The Listening Room

In the last chapter, Mother put a grand plan to rest. Welcome back to The Listening Room for the last installment of “Hypnotic”. 9. A car door opened and a weathered black boot stepped onto the dirt road. The door closed with a hollow thud as the person approached a circular clearing pressed down with gravel. Atop it was a dark green picnic table and a nearby grill which had seen better days. Beyo...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for the next installment of “Hypnotic”. David made a swift escape after his last test run but finds himself in another prison. In chapter eight, his plans are set into motion. 8. Friday came and it was time to set plans in motion. David got dressed in dark gray chinos, a gray button down shirt and black sneakers. He put on a light weight black sweater and zipped...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for the next installment of “Hypnotic”. David Fuller, a man being housed in a sleep research facility Dr. Vincent Vogel and his assistant Molly Fitzgerald, has just undergone his most extreme dream test run yet. In chapter seven, something sinister is in the works. 7. David stretched out his aching limbs on the bed. The artificial light in his room was still low...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for the next installment of “Hypnotic”. If you’re just joining, we met David Fuller, a man being housed in a sleep research facility while Dr. Vincent Vogel and his assistant Molly Fitzgerald, examine David’s dreams. Tobias Mancuso sits at the helm recording those dreams and monitoring David during test runs. In chapter six, we pick up with an Atlantic City, NJ m...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for the next installment of “Hypnotic”. If you’re just joining, we met David Fuller, a man being housed in a sleep research facility while Dr. Vincent Vogel and his assistant Molly Fitzgerald, examine David’s dreams. Tobias Mancuso sits at the helm recording those dreams and monitoring David during test runs. In chapter four, we got a glimpse of David’s life befo...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for chapter four of Hypnotic . In chapter three, David’s allies came to the rescue, both inside and outside the dream world. We resume with who he was before the experiments. 4. David grabbed his lunch pail out of the fridge and put it on the table next to Janine. She was dead set on completing a game of Candy Crush and didn’t look up. Her tousled hair was in a p...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for chapter three of Hypnotic . In chapter two, we learned that David volunteered for the sleep study, but not yet why. We resume with a new dreamscape. 3. “We’re going to send you into the next test run,” Vincent said. He was standing next to a reclined David in the dream room. He put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. David nodded and turned up the corner...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for chapter two of Hypnotic . You can go back to listen (or read) chapter one to catch up. We encountered a scary descent into a dreamworld for David and a suggestion by tech Toby about how to improve mission results. In this episode, we see what comes from the stillness. 2. The hinges of the pass through creaked open at the bottom third of the door. A silver foo...

Welcome listeners and readers! This is the first chapter of The Listening Room presentation “Hypnotic”. We meet David Fuller who is a test subject of Dr. Vincent Vogel, a man doing disturbing research into dreams. 1. “You know, the closest we get to the feeling of death is the moment before we fall asleep. It’s an utterly delightful, warm, and peaceful transition we do not study enough.” Were it n...

You’re in the Listening Room , a podcast series by The FLARE Substack. I’m Chevanne, the voice behind both. If you’ve been a fan for a while or at least gone through my podcast archive, you know that each year on October 3rd, I share an audio presentation. Today continues that tradition as both a celebration of a medium I’ve become more passionate about over time, audio performance, and of my birt...

And now for the conclusion… When school let out for the summer Martin was dangling at the end of his rope managing the two starkly different parts of his life. He had finally gotten done wrapping up the year a week afterward. The classroom had been cleared out and he headed home, tired but satisfied.  He fantasized about a hot shower and crisp, cold bed sheets as he trudged up the front steps. Bef...

In our last episode, Martin made a surprising commitment that took him to new lows. This week, we see how deep it goes. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 3. Alonzo took after his Uncle Leo. He had a quiet confidence about him that contrasted his cousin Manny’s twitchiness and Matthew’s phony bravado....

In our last episode, Martin falls under increasing pressure and finds his future as a teacher more uncertain than ever. This week, we see whether he’s given in to looming temptation. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 2. Martin awoke alone that Saturday morning, with aching muscles and swollen eyelids....

You’re in… The Listening Room, a podcast series by The FLARE Substack. I’m Chevanne, the voice behind both. This next presentation is of my first proper short story, written over three days with no outline and no plan. It was the first time I knew writing could be so thrilling and stressful. There was a small bowl of gummi bears and aperitif glass of vermouth to spur me on. In “No Way Home”, we me...

Transcript: You’re in… The Listening Room, a podcast series by The FLARE Substack. I’m Chevanne, the voice behind both. This next piece was difficult to write. I kept turning it over in my head, avoiding it, and revising it. That’s mostly because it’s a frightening true story, one about you and me and what could happen to you or to me. Only one small thing could make a big difference. Thanks for j...

Welcome back for the final episode of the serial sci-fi mystery “Ithaka”. We ended chapter 6 with a narrow escape and the help of friends near and light years away just as a battle has begun. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 7. The cave shook with tremors from below and blasts from rocket fire above....

Welcome to the Listening Room for a reading of “Ithaka” In chapter 5, we found out the mystery man’s identity and things we getting tense between Anaella and Minos. In this chapter, the penultimate of the series, much more is revealed. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 6. Anaella fidgeted nervously in...

Welcome back to The Listening Room for a reading of “Ithaka”. In chapter 4, our investigators landed on the desolate planet of Helios. Anaella’s strange encounter with Minos lingers while the pair find a hidden colony and meet a stranger. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 5. Anaella, Kane, and Tory de...

Thank you for coming back to read (or listen to) the short story “Ithaka” in the Listening Room, presented by The FLARE Substack. In episode three, Anaella and Minos were getting closer, while new light was shed on the investigation. And in a flashback, we met a Headley ancestor. In this episode, we learn about the planet Helios. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts an...

Thank you for coming back to read (or listen to) the short story “Ithaka” in the Listening Room, presented by The FLARE Substack. In episode two, we met Anaella’s new roommate Minos, who is seeing the planet anew. We resume with Anaella and Kane’s investigation tracking down the hover truck which may have dumped the stranger in the field. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new...

Welcome back to episode 2 of “Ithaka”. If you haven’t already done so, please go back to listen to episode one. We met an unknown man whose death brings up many questions as to his origin. In another scene, we flash back to the past in the midst of a critical conversation in front of a Senate committee. 2. A man with a fistful of wavy brown hair and a wide stride approached the glass doors before...

You’re in The Listening Room , a podcast series by The FLARE Substack which is premiering the serial fiction story “Ithaka”. I’m Chevanne, your host. We begin hundreds of years in the future just outside the town of Ithaka. We meet our protagonist at the beginning of a developing mystery. The FLARE is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a fre...

You’re in The Listening Room , a podcast series by The FLARE Substack which will feature updates and readings of selected published work. I’m Chevanne, the voice behind both. I have to admit, it was a rough summer. I went through a lot emotionally and physically. Like every restaurant or post office, I was short-staffed as well. This meant making myself the mortar between widely spaced bricks. I d...