Saturday, December 7, 2019

New podcast - Not Recommended for Guests of a Philosophically Uncertain Disposition at Drabblecast

Bit of a late update, but my fantasy story Not Recommended for Guests of a Philosophically Uncertain Disposition was podcast by the wonderful folks at Drabblecast. Inspiration for this story came from the finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when the town of Sunnydale gets [!Spoiler Alert!] destroyed and turned into a giant crater. I often wondered what happened to it afterwards, and came to the conclusion that some enterprising soul would undoubtedly have turned it into a tourist attraction.

Take a listen to the story here.


Not Recommended for Guests of a Philosophically Uncertain Disposition - Contemporary Fantasy - 2,600 words - originally published at Interzone, March 2016

Damita managed The Fracture’s visitor centre and gift shop, while Jem took the guided tours. There was also a cafe, which always had fresh coffee and an inventive selection of hot sandwiches, although Damita had never met anyone who worked in the kitchens.

‘They’re all very industrious, just highly introverted,’ Jem said. ‘You should go and get one of today’s specials — Cajun pheasant and fried pickles on a toasted sesame seed bagel. Marvellous.’

‘Sounds a little rich for breakfast,’ Damita said. ‘Maybe later.’

A stock delivery had arrived in the night, and she was working her way through the boxes. They contained fridge magnets, earplugs, bandages with pictures of cacti on them, and snowglobes. Damita picked one up and shook it. Black glitter fell on a scale model of the visitor centre, and lightning flashed.

‘Food is important,’ Jem said. ‘Blood sugar should be kept within optimum parameters to ensure emotional stability. It says so in the Employee Handbook.’

Listen to the full story at Drabblecast