Not About Lumberjacks

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 destruction, and passing mention of infidelity to round things out. And, of course, there’s swearing. * * * Credits: Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Ludwig Moulin, licensed through Epidemic Sound. Story and Narration: Christopher Gronlund. Transcript >>

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. “Gifts Through Time” – A woman finds three items in an antique shop and does everything she can to find out the stories behind them. * * * Before getting to the stories, I want to call attention to the two additional narrators who helped with this episode. Cynthia Griffith is no stranger to Not About Lumberjacks. Next to me, no other person has read more of my work for the show. While she’s pulled back from all social media, you can learn more about her on the

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” deals with the death of a parent, an argument with an estranged parent, and…that’s really about it. Oh, there is one bit of swearing. * * * Credits: Music: Theme – Ergo Phizmiz. Story – Christopher Gronlund and an additional traditional track, licensed through Epidemic Sound. Story: Christopher Gronlund. Episode Transcript >>

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 […]

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) * […]

After an accident that almost left him without a leg, a high school English teacher walks from dusk to dawn in an effort to complete his healing. 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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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: 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]