New LikeWise Fiction: "Seasons of Glass and Iron," by Amal El-Mohtar
Episode 12 of LikeWise Fiction features "Seasons of Glass and Iron," by Amal El-Mohtar.
In her 2017 WisCon Guest of Honor speech, Amal El-Mohtar described the genesis of this story, which came about when her seven-year-old niece asked for a fairy tale. “I wanted nothing more than to do so,” said El-Mohtar, “but what crowded my mouth were stories of women isolated, women won as prizes, women hating each other, step-mothers at their daughters’ throats. I was violently struck by how I knew stories full of firebirds and golden apples and djinn but somehow, more impossible to conceive of than all of these was the notion of two women talking to each other about something other than a man.” The result was this powerfully feminist and utterly beautiful story, a story that centers conversation and love between women, and in which women rescue each other. It’s one of my all-time favorite stories.
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New LikeWise Fiction: "Evangelina Concepcion," by Ani Sison Cooney
Episode 11 of LikeWise Fiction features "Evangelina Concepcion," by Ani Sison Cooney. A young Latina woman growing up in Los Angeles struggles with grief after her mother is killed in a car accident.
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New LikeWise Fiction: "Acknowledgments," by Maggie Shipstead
Episode 10 of LikeWise Fiction features "Acknowledgments," by Maggie Shipstead. On the eve of the publication of his self-referential debut novel, The Canon According to D. M. Murphy, Daniel M. Murphy narrowly avoids a moment of self-awareness.
A more nimble writer than I would find a subtle way to mark this moment as formative, even primal, the ur-accomplishment that would forever lie beyond the green light at the end of the dock. But I will say only this, openly and bluntly: The sound of my own words issuing from the mouth of a pretty woman brought me ecstasy such as I had not known life might contain.
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New LikeWise Fiction: "Auspicium Melioris Aevi," by JY Yang
Episode 9 of LikeWise Fiction features "Auspicium Melioris Aevi," by JY Yang. In a future where famous historical leaders are cloned and trained in a mysterious Academy to become advisors to the world’s nations, the fiftieth copy of Harry Lee Kuan Yew tries to buck the system.
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You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
New LikeWise Fiction: "The Story of the Woman Who Fell in Love With Death," by Chaya Bhuvaneswar
Episode 8 of LikeWise Fiction features "The Story of the Woman Who Fell in Love with Death," by Chaya Bhuvaneswar. A young boy immerses himself in story, trying to find meaning and wholeness after his sister goes missing.
(Content note: contains references to child abuse and gendered violence.)
Listen to the story at:
You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
New LikeWise Fiction: "A Nest of Ghosts, a House of Birds," by Kat Howard
Episode 7 of LikeWise Fiction features "A Nest of Ghosts, a House of Birds," by Kat Howard. In this lovely and haunting story, a young woman inherits her grandmothers house. When she arrives, though, she discovers that the house is full of birds—and stories.
Listen to the story at:
You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
Subscribers to the LikeWise Media Patreon campaign at the $5 level and above can also hear a bonus interview with Kat Howard, in which we discuss the mother-daughter relationships at the core of "A Nest of Ghosts, a House of Birds," as well as her fascination with psychopomps, the mythical figures who guide spirits to the afterlife.
New LikeWise Fiction: "The Friend," by Lindsay Hatton
Episode 6 of LikeWise Fiction features "The Friend," by Lindsay Hatton. In this story, a WWI veteran comes to the Big Sur coast to oversee the construction of an iconic bridge, and strikes up an unlikely friendship with an unusual stranger.
Listen to the story at:
You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
Subscribers to the Likewise Media Patreon campaign at the $5 level and above can hear my special bonus interview with Lindsay Hatton. In our conversation, Lindsay and I talked about her fascination with masculinity and male interactions, the haunted quality of the Northern California coastline, and the relationship between humanity and landscape in "The Friend."
New LikeWise Fiction: "Spirit of Home," by José Pablo Iriarte
Episode 5 of LikeWise Fiction features "Spirit of Home," by José Pablo Iriarte. In this story, a migrant father and daughter on Mars are brought together by a taste of home.
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You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
New LikeWise Fiction: "The Best Light Fades," by Rachel Lyon
Episode 4 of LikeWise Fiction features "The Best Light Fades," by Rachel Lyon. In this story, a young writer struggles to find her voice and get her artistic career started, all while having to care for her aging father and her literal clown of a boyfriend.
Listen to the story at:
You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
Subscribers to the Likewise Media Patreon campaign at the $5 level and above can hear my special bonus interview with Rachel Lyon. In our conversation, Rachel and I talked about the characters' relationship to art, and how this story was sort of a prototype for her novel, Self-Portrait with Boy.
New LikeWise Fiction: "Crow's Eye," by Sarah Hollowell
Episode 3 of LikeWise Fiction features "Crow's Eye," by Sarah Hollowell.
“Her entire life, Ruby has known that something lives in the lake. She’s never seen it, but she’s felt its fingers brush her ankle. She’s felt its gaze.”
Listen to the story at:
You can also listen to the full episode and read the story text at the episode page on the LikeWise Fiction website.
Subscribers to the Likewise Media Patreon campaign at the $5 level and above can hear my special bonus interview with Sarah Hollowell. In our conversation, Sarah and I talked about sibling relationships in fantasy stories, fat representation, and the responsibility necessary when writing outside of your experience.