The Arc of The Bard

Three Raconteur Press writers tell two stories each. The host also reads one. Discussions on the structure, purpose, and helpfulness of flash fiction. Some stories written just for today’s show! Wally Watner of Wallbanger Creative orates well. Here’s one of his stories. He also explains how being motivated to write for this story circle is the impetus for expanding his work. K Anders was recently...

K Anders got to the bottom of why characters write themselves . This question comes up a lot among writers. How fascinating, really. Here is a different source that also backs it up. Kjell posits that it’s not only the readers, but also writers require empathy to get into the heads of their characters. You can find all K’s links at his website, TheVassal. Net . He has a lot of writing and he’s als...

Two stories each from these four Raconteur Press writers. We had good talks about influences and inspirations. Also the relationship between science fiction and real life technology. From Brave Browser AI: This dynamic is widely described as a feedback loop or mutual influence , highlighting the cyclical exchange where speculative fiction inspires real-world invention, which in turn fuels new wave...

Jesse writes a lot of urban and combat fantasy. We had a lot of fun discussing inter-dimensional concepts as it relates to writing. He read a piece from his book Gravesinger . Some of the things we touched on had to do with the role of combat and war as apart of human nature. It seems like a lot of battle oriented writing also has a fair share of compassion as it relates to triage. We are a weird...

We get to learn about SciFi Westerns, and hear some reading from three Raconteur Press Authors. This is a genre I had no idea existed. They call it SciFi Western, or Space Cowboys. Space as the Wild West, with future technology. I think if I knew anything about cowboys I could really get into writing this. These guys know. We had a really good time and I learned alot. They read excerpts from their...

Subject matter warning: A difficult but necessary discussion on surviving child sexual abuse trauma, the Epstein files, the enabling political class, and enablers in general. How do we use stories for healing? Alle C. Hall has done much to draw attention to an issue society likes to ignore. We ignore it at our peril. I think the lesson I learn from this conversation is that we can judge the virtue...

Nora Gaskin is from Durham–Chapel Hill. Her writing career draws on her esperiences with her Dad, decades of professional experience, and an interest in the human questions behind crime and mystery. She had a 24-year career in the financial world, and in 2005, she turned her attention to writing fiction and nonfiction. * Nora earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with Honors in Creative Writing,...

Cheril reads time travel psychedelia, Trip and Rift . Stories come from within us, and sometimes seemingly from elsewhere. AI is simply unable to do what humans can. She nails that whole thing. I’m so glad we finally got into this conversation in this show. Cheril does some cool stuff in these books. She broaches relationships, healing, history and even inventing a new language… a new language as...

Amin Amat disrupts the OZ Universe. He has a unique take on Post-Dorothy dynamics. This illustrators foray into writing is a formidable storm. Listen Right Now While I learned a great deal about the world of illustrating from an accomplished one, I was pleased to hear Amin’s description of storytelling, and particularly writing characters. He’s learned how the characters take over the process. Now...

Ken gives a materialist explanation of WHY we bring stories forward, as well as how. He says the MEME LAYER is an evolutionary necessity . Please listen. Lots of great business advice as well. We spoke about the unique value of people on the autism spectrum. There is some talk about how screenwriting format helps with the visual aspect of prose. Ken read from his graphic novel CARRAVAGGIO: A Light...

Michael and I talked about his 2 books, The Flowerbed and Two Minutes . He sees our minds as each being a unique universe to draw from. He was inspired by his grandpa who used poetry to heal from war. The excerpt from Two Minutes is a whimsical use of a darkroom as both respite from the outside world, and vehicle in which to detach and travel through space. Please listen and enjoy that. The Flower...

Wow, talk about noir. I had to make up a new word for Miriam ! I probably didn’t make Noiress up first. LOL. Miriam read from Gray New Deal and also from her entry Saving, in Austin Noir . Much of this discussion is about the dark turn in American economics of the past few decades and the effects it has had on people’s lives. Noir, indeed. Being an LCSW, MFA—that’s a social worker who mostly works...

Lessons from The Arc of The Bard | Things for guests to consider | An analysis of the process to this point | How it came about in the first place | Back to Sundays only Dialogue Impetus My podcast, The Arc of The Bard , is built on storytelling and on simply doing what I want. The guest discussions are about the nature of storytelling as a facility of consciousness, as well as an opportunity for...

Walt Meyer is a journalist and a fiction and non-fiction writer. We talked lot of writing process and also sociology. What do you think of American education and bullying? How about elves? This talk is a very good time. Walter G. Meyer is also a travel writer and a journalist. He also co-wrote GAM3ERS, a one-man play about World of Warcraft. Then we got into the subject of his book, Rounding Third...

Jamie wrote a genre-bending foodie book . He is an innovative guy with an interesting approach to writing and marketing his books. Music is a big motivator. It’s enough to make me want to play along with the acclaimed playwright . The main purpose of TAOTB is to discuss storytelling and the origin of thought and a lot of philosophical stuff like that. But we discussed the difference in writing pla...

Jaime Buckley 💎 is a talent stack. He writes and illustrates his books . He has music, instructional books, and theory, all organized on his Life of Fiction Substack . He gets into writer questions and has a podcast at JaimeBuckley.com . Jaime read from his Chronicles of a Hero . You’ll get the music related to his writing here . Gear Girls at Spotify, also. → NOTE: For my usual Sunday/Monday lis...

KaylaVerse recently released Telensia, City of AI . We spoke about the origin of stories, supporting creative development during youth, and maintaining family and community in times of challenge. She is gracious enough to let us hear her music during this conversation! The first episode of her web series is available now. ^ Storytelling takes so many forms, and Kayla uses all of them. She produces...

Ian is a natural teacher. I learned the more he spoke. He read from his YA novel The Secrets of The Strange Days . We discussed the human nature of storytelling, screenwriting, the value of finding a teacher, and the stimulation-oriented product of AI versus the existential value of human creativity. Find all his links below. I think you’ll agree that when he finds the representation he’s looking...

James Salsido released episode 1000 of his podcast Salsido Paranormal , the most comprehensive collection of paranormal stories on the internet, on April 5th, 2026 (today). We talked about that interface between fiction and the unexplained and how storytelling can play a role in our interpretation of the unseen realms. James read from his upcoming novel, called Unveiled , a disclosure story of ano...

Brownell Landrum says, “Lose yourself in the fiction, find yourself in the truth.” Her books are rife with lessons. We got into all my favorite stuff, and I learned plenty of new references and descriptions of consciousness. Reincarnation is a theme in her writing… over and over again. If you can figure out who the historical couple from her book We Meet Again is, she’ll send you one. Can you figu...

Fran Tabor touched on Morphic Resonance and Rupert Sheldrake , Business, anthropomorphic extraterrestrials and Christian Fiction. Fran reads from her Science Fiction novel, One Planet, Two Worlds . Here are Fran’s Links: Amazon , Facebook , LinkedIn I would like to have these conversations with a lot more Substackers. Whether there is a book or product to promote or not. If you create Fiction in a...

Mark Mustian is a wealth of knowledge and accomplishment. I implore you to please visit News and Events , and also the About page of his website. Mark read excerpts from his latest novel, Boy with Wings . He is: * A published Author * A former Elected Official * A Lawyer * The Organizer and Founder of the Word of South Books and Music Festival Mark’s experience as a published author spans the chan...

Much about the crafting of Short Stories. Richard reads from the Short Story Anthology called Fifty States , and also from his stalker novel Born on Monday . Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less Use this link for discounted tech items | Refurbished, open box, etc. Read and share my GiveSendGo Visit easytopia ! where I share all my short fiction. The conversations with Richar...

Elise is a consummate writer and teacher. She writes Detective Mystery novels that are a lot of fun and adventurous. I have to immediately note that I kept coming back to character development with her. Her experience as a theater and drama teacher, who has written scripts and plays kept me digging into that with her. You’ll like this conversation if you work on personalities in your writing, and...

Michael was gracious enough to share the introduction to a forthcoming book. My First Year in stand-up: Lessons in Life, Laughter, and Loss. His comedy journal and blog can be found here, at Substack . Michael Halcomb.com is his academic information. Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less Use this link for discounted tech items . Refurbished, open box, name brands, etc.. Check...