Episodes

My mother-in-law died in early September, so this is an update about what's to come in the next couple months...

A quick update about the next [big] Not About Lumberjacks story, "Strange Days in Mûn Dell."

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “The Sinister Quilt of Agnes Burr,” I talk about being an atheist who sometimes writes stories featuring religion — usually, Christianity. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the episode, so you might want to listen to “The Sinister Quilt of Agnes Burr” first. Transcript >>

A group of older women in a quilting circle unwillingly summon Satan through their latest project’s design. Content Advisory: “The Sinister Quilt of Agnes Burr” deals with summoning Satan to our plane of existence, so of course there’s mention of ancient cults, magic, and other paranormal things. While the violence in the story is mostly comedic, there is a fairly grisly scene not necessarily played for laughs. (But it is still kinda funny.) I also threw in trespassing, auto theft, property des...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest two Not About Lumberjacks stories, “The Art of the End” and “Christmas Miscellany 9,” I talk about the time constraints of running a narrated fiction podcast mostly by myself. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the last two episodes, so you might want to listen to “The Art of the End” and “Christmas Miscellany 9,” first. Transcript >> (Coming Soon)

It’s that time — the annual Christmas episode! What began as a one-time thing is now in its ninth year! So what do we have this time? How ’bout these three stories: “Bigfoot’s Here!” – A surprise involving a Bigfoot costume does not go as planned! “Above and Below” – Three survivors of a nuclear war—a billionaire in his bunker, the head of his security detail, and a technical writer who was hiking in the mountains when the missiles came down—navigate their way through a very different world...

Nine years ago, I released the first November anniversary “lumberjack” story. Titled “The Art of the Lumberjack,” I described it like this: When Erik Nilsson has a minor heart attack and is told to take some forced time off of work to recuperate, he finally reads a book left to him by his father much earlier in life. What he finds hidden among the pages changes him forever… Nine years later, we catch up with Erik and his father in a sequel to that story. Content Advisory: “The Art of the End” ...

The evening of August 8, I received a call from the police in the town where my mom lived that she was dead. FOOM! Just like that… Obviously, that has had an effect on story scheduling. This short update is about what to expect the rest of the calendar year… (Quick version: I’m skipping one scheduled story.)

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “Instead of Dreaming,” I talk about the real-life influences on the story, memories, healing, and how soothing the night can be. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest episode, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >> (Coming Soon) * * * Things mentioned in this episode: Ben Tanzer’s After Hours: Scorsese, Grief and the Grammar of Cinema. Ben Tanzer’s website. Ben Tanzer’s This P...

A high school English teacher comes to conclusions about life after recovering from a hit-and-run accident. Content Advisory: “Enemy Wanted” deals with difficulty sleeping, a blurred sense of reality, crime, cartoonish violence, illness, a death, and wishing for an early end to life. That makes it sound dismal, but I assure you…it’s a blast of a story. Also, it’s one with no swearing. Still, were it a movie, it would be rated PG (or maybe PG-13 for mature themes), so be aware. Also, because th...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “Enemy Wanted,” I talk about the first writing I was ever paid to do, collaboration, and how I’m lucky to have support from creative friends I’ve known for decades. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest episode, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >>

Ferdinand Pérez gets more than he bargained for when he answers a flyer ad taped to a telephone pole looking for an enemy. Content Advisory: “Enemy Wanted” deals with difficulty sleeping, a blurred sense of reality, crime, cartoonish violence, illness, a death, and wishing for an early end to life. That makes it sound dismal, but I assure you…it’s a blast of a story. Also, it’s one with no swearing. Still, were it a movie, it would be rated PG (or maybe PG-13 for mature themes), so be aware. A...

Four years ago, I did a Q&A for the Behind the Cut episode for “Geocached.” No idea why I’ve not done another, but with this being the long time between episodes (after back-to-back stories last November and December), it seemed like a good time to do another. I asked members of the Not About Lumberjacks Patreon for questions — as well as some questions from social media. These were the results: Are there any limitations that frustrate you about stories you would like to tell? Whether it’s yo...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks collection of stories, “Christmas Miscellany 8,” I talk about writing coincidences that make it seem like writers copy from other writers or current events… As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest episode, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >>

Ho Ho Ho! It’s that time once again…time for the annual Not About Lumberjacks Christmas episode. If you’re new, here, eight years ago I gathered up all my shorter short stories (like stocking stuffers) and released them for the holidays. Since then, the effort has grown, but no matter how random the tales are, the last one is always a Christmas story of some sort. This year’s stories: “Crispas Echo” – We travel back to 1985 for a tale of summer school friendship and…Taco Bell! “A Very Strange...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “The Legend of Mighty Missy Stewart,” I talk about my love of tall tales and…dislike about asking for things… As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest story, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >>

Join Mighty Missy Stewart and her badger buddy, Tamarack, as they come of age in a time of expanding frontiers and rugged lumberjacks! Content Advisory: Were “The Legend of Mighty Missy Stewart” a movie, it would be rated PG. There’s some good-natured teasing and a non-descriptive death. What might put it into the PG realm instead of General Audiences is the mention of some woodland monsters. But this one’s a really light-hearted and fun tale. * * * Audio stories are best with the perfect narr...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “Overwinter,” I talk about why I wrote a very quiet story for introverts. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest story, so you might want to listen to that first. Links to things mentioned in this commentary: Alexandra de Steiguer video: “Winter’s Watch” FollowMyLeap Julia Lundman Erin McBride A Trail of Heart’s Blood Wherever We Go Craft in the Real World Transcript >>

In this celebration of solitude, Daniel’s life is changed forever after spending 5 months alone on an island 13 miles off the Maine coast. Content Advisory: “Overwinter” deals with a job change, longing, solitude vs. loneliness, and does contain a couple words you’ve probably heard on TV or at work this week. There are also a couple scenes with moderate consumption of alcohol. * * * Credits: Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Anders Schill Paulsen, licensed through Epidemic Sound. Story an...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “Mudlarking,” I talk about a recent urge to keep telling more “serious” stories…and why I chose to write something a bit more adventurous [even ridiculous] instead. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest story, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >>

When Eva Barrett decides to give mudlarking on the Thames River foreshore a go, she finds something very strange during low tide. Content Advisory: “Mudlarking” is pretty tame. There’s some violence in the form of fighting, and even then: it’s not brutal “people-are-dying fighting” — more like light action movie fighting. And when it comes to swearing, it’s pretty non-existent (you’re likely to hear worse on television). The worst it gets is an “S” word instead of “poop.” If you’re driving, th...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, “It’s Never Too Late,” I talk about the mechanics of time-travel stories and how “fixing” the past may not be as great an idea as it may seem. As always, this commentary contains spoilers from the latest story, so you might want to listen to that first. Transcript >>

When Stanley Gladstone takes his time machine for a test run, he gets more than he bargained for when it breaks down, leaving him stranded in 1983. Content Advisory: “It’s Never Too Late” deals with regret, death (including a decayed body), personal loss, and the sound of someone vomiting. Also, if you’re driving, be aware there’s a scene with the main character following someone on foot that contains skidding tire sounds. I don’t want you to be driving and freaking out, thinking something’s co...

In this behind-the-scenes look at the latest Not About Lumberjacks story, I talk about why I do an annual Christmas episode [even though I’m a life-long atheist] and the importance of committing to a bit. * * * Also, don’t forget that I’m doing a Not About Lumberjacks t-shirt giveaway in honor of November’s 50th full story episode. All you have to do is email NALStories@gmail.com and tell me a favorite episode or something about the show for one entry. Check out the shownotes for “Old Growth”...