Words of Power by Wendy N. Wagner. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. Featuring an afterword by Wendy N. Wagner.    Kádár scrutinized the flake of clay on the blade of the screwdriver. "He's just getting too old to be a war truck," she said. "Look at this clay. The logos barely flickers in it." Zugsführer Warren spat on the packed earthen floor of the machine house. "You know I can't see that magic shit," he growled. "And it wouldn't matter if I did. An order is an order, Gefreiter Kádár, and the Oberst needs every last golem out on the field." The small woman wiped the screwdriver clean on her shirt tail and restrained a sigh. There was no point arguing with the big American; if anyone was a stickler for following orders, it was the Zugsführer. They'd butted heads before, and Kádár had come away with a headache. She stroked the pitted side of the golem. Even the Amero-Hungarian state seal, painted on each of its shoulders, looked worn out. "Poor old Benchley." "You name them?" She didn't bother glancing at Warren. Instead, she studied the dull gray places where the field operators had patched the injured clay. She narrowed her eyes. "This patch clay is shit," she growled. "Even the clay I used to convert him from a fighting man to a war truck was better than this, and I wouldn't have used that crap to make a singing tea pot."   Wendy N. Wagner is the editor-in-chief of Nightmare Magazine and the managing/senior editor of Lightspeed. Her short stories, essays, and poems run the gamut from horror to environmental literature. Her longer work includes the novella The Secret Skin, the horror novel The Deer Kings,  the Locus bestselling SF eco-thriller An Oath of Dogs,  and two novels for the Pathfinder role-playing game. She lives in Oregon with her very understanding family, two large cats, and a Muppet disguised as a dog. https://winniewoohoo.com/ Twitter: @wnwager facebook.com/wendynwagner   This is the final episode of The Overcast. Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support over the past 7 years!    Until we meet again... Keep dreaming,                                 J.S. Arquin  

An Evil Not Forgotten by Erik Buchanan. Narrated by J.S. Arquin.  #fantasy #war #aftermath    The soft whickering of the horses, not used to his presence, penetrates into Tyler's sleep. His eyes snap open and his hand claws for the knife beside his makeshift bed. Still dark. Still raining. Still in the barn, the straw scratching his back through the thick blanket wrapped around his body. Still alone with his memories. Pounding rain. Soaked powder. Men and horses fighting through the mud. Marching to the Mage's castle. Muskets gripped tight in cold fingers. The ground erupts under them and horrors crawl out, clawing at them. Lights in the sky become wraiths descending on them all. Cold iron to ward them off, cold steel to kill them. Death for those too slow. Tyler lay with his wife the first night he arrived home, bodies thrusting hard into each other, hands grasping to reclaim a year's absence of flesh. Afterwards they lay together, sweat-soaked and laughing, nestling tight as sleep overtook them both. Tyler woke when Kate's fingernails clawed open the flesh of his forearms, saw her blue and gasping, eyes wide with horror and lack of air as his hands tightened around her neck. After he let go, after he made sure she was all right and she said she forgave him, Tyler went out to sleep in the barn. She didn't argue.   Erik Buchanan is an author, ghostwriter, fight director, actor, black belt and parent. He is also a communications consultant, but that doesn't sound as exciting. His newest books areThe Stalker Chronicles, including The Trials of Abyowith, The Wire Noose, and The Dead Trees (coming fall 2021) and are available on Amazon, Smashwords, and other online retailers. His trilogy, the Thomas Flarety Stories (Small Magics, Cold Magics and True Magics) is published by Canada's Dragon Moon Press. He has also ghostwritten nine other books, acted on stage, TV and film, and has directed fights for more than 50 productions. Find out more at www.erikbuchanan.ca or follow him Twitter: @erik_buchanan Facebook: @ErikbuchananWriter Instagram: @erik_buchanan_author  

Seven Cups of Tea by Gwen C. Katz. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. #fantasy #steampunk #fairytale    This cup of tea is weak and bitter. It's made of boiled roots, and the taste of dirt is still there. Eliza looks dubiously into the wooden cup. She likes sugar in her tea, white sugar especially, two lumps if she's allowed it. But she senses that she will have no sugar at all for a very long time. The Prime Minister's face hovers in her mind. His face is commanding rather than handsome, light-skinned, sharp-angled, with a clockwork acuity lens fixed over the left eye. His words echo in her ears: "Little girls don't go to war. What will I do with you?"   Gwen C. Katz is a writer, artist, and retired mad scientist who lives in Pasadena, California with her husband and a revolving door of transient animals. She has loved Hans Christian Andersen since she was little and thinks there ought to be more fairy tales about the power of democracy, and she was happy to have a chance to bring both together in "Seven Cups of Tea." Find out more at gwenckatz.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram @gwenckatz.   

Twentyone Twentytwo Seven by dave ring. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. #fantasy #urbanfantasy #magicrealism   "Drink, sir?" he asked. "Sure," I said. "I thought I had to go to the cafe car for some reason." "We are happy to accommodate you," he said, and then mumbled something else through a pointed smile. His teeth gleamed white against the stubbled growth of beard on his jaw. "Sorry, what was that?" I asked, plucking the effervescent glass from the tray. Tiny pinpricks of coolness splashed against my wrist. "We are happy to accommodate you," he said again, then quieter: "Andtakethephonefromunderthetray." I heard him this time, barely, but I don't think I reacted quickly enough. He strategically released his hand and a cell phone tumbled into my lap. "Thank you?" I said. He whisked past me, abruptly distant. "Twentyone twentytwo seven," he said. A chill ran across my neck. That was my lock code. The phone was a basic iPhone. I pushed the button on the side and a photo of me and some dude I didn't recognize shone back at me from the screen.   dave ring is a queer writer of speculative fiction living in Washington, DC.  His short fiction has been featured in publications such Fireside Fiction, Podcastle, and A Punk Rock Future. He is also the publisher and managing editor of Neon Hemlock Press, and the co-editor of Baffling Magazine. Find him online at www.dave-ring.com or @slickhop on Twitter.  

Winter's Flowers by K.T. Wagner. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. #fantasy #magic #winter #snowqueen   The late September sun warms Gerda's arthritic knees while sparrows chirp from the roof. Her knitting needles slide and click, keeping rhythm with the squeak of her rocking chair against the porch floor. Across each row, she knits in the present, then purls back in her memories. She learned to purl after Nan died. Every day since, Gerda remembers Kay. Today, her daydream is about their childhood garden in the garrets and gutters of a faraway town. Her hands turn the row, and the sweet scent of fall roses wafts by. She brings the yarn to the front, and remembers the roses of her childhood. They flourished in wooden rooftop boxes. "We're happier here, planted in the ground," the present-day roses sing when she knits a row. Gerda lives on the other side of the world from where she lost Kay so long ago. Now she knits her memories of the boy she loved into every garment she makes. The elaborate lace patterns had been impossible in garter stitch. They require the memory purls. Initially, the memory of grief drowned her, but she now knows Kay's still alive. The flowers told her.   Surrounded by gnomes, gargoyles and poisonous plants, KT Wagner writes Gothic horror and op/ed pieces in the garden of her British Columbia home. She enjoys day-dreaming and is a collector of strange plants, weird trivia and obscure tomes. KT organizes writer events and works to create literary community. A number of her short stories are published in magazines and anthologies. She's currently working on a novel. KT can be found online at www.northernlightsgothic.com and on Twitter @KT_Wagner.        

Grief by K.G. Anderson. Narrated by Rebecca Stern. Hosted by J.S. Arquin.  #scifi #aliens #grief #therapy "Out of the question." I drew back from the speakerphone on my mahogany desk, shaking my head, relieved that Kathleen Wilson couldn't see my reaction to her request. Kathleen was a former client, a close friend—and the director of the Extraplanetary Relations Council in Washington D.C. "Please, Moira! The exopsychologists here at the Council want to study the ambassador, not help zhirm. Please—anything you can do." I closed my eyes, opened them again, and looked across the room to the green leather armchair where my clients usually sat. I was trying to imagine an alien in that chair and failing utterly. AUTHOR K.G. Anderson is a Seattle-based journalist and a late-blooming science fiction writer. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area where her family worked in early rocketry, technology, and space programs. K.G. holds degrees in psychology and journalism. Her recent fiction appears in magazines, anthologies, and podcasts such as Galaxy's Edge, More Alternative Truths, and The Overcast. Find her at writerway.com/fiction and on Twitter: @writerway. NARRATOR Rebecca Stern has a voice that has been described as expressive, articulate, song-like, and evocative of warm bourbon and milk…if you like that kind of thing.  Her forty plus years as a professional violinist has instilled in her a deep appreciation for music of all kinds, including the music of language.  She loves nothing more than exploring the rhythm and flow of a script…from short narrations and poetry to novels…and sharing that with the listener. Find out more at www.verysternword.com and on Twitter: @verysternword. Please help support The Overcast. Become a Patron Today! Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you never miss an episode. While you're there, don't forget to leave a review!  

Marry the Rat by L.M. Zaerr. Narrated by J.S. Arquin. #fantasy #magic #rats #love   The second steward climbed a white ladder and blew powder from his palm onto the clock. He was a monochrome person in a lavender livery and a frothy wig. I knew only that he suffered from bunions. "What is that powder?" I asked. "I won't marry the rat!" "That's no reason to poison her." I knew the rat casually, and she seemed kind, in that haughty way of rats. "You can't make me marry her. You're the librarian, not the king." "Fine. But you can't blow handfuls of rat poison at her. I'll call the palace guard."   AUTHOR For decades, LM Zaerr lured students into medieval stories and abandoned them there to challenge dragons, rescue Lancelot, and figure out how to play gwyddbwyll. She wrote a book on medieval storytelling, and she memorized forgotten tales in dusty languages and sang them to the raucous tones of the vielle. Now she finds new stories dripping with sunshine and sword polish.    Please help support The Overcast. Become a Patron Today! Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you never miss an episode. While you're there, don't forget to leave a review!  

Bridge Over the Cunene by Gustavo Bondoni. Narrated by Theresa Bakken. Hosted by J.S. Arquin. #fantasy #zombies    Botoso knew he was in trouble.He had no idea how in the world he was ever going to get back to the village.He had no idea where the village was.This was the first time he'd ever been outside the stockade without his mother or one of the other village adults to take care of him, and the sun was setting redly over the horizon. But he wasn't frightened.  He told himself that a future headman would never be frightened just because night was about to fall.  He would laugh the night off, and keep walking until he found the river.  He new the river was near his village. He also knew that he would make a great headman someday.  He was smart and compassionate.  After Simao Zabobo had left the clearing far behind, Botoso had emerged from hiding and immediately noticed that the headman had forgotten the goat.  The boy knew how important goats were to the village – he was old enough to know that the village's very survival depended on the supply of goats. So he worked at the clasp tying the goat to the tree and began his walk back the way he'd come.  At some points, it was difficult to decide which way he had to go, since one patch of low grass or clump of trees looked just like the next, but he wasn't worried.  A headman would never get lost. But he had.  And now the sun was all the way down, and it was hard to see where he was going.   AUTHOR Gustavo Bondoni is novelist and short story writer with over three hundred stories published in fifteen countries, in seven languages.  He is a member of Codex and an Active Member of SFWA. His latest novel is Test Site Horror (2020). He has also published two other monster books: Ice Station: Death (2019) and Jungle Lab Terror (2020), three science fiction novels: Incursion (2017), Outside (2017) and Siege (2016) and an ebook novella entitled Branch. His short fiction is collected in Pale Reflection (2020), Off the Beaten Path (2019) Tenth Orbit and Other Faraway Places (2010) and Virtuoso and Other Stories (2011).   In 2019, Gustavo was awarded second place in the Jim Baen Memorial Contest and in 2018 he received a Judges Commendation (and second place) in The James White Award.  He was also a 2019 finalist in the Writers of the Future Contest. His website is at www.gustavobondoni.com Twitter: @gbondoni NARRATOR Theresa loves immersing herself in the worlds that writers create.  She draws on her experience as an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, brings empathy to every character she voices and delivers professionalism in every project. She believes storytelling is essential and produces a podcast called the Desideratum Podcast celebrating and featuring the work of authors and narrators. https://theresabakkennarrator.com/  Social Media link tree: :https://linktr.ee/tbnarrator   Please help support The Overcast. Become a Patron Today! Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you never miss an episode. While you're there, don't forget to leave a review!  

Katabasis by Catherine George. Narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Hosted by J.S. Arquin.  #fantasy #PNW #pacificcoast    They found the foot on the beach the morning after the first winter storm. It was the dog that found it, really—the dog who caught the scent of something meaty and rotten, and strained at the leash until Hannah let him loose. There was no one on the rocky shore but the three of them anyhow, Hannah and Dave and Benji, no one to be bothered by the mutt as he ran snuffling through the sea-wrack. The storm had delivered a new crop of driftwood, heaved it up above the tideline like the bleached bones of some monstrous beast. "It looks like a dragon, see?" Hannah said, but Dave had already slipped off into the fog, slouching along in the dog's wake, with his head down and fists jammed in the pockets of his jeans. He hadn't really wanted to come to the beach that morning.   AUTHOR Catherine George is a lawyer who lives in Vancouver, BC, with her partner and two young children. In 2018 she returned to writing fiction after 10 years away and now writes short speculative fiction of all types. Find her at www.cgfiction.com or on Twitter: @catinlaw   NARRATOR Jenna Hanchey is a rhetoric professor and speculative fiction author who has recently begun to try her hand at audiobook recording and voice acting. A long-time theatre actress, the pandemic had her searching for ways to take her talents online. Her first audiobook narration, The Beginning of the End by Emily S. Hurricane, can be found on Audible or Amazon. She will also be narrating "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" for the Sherlock Holmes podcast, However Improbable. She hopes to be able to add stage acting back into the mix one day soon, COVID permitting. You can find her research, fiction, and audio work on her website, www.jennahanchey.com, or by following her on Twitter at @JennaHanchey.   Please help support The Overcast. Become a Patron Today! Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify so you never miss an episode. While you're there, don't forget to leave a review!