Episode 26: With Mars In His Hand by Bosley Gravel
Javi Jelcor has lost his young wife. He can either accept it and move on with his life, or give in to despair. But there’s a third choice: take the body to Mars, and see if the stories of resurrection are true. What would you do?
Also, Rish and Big talk about the unusual circumstances behind this story’s ending. Was this ending more satisfying than it might have been? Is a writer obligated to change his ending? Is an editor out of line to ask for changes or make them on his own? What do you think?outtake
Special thanks to Gino Moretto for today’s episode art.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/dunesteef/Dunesteef_26_With_Mars_In_His_Hand_by_Bosley_Gravel.mp3%20Right click to download the episode HERE.
Related Links:
Bosley Gravel’s Site
Forbidden Speculation on Amazon
Gino’s Art Site
The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine 
March 20, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Great job guys! The narration is spot on, and any one can mutter “She’s my wife, not food, you crazy bitch,” without a giggle is teh eternal awesome. :) I especially liked what you did with Chino.
March 20, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Great story! The Chino character was excellent, and fascinating as well. I’d bet the story of her arrival on Mars, and the subsequent consumption of her followers, would make a great story in it’s own right. Rish did a great job witht the voice, too. Umm, that was Rish, right?
March 20, 2009 at 8:57 pm
It was me (though I was a little worried it sounds silly).
We’ll have to discuss how we did the Chinese sometime too. Not sure how well you can hear it, but we must have recorded a minute of me singing the Chinese song.
Big did the editing and the sound effects. I especially liked the spaceship lift-off and the gunplay. Good job, BA.
March 21, 2009 at 3:56 am
Rish, I understand why you might be offended if someone where to ask you to change your story, but I personally feel that there are many times where I am too close to my story and am unable to see any flaws in it. If an editor tells me that they like the story but think a change needs to be made, I evaluate each suggestion they make carefully. Very rarely have I decided that what they suggest would hurt the story, and in the rare occasions where I do I fight for what I think the story really needs. Without this kind of feedback I wouldn’t be able to grow as a writer, I believe.
In this particular story, I do feel that the additional ending made it stronger. You as the editors have a right to say if you think a story needs changes, and if the author disagrees then they have every right to say “Thanks but no thanks,” and you can amicably go your seperate ways.
March 21, 2009 at 8:55 am
Derek sums it up well. As a regular listener it was easy to put faith in the fact that Rish and Bigg just wanted the best possible story I could manage. I’ve had comments on that ending that ranged from “how lazy of you,” to “brilliant!”. Like a lot things in the creative arts is just a matter of taste, I was all too happy to provide Dunesteef with the ending, if thats what they wanted. Now, say for example, they wanted Mars to blow up (an ending I considered) it would have completely changed the theme and I certainly would have balked. All I was asked for was a simple denouement which was in fact missing. I’m happy with either version, personally.
At any rate, just my thoughts on the question of the ending. I’ve actually got it on my list of projects to write a second half to this, but I’d never considered filling in Chino’s backstory, but now Derek’s got me thinking.
March 21, 2009 at 10:32 pm
That was a good story! I’m thinking Chino plays both god and snake. On the one hand, she tells Adam not to eat the fruit and she made the garden. On the other hand, she gives Eve the fruit. Adam hasn’t yet eaten. Mars is still straddling the Fall at the end of the story. Clever. Also, mechanical insects are just cool.
As far as you guys being the gods of your podcast: well, yeah, you are. But creating audio is a lot of work! It’s a lot more work than, say, putting up a story in an e-zine or “podcasting” a PDF. By the time you read the story, record it, edit it, and put in music and sound effects, you’ve spent a lot of time with those words. If you don’t pick things you like, I’m thinking you will not be podcasting for long. You gotta pick stuff you like.
March 24, 2009 at 11:26 pm
i really enjoyed this one; you guys have mastered the sonic dimention of online storytelling; i closed my eyes and was able to visualize the story; rich has a nice reading voice;
March 25, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Thanks for those comments Gerard. That’s very kind of you to say. I have to agree with you about Rish’s voice. It’s got that sonorous quality that is just pleasant to hear. I’m jealous sometimes when I’m editing and I hear that and wish that I could do the same. Ah well.
March 25, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I guess I’m in the minority (which may indicate you guys made a good decision) but I liked Bosley’s original ending. It just felt like a natural stopping point, and when I heard it, I thought the next thing I’d hear is big announcer guy saying, “Author’s Note.” I think a story should leave a reader / listener wanting just a bit more.
On a personal note, feedback, suggestions, constructive criticisms, are always appreciated on a rejection. There might be the occasional immature author who gets upset at your suggestions, but I for one (and I’m sure most authors agree) would rather be told why a story didn’t get accepted. Nothing is worse than the dreaded form rejection letter.
March 28, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Oops! Sorry about that Big. I meant you have a nice reading voice. I got the names confused. Rich has a good falsetto voice, very scary (like Psycho), but not a good reading voice.
Are you guys open to flash fiction (very short stories) like Pseudopod?
March 30, 2009 at 5:43 am
That was a really good story. I liked the extra ending. Sometimes I don’t want to be surprised. Sometimes I just like the story to end the way it’s supposed to. The wife wakes up and they live happily ever after, presumably to begin the human race again.
I’m really happy to see the Dunesteef has really hit its stride. Rish and Bigg keep comparing it unfavourably with other fiction podcasts. I don’t think that’s really necessary any more. It mightn’t have the size of Escape Artists or the flare of the Drabblecast but it definitely has its own voice and place in the market. Be proud of what you’re doing guys!
October 20, 2009 at 1:02 pm
A fine story guys! Good job on the narration and great job by Bosley Gravel! I enjoyed the imagery and imagination.
August 20, 2013 at 2:40 am
Brilliant writing and audio rendition. Sound effects incorporated most excellently, and provided enormously to the interest of the story. Chino voice-actor deserves an Oscar.