I'm excited for Scott, and a little envious. He’s an author and podcaster (sound familiar?) who today released Dry Spell, a short story from his horror anthology, Tales From The Grim Reader, Volume 1, as part of his Omniverse podcast. I was fortunate enough to read for Scott, which is why I’m bringing it up now; shameless self-promotion.
I’ve done readings previously and found out that I enjoy the work … a lot. It’s times like these when I begin to wonder why I left radio in the first place. Then I remember the paychecks and my recollection kicks right back in – I had to eat.
Don’t get me wrong, voice work is a lot of fun. Full blown audio productions even more so! They also take significantly more work. So, unless you are Peter Cullen, Kevin Conroy, James Earl Jones, or Michael Dorn, you aren’t going to make a great deal of money doing this; you do it because you love it. (Yes, I know I left out scads of great voice talent. Chalk it up to the limitations of my incredibly bald head.)
“Paul,” you may be asking (actually, since this is my blog, you are asking – just thought you should know). “Why should I listen to this story, Dry Spell?” I’m glad you asked! If you are a fan of EC Comics or if you enjoy creepy (as opposed to “gory”) horror, you will love the entire anthology.
I did Scott a bit of a disservice in the opening paragraph. Yes, I am shameless self promoting, however, I am just a enthusiastic about the other stories in the anthology as I am about Dry Spell.
Scott ties all three stories together at “The Grim Reader” bookstore. The name should take it from there. I do want to stress, these stories required a certain level of maturity to enjoy. It isn’t pounds of entrails and gallons of blood; the stories are more Hitchcockian than that. The thrill come from the reader’s realizations at the end of the tale, rather than a half naked co-ed getting beheaded by a machete-wielding ghoul during the story.
Having read “Dry Spell” and listened to the finished copy, I am not satisfied with my work. Scott did a great job producing the podcast, I just think I could have done better. My gain is choppy and my edits are rough in places. After umpteen years in radio, I believe I could have done a better job. Fortunately for me, Scott is forgiving and his story really tells itself.
Give “Dry Spell” a listen at Scott’s Omniverse Podcast and pick up a copy of the anthology at Smashwords. Be sure and leave Scott a comment or two. Writers crave feedback.
