The Seventh Halloween Special!
R. B. Wood
Our last show of the 2017 season is our seventh Halloween Special and I LOVE this time of year!
As I dive deeper into my MFA and into contemporary dark and horror fiction, I find myself delighted with the wonderful people I meet who play in this genre.
For example, I’m still writing up my experiences with the Gamut Magazine workshop and the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Fair, but rest assured–these experiences have changed me as a writer.
More on this after midterms. But first, the Word Count #Irregulars have stirred up a lot of evil in the four new stories you are about to hear. Based on the month of October, and this picture of the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric hospital, they went to work to bring you a spectacular show.
As this is the last show of the year, I think there is something special awaiting you.
What did our guest authors come up with? Well, you’ll have to listen for yourselves.
Now, here’s Episode 71: The Asylum in October:
A reminder that we are looking to increase the number of likes on the show’s Facebook Page, so hope on over there and tell you friends about us (use the #WordCountPodcast hashtag).
As always, the WCP is FREE to download and listen via iTunes or Libsyn as well.
Our guests:
Bill “Spectre” Kirton – “Guilt”
Before taking early retirement to become a full-time writer, Bill Kirton was a lecturer in French at the University of Aberdeen. He’s written stage and radio plays, short stories, novels, skits and songs for revues, and five non-fiction books aimed at helping students with their writing and study skills. His five modern crime novels, Justice, The Darkness, Shadow Selves and Unsafe Acts are set in north east Scotland and his historical crime/romance novel, The Figurehead, is set in Aberdeen in 1840. The Darkness won the silver award in the mystery category of the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards and his spoof mystery, The Sparrow Conundrum, was the winner in the humor category.
He’s published a novel for children called The Loch Ewe Mystery, and his latest publication is a satirical novella about online gaming and the real and virtual worlds.
He’s had radio plays broadcast by the BBC and the Australian BC. His short stories have appeared in many anthologies, including three of the CWA’s annual collections, and one was chosen by Maxim Jakubowski for his 2010 anthology of Best British Crime Stories. It’s also been optioned by a film company in Los Angeles.
He’s been a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews.
Website: www.billkirton.com
Twitter: @carver22
Maria “Fangs” Haskins – “Angel’s Heart”
Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and certified translator. She writes speculative fiction and poetry, and debuted as a writer in Sweden. Since 1992 she lives in Canada, just outside Vancouver, with a husband, two kids, and a very large black dog.
Website: https://mariahaskins.wordpress.com
Twitter: @mariahaskins
Cameron “Undead” Garriepy – “The Eastman Asylum“
Ms. Garriepy has no interest in time travel whatsoever. None. Really. In April of 2015, Cameron released Damselfly Inn, the first full-length novel in her Thornton Vermont series. The sequel, Sweet Pease is coming in November from Bannerwing Books.
Website: camerondgarriepy.com
Twitter: @camerongarriepy
Jack “Wolfie” Gwaltney & John “Frankie” McCaffrey – “The Trial”
Jack Gwaltney was born in Virginia, went to the University of Virginia and lives in New York, fortunate to perform as an actor on stage, television and in film. Collaborating with John McCaffrey is one of the wisest things Jack does. Thanks to The Word Count Podcast!
John McCaffrey grew up in Rochester, New York, attended Villanova University, and received his MA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York. He is the author of The Book of Ash and Two Syllable Men. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The #WordCountPodcast will return in January 2018!
