In short story, Joella, the Fifth, a man attempts to buy snacks from others parked by a bay to watch the July 5th fireworks. He wants the night to be perfect for his childhood friend whom he's secretly in love with. Unfortunately, she's married. In novel, Do the Wrong Thing, Ava "runs away" from her parents' place where she's been staying while awaiting a trip to Germany. She looks at a decrepit rooming house, masturbates in a hostel and runs into an old friend who she pours her heart out to. St...
Jun 07, 2019•17 min
In novel, The Trip, a young man, goes to a job interview at a mega-church. Though he is offered the job, the interviewer abruptly asks him if he has had "carnal knowledge of a woman.” When he leaves the interview, Tundi sees a car of policemen with AK47s looking for drivers from whom they can extort money. In sci-fi short story, Baby Shower, a young man watches a Polaroid develop in his backpack: a picture of himself holding a sheet of paper that says "old man, blue shirt, grey pants, Bernard Ph...
Jun 01, 2019•21 min
In Grand Boulevard, we meet Bruce's teenage daughter who's obsessed with actor, Maxine Cheng. We learn more about Bruce's neighbour, Stephanie: the death of her son and her attachment to the Boulevard. Lastly, the author shares a rewrite of the scene where Stephanie's husband leaves town on the anniversary of their son's death, incorporating feedback she got a couple weeks ago. Apologies: the first few seconds are cut off of the recording. In Joella, the Fifth, a man and his married childhood sw...
May 18, 2019•33 min
In Joella, the Fifth, a man can't take his eyes off his old, married friend as they enjoy an afternoon in the Napa Valley. She hides behind her cherry-tinted sunglasses. In Do the Wrong Thing, 1980's Ava gets a job at a homeless shelter while 2017 Ava fights off headaches and a feeling of meaninglessness. Story Listing: 00:00 Ian Rodriguez - Joella, the Fifth - contemporary short story excerpt - http://ian-rodriguez.com 08:05 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - character driven, narrative n...
May 11, 2019•16 min
Grand Boulevard is a tightly written contemporary novel about the homeless and the homed on Grand Boulevard. This week, we learn more about Bruce, in particular his divorce. We're introduced to his teenage daughter. We learn more about the man who collects Bruce's bottles. We learn that Bruce's neighbour, the novel's main narrator, fears the woman living in her flower bushes and that the death of her son, two years earlier, has strained her relationship with her husband. In Do the Wrong Thing, w...
May 03, 2019•16 min
If you don't want to get angry, DO NOT listen to Mourad's account of how his neighbour stole $200K, in today's terms, from him. F*ck that guy! In Do the Wrong Thing, Malcolm adds a part to last week's piece that contrasts narrator Ava's current relationship with the one she had with Posey. We learn that she hasn't grown as much as we'd hoped. In Joella, the Fifth, we see how deep David's undeclared love for his childhood friend goes and--wait--it's reciprocated? Story Listing: 00:00 Mourad Nacha...
Apr 27, 2019•26 min
This week we have five fantastic pieces. In Super Girl, Glenn reads 3 flash fiction pieces from a set of 5, each telling the POV of one character in a heart-wrenching tale of a young girl's rape. In Ian's Joella, the Fifth, a man who seemingly has it made, cannot admit to his childhood best friend that he's in love with her. In Cindy's Grand Boulevard, in a smoke-clogged dawn, a woman’s daily walk is interrupted by someone hiding in her rhododendron bush and a divorced property developer's rever...
Apr 20, 2019•44 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava shows complete disrespect to her customers at Forever and a Day. She cleans Posey's house while Posey has a breakdown and buys a book, something she normally wouldn't read, recommended by Posey. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Works in progress. Copyright remains with the authors. Join us on Monday nights in Vancouver: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Writers-Gro...
Apr 05, 2019•8 min
In Ian's poetic The Sea Plant, a South Asian boy becomes a roadside attraction as he lavishes care on seeds sent him by a young girl in Canada. In Key to Paradise, back in Italy, Jose and Alba are unhappy with Mourad's weight gain. He has no choice but to meekly accept their abuse, though when they move to Milan without him, it's a blessing in disguise. Soon, he is a court room translator where his talent and Moroccan Arabic are in high demand. In Why We Play, John takes us on the musician's jou...
Mar 30, 2019•31 min
In Talking the Talk, John walks us through his coming-to-terms with his daughter's death. In Key to Paradise, Mourad resides in a state of “familiarity and estrangement” in his Moroccan childhood home. He applies for a new passport and nervously awaits the job offer that will allow him to go back to Italy. We learn the meaning of the title of Mourad's memoir. In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava has her first sexual experience with a woman who has a troubled past. Story Listing: 00:00 John Gojevic - Talki...
Mar 22, 2019•27 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava "lets" her friend have sex with her--no kissing!--in an attempt to prove that men are as emotional about sex as women are. In Key to Paradise, Michaela drives Mourad to the Spanish port where Mourad will get a ferry back to Morocco, where he'll nervoously await the job offer Michaela promises that will lead to a permanent Italian residency. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvan...
Mar 07, 2019•14 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava starts working for a feminist paper, shaves her head and learns that masturbation does not mean that a woman can't get a man. In Key to Paradise, Mourad experiences "three different realities" as he romances Michela, Stephania and Michela and Stephania as a couple--all while trying to get his citizenship and grappling with his sexual identity. Works in progress. Copyright remains with the authors. Join us on Monday nights in Vancouver: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-W...
Mar 01, 2019•22 min
In Key to Paradise, Mourad continues with his pursuit of physical pleasure, developing an “unbreakable habit.” In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava gets a job as a waitress at a cafe with a cappuccino machine, is allowed to spend an evening with her younger brother and finally, shaves all her hair off. Story Listing: 00:00 Mourad Nachach - Keys to Paradise - memoir excerpt. 06:50 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Works i...
Feb 23, 2019•14 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava experiences profound alienation in her govt. job. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Works in progress. Copyright remains with the authors.
Feb 09, 2019•8 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava runs into an ex-boyfriend who won't take no for an answer. "Hurtling through space faster than my awareness can keep up, the blurring landscape spinning before my eyes: trees, sky, trees, sky, rocks, snow. Bang! Then darkness." Mary Jo Fetterley reads from a gripping memoir about waking up paralyzed. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. 05:42 Mary Jo Fetterley - memo...
Jan 31, 2019•14 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, narrator Ava has a dream in which she goes out in youthful clothes, trying to relive her party days. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Copyright remains with the authors. Join us on Monday nights in Vancouver: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Writers-Group. Image from https://pixabay.com.
Jan 26, 2019•11 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, a ride goes very wrong for Ava, so she decides to cut her trip short and bus back to Rouliesse. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a character driven, narrative novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Works in progress. Copyright remains with the authors. Join us on Monday nights in Vancouver: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Writers-Group. Image from https://pixabay.com.
Jan 19, 2019•8 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava spends a night alone on a cliff overlooking the ocean, then attempts to bond with relatives of relatives. Story Listing: 00:00 Malcolm van Delst - Do the Wrong Thing - excerpt from a stream of consciousness, character driven novel - http://malcolmvandelst.com. Works in progress. Copyright remains with the authors. Join us on Monday nights in Vancouver: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Writers-Group. Image from https://pixabay.com.
Jan 12, 2019•9 min
In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava says goodbye to Eddie, the kind trucker who restored her damaged faith in humanity. In Keys to Paradise, Mourad meets a man at an X-rated movie, who offers to share his wife with Mourad. Soon, Mourad is living with the couple, cleaning and running errands as payment for his room. Lastly, Linda Lawson returns with an edited version of Bombs, Bullets, Bullies and Babies, the piece she read last week, workshopping for live, true storytelling event, The Flame. Do you think...
Dec 22, 2018•25 min
Master storyteller, Linda Lawson, joins us this week with Bombs, Bullets, Bullies and Babies, a piece she's workshopping for The Flame, live, true storytelling event. She recounts how her uppercrust mother teaches her to fight while her union organizer father deals with bomb threats. In Do the Wrong Thing, Ava compares her infatuation with a kindly trucker to her friend's child's infatuation with her. Also, 1980's Ava entertains driving a truck for a living herself. Story Listing: 00:00 Linda La...
Dec 15, 2018•15 min
Malcolm asks for help writing the blurb and choosing testimonials for the back cover of her soon to be available, print edition of Do the Wrong Thing. In Keys to Paradise, Mourad writes about money and how the acquisition of it rules his life in his early, poverty-stricken days. His only extravagance is a membership to The American Club, a high-end gym where he spends most of his spare time. He talks about how Italians view Moroccans and how, because of this, he distances himself from his countr...
Dec 08, 2018•17 min
