Season 2, Episode 4: The Propagandist, Part 2

Part 2 of 3, In which crime fiction takes a bite out of Jacques Ellul and spits out some Science Fiction.

In part one of the Propagandist, a psychically unsettled freelance Propaganda agent named Rett Ellis is sent to find the mysterious folk singer and man-of-the-people, Chester Reeves before the latter causes destabilizing damage to the placid, uniform landscape of social messaging. But on his way to the lawless mountain town of Littleton, Ellis is waylaid by highwaymen. Will Rett Ellis live long enough to find who he’s looking for in Littleton?

You can contact us at truthsandhalftruths@gmail.com. Find us on Facebook and follow @apweber on twitter.

This episode of Lies and Half Truths is brought to you by Arts Digital.

Next: The Propagandist, Part Three 01.22.2016

Photo by Brenton Salo

Season 2, Episode 2: A Steady Hand, Part 2

At the end of last episode we left our young protagonist, Jared, in a bad way after being sucker punched by a tattooed thug just as he was beginning to think there might be more to Kelly Burbank than he originally thought. Who killed Kevin? What will Jared do in response? Find out on Part two of A Steady Hand.

Credits: This story was written and performed by A.P. Weber. Science Heroes provided the music and Josiah Martens wrote the theme song. Meg Weber produced the show along with me, your host, A.P. Weber. Courtney Stubbert designed our logo. Photos were provided by Brenton Salo.

I’d like to invite you to get in touch with us. You can email your feedback to truthsandhalftruths@gmail.com. My twitter handle is @apweber.

This episode of Lies and Half truths is brought to you by Flash Pulp! A fiction Podcast with a Modern pulp twist. Monday, Wednesday and Friday Flash Pulp delivers 3-10 minutes of original sci fi, fantasy, noir, horror--you name it. Go to flashpulp.com.

Next: The Propagandist, Part One 01.08.2016

The New Fiend - "The Mastodon"

The New Fiend is “a collaborative publication between Brenton Salo and Colin Smith.” Or, so says the first page of the latest volume. As for Salo and Smith, I’m not certain those are their real names. I’m pretty sure they’re a couple of jet-setting anarchists living in an abandoned nuclear silo hidden somewhere in the Cascades. They experiment with mind altering substances and run a think-tank of like-minded artistic geniuses who pool their collective mental processing power for the greater good of all humanity.

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The New Fiend Volume V: An Issue of Identity

I submitted a short story called “Night Life” some time back. Salo contacted me through a custom bred carrier pigeon to let me know they accepted the piece, but that it wouldn’t fit with the theme of the upcoming issue. I sent the bird back with a cocktail napkin upon which I scrawled, “What’s the theme?” “Identity,” the next bird told me, so I shoved it in my coat, Gob Bluth style, and ran home to write something fitting.  I released the bird a couple days later with a draft of “The Mastodon” on a thumb drive.

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I like this one.

My story closes out the issue, right before a gallery of evocative portraits by Smith. The other contributors are great, by the way; Quinn Amacher stands out from the get go, and Danielle Kordani’s work is remarkably brave. You can read/view the magazine–and all the back issues–for free online. You can also download a copy of it–you know, if you’re planning on going off the grid for an extended period of time, or whatever.