Jingle, Jingle. Any time of year is a good time for Christmas Horror.

R.J.K. Lee not only reads his own story, "Memo From the Jolly Overlords", but also sticks around for a candid interview. Are you addicted to short stories? Desperately trying to figure out how to make money writing? Yup. Hang out for the chat afterwards.

Memo From the Jolly Overlords was first broadcast on the Weird Christmas Podcast in December of 2020 and then published in Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies
CURSED AND CREEPY.

R.J.K. Lee immigrated to Japan in 2005 from Oregon. He's puttered along train tracks to meet quotas for the overlords ever since, currently as a teacher, proof reader, and voice narrator, while churning out fiction.

Ryland and I have shared a few Table of Contents, including DreamForge, Parsec's Triangulation anthology, The Seven Day Weekend, and Space & Time Magazine.

Grab a bag of sugar plums. Oh. And make sure to meet your quota...

You never know what you might find-- or lose-- in an antique shop.

Our episode today features Shannon Fox and her short story "The Garden Party."
I bought this tale for Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies
CURSED AND CREEPY.
"The Garden Party" was originally published in September 2019 in the anthology Cursed Collectibles.

If you are interested in learning about a great writing conference and the pros and cons of indie versus trad publishing, you will enjoy the interview after the story.

Shannon writes as both Shannon Lynn Fox and S.L. Fox. Her short stories have appeared in DreamForge Anvil, Air & Nothingness Press, and Third Flatiron among others. She also has a short story in the Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem Anthology, alongside Johnathan Maberry, Rick Wilber, and Hailey Piper. Edited by Kevin J. Anderson, it won the 2021 Colorado Book Award for Best Anthology.

Shannon is the owner of Minute Marketing, a marketing company based in San Diego, CA, that helps Realtors and other housing industry professionals save time with their marketing. You can check out more about her company here.

Karen Shute is our voice actor for this episode. Learn more about her here.

Grab your significant other's hand, double-check your life insurance, and let's go shopping...

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.