Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast ‘short stories’ episode number six, part of a fortnightly series tucked in between monthly hints & tips and red pen critique sessions, was released today.
I’ve been starting off the first few weeks with the flash fiction that have appeared on my blog as ‘Flash Fiction Fridays’, reading out three per fortnight. Eventually I’ll run out so if you’d like to submit yours you can email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com.
This episode featured ‘Zombie Fight Song‘ (999 words) by Bob Frey, ‘The Old Barn’ (411 words) by Theodore P. Druch and a 998-worder called ‘The Visit’ by Ralph Murray.
Bob’s original story contained some strong language so I edited it to suit the ‘clean’ rating of this podcast. I don’t critiquing them but simply read them out and I hope you enjoy this format.
Bob Frey loves to entertain, make people laugh and think, and, perhaps, shake them up a little. He was a copywriter for several top Los Angeles advertising agencies and received several awards for his creative work. When he turned to writing fiction, he found it was a whole new ballgame and he had a lot to learn. He has since published a couple of mysteries, ‘The DVD Murders’ and ‘The Bashful Vampire Murder & Comic Book Murders’, and ‘Catawampus Tales’, a book of short stories, a mixed bag of fast food for the mind. Also an actor, he has appeared in some forty independent films and stage plays. Now retired, he lives in Sandy, Oregon, with his wife, Susan.
Born in Milwaukee, educated at Brandeis and later at the Timothy Leary commune in Millbrook, NY, Theodore P. Druch, Ted to his friends, spent most of his life in trivial pursuits – like making a living. After chucking it all and traveling around the world for ten years like a dandelion seed on the wind, he settled in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He is an active member of the Puerto Vallarta Writer’s Group, and conducts a weekly workshop for serious authors. In the last two years, Ted has published four full-length non-fiction e-books, and is currently working on his first novel, a historical fantasy of 1492 called ‘King David’s Harp’. He fully expects it to be a blockbusting best-seller, filled as it is with pirates, adventurers, corrupt popes and priests, several heroes and heroines, and a search for clues to the hiding place of the harp of King David, the recovery of which might bring about the return of the Messiah. Ted’s books are available at Amazon for the Kindle and at Smashwords for all other readers. ‘Footprints on a Small Planet’ is also available as a trade paperback through Amazon. Ted’s blog can be found at http://selfpublishedandbroke.wordpress.com and you can watch his African Odyssey trailer on YouTube.
Ralph is a London-based graphic designer / sub editor, married with two sons. He finished his debut novel in November 2010 and has been trying to get it published (unsuccessfully) since then. I know that feeling. Ralph says he knows that self-publishing is very much the way to go, but he’s determined to hold out for a traditional publisher (well, that’s the plan anyway). He gets up at 5.00am most mornings to write for an hour before getting ready for work, and is 12,000 words into the sequel of ‘From Out Of The Blue’. ‘The Visit’ first appeared on his blog (http://ralphmurray.wordpress.com) in November.
Thank you for downloading / listening to this short story episode. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to bringing you another a fortnight. In the meantime, next week’s episode will be a hints & tips unless I receive a short story or novel extract to critique (again you can email this to me). All the links mentioned in these shows are listed on the podcast page of list blog.
The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).
Morgen 'with an E' Bailey 