Death Metal Fan & Interview with Jim Phoenix

This tomato is spicy!

"Minny and the Mutant Tomato" is an original story written by Angelique Fawns for the anthology Cursed and Creepy.

Minny Brown wants to win the local fair and she’ll do anything to make sure her tomatoes are the biggest on Pelee Island. Including stealing her dad’s ultra-secret growth serum. 

The new formula works too well. A mutant tomato pops up and he's not about to fill a bottle of ketchup. 

Can  Minny stop the tomatopocalypse? 

Bill Wiesner is our reader for this episode. Bill Wiesner is a Toronto-based technical and creative professional.  He is a promotions and commercial producer/director/writer, post-production editor, and voice actor. 

Grab your trowel, put on some gardening gloves, and prepare to meet the next generation of killer tomatoes. 

Not all snakes are reptiles.

"A Cold Slither Killing" first appeared in Heavy Metal Nightmares anthology by Phobica Books March, 2023.

This story is voiced by Kristi Stewart. She is a regular performer for Read Me A Nightmare.

Her career has taken her from the newsroom, as an associate producer, a promotions director in country radio as well as a public relations manager for a not for profit, and, sponsorship manager for Rogers TV Toronto… all the while keeping her fingers in the entertainment field. She found a second love, as a voice actor.

Learn more about the Horror Lite Anthologies here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMM44YPZ

Put on your best concert gear, hide your beer in a paper bag, and let’s listen to some heavy metal.

If you go into the woods today...
Beware the Zaggamung.

James Hancock is a writer/screenwriter of comedy, thriller, horror, sci-fi and twisted fairy tales.  A few of his short screenplays have been made into films, and he has been published in print magazines, online, and in anthology books. He lives in England, with his wife and two daughters.  And a bunch of pets he insisted his girls could NOT have.

Zaggamung is a short atmospheric horror story written byJames Hancock and performed by Karen Shute.

In our interview, James Hancock talks about the differences between screen writing and the short story world. We also hit on the importance of writing groups.

Here are some links if you want to learn more:

https://twitter.com/JimHank13
Bring Out the Wicked
Dark Day Collection of Drabbles

So you're a shark, and you are looking for the best place to hang.
What if there was a Trip Advisor for sea life?

On today's episode, Pete Lead, a fellow author and improv actor presents his own story, "A Review of Bondi Beach, written by Henry the Shark."  

 Pete Lead is a writer, narrator, and facilitator who currently calls New Zealand his home. You can learn more about him at www.petelead.com 

 Stay tuned after the reading for a conversation about looking at writing as a business and strategies for success.

Grab your towel, some sunscreen, a sharp harpoon, and let's dive into this review.

What is the secret behind the skull of the Peking man?
Plus, how does one become the most famous sci-fi writer in Canadian history?


Robert J. Sawyer is our guest today and he reads his award-winning story, "Peking Man."

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world's top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He’s also won more Aurora awards than anyone in history. 

He recently received the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement award in April at the 39th Annual Writers of the Future Awards Gala. His varied career includes script writing and television series production, including ABC’s Flash Forward which aired in 2009-2010. 

You can find his latest print novel, The Oppenheimer Alternative, a science fiction reimagining of history, on Amazon:

The-Oppenheimer-Alternative

The interview that follows the story is full of good advice for authors at any stage of their careers and some cautionary warnings about the advent of AI. 

Dim your lights, grab your nail file, and let's curl up for the award-winning horror-tinged tale, "Peking Man."  

Who is the ghost you see everyday?
A gothic cautionary tale.

This episode features a flash fiction piece by Amanda Cecelia Lang called "The Woman in the Churchyard".  It was first presented by Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast in June 2020.  Our retelling is brought to life by Karen Shute, one of the biggest horror experts I know, and a regular performer on this podcast. 

Amanda Cecelia Lang is an author and aspiring recluse from Denver, Colorado. She writes weird novels and short fiction, tales of horror laced with whimsy, magic, and mayhem. When she isn’t plotting her next imaginary murder, she sleeps all day and plays all night—but probably isn’t a vampire since she thinks hickeys are seriously gross. You can learn more about her at https://www.amandacecelialang.com.

Grab your warmest shawl and curl up for this creepy ghost story.

How do you win Writers of the Future?

Coordinating Judge Judy Lynn Nye answers a selection of questions put together by the Wulf Pack writing group.

ADDED BONUS. Jody Lynn Nye also reads her story "Superstition."
Superstition first appeared in Furry Fantastic an anthology featuring otherworldly animals published in October 2006.
You can also find this story in her collection Cats Triumphant.

Jody Lynn Nye is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction books and short stories, many of them with a humorous bent.

Before breaking away from gainful employment to write full time, Jody worked as a file clerk, book-keeper at a small publishing house, freelance journalist and photographer, accounting assistant and costume maker.

For four years, she was on the technical operations staff of a local Chicago television station, WFBN (WGBO), serving the last year as Technical Operations Manager.

In 2016, Jody joined the judging staff of the Writers of the Future contest, the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy writing contest for new authors. She is now its Coordinating Judge.

Learn more here:
https://jodynye.com/

Enter the writing contest here:
Writers of the Future

Check out the latest anthology here:
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39

Grab your favorite black cat, and let's curl up for a dark story with Jody Lynn Nye.

Beware! If you enter this bookstore... 
Plus how can you build a career and sustainable income with short stories?

This episode features a short horror story by Mark Leslie called Browsers, read by Eric Bryan Moore. Mark Leslie has published more than 25 books. He has a comedy horror series featuring a Canadian Werewolf, several standalone thrillers and horror novels, a set of paranormal non-fiction books, and guides that help authors navigate publishing. You can find him at markleslie.ca 

After the reading, Mark Leslie talks about how he found a path to a profitable career as a writer. There is INVALUABLE advice in this chat.
We Mention:
Stark Publishing
The Canadian Mounted
Draft2Digital
Findaway Voices 
Public Lending Rights
The Relaxed Author

Grab your favorite pen, collect your old short stories, and let's enter a mysterious bookstore.

How do you win Writers of the Future? What are the steps to growing a successful writing career? 

PLUS how do you retire from dragon slaying?

David Hankins has returned from the Writers of the Future Awards Gala. His story "Death and the Taxman" was a winner and can be found in L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 .

For this episode we are presenting another story of his. "The Last Quest of Corbin the Coward"  is written and performed by David Hankins and was originally published on May 31, 2022 by Factor Four Magazine.  

 David Hankins is an award-winning author who writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. He devotes his time to writing, traveling, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage. You can find him at davidhankins.com 

Stay tuned after the episode when we chat about his experience at the gala, military life, and strategies for success.

We mention:
The DreamCasters
Wulf Moon
Dean Wesley Smith

Grab a dragon's tooth, sharpen your pencil, and let's learn what it takes to conquer Writers of the Future. 

Anita Brown has just met the sexiest man in London.
Why has he given her an Iguana?

"The Guanche, the Iguana, & the Kidnapping of Anita Brown" was first published by Allegory Ezine in their Spring/Summer 2022 issue.

This episode features an interview with Brandon Case, author and erstwhile government cog, who fled reality to live in unsettling worlds of science and magic. He has recent work in Escape Pod, Death Knell Press, and Air and Nothingness Press, among others. You can catch his alpine adventures on Twitter and Instagram @BrandonCase101.

"The Guanche, the Iguana, & the Kidnapping of Anita Brown" is voiced by Kristi Stewart. She is a regular performer for Read Me A Nightmare.

Pack your bags, grab the pet of your choice, and prepare for the end of the world.