Pseudopod 416: Punksnotdead

[Bdoomed]

Pseudopod 416: Punksnotdead

by Eric Czuleger

“Punksnotdead” was first published in Eric’s first novel Immortal L.A. which was inspired by listening to Pseudopod in the Albanian Alps for two years. “It makes me uncomfortable to share this story. It was supposed to be one thing and it took a dark turn on me. It was inspired by the nightly walks my best friend and I take by the ocean. We’ve been taking the same walks for years. The coastline never changes but we do. I guess that scares me. That a minute ago we were twelve, a second ago we were twenty, and the coastline never changes.”

ERIC CZULEGER is the author of the novels Immortal L.A. and Eternal L.A. He has collaborated with audio artist Joe Calarco on an audio prequel to this series entitled Ignited L.A. He lives in Los Angeles where he is the resident playwright of The Coeurage Theatre Company as well as a Media Journalist for TheWrap.com. He writes for screens both big and small as much as he possibly can. He finished Peace Corps service in Northern Albania in 2013 and tries to travel in and out of the states as much as he can. He tweets at @Eczuleger, and you can find his website at Eric Czuleger.com. If you liked this story, check out the full book, Immortal L.A., its sci fi sequel Eternal L.A., the audio prequel Ignited L.A. and the forth coming Farnoosh, a stand alone novel about The Iranian Revolution, Genies, and reality television. All are available on Amazon or through his website, Eric Czuleger.com where you can also purchase collections of Eric’s plays, read his blog, or drop him a line. He’d be happy to hear from you.

Your reader – Joe Calarco – is the associate artistic director of Coeurage Theatre Company in Los Angeles. He can be seen in the extension of Coeurage’s current show, Trey Parker’s “Cannibal! the Musical” mid December. He can also be seen in the West Coast Premiere of “The Pitchfork Disney”, opening late January. People can get tickets at The Coeurage Theatre Company.


“”Punk is Dead. He has twenty-four hours Left.””



Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

[Zoo]

Hey guys

This is Eric Czuleger, writer of Punksnotdead. Just want to thank you guys for listening and supporting! If anyone is interested in the full book I'm happy to link to it below (but I don't know if that would be spamming the board). Let me know, I want to respect the sacred pseudopod forum. Thanks again for listening you all. I hope you enjoyed it, but even if you didn't I'd still love to hear your thoughts!

[Fenrix]

We love hearing from the authors, and feel free to link the related book. It's directly related, so I'd call it relevant to this thread.

[Zoo]

Thanks Fenrix!

Here's the link to the full book guys. My previous story on Pseudopod is in the book in an expanded form, as well as a bunch of others.

You can get Immortal L.A. in either paperback or e-book form. Here's the Blurb:

The San Andreas Fault is the gateway to hell. The Hollywood Hills are mass graves of angels. William Mulholland defies God himself. Satan gets plastic surgery on Sunset Boulevard. A dead boy is stuck in traffic next to a vampire who can’t sleep, and an angel who has a an audition for the role of an angel. The stars are in the sky and on the pavement. The wolves are prowling. The weather is perfect. The screenplay is written. The soul is sold. This movie is going to be big- really big. Welcome to Immortal L.A. You’re going to love it here.

http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-L-A-Eric-Czuleger-ebook/dp/B00I6HG2RY

Joe Calarco and I are currently working on turning Immortal L.A. into a film, so stay tuned for that. Thanks again for all of your support! If it were not for Pseudopod I would have never written this book. Also... There is a pseudopod easter egg in the book ;-)

The Science Fiction companion novel Eternal L.A. is due out by summer (still working on it).

Follow me @eczuleger or facebook me. I'm always happy to meet another pseudopodian.

Cheers guys.

[bounceswoosh]

I enjoyed this story as well as the reading. Creepy, sad, melancholy.

[Zoo]

Thanks man. It's odd, this story took a turn for the sad on me while I was writing it. I originally started it out trying to write about what a joy it would be to see your best friend again... but it didn't end up that way obviously. Joe Calarco is the best. Full stop.

[bounceswoosh]

(Not a man)

[Unblinking]

For the beginning to middle of the story I was rather uninterested in it.  I didn't really see the appeal in the dead Punk and his middling aged friend.  Why do I care?  Where I finally got interested was the point where the other guy started talking about leaving LA.  THERE was some conflict, something I could care about, trying to pull away from his destructive teen years that he's been clinging to for 2/3 of his life and figure out what he wants to do now whether he really wants to live in the same town for the rest of his life just for one night a year of stupid fun.

Is testicle-kicking an inherent part of punk culture?  Between this and Punk Voyager, it kind of seems like it is.

Also, Hi Eric.

[Zoo]

Sorry miss!

[Zoo]

I completely agree with you. I wanted the story to be a bit of a slow burn and I don't know if that is totally successful since it does take a minute to "drop-in."

I would hazard to say that most fiction could be improved with a good kick in the nuts. Twilight comes to mind.

[Scuba Man]

I had the movie REPO MAN in mind, as I listened to this podcast.

[Zoo]

Funny you should say that! Sections of that movie were filmed in Redondo Beach where the story takes place!

[Whaletale]

I really, really enjoyed this one. It was a bit slow at the start, but once the story started rolling it was phenomenal. I felt it walked the thin line between traditional horror and physiological horror beautifully. Was zombie Punk real at all, or just a hallucination of guilt and sorrow that Brad struggles with on the anniversary of Punk's death?

Also, excellent work with the music in this episode! The added sounds during the movie theater scene were excellent and I felt really heightened the tension and mood of that seen. Awesome work!