The Storyteller Series Night Shift Radio

Stephen would do anything for his daughter, Isabella. When she is stricken terminally ill that "anything" is challenged.
Written by Joe Beck

This week, we’re talking with Tom Witkowski, whose story “The Guardian Devil” was featured on our most recent episode of The Storyteller Series. You can listen to Tom’s story by heading to http://storytellerseriespodcast.com/listen (storytellerseriespodcast.com/listen).
In “The Guardian Devil,” Leonard, the “guardian devil” from whom this story takes its title, is growing increasingly frustrated by the changing world’s waning need for creative types. In the fast-paced industry of causing trouble and mayhem for humans, there’s just no time to slow down and appreciate the artistry of a well-orchestrated mishap. However, things start to change for Leonard when, after making a new friend in the most unlikely of places, he’s presented with the opportunity to showcase his talents as a different kind of guardian (think harps and feathers).
Tom Witkowski lives in Minnesota and has spent the last 25 years avoiding respectable careers by working as a copywriter in advertising. He’s worked on brands like Harley-Davidson and the Minnesota Twins, and won seven regional Emmys, as well as many other industry awards, most of which mean nothing. He started a short fiction blog in 2019 called 9 Circles Fiction, and his stories have since appeared in The Daily Drunk and Bright Flash Literary Review.
In his spare time, he dreams about mountains.
You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter (@9CirclesFiction) and read more stories on his site, 9CirclesFiction.com.
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For this, Night Shift Radio’s first installment of The Storyteller Series: Author Interviews, Andrea Quinn sits down with Marina Rubin, whose story “Man in a Fedora” was featured on the October episode of The Storyteller Series, which you can (and should) listen to here.
In “Man in a Fedora,” our young narrator recounts and retraces her ambiguous and unconventional friendship with the enigmatic Max Florentine. As she works to understand the circumstances of his conspicuous disappearance, she struggles to identify her place in his life and the effect he continues to have, even from beyond the purported grave, on hers.
Author Bio: Marina Rubin’s work has appeared in over eighty magazines and anthologies. She is an associate editor of Mudfish and a 2013 recipient of COJECO Blueprint Fellowship. Her book of flash fiction Stealing Cherries (Manic D Press) received an Honorable Mention on Heeb Magazine’s list of Best Books of 2014. Her short story “Good People Make Bad Couples” was shortlisted for the 2019 Writers’ HQ Flash Fiction Prize, and her upcoming short-story collection Snuffbox has just won an Honorable Mention for the 2020 Miami Book Fair Emerging Writer Fellowship. In addition to writing, Marina Rubin is an avid mountaineer, having summited Kilimanjaro, made it to Everest Base Camp, completed Tour du Mont Blanc and Camino de Santiago. She lives in Brooklyn.
You can find more information about Marina Rubin and her work at Poets and Writers or by following her on instagram: @marina_rubinnyc
Catch up on all of the wonderful stories we’ve been lucky enough to share by visiting:
AUDIO - http://storytellerseriespodcast.com/listen (storytellerseriespodcast.com/listen)
PRINT - http://nightshiftradio.com/storytellersprint (nightshiftradio.com/storytellersprint)
The Storyteller Series: Author Interviews is a Night Shift Radio production. Visit us at http://nightshiftradio.com/ (nightshiftradio.com).
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(P.S. We can’t prove this wasn't https://www.powells.com/book/spies-black-ties-mango-pies-stories-recipes-from-cia-families-all-over-the-world-9781885352804 (written by Max Florentine).)
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There aren’t any other Guardian Devil bars. And even if that angelic fern bar did allow admittance, there would be little interest in mingling with those bleach-soaked, minty do-gooders. After all, who wants to frolic and sing hymns anyway? So, this is where we find the Guardian Devils, including Leonard, of whom this story is about.
Written by: Tom Witkowski
Narrated by: John Allen
Leonard: Cole Oppedisano
Angel: Leah
Supervisor Balam: Mike Wyant Jr.
Janet: Sarah Sweeney
Mammom: Michael Fight
Produced/Directed by: Michael Fight
Storyteller Series Editor: Michael Wyant, Jr.
Sound Mixed by: Kitzy
Edited by: Cole Oppedisano
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Aschenbach. That's who Max reminded me of, with his sophistication and grace evocative of a different, more elegant era. He was small, about 5 feet tall, (maybe that's why all his gifts were so petite.) A bit of a dandy. He wore a Burberry trench coat, cuff-links, and a fedora hat with a military pin. He smoked a pipe. He had small hands. And now, he's missing.
Written by: Marina Rubin
Narrator: Carmen Crafts
Max: Americo Galli
Virignia: Mandy Hebblethwaite
Vero: Raadiyah Verity
Ian: Casey Ryan
Barely Divorced Man: Kitzy
Frightened Coordinator: Carmen Crafts
Ex-Boyfriend: Caleb Coy
Dragomir: Michael Fight
Mother: Andrea Quinn
Goodwill Woman: Amy Wyant
Produced/Directed by: Michael Fight
Storyteller Series Editor: Michael Wyant, Jr.
Sound Mixed by: Kitzy
Edited by: Cole Oppedisano
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I'd been around awhile, but being with Finn, made it all worthwhile. The life of a minor god.
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Written by: Ella Boehme
Narrator: Sarah Sweeney SweeneyWrites.com
Finn: Dave Maslyn
Old God: Michael Fight
Nurse: Lauren Kaylor
Roommate: Andrea Quinn
Producer/Director: Michael Fight
Editor: Cole Oppedisano
Story Editor: Mike Wyant Jr.
Sound Mixer: Kitzy
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