Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 18

Episode 18 of Prelude To A Scream features "Spirits" - a completely original story by Mark Leslie that has been released straight to digital format.

"People who haven't died can still leave their spirit in a place."

Fascinated by the ghostly crying that haunts a repetory theatre house, Sally and Rob begin to unravel the mystery behind the eerie occurances, while learning about the undying passion that can bind two people together or a person to a place.


This podcast contains the full audio version of "Spirits" as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale and why he decided to release this one straight to digital format for 99 cents rather than sell first rights to a print market.


Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.




posted by Mark Leslie at 3:05 AM 0 comments

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 17

Episode 17 of Prelude To A Scream features "Requiem" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Darkness Within magazine #2 in 1999.

"Requiem" is the tale about a lonely rich collector of haunted artifacts whose purchase of a Victorian bureau completely changes his appreciation of his prized possessions.

This podcast contains the full audio version of the story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale and a bit about the process of looking back at a previously published story and the temptation to re-write and revise a tale based on feedback provided to the author since the first appearance of the tale.


Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.






posted by Mark Leslie at 8:10 PM 1 comments

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 16

Episode 16 of Prelude To A Scream features "But Once A Year" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Crossroads magazine #13 in 1995.

"But Once A Year" is a dark humour tale about an old man whose best friend returns in the wee hours of All Hallows Day, not to reveal the mystical wonders of the afterlife, but to bum a cigarette and perhaps a beer off of his old friend.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration behind the creation of the tale as well as a bit about the writing and submission process (specifically, about the importance of doing market research when submitting a story, and trying to match the right story with the right editor/market)

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.





posted by Mark Leslie at 4:15 AM 0 comments

Monday, August 30, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 15

Episode 15 of Prelude To A Scream features "Erratic Cycles" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Parsec magazine in 1999.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the lengthy origin of the tale, which involved a series of re-writes and re-imagining of the concept. He explains how the first draft of the story was written on a Commodore 64 computer and was called "Compact Car" as well as how feedback from editors who rejected the story helped him revise the tale and character in positive way, leading it to being nominated for an Aurora Award.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.


posted by Mark Leslie at 3:31 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 14

Episode 14 of Prelude To A Scream features "Almost" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in One Hand Screaming in 2004.

This podcast contains the flash fiction story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale, which involved adapting an urban legend story that he had heard many times and many variations of into a new story by using a different point of view or perspective in telling it.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.







posted by Mark Leslie at 6:26 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 19, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 13

Episode 13 of Prelude To A Scream features "The Bogeyman Can" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in imelod (the litzine of horror & the bizarre) in January 1999.

This podcast contains the flash fiction story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale, which involved a short writing exercise he does in which he tales a set of song lyrics and strives to write a parody version of those lyrics ("Weird Al" style). When he completed the parody of "The Candy Man" made popular by Sammy Davis, Jr. he decided to figure out a context in which such a bizarre song called "The Bogeyman Can" might be used.


Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.






posted by Mark Leslie at 3:19 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 12

Episode 12 of Prelude To A Scream features "The Shadow Men" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the anthology Northern Haunts (edited by Tim Deal) in February 2009.

Northern Haunts is a collection of 100 short terrifying tales meant to be read around the campfire. "The Shadow Men" was written specifically as a tale that could be told around the campfire as if it was a personal experience of the narrator, and draws on using the sights, sounds and smells likely to surround the listener's experience.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration for the tale, which include working at Fox Lake Lodge in Northern Ontario as a teenager and listening to stories around the campfire from the lodge owner who was a masterful storyteller. Mark also talks about J. P. Couvrette, a buddy he worked with at the lodge who told funny stories as well as some great creepy ghost stories, one of which, involving the haunting call of a loon. J.P.'s loon tale kept Mark up all night, still haunts him more than 20 years later and inspired both this story as well as a short scene from "Erratic Cycles" another of his tales.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.







posted by Mark Leslie at 2:58 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 11, 2010

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 11

Episode 11 of Prelude To A Scream features "From Out of the Night" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine The Darker Woods (Issue #2) in February 1997. It was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"From Out of the Night" concerns a woman who locks and hides her family inside their house while blood-thirsty vampire-like creatures masquerading as humans come knocking for them in the night.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration for the tale as well as the helpful suggestions offered by the original editor who published this tale and how they helped him fully realize the characters for this tale.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.





posted by Mark Leslie at 2:39 AM 0 comments

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 10

Episode 10 of Prelude To A Scream features "Phantom Mitch" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine Wicked Mystic in 1993. It received honourable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #7 and was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"Phantom Mitch" looks at the phenomenon of the "phantom itch" (itches felt on phantom limbs) and proposes the idea that the amputated limb might exist on some other ethereal plane or "afterlife."

This podcast contains the full story as well as notes from Mark on the writing of the tale and outright begging for listeners to provide feedback or ask questions which he would be happy to answer.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.





posted by Mark Leslie at 4:50 AM 2 comments

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 09

Episode 09 of Prelude To A Scream features "Browsers" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine Challenging Destiny in 1999. It was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"Browsers" is a "haunted" bookstore, story that was inspired by a real-world trip to a bookstore in Hamilton, Ontario, where Mark now lives.

This podcast contains the full story as well as notes from Mark on the writing of the tale as well as an interesting encounter with a reader who was familiar with the particular bookstore Mark used as the basis for this tale.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.






posted by Mark Leslie at 3:34 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 08

Episode 08 of Prelude To A Scream features "Relic" written by Michael Kelly, Mark Leslie and Carol Weekes. "Relic" was originally published in a limited edition chapbook in 2007 and sold exclusively at Bakka-Phoenix bookstore in Toronto, ON.

"Relic: How to Get Ahead in Retail" takes place at BP books, Canada's oldest science fiction bookstore and involves the discovery of an ancient evil book lurking on the shelves. A tongue-in-cheek tale, this collaborative effort by Michael, Carol and I was written specifically for a joint book signing we were doing in the summer of 2007.

This episode is the longest episode of PTAS yet -- clocking in at about 36 minutes -- and here's why. You don't just get the story and then me talking about collaborating with other writers, but there's also a special excerpt from the Pod of Horror podcast -- specifically, the clip is Norm Rubenstein's review of the highly anticipated collaborative novel Ouroboros by Michael Kelly and Carol Weekes.


Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.




posted by Mark Leslie at 3:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 07

Episode 07 of Prelude To A Scream features my short story "Distractions" which originally appeared in the World Fantasy Con 2001 CD-Rom edited by Nancy Kilpatrick. The story was reprinted in my book ONE HAND SCREAMING in 2004.

"Distractions" tells the story of a frustrated writer's attempt to deal with distractions by taking the advice from a popular self-help book a little too far. After the story I talk a little bit about the genesis of the tale.

Not only can you listen to this story in audio format for free, but you can also download it for free from Shortcovers.com to enjoy on the portable device of your choice.


Links:
  • Kevin MacLeod - the brilliant composer behind the mood music used in this podcast.
  • The Writing Show - wonderfully inspirational podcast for writers with years of great content. If, for some reason, you like the sound of my voice or hearing about my writing, there's a series of "Reality Show" episodes following me as I work on my novel A Canadian Werewolf In New York right here.
  • Mark's Website
  • Mark's Blog
  • One Hand Screaming (site with samples) (Chapters/Indigo) (Amazon)
  • I Should Be Writing Podcast - because this story is ABOUT a frustrated writer who really "should be writing" I thought I should include a link to the awesome I Should Be Writing podcast by Mur Lafferty.

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

posted by Mark Leslie at 8:55 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 06

Immediately after recording Episode 05, I recorded Episode 06 of Prelude to a Scream. (I was off work for a few days after all and had a tiny bit of time on my hands) I thought I'd wait a few weeks to release it, though, which worked out well, because my schedule at work since early June has been hectic at best) -- I've already started recording episode 07 and am hoping to be able to keep up a schedule of monthly podcasts and including full stories within each post. Let's see if I can keep up that schedule, particularly given my track record on getting out new podcasts.

This episode features my short story "Nervous Twitching" which was originally published in NorthWords magazine in the Fall of 1996 along with commentary about the writing of the story. "Nervous Twitching" was reprinted in my book ONE HAND SCREAMING, which is a collection of some of my previously published fiction and poetry.

Unlike the "cute" snowman story in Episode 05, this one's a bit more graphic and adult in nature and content. There's blood, a beheading and a surrealistic disturbing scene. So be warned before you listen. Not necessarily for younger ears or queasy stomachs.

But for those with less sensitive ears and stomachs, I hope you enjoy Nervous Twitching . . .

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.








posted by Mark Leslie at 5:53 AM 2 comments

Monday, June 01, 2009

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 05

After long last I've finally returned to posting a new episode. I kept putting off putting up a new one partially because things have been crazy busy, but mostly because I was trying so darned hard to get it right. I eventually realized that recording and re-recording wasn't going to solve the problem. But getting off my butt, recording then releasing without worrying about every single little audio hiccup and "uh" that I mutter would likely resolve things.

So, unpolished, recorded quickly this morning, then uploaded shortly after, here is Episode Five of Prelude to a Scream.

This episode features my short story "That Old Silk Hat They Found" which was originally published in Strange Wonderland Issue #1 (March 1997) along with commentary about the writing of the story.

Links to things I mention in the podcast.

Download MP3 by right clicking here




posted by Mark Leslie at 8:33 AM 0 comments

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Prelude To A Scream - Episode 04

DISCLAIMER: I recorded this podcast back in late July/early August of 2006. I'd like to blame the ghost of Henry David Thoreau for the technical tripping which occurred that prevented me from being able to publish this podcast online any earlier. It makes me think that maybe he WAS listening from the great beyond after all . . .

In this episode, I talk about how listening to James Patrick Kelly's podiobook novel Burn inspired me to go back and read Henry David Thoreau. I also share my poem "Frost After Midnight" which was originally published in 1996 and then republished in One Hand Screaming in 2004 and talk about the obvious inspiration for it as well as how different classic writing and writers have influenced some of my other writing projects.

Links to other things mentioned in the podcast:

I Should Be Writing Podcast

The Survival Guide To Writing Fantasy Podcast



DOWNLOAD MP3 BY RIGHT CLICKING HERE






Music provided by Kevin MacLeod

posted by Mark Leslie at 6:41 PM 0 comments