I picked up a habit of listening to short stories on my morning commute, but the risk in that is investing my time on a story without a payoff. I thought for this week, I’d share one story with definite payoff. “Chair,” by Martin Mundt is the first episode on a great new podcast called Tales to Terrify. I was a little surprised to find such a humorous story leading off the playlist for a horror podcast, but it does have terrifying elements, and is overall a tremendous story. The best part about this Saturday Spotlight, is you can listen to this story for free on iTunes or www.TalestoTerrify.com.
The main character of this story is a hopeless optimist, who is willing to sell whatever he can to put him on the investment track towards becoming the world’s next quadrillionairre. gutligpinkstink128 (couldn’t afford to pay for capitals) lives in a world where white-collar crime has been legalized and one man is CFO of Earth. One day as gutligpinkstink128 lies in a gutter, letting the toxic waters burn one of his remaining limbs (he sold the rest to help fund his celebrity bobblehead doll franchise), a hover limo pulls up and a man offers him a job working for the aforementioned CFO, Monly Slim. What he does for Mr. Slim, as well as what he discovers while working, is fascinating sci-fi and as humorous as it sad. Thankfully, gutligpinkstink128′s ceaseless optimism and dry humor keeps the tale fun and worth many relistens. I’ve heard it three times and laugh out loud every time, often to parts I didn’t notice in earlier listens. I’m tempted to share some of my favorite parts, but I don’t want to ruin them. I’m sure you’ll laugh and really enjoy this story.
Martin has a book just released from Creeping Hemlock Press, Reanimated Americans: A Zombie Novel. Tales to Terrify shares a little bit about this book in the second episode’s intro, and it sounds like if I enjoyed the humor of “Chair,” that I’ll enjoy the humor in this book. I will definitely check it out, and you should too.
Looking into Creeping Hemlock Press, I see they have quite a few zombie books newly released. Their new imprint, Print is Dead, has a sampler of the following three titles:
The inspiration for this week’s Saturday Spotlight comes from my favorite story so far in the Evolved Publishing anthology, Evolution: Volume One, Jeff Burton’s “A Building This Size.” Jeff’s story is a mystery built on clever dialogue that emphasizes the power and motive behind what isn’t said. A coworker who just lost his wife to a tragic pool accident comes back to work sooner than anyone expected, and asks the main character for coffee. It’s actually this coworker’s last day, and our MC finds it strange that he asked him to coffee. Even more strange is the topic of conversation. His coworker asks questions like “How many working alcoholics are there in this building?” “How many smoke pot before work?” “How many steal?” Things get a little hairy when he asks how many people are having affairs.
I love a story with dialogue that powers the story, making characters come to life and keeping the reader on his toes to see what will happen next. This is one of those stories, and one which I will always remember as a superb example of action and suspense hinged on clever dialogue. It leaves you thinking and has definite reread value. This is only one of many excellent short stories in Evolution: Volume One, so go check it out and show Jeff some love by following him on Facebook or his website jeffreybburton.com.
Bio from his website: The stories of Jeffrey B. Burton have appeared in dozens of genre magazines (mystery, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, literary). Jeff is an Active member of both the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and the Horror Writers Association (HWA). A collection of his short stories, Shadow Play, was published in 2005. His mystery novel, Sleuth Slayer, was published in 2008.
America's leading mystery writers are being brutally murdered. Third-tier author Guy Davitt—a would-be Dashiell Hammett—stumbles upon the killer's bizarre M.O. But Davitt cannot convince deeply skeptical police a Sleuth Slayer actually exists. Through a dark labyrinth of film studio power brokers, publishing industry politics, a decadent family's wealthy influence, police immorality—as well as the dawning realization that he himself is on the killer's list—Davitt pursues the truth.
Don't turn around. Walk fast, faster, because someone or something may just be after you. Shadow Play is a story collection that offers enough mystery, murder, and mayhem to fill a whole season's worth of the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone television shows.
Congratulations as well to Jeff for his upcoming novel release, The Chessman (MacAdam/Cage Publishing), coming May 2012. The pitch is intriguing: Hidden forces are willing to kill any and all who stand in the way of untold billions. To toss the authorities off track, they borrow the modus operandi of a brutal serial killer—The Chessman—who stalked the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. some years earlier. The ruse is working brilliantly except for one minor detail. The real Chessman is not pleased—not pleased one iota—that someone has stolen his M.O. Enter Drew Cady, ex-FBI agent, who finds himself being sucked back into the very case that almost took his life, a case that crippled him both physically and emotionally. By capturing The Chessman and his blood-spattered copycat, Cady has a last shot at redemption. If he can find a way to survive, that is.
This week’s Saturday Spotlight has grown into its own podcast. Author, Nick Zaino III, wrote two great short stories in the zombie genre: Walter’s Friends (One Buck Horror:Volume 4) and Sing for Your Life (In Delirium Bloom). Scroll down for giveaway. I asked if he’d do a Saturday Spotlight reading for me, but I wanted to hear what he has planned and what the fuss is all about with him publishing on www.libboo.com. If you haven’t already, the second part of this interview is up as AudioTim 21, where I interviewed one of the leaders of Libboo. I think you’ll enjoy Nick’s interview first because the story he reads from, “Sing for Your Life,” is great as an audio production, and also because he’s got great back story on his stories. The setting for his zombie short story, “Walter’s Friends” is ripe for a movie in the vein of The Shining–an island off New York City with an abandoned hospital. North Brother Island was home to a place for Typhoid victims, a place where a thousand bodies washed up after a boat wreck, and a drug rehab facility. Creepy stuff, and his story uses it very well. He also shares a funny story from his first job out of college, working as a book doctor.
Links for Nick: Facebook Goodreads Bandcamp The Spit Take (comedy critic) One Buck Horror Volume Four In Delirium Bloom
This book is gruesome and emotional right out of the gate. The main character, Tony, goes through some monumental losses throughout the story. These aren’t the kind of losses that you can just blow off as insignificant because Lane’s writing makes you really care about these people and what’s going on. Lane excels in this area of sympathetic characters.
The sympathy you have for the characters makes this a tough read at times. I blazed through the first half in one or two days, which for me is saying a lot, especially with other books already in my queue. But, I got to a point where the gruesome scenes with the serial killer made me put it down. I give Lane credit for painting a very real picture of what it would be like to be Tony, to be the serial killer, and to be all the other people that suffer and were involved with this monster—even to the point that you sympathize with the monster himself.
Even though I didn’t really “enjoy” reading the scenes with the serial killer, I was intrigued to get into the killer’s mind, and they were very well written. This is the kind of book you can see playing out in your head as if you were there. Lane uses the first person to masterfully get you into the character’s minds so that you can feel everything as if it were happening to you. I could see how and why this guy did these awful things, and it made the story more horrific because of how real it seemed.
In the end, I was pushed to find out what happens to the main character’s girlfriend. As usual, Lane wrote a compelling love story for Tony and Dianna that really pulls you in at the beginning of the story. This is the hook that will keep you reading in spite of the gruesome actions by the serial killer because you want to know what happens between Tony and Dianna. Even though much of the book is written from 17 years after Tony first met the serial killer, you still don’t quite know what happens until the end; and even then, he leaves you wondering and needing to know what will happen in the sequel.
Between 50% and like 70% I was thinking this would be a 4 star review because I figured I had Lane pegged on what would happen to Diane. I was partly right, and partly wrong. The conclusion left me realistically satisfied and very impressed with Lane’s story telling. Life isn’t a fairy tale, and I commend Lane for his conclusion. That, combined with Lane’s excellent writing, makes this a 5 star book. I walk away with a deep emotional connection to these characters and their plight. They are like old friends, and any time a book can create that bond with characters, I say well done. He also did an excellent job with the moral question of what you would do if you were in Tony’s place and life has been so traumatically difficult. How many loved ones could you see die before you justified vengeance?
The only problems I had a few problems with this book: a little bit of a lull after the middle, which is hard to avoid when you are setting up the ending, and in order to be real; and some of the sex and violence was more than I wanted to experience, but in the end, that’s the ugly truth that Lane had to portray to tell this story right. As he warns in the intro, this book is not for kids.
If you are willing to experience some of the darker sides to life, you’ll walk away with new “friends,” and a deeper understanding of life and appreciation for the loved ones you still have.
View all my reviews
I just bought Evolved Publishing’s anthology Evolution: Vol. 1, which is really good so far, and by doing so, I have entered their Facebook giveaway to win a free ebook of Forgive Me, Alex (epub or mobi/kindle). Since I already own it, I’m giving it away to you. Follow the prompts below to enter to win (You can get one free if buy your own copy of Evolution: Vol. 1). The other authors are members of the Evolved Pub team, so I thought it would be nice to spread the love. Then I got so excited about you liking all these people that I added another prize to the package, an ebook of Lane’s short story, Wind Tunnel.
*Note: Lane liked the idea of promoting reviews so much, that if the winner posts a review of Forgive Me, Alex and sends me the link (tim at timothycward dot com), he or she will receive a coupon for another free ebook from the Evolved Publishing Product Page.
I recently came across a uniquely innovative publishing model that combines the benefits of the teamwork present in traditional publishing with the freedom to choose your team found in self-publishing: Libboo.com. I’m calling it a publishing community because these guys have set up an amagalmation akin to Smashwords mixed with Eharmony for writers. They have a patent pending method of rating books and services that tracks reader behaviors like reading cover-to-cover or sharing the book with others. Getting involved at the early stages of this community means you get a head start on building your rankings as an artist and a reviewer. Enjoy the podcast, and head over to Libboo.com to see what opportunities await.
Links mentioned in the podcast you should check out:
Nick Zaino III is mentioned in this interview because we interviewed him earlier in the recording. His interview will be posted next week. He has a story published in One Buck Horror: Volume Four, and has another great story on Libboo.com: “Sing for Your Life” in this book – http://www.libboo.com/read/in-delirium-bloom
Here is an info graphic I found that I thought you might like…:-) (about self-publishing numbers versus traditional publishing) http://bit.ly/AjP4cB
Podcast music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble, from www.freemusicarchive.org, “Lorda Mercy.”
Today’s episode is part two of three interviews I’ve done with Michell Plested. This time we talked about some good news he had from World Fantasy Con, some things he’s learned editing his 3 Rivers book, Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero, some info on his Boy Scouts of the Apocalypse zombie story and upcoming anthology, and then some general encouragement related to NaNoWriMo. I should have part 3 up in a couple days. I may try a schedule of posting every other day so that this site stays active. Thank you to everyone that has been stopping by of late, it’s been very encouraging.
In case you’re wondering why this interview sounds a little disjointed, it’s because I cut this half off the first episode (AudioTim17), where I interviewed him about his podcast, Get Published.
Podcast music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble, from www.freemusicarchive.org, “Lorda Mercy.”
You can subscribe to AudioTim on iTunes (here).
Did you learn anything from Michell’s advice? What have you learned from your most recent editing?
The difference between my status as a writer going into 2011 and its conclusion is a leap I’m very proud of, and one which makes me very confident that my writing will one day become a career. Going into 2011, my writing portfolio included two novel first drafts and a ton of unfinished novel ideas. Actually, I finished that second novel’s first draft in the second week of January, but that’s all I really had at this time last year.
Going into 2012, I have a lot more going for me, and it’s really exciting. I give credit to hard work, persistence, and taking advantage of opportunities. I also made some executive decisions about what to work on so that my efforts were most efficient. Continue reading →
Today’s episode is an interview with Georgina Kamsika, author of The Sulphur Diaries. She has a fascinating concept for this story that you won’t want to miss, as well as a chilling reading from the book. I will be giving away a Kindle copy of The Sulphur Diaries, which you can win by utilizing the Rafflecopter Giveaway below (contest has ended).
My Saturday Spotlight post this week will be for you to check out Georgina and Matthew’s stuff. Matthew was interviewed in the last episode and has a free web series called, The Day the Sun Stopped Shining, which is also really good, and worth your time to check out. Continue reading →
Today’s AudioTim podcast interview is with Matthew C. Wood, author of the Apocalyptic Science Fiction Web Series, The Day the Sun Stopped Shining, which you can read for free on his website. We talk about the setting and the unique hook about what would happen if the sun stopped shining, the protagonist being an unlikely hero, some of the science involved in setting the story 70 years into the future, and he even reads us a tantalizing sample from the beginning of the story. Georgina Kamsika, author of The Sulphur Diaries, joins us on the interview. I broke the interview in two, so that this episode focuses on Matthew, and the next episode will be us interviewing her. Continue reading →
Rachel and I last Christmas. Go figure, I'm wearing a Browns shirt this year too.
First off, Merry Christmas to you and yours, from me and mine! As I have since I got married a few years ago, I’m spending it in St. Charles, IA (picture covered bridges and small Iowa town–though the company is large and loving). I just wanted to share what will be going on at timothycward.com for the foreseeable future. Continue reading →
Thank you for stopping by my website! I am yet unpublished, but have short fiction out in Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Zombie markets, so stay tuned. I have a couple podcasts interviewing authors in these genres. Let me know if you'd like to be a guest!
I picked up a habit of listening to short stories on my morning commute, but the risk in that is investing my time on a story without a payoff. I thought for this week, I’d share one story with definite payoff. “Chair,” by Martin Mundt is the first episode on a great new podcast called Tales to Terrify. I was a little surprised to find such a humorous story leading off the playlist for a horror podcast, but it does have terrifying elements, and is overall a tremendous story. The best part about this Saturday Spotlight, is you can listen to this story for free on iTunes or www.TalestoTerrify.com.
