William J. Meyer

William J. Meyer

What do I like to write about?
Psychological trauma, spiritual crisis, misplaced guilt, religious terror, environmental madness.
And cosmic chaos!
Sometimes robots.

I have written for the stage including the Gothic Romance The Birthing Pit, set at the end of the American Revolutionary War—

—for screen including the Western The Splendid Gun, a Quarterfinalist...
What do I like to write about?
Psychological trauma, spiritual crisis, misplaced guilt, religious terror, environmental madness.
And cosmic chaos!
Sometimes robots.

I have written for the stage including the Gothic Romance The Birthing Pit, set at the end of the American Revolutionary War—

—for screen including the Western The Splendid Gun, a Quarterfinalist at the Austin Film Festival—

—and for audio fiction including the fantasy podcast novel Fire on the Mound, awarded Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form) from the Parsec Awards.

I am currently writing and producing the anthology fiction podcast Strange/Love —stories of sci-fi, fantasy, and the macabre.

Plays

  • Waiting to Die in a Tent, A Few Thoughts on Valhalla by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Vikings, valkyrie + 7 more
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, period
    Keyword: Vikings, valkyrie, warriors, wounded warrior, absent father, Fathers and Daughters, Father-daughter reconciliation, death, Norse mythology
    The old viking warrior Einarr and his young friend Mikel battle to protect their distant city of Reidun. When Einarr is mortally wounded, Mikel sets out to locate Einarr’s estranged daughter Kára for a final father-daughter reunion. But before they can return, a mysterious figure finds Einarr alone-- and about to breathe his last.
  • The Sound of Many Oceans (Monologue) by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: monologue, trauma + 7 more
    Genre: drama, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: monologue, trauma, conspiracy, science, manipulation, gaslighting, sound, invention, deception
    In this monologue from "The Sound of Many Oceans," Alex excitedly explains how we are all living vibrations.
  • The Sound of Many Oceans by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    2–3
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: trauma, conspiracy + 6 more
    Genre: drama, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: trauma, conspiracy, science, manipulation, gaslighting, sound, invention, deception
    Alex believes a micro-circuitry device has been attached to his body to reshape his brain and prevent him from hearing the sound of oceans. His friend and confidant Jules agrees to search his body.
  • The Transposition of Chloë Brontë by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: horror, romantic comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: love, romance + 8 more
    Genre: horror, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: love, romance, dimensions, geometry, sleep paralysis, Mourning, grief, demons, nightmare, aliens
    Chloë and Max’s relationship is strained when they move in together and Chloë’s sleep paralysis appears to open a portal to another dimension.
  • a wish for my forever -- a moon monologue by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: fantasy
    ·
    Keyword: moon, lunar + 6 more
    Genre: fantasy
    Keyword: moon, lunar, anniversary, romance, love, lonely hearts, monologue, outer space
    This monologue is from the point of view of the moon.
    It is inspired by the giant impact hypothesis which states a mass named Theia collided with the Earth in the distant past to create the moon.
  • The Birthing Pit (Monologues) by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    1–3
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: monologue, Sex + 8 more
    Genre: drama, horror, mystery/thriller, period, tragedy
    Keyword: monologue, Sex, religion, Terror, colonialism, war, gothic, romance, repression, American Revolution
    Monologues from the full-length play The Birthing Pit.

    John and Castella flee a mysterious pestilence at the end of the American Revolutionary War, sailing home to Rhode Island from the Caribbean. But when the farmer Atabei kills their ship’s captain during what might be a supernatural storm, tragedy stalks all three.

    The pdf contains two monologues each for three separate...
    Monologues from the full-length play The Birthing Pit.

    John and Castella flee a mysterious pestilence at the end of the American Revolutionary War, sailing home to Rhode Island from the Caribbean. But when the farmer Atabei kills their ship’s captain during what might be a supernatural storm, tragedy stalks all three.

    The pdf contains two monologues each for three separate characters:
    Castella, a novelist from Rhode Island.
    John, a doctor from Rhode Island.
    Atabei, a farmer from Puerto Rico.
  • The Birthing Pit by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    4–20
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Sex, religion + 8 more
    Genre: drama, horror, mystery/thriller, period, tragedy
    Keyword: Sex, religion, Terror, colonialism, war, gothic, romance, repression, oppression, American Revolution
    John and Castella flee a mysterious pestilence at the end of the American Revolutionary War, sailing home to Rhode Island from the Caribbean. But when the farmer Atabei kills their ship’s captain during what might be a supernatural storm, tragedy stalks all three.
  • The Maimed King by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: adventure, fable/folktale + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: King Arthur, Holy Grail + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, fable/folktale, faith-based, fantasy, period
    Keyword: King Arthur, Holy Grail, Jesus, England, Arthurian legend, friendship, close friendship, deep friendship, Crisis of Faith
    Joseph and Evelake arrive on the shores of England, planning to secret the Holy Grail inland to the town of Glastonbury. The brigand tracking them is the least of Evelake’s perils as he begins to doubt the foundation of his new Christian faith.
  • Idylls of Camelot by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: alcoholism, discussions of suicide + 2 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, science fiction
    Keyword: alcoholism, discussions of suicide, family, funeral
    Cindy confronts her brother Harry about skipping another family funeral, drudging up old pains, including the time they found their father's strange invention.

    After the death of their parents, Cindy and Harry uncover the turmoil of their family history and discover that like any addiction, talking to the dead has its price.

    NOTE: This play contains themes of alcoholism, abuse, and suicide.
  • The Eye in Violet by William J. Meyer
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: fantasy, science fiction
    ·
    Keyword: friendship, barbarian + 2 more
    Genre: fantasy, science fiction
    Keyword: friendship, barbarian, alien, 1980s
    In the year 1985 strangers Audrey and Samantha are forced to fight together during an alien occupation in the American Midwest, a world transformed by a Medieval regression of dead technologies and barbaric survival.

    Their new friendship is put to the test when they learn they are both seeking the same alien artifact-- a mysterious Eye rumored to grant special abilities.