Episodes
Thursday Mar 18, 2021
Ch 22. - The Multiverse Blues - Terraplane Blues
Thursday Mar 18, 2021
Thursday Mar 18, 2021
A very central character of The Multiverse Blues is Hope, the delphine diva from another dimension. In this, the spring of 2021, I'm starting to regain a feeling of hope. My home has been finally been restored after the October sewage disaster. The lovely weather invites me to venture outside these four walls and see the wider world. I even have my first Covid vaccination scheduled for the end of the month. It almost seems symbolic that a book that I poured my fear, frustration, and even anger into in the fall is now in my hands and is being read by other people. It's like I can let all that horror go, fluttering away on the winds. Trans Witch: College of Secrets is what happens when I take unmanageable emotions and forge them into something positive. If you get a chance to pick up a copy from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, I want you to get that feeling of hope and release as you read it.
This week on The Multiverse Blues: Jules and the crew of Hope's Tour make bold plans to get from the world of League, across the neighboring dimension of Arne, to end up at their destination: Erde, Harlan's steampunk homeworld.
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Ch 23 - The Multiverse Blues - I'm a Steady Rollin' Man
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Goodbyes are hard for me. As I write this introduction, I've gotten a bit ahead on the writing for The Multiverse Blues. I am about to start the last chapter, as a matter of fact. I've spent nearly a year telling the story of Jules and Hope's Tour, and I can tell you listeners that I'm going to miss these characters when I'm done. Don't fret, you'll still have four more chapters to listen to after this one. But then we'll be done, and I'll have to move on to something else.
If all you know of my writing is this podcast, you're in luck, I have ten published novels, six of which are also in audiobook format, if you aren't much of a reader. Road Ghosts is an especially good deal, because it contains three novels and short story in one audiobook.
Plans are going forward to create an audiobook for my latest novel, Trans: Witch: College of Secrets. I'll have more news about for you that in future episodes.
This episode of The Multiverse Blues tells the story of the Arch Authority catching up to Hope's Tour, some difficult decisions, and the beginning of what comes next.
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Ch 24 - The Multiverse Blues - They're Red Hot
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Characters are people too! At least, inside my mind, they are. When I bring characters from one story into another, I find that I still have a mental model of that character pretty much ready to use, even if it seems strange to put them in a new situation cold. It's been fun to have Lee and Dionne from my other novel, Reality Check, appear in The Multiverse Blues, even if they're not the main characters this time around.
In this chapter of The Multiverse Blues, Jules meets up with old friends, makes some new friends, and comes up with a rescue plan.
Thursday Apr 29, 2021
Ch 25 - The Multiverse Blues - Come On In My Kitchen
Thursday Apr 29, 2021
Thursday Apr 29, 2021
Pre-Order The Multiverse Blues ebook!
I began The Multiverse Blues as a serial, with only a vague notion of where it would end up. I can own up to not being much of a planner when it comes to writing novellas and novels. I come up with a concept, some characters, a goal, and just start writing. After awhile, patterns emerge, and I'll come up with plot points that definitely need to happen before the end of the story. Often, I'll arrange these in order and end up with a more organized plan, and that plan becomes more and more like an outline the closer I get to the end of the story.
This was my method with The Multiverse Blues as well, but I played it a lot looser than usual until the very end. Writing this story has been exciting for me, because I often didn't know how things would turn out until I wrote them. And sometimes I left myself really tough situations to work out for next time. But one advantage of taking a year to write this story, one chapter every couple of weeks, is that I had a lot of time to think about what came next.
This is the second to last chapter of The Multiverse Blues. The heat is on, and Jules and their friends are going to have to think fast and use their heads and hearts to figure it all out.
In the penultimate chapter of The Multiverse Blues, Dionne and Lee help Jules rescue Tristellians enslaved by the Arch Authority, using a method unique to Hope's Tour.
Thursday May 06, 2021
Rosedale Pub- Genius Loci
Thursday May 06, 2021
Thursday May 06, 2021
Surprise! This isn't a bonus episode, but this is usually an off week for the Alien Beer Podcast. Next week, on May 15th, 2021, the last episode of The Multiverse Blues will air. On that same day, the paperback and ebook versions of that saga will be released on Amazon! So, to get you ready for the transition to a new story, I thought I'd air this, the first episode of Rosedale Pub.
Rosedale is a pub between the worlds, a liminal place where travelers from anywhere in the multiverse may rest and mingle. The Road outside, as Bilbo Baggins knows, can go anywhere, and you have to be careful when you set your feet upon it, because who knows where you'll end up. Only thing for sure is, at the Rosedale Pub, you'll hear travelers' tales. This first episode is an introduction to that place. So pull up a barstool and have a drink. All are welcome at the Rosedale!
Thursday May 13, 2021
Ch 26 - The Multiverse Blues - Rambling on My Mind
Thursday May 13, 2021
Thursday May 13, 2021
Well, dear listeners, this is it, the last episode of The Multiverse Blues. It's been an amazing ride for me. I hope it's been as much fun for you, since you're still here listening to this. I'll go on the record as saying that I don't have plans for a sequel to this story, but you never know. I'm sure some of these characters will show up in the next project, which will also be about wayfarers traveling between the worlds.
Have you enjoyed the story? The Multiverse Blues is now a BOOK. Check out Amazon for ebook and paperback versions, with more availability coming soon.
In the final episode of The Multiverse Blues, Jules faces down two armies which threaten the lives of the refugee Tristellians, and the Theta Earth concert crowd that might get caught in the crossfire. How can Jules stop the oncoming slaughter?
Friday May 21, 2021
Bonus 5 - Trans Witch Chapter One
Friday May 21, 2021
Friday May 21, 2021
Dear listeners, I am so excited to share with you this, the first chapter of Trans Witch: College of Secrets, as read by Danielle Muething! I can't express how happy I am with Danielle's narration, both in quality and consistency, and how thrilled I am with the way she brought my characters to life with her voice acting. Please enjoy this sample chapter, and I hope you'll check the audiobook out on Audible!
Thursday May 27, 2021
Rosedale Pub - Tall Tale
Thursday May 27, 2021
Thursday May 27, 2021
In this episode of Rosedale Pub, Alyssa meets True Colorado, a regular, who tells a rather tall tale.
I wrote this story in a café in Broad Ripple, a pretty part of my city. I was drawn to the cafe when I spotted a trans flag hanging from a balcony nearby. The café was open air, since one side of the building opened with garage doors. I sat at a table by myself with my laptop, tarot cards, and my coffee, and came up with "Tall Tale", set in my new Rosedale Pub series.
I can't stress enough how much I've missed writing somewhere other than my home office. Sure, my home office is comfortable and has everything I need. But a change of scenery provides a sense of being away from household worries and work, and that gave my creativity a big boost. And I daresay the sense of freedom that came with my away mission was good for the soul.
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Rosedale Pub - Me Time
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Sometimes, it's hard to let people go. It's hard to accept that someone you once shared something special with has moved on, especially when you haven't. In our visit to the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub this week, we'll meet someone who's been led there by one last hope of making things work with their special someone.
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
Rosedale Pub - The Cat Came Back
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
I deal with grief and other hard emotions, in part, by channeling that energy into something else. Writing can be therapy for me; for example, Trans Witch was written during a time of great stress and distress for me. The result wasn't a big block of angst or gloom and doom, but a peek into a world where hard things can be overcome, and love wins out in the end.
This story comes in the wake of losing one of my best friends. Stella was always my buddy, from the very first day she came into my life, for twelve years, until early this month when she passed away. If, when I tell you that Stella was a cat, you react by dismissing that as not the same as losing a human friend, then I feel sorry for you.
I had always intended there to be a cat character in the Rosedale Pub, but recent events helped me decide the form that cat would take. That, and an old song that I repurposed to be kinder and more magical than it was intended to be.
Anyway, here's "Rosedale Pub – The Cat Came Back"
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Friends in Space
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
You may know that this podcast is named after my short story collection, Alien Beer and Other Stories. You may also know that I've already read every one of the stories in that book to you on this podcast.
However, I do have a secret cache of stories I wrote in 2019 when I attempted the Bradbury Challenge. Ray Bradbury famously wrote, "Write a story a week for a year. It's impossible to write 52 bad stories in a row". My author friend Kat Bradbury inspired me to do this when she took it up herself. She eventually turned it into her own podcast about writing short fiction. I managed 14 stories.
Anyway, I don't have a Rosedale Pub story for you this week, because at the time of recording, I'm preparing to be a Featured Guest at Inconjunction Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Some of you listening may be here because I plugged this podcast at that event. If so, welcome!
Instead, I have one of my Bradbury Challenge stories, written in May of 2019.
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Rosedale Pub - Ghost of a Chance
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
I was honored to be a featured guest at InConJunction Science Fiction and Fantasy convention over the recent July 4th weekend. I was anxious about being around many people in person for the first time in 16 months, but I think I did better than I expected at that. One of the presentations I gave was on using randomness as the seed for a story. I called it "Storymancy" because often I get elements from divinatory sources: Tarot cards, for example. Or I'll look for ideas from the next three songs my iTunes plays on shuffle. I'll think about the random elements that have been given to me and try to shape it into a story. Sometimes inspiration will strike, and I'll throw out most or all of the elements and go with that instead.
Most of the Rosedale pub stories have had some randomness in their inspiration. I sat down to brainstorm this story when I wasn't feeling any inspiration. I listened to a few songs on shuffle, I laid out some cards, and then I went to work trying to piece the resulting elements together into a cohesive story.
What were the elements of this story? Oh, a certain Beastie Boys song for the character's origin, the Queen of Wands, and the Four of Wands, to name a few. Make of that what you will.
I didn't get to sit down and write the story for another couple weeks, so I guess it simmered somewhere in the back of my mind, and what came out is the story I'm reading you today.
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Rosedale Pub - True Peril
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
This week at the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub, some technology malfunctions in a wondrous way, an infamous character returns, bearing a great treasure, but also needing help. Trust can be a difficult thing in a liminal space like the Rosedale.
Dear listeners, thank you. The Alien Beer Podcast recently passed 5,000 downloads! What does this mean? Well, it means that each episode has been downloaded over 80 times, on average. It means that my podcast is in the top 50 percent or better. But these are just statistics. What it really means to me is that you're out there, listening to my stories. And for that, I'm grateful. I hope you'll continue to tune in to join me in this adventure.
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Rosedale Pub - Moonlit Knight
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
This week at the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub, Alyssa encounters a strange knight on a strange quest as she walks along the Road.
Don't laugh, but the idea for the knight in this story originated as a character I played in a Bunnies and Burrows play-by-email roleplaying campaign I was in ages ago.
A friend suggested that I need to urge you good listeners to check out my eleven published novels, seven of which are also in audiobook form. You can find them on sillyhatbooks.com/fiction . Hint: Road Ghosts is actually three novels in one, and the audiobook is a glorious nineteen hours of spoopiness.
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Rosedale Pub - Vengeful Spirit
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Before we drop in on the inter-dimensional Rosedale Pub, I have a secret to tell you. Well, it's not such a secret anymore, but I have been working on a secret project with my friends Kat Bradbury and Red Tash. We're testing the waters of the Kindle Vella platform with a collaborative serial called SPI Girls Kick Ass! It's like The Matrix meets Charlie's Angels, and we're very excited about it. I hope you'll check it out at sillyhatbooks.com/spi . The first three episodes are free!
Okay, this is it, dear listeners. This is the episode where the worst happens. This is the episode where it all comes down to Alyssa to save the Rosedale Pub with nothing but her wits and newfound bartending skills. I can't say any more without giving spoilers, so buckle up and I'll see you on the other side.
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
ZWORDPLAY.EXE
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
For this episode of the Alien Beer Podcast, I thought I'd do something a bit different. The story I have for you is another one of my Bradbury Challenge stories. I was in a rather experimental mood when I wrote it. Perhaps some of you will recognize the format. Rather than spoil it here in the introduction, I'll save my explanation for after the story is done being told. I'll also add a content warning: this story contains a loss of agency. See you after the end.
(after text, highlight to read)
Hello again, dear listener. As promised, here's my explanation.
When I wrote this story, I had the idea of telling it in the form of an old text-based interactive fiction computer game like, Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork, or Infocom's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you haven't experienced this form of interactive fiction before, I hope you still enjoyed this presentation of the medium.
Of course, it's not an interactive story, it's only written in that style. When I thought about reading the story to you, I thought it might be difficult to convey the feel of a computer game in my reading. So, as you can tell, I employed a text-to-speech converter on the website, "fromtexttospeech.com" using the "Alice" personality. I rather liked the effect, and I hope you did, too.
Thanks for hanging in there with me on this experimental story, told in an experimental way.
Speaking of computer games, have you checked out my Kindle Vella offering yet? I teamed up with Red Tash and Kat Bradbury to create a science fiction adventure serial, under the collective pen name of Kaye Elsie. It's called "SPI Girls Kick Ass!" It's like Charlies Angels meets The Matrix, and I hope you'll check it out at sillyhatbooks.com/spi
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Bonus 6 - SPI Girls Kick Ass! sample
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
As you likely know by now, I have teamed up with Red Tash and Kat Bradbury to create a Kindle Vella science fiction adventure serial, under the collective pen name of Kaye Elsie. It's called "SPI Girls Kick Ass!" It's like Charlies Angels meets The Matrix.
This week’s podcast is chapter 3 of that serial, the first chapter I personally wrote, starring my character Jaxa. She lives in a Star Trek-inspired virtual world, holding a double job: Jaxa works as a maintenance officer, but she also works for the Singularity Policing Initiative to help make the virtual world run smoothly, so the residents don’t have to worry about Immersion being broken.
I hope you'll check the rest of the story out at sillyhatbooks.com/spi
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Alien Beer Reboot? FEEDBACK REQUESTED!
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Hello? Is anybody out there?
I can hear you breathing.
At least, I think I can.
This isn't a story this time, it's me talking about the history of the Alien Beer Podcast, and about a possible future.
That future depends on both me and you.
I want to hear from you if you want more of this podcast. I have a new, very queer serial I've been writing that I might share here on the podcast.
But only if you want to hear it. Let me know in the comments here, or by sending a note to @ecgarrison on Twitter, or one of the other means I list at the end of every episode.
I hope to hear from you!
Love,
Chrissy