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In this episode we chat with blogger, poet and freelance writer Alanna Duffield about her writing and the art of blogging.   With advice and thoughts on topics, style, frequency of posts and titles this not only a guide to getting started as a blogger but also an insight into Alanna's own creative practice.  We end with a look at Alanna's poetry.

Throughout this episode you can hear excerpts from Alanna's blog posts and poems.  These are written, performed and recorded by Alanna Duffield and may not be reproduced in whole or part except with the written permission of the author.  

Alanna Duffield is a writer, blogger and poet whose work explores pop culture, relationships, human connection, grief, nature and - of course - writing itself. 

Her poetry and short stories have been published by the BBC, Dear Damsels and Aurelia Magazine. Her essays and journalism have been published by Cosmopolitan, Metro and Stylist. She also runs SILT, a weekly lifestyle publication on Substack.  

Alanna has performed her poetry at Luxembourg Gallery, Mayfair and she was a headline performer for VERSES, a London-based poetry collective.

You can read Alanna's blog art  alannaduffield.substack.com
Her poetry blog is here  thelinebreak.substack.com
and you can follow her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/alannaduffield/


To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
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or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this episode we chat with fantasy author Alethea Lyons about her series of novels and short stories called The Seer of York.  We look at the influences on Thea's writing including the folklore of the British Isles and the inspiration that the City of York has been on her world.   Along the way we hear excerpts from Alethea's writing read by Emily Inkpen

Find out more about Alethea Lyons by visiting here website here https://alethealyons.wixsite.com/stories

Links to Alethea's social media channels and many other locations can be found here https://linktr.ee/alethearlyons

You can find out about Alethea's publisher, Brigid's Gate Press here https://brigidsgatepress.com/

If you'd like to find out more about our reader Emily Inkpen and hire her for your voice or writing project you can do so here https://www.emilyinkpen.com/

We mentioned Rhianna Pratchett's BBC series about creatures from British folklore and you can listen here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001tgpb

To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
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https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this episode we share two short audio dramas by Nottingham based playwright and short fiction author Robbie Laughton.

These were two of four plays we recorded with Robbie and our cast in August.  You can listen to our first podcast featuring Robbie's dramas "Hairy Fairy" and "Tormeted" which has since been featured on BBC Radio, here https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/15864824

Please note that "Dog Only Knows", our second drama contains very strong and abusive language throughout.  Listener discretion is advised. 

Hair's Breadth
When Bob goes to the supermarket to buy extra supplies for a barbecque, he brings home more than a selction of wine and some hollandaise sauce... in fact, he forgets the hollandaise altogether. 

In “Hair's Breadth” by Robbie Laughton Chris Gregory played Bob, John was played by David Monteith and Emma by Holy Gillanders.   Other voices were played by members of the cast. 

"Hair's Breadth" was directed by Emily Inkpen and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design and production was by Chris Gregory.  Music was by Franz Gordon. 

The script for “Hair's Breadth” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.  

Dog Only Knows
Dog walking can be frustrating when your dog doesn't want to follow orders and the whole world seems to be against you. 

In “Dog Only Knows” by Robbie Laughton The Man was played by David Monteith.  Other voices were played by Holly Gillanders and Robbie Laughton. 

"Dog Only Knows" was directed by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design, music  and editing were by Chris Gregory.

 The script for “Dog Only Knows” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.  

Find out more about Robbie Laughton and his work by visiting his short fiction site Incredible Shorts here https://incredibleshorts.com/

The Writer's Gym Podcast
Produced by Alternative Stories and featuring Rachel Knightley, Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory, the Writers' Gym Podcast tackles a different writing topic each week.  With discussions, writing advice, anecdotes and writing challenges you'll enjoy the podcast if you are a writer, reader or someone who enjoys conversations about writing and books. 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0myjCJkk2pt6jPfdIa0AAr?si=0fd7d646491f4f01

To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
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https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this episode we chat with novelist, academic and short story writer Philippa Holloway about her new short fiction collection "Untethered" which was published last month by Parthian.   Along the way we hear excerpts from the collection performed by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory.  

In this podcast you heard excerpts from the following stories 

A Cloud of Starlings - read by Emily Inkpen
Handprints - read by Chris Gregory
Beached - read by Emily Inkpen

Sound design, editing, music and interviewing were by Chris Gregory

 

You can follow Philippa Holloway on X, formerly twitter here https://x.com/thejackdawspen

And on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thejackdawspen/

Find out more about Parthian Books and purchase a copy of "Untethered" here https://www.parthianbooks.com/

Follow Parthian on X here https://x.com/ParthianBooks

And on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/parthian_books/

 
You can listen to Philippa's first podcast with Alt Stories in which we talked about her novel "The Half Life of Snails' here https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/10479070-the-half-life-of-snails

Please follow Alternative Stories on social media here
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/

And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at [email protected]
or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/

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In this episodes we share a short series of monologues written by Stella Klein and performed by members of the Alternative Stories acting team. 

Stella Klein is a London-based writer of very short stories and occasional poems. Her flash and micro fiction has appeared in print and online collections published by Fish, 101 Words, Spread the Word, FlashBack Fiction, Flash Fiction Magazine, Reflex Fiction and The Mechanics Institute Review.

Reclining Nude is performed by Tiffany Clare 
Baristas is performed by Chris Gregory
The Day Susan McPhee Was Away is performed by Emily Inkpen
Sausalito is performed by Reginald West
Euphonium Blues is performed by Lewie Watson
Easy Peasy Lets Make Love is performed by Emily Inkpen
and Craft Coffee and Climate Change is performed by Chris Gregory

Sound design, editing and music on all monologues is by Chris Gregory

Four of these monologues have previously been published:

• Baristas in City of Stories, Vol. 2. Spread the Word 2018
• Sausalito (earlier version titled Licorice King)  Flash Fiction Magazine, April 2020
• Reclining Nude: Fish Anthology, Fish Publishing 2020
• Craft Coffee and Climate Change, in Defence of Pseudoscience, Reflex Fiction Volume 5. Reflex Press, 2022

Please follow Alternative Stories on social media here
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/

And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at [email protected]
or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/

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In this episode we chat with fantasy author Alexandra Beaumont about her new novel Dissonance of Birdsong (Brigids Gate Press 2024)

Alexandra Beaumont is a fantasy author and folklorist whose debut novel "Testament of the Stars" was also featured on this podcast.  Her latest book, Dissonance of Birdsong draws on the folklore and landscape of Cornwall.

You can listen to our original interview on this podcast here  https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/8376524

To find out more about Alexandra Beaumont and her work please visit her website here https://abeaumont75.wixsite.com/home
You can follow her on X here https://x.com/ABeaumontWriter
and Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/abeaumontwriter
To order copies of Dissonance of Birdsong, please follow the links in Alexandra's Linktree https://linktr.ee/AlexandraBeaumontAuthor

To find out more about Alexandra's publisher, Brigids Gate Press you can visit their website here https://brigidsgatepress.com/
and follow them on X here https://x.com/BrigidsGate

You can follow Alternative Stories on social media via the links below
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/

If you'd like to back the Dex Legacy Season Three Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at [email protected]
or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/

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In this episode of the podcast, recorded on a walk in The Welland Valley in eastern Leicestershire Chris Gregory is in conversation with novelist, poet and journalist Tim Relf.  Tim writes fiction under the name T.R. Richmond and his novel "What She Left" is published by Penguin.

In this podcast you can hear three poems
Scrambler by Tim relf read by Jackie Jorgenson
Blackberries by Tim Relf read by Chris Gregory
Adlestrop by Edward Thomas read by Tim Relf 

To find out more about Tim and his work please follow him on X, formerly twitter here https://x.com/timrelf
You can also visit Tim's page at the Professional Writing Academy here https://www.profwritingacademy.com/team/tim_relf

If you'd like to see some of the view Chris and Tim describe in this discussion we'll post some pictures on the Alternative Stories social media pages here
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/

If you'd like to back the Dex Legacy Season Three Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at [email protected]
or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/

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In this episode we share two short audio dramas by Nottingham based playwright and short fiction author Robbie Laughton.

These were two of four plays we recorded with Robbie and our cast in August and we'll be sharing the other two and more about Robbie in a forthcoming episode

Hairy Fairy
Big Dean is preparing for his release from prison while on the streets of the city a mysterious figure known only as "Hairy Fairy" endlessly collects money for charity.  But what connects them and how will their fortunes intertwine? 

In “Hairy Fairy ” by Robbie Laughton Chris Gregory played Hairy Fairy, Big Dean was played by David Monteith and the prison guard  by Emily Inkpen.   Holly Gillanders played Lizzie, The Waitress.  Other voices were played by members of the cast. 

Hairy Fairy was directed by Emily Inkpen and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design, editing and music were by Chris Gregory. 

The script for “Hairy Fairy” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.  

Tormented
A married couple spend their lives tormenting each other in every aspect of their lives so why do they stay together? 

In “Tormented” by Robbie Laughton The Man was played by David Monteith and the Woman by Holly Gillanders. 

Tormented was directed by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design and editing were by Chris Gregory and the music was by Franz Gordon. 

 The script for “Tormented” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.  

Find out more about Robbie Laughton and his work by visiting his short fiction site Incredible Shorts here https://incredibleshorts.com/

To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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Today we’re sharing an interview with novelist, short story writer and award winning audio drama script writer, Emily Inkpen.  

 You can back our kickstarter to make season 3 of The  Dex Legacy Season here
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

If you’d like to see a video version of this interview you can find it on the Alternative Stories YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@alternativestoriesandfaker6885


You can find out more about Emily Inkpen and her work by visiting her website
here https://www.emilyinkpen.com/

Find out more about The Dex Legacy here
https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home


Find out more about the Fantasy and Sci Fi Spotlight event which will be held on 29th September at the Nerdy Cafe in Shrewsbury here https://www.fantasyandscifispotlight.co.uk/

And find out about and book onto Alternative Stories workshops with Emily and Chris here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/alternative-stories-32973233175

Find out more about Alternative Stories and book us to record your audio drama, book promotional materials or interviews here https://alternativestories.com/
for which we’ll share a link in our show notes.  If you’d like to back our season 3 kickstarter you’ll also find a link in our show notes or you can go to kickstarter .com and search “The Dex Legacy 

 To find out more about Emily and her world of writing , directing and teaching you can visit her website here https://www.emilyinkpen.com/about

To follow Emily on social media please kick the links below 

https://twitter.com/emilyinkpen

https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/

https://www.threads.net/@emilyinkpen

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In this edition we chat with author Lyndsey Croal about her new and acclaimed short fiction collection “Limelight”,  We are also joined by Limelight’s publisher Alan Lastufka from Shortwave Publishing for a conversation about the topics covered in the collection, Lyndsey’s writing and inspiration and the world of indie publishing.  The podcast includes excerpts from Limelight. 

 
If you would like to learn more about Lyndsey Croal you can visit her website https://lyndseycroal.co.uk/   Here you can order copies of Lyndsey’s books and subscribe to her newsletter 

 You can also follow Lyndsey on social media 

https://twitter.com/writerlynds

https://www.instagram.com/lyndseycroal/

To find out more about Shortwave Publishing and their work visit their website here 

https://shortwavepublishing.com/

 You can follow Shortwave on social media 

https://x.com/ShortwaveBooks

https://www.instagram.com/shortwavebooks/

The stories featured in today’s podcast are copyright Lyndsey Croal and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the author’s permission. 

The dramatised version of “A Ring Around” starred Tiffany Clare as Elara + Dina and Emily Inkpen as Sage.  It was co-directed and recorded by Tiffany and Emily with sound design and music by Chris Gregory.

The readings were by Chris Gregory and Lyndsey Croal

If you would like to find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/
Or contact us via [email protected] 

 
And if you would like to find out more about and support The Dex Legacy Season 3 Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

Join us next time for an interview with the writer of the Dex Legacy Emily Inkpen. 

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In this bonus episode we have an interview with the writer of our audio drama Winter Spring, Dr Rachel Knightley.  Rachel talks with co-director Emily Inkpen about the inspiration for her story and the joy of bringing it to life in the studio. 
 
 This interview was recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.  

 If you would like to find out more about Rachel Knightley and her writing coaching organisation The Writers’ Gym please go to  https://www.writersgym.com/

 You can follow Rachel on X at https://twitter.com/DrRKnightley

And on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/drrachelknightley/

 
 You may also enjoy The Writers’ Gym Podcast in which Rachel, Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory have weekly conversations about writing topics.  You can listen here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-writers-gym-podcast/id1674424465

Or by searching “the writers gym” wherever you listen to podcasts. 

 
 If you would like to find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/
Or contact us via [email protected] 

 
 And if you would like to find out more about and support The Dex Legacy Season 3 Kickstarter please go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emilyinkpen/the-dex-legacy-science-fiction-audio-drama-season-3

 
 This podcast has been an Alternative Stories 2024 production 

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