, and one of these, award-winning novelist and Sonoma State University fiction writing professor, Stefan Kiesbye his wife Sanaz and their dog Kurt escaped from the flames with just minutes to spare. His response was to write a piece for the Los Angeles Times he entitled “Your House Is On Fire, Your Old Life Is Gone.” Stefan shares his words and reflections with our listeners, with Gil, and with today's other in-studio guest, Sharon Hamilton. Sharon’s award winning romance novels may feature finely-chiseled Navy SEALS, but almost a decade ago, she lost her beautifully landscaped Bennett Valley home to a fire—and her life was forever changed. Sharon recently wrote about this on a blog entry she calls “Rising From the Fire,” and she will also share this piece and her recent thoughts on-air. CAUTION: This Word By Word conversation features tragic firestorm incidents which may trigger emotional responses for people impacted by the fire.
Word By Word host Gil Mansergh wishes every one a Happy Gothic Valentines Day by welcoming Sonoma State’s newest professor of creative writing, Stefan Kiesbye. Born in Germany, and with an MFA from the University of Michigan, Stefan’s books prompted Die Welt to write that he “is the inventor or the modern German Gothic novel.” Stefan’s debut, Next Door Lived a Girl, won the Low Fidelity Press Novella Award and his second book, Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone, was a Top Ten pick in Oprah Magazine and made Entertainment Weekly’s "Must Read" list. Stefan’s newest novel,The Staked Plains, is set in a desiccated town in Eastern New Mexico that is “ similar but decidedly different” than the Eastern New Mexico University community where Stefan taught before relocating to Sonoma County.