Sculpting God

 

 The Gift of the Magi [16:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2640)

A classic Christmas story, short and sweet, slightly revised and performed by members of Casa Sawyer.  May your holiday be filled with warmth and delight.

 

 Standard Podcast [48:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12105)

Warning: Contains adult language and graphic violence.

To kick off the Antithesis series, I’m bringing you a story that’s just at the edge of what Sculpting God normally deals with. Still a bedtime story for adults, this one tells the story of Mondu, a pawnbroker on a nature preserve in the Amazon rainforest, and a customer who walks into his store and turns his life upside down. When you’re looking for excitement, or an escape from boredom, be careful what you wish for. You might get The Man In The Rain.

Sculpting God has been on a hiatus for the last couple of months while I finished my novel, recorded it, edited it, and prepared to podcast it (this other annoying thing called “real life” also kept intruding.  Evidently there is a species of animal called “client” that expects something called “service” in a timely manner - alas, such is life as a small business owner).

There remain six more stories in the Sculpting God anthology - at least, those are the ones that are written so far - and we will be returning to those in early September.  However, to fill the mid-series gap, later this week we’re going to step a little bit outside the normal faire for an interesting little thriller called “The Man in the Rain.”

Coming this week!

 

 Predestination and Other Games of Chance [1:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7581)

Sculpting God is not dead, but it has been on hold while I get other projects lined up and hopping. This post is a preview of some of the things to come - enjoy!Also, anyone heading to BayCon this weekend, let me know. I’ll be there, and I’ll have goodies to give out.

 

 Episode 7: Lilith [29:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3506)

Warning: This episode contains explicit sexual situations, and is intended for adult audiences.

You’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve? Don’t be so sure. The Bible doesn’t tell the whole story, but if you look closely you see where something has been removed. First, God creates “man” male and female, and then, a few verses later, he creates woman again, this time from Adam’s rib. Where did the first woman go?

If you’ve ever read the Babylonian Talmud, you know. She was kicked out of the Garden of Eden for not being properly defferential, and she went on to become quite notorious in her own right. A sexual predator, a dark goddess, a spurned woman, and the first feminist, this is her story in her own words.

Lilith.

Guest voices this week:
Stephanie Sawyer
Kitty Nic’Iaian

Promos this week:
Hutchins and Harwood explain why you have only three days left to buy Scott Sigler’s excellent novel Infected

 

 We Create Worlds, Part 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3199)

Warning: This episode of Sculpting God is intended for adult audiences, and has content that is probably unsuitable for children and the easily offended. Strong language, dirty euphamisms, violence, sexual themes, and disturbing subject matter.

Here, at long last, is the conclusion to We Create Worlds. I had intended to release this over a month ago. Unfortunately for all of you (but fortunately for me), I was asked to write a screenplay. The resulting effort, Down From Ten, is a science fiction/mystery miniseries which my producing partners and I are now seeking funding for. It may even make an appearance as a miniseries at a future point in this podcast. You can read more about what the writing entailed at www.jdsawyer.net

Thank you all for your patience in hanging around the feed. Please spread the word - more episodes are coming.

Enjoy!

 

 Ep 5: We Create Worlds, Part 1 [36:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3283)

Warning: This episode of Sculpting God is intended for adult audiences, and has content that is probably unsuitable for children and the easily offended. Strong language, dirty euphamisms, sexual themes, and disturbing subject matter.“I love deadlines. I love the wooshing noise they make as they go by.” -Douglas Adams

This time, it’s very much a case of blown deadlines for the sake of a god product. It’s also, I’m sure you’re thinking, better late than never. This story turned out to be a difficult one to produce, simply becasue I hadn’t looked at it in a number of years. When I did, I realized that it wasn’t up to snuff for Sculpting God. “No problem,” I thought, “A quick rewrite will fix that.” Well, the quick rewrite wound up stretching to six weeks, and this little bugger of a story turned out to be a very difficult nut to crack.

However, crack it did, and here you are - the meat of the walnut, as it were.

This is the story of Rick. He’s a scurrilous, irascible scoundrel, with a heart of gold. Not in the sense of being warm and fuzzy and good underneath, but in the sense of having a heart totally devoted to gold. His favorite goldmine is his shop, an entertainment venue where he vends virtual reality and manufactured novels to his latter-day escapist customers. He runs a tidy shop, he keeps his customers happy, and he always knows the right party to hit to find a pliable college girl with more cocaine than sense. Life is good. But life has a way of doing unexpected things, and the world has a way of changing around the most adaptable people.

So, please step into Rick’s parlor. Don’t mind the bell on the door or the old fashioned cash register. Buy a manufactured novel, fresh from the computer, a first edition. Sit in the easy chair or lay out on the sofa. Strap on a helmet and a skinsuit and take a swim on Europa. He can be trusted, really. It says so on the door. He’s completely upfront with his advertising. In ten foot high letters, right above the shop front, he tells you what they do in his place:
“We Create Worlds.”

And he does it on the cheap.

Fear not - the new episode of Sculpting God is coming in the next day or two. I know I’m 2 days late - all I can say for now is that this episode is the most complicated we’ve done sonically, and that on top of a long rewrite to bring it up to snuff. Hopefully you’ll all find it worth the wait.

Be in touch soon
-Dan

 

 Christmas Interlude [18:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3447)

Heya everyone!

Merry Christmas/Solstice/Haunnaka/New Year’s/Saturnalia/Bacchinalia/Random Day Off Work!

So, the episode due this week has been delayed. I haven’t looked at the story in a few years, and discovered that it needed a major rewrite, which has taken me in some unexpected directions. Between that and the ramp-up for the Seminar I’m teaching at the end of January, I haven’t had time to record.

However, there are a few hundred of you out there now, and I can’t just leave you with an empty feed, so there IS a podcast this week. Take a listen - I think you’ll get a good smile to tickle the cockles of your geeky hearts.

Special thanks to Jonathan Coulton for making so much excellent podsafe music!

 

 Episode 4: Control Room [21:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3368)

What if somewhere in the universe there was a room, and in that room was a creature, surrounded by screens and dials and controls.  In his room, he sees all, knows all, manages all.  He directs the thoughts and actions of every being in the cosmos.  Would such a creature be God?  And what would it be like to be that being, spending your days and nights watching the screens and managing the affairs of all beings from a control room?

Special thanks to the Reason Driven Podcast and to the Going Linux podcast for running our promo.  Enjoy!