Alison joins the show for the first time in months and hijinx ensue. Those of you who enjoyed the old days of the podcast are in for a treat. Those of you who are looking for substance? Sorry.

Tasha Alexander, author of And Only to Deceive, A Poisoned Season, and the forthcoming A Fatal Waltz (May 2008 from William Morrow) joins us for another late night and spontaneous podcast. We discuss her books, her writing process, and what she learned along the way going from unpublished writer to critically acclaimed author.

Biography of Tasha Alexander--
Tasha Alexander attended the University of Notre Dame, where she signed on as an English major in order to have a legitimate excuse for spending all her time reading. Following graduation, she played nomad for several years, eventually settling with her family in Tennessee. When not reading, she can be found hard at work on her next book.

Her first book, And Only to Deceive was called "a memorable debut," by Booklist. We think she's pretty cool, too.

*Bumper music* Carmelita as covered by G.G. Allin

After nearly two months of sanctions, fines, and not being able to find the time, we're back with a brand new podcast and it's a special edition of THE FUTURE IS BLEAK. Join us as Ben talks to Bill Cameron for the first time. What's so special about that? Bleak House is publishing Bill's next book Chasing Smoke this fall and the two men have never spoken a word to one another.

Will they be able to communicate? Will they get along? Tune in to find out.

BUMPER MUSIC: "Hold Up" by Marisa Kasriel

We're back and we're demystifying things about Bleak House Books.

Alison rejoins the program to talk about whatever it is we talk about and then later on when the show really starts, there's an interview with Edgar Finalist Craig McDonald.

*bumper music* Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Stars

Anthony Neil Smith joins Ben to discuss his writing life, the new book (Yellow Medicine), and a bunch of other stuff that's worth listening to as the podcast train gets back on the tracks and gets serious momentum.

Nathan Singer (author of A Prayer for Dawn and Chasing the Wolf) joins Ben to discuss Nathan's new book, In the Light of You (June 2008). You'll also get to hear Nathan's take on writing, a sample of his live performance with his band Voice in the Cage, and the heartwarming feel good story about how one man got plucked from the slushpile.

New York Times bestselling author John Connolly had this to say about In the Light of You--

"Incendiary and moving, deeply relevant and searingly honest, it [In the Light of You] deserves to catapult Nathan Singer into the list of America's best young novelists."

Noticeably absent from today's discussion is Deputy Sheriff Editor Alison, as she is getting ready for tonight's big season opening roller derby bout, where she will take on the persona of her alter-ego, Mel Ignant.

Welcome to the Future is Bleak 2008. Plenty of coverage of our spring lineup and a big announcement. We're glad to be back and we're glad you're here.

*bumper music* "Wishes by Ex-Members

In the name of full and total transparency, today's guest is Catherine, a new Bleak House intern. This is actually her job interview turned into a podcast. We'd maybe exchanged fifty words before conducting the interview. This is what happens when Alison is out of the office and I'm left to do the programming.

Alison will be back (thank God) soon enough that you won't have to sit through many more Whim of Ben podcasts.

You'd think that with a long layoff, a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend, and the relative ease of talking into a microphone, that we'd be able to deliver a great podcast this week. Yeah? Well, you'd be wrong.

This is a total train wreck. If you've never listened to the podcast before, don't start here.

New podcast coming soon. We'll try harder.