The Word Count Podcast: Episode 79

Today’s Corporate World

The 79th episode of the #WordCountPodcast was inspired by this picture:

You can play this episode right here:

There are FOUR original stories for you this time around, inclusive of a very SPECIAL GUEST. The picture and prompt ties in nicely with a novelette just released by Todd Keisling called The Smile Factory. I recently met Todd at Necon 38 a month or so ago. And when I mentioned using The Smile Factory as an influence for this months prompt, he was totally on board with the idea–to the point where he contributed a story to the show as well!

Before I introduce you to this month’s #Irregulars and their stories, I have just a couple of house keeping items before I list the bios and credits.

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).

Second, as always, the WCP is FREE to download and listen  via iTunes or Libsyn. This show is brought to you by writers who love the opportunity to share their stories with you. In many ways, the #WordCountPodcast is a hobby for us, as there are no advertisers or revenue stream. It’s just us, a microphone, a four channel mixing board and a passion for sharing our words with you.

We are not asking, nor have ever asked, for monetary compensation. This is our playground, and once a month we invite you to join us around a virtual campfire and listen for a bit.

However, I, and my colleagues, would very much appreciate it if you shared links for podcast on social media, and perhaps check out each author’s links and bios (posted below).

In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to my talented friends:

Our Guests:

Eden Baylee – “Life is sweet”

Eden Baylee left a twenty-year banking career to write and is now a full-time author of multiple genres.

She has written three collections of erotic novellas and flash fiction ~ SPRING INTO SUMMER, FALL INTO WINTER, and HOT FLASH.

In 2014, she launched the first novel of her STRANGER TRILOGY with Dr. Kate Hampton–a psychological mystery/suspense called “Stranger at Sunset.” In addition to working on her next novel, Eden created the LAINEY LEE SERIES about a feisty divorcée who finds adventure and romance in Hawaii.

An introvert by nature and an extrovert by design, Eden is most comfortable at home with her laptop surrounded by books. She is an online Scrabble junkie and a social media enthusiast, but she really needs to get out more often!

To stay apprised of Eden’s book-related news, please add your name to her mailing list.

Website: http://www.edenbaylee.com

Blog: https://edenbaylee.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edenbaylee

Twitter: @edenbaylee

Bill Kirton – “It’s All Relative”

Bill was born in Plymouth, England, studied French at Exeter University and graduated in 1962. While teaching at Hardye’s School, Dorchester, he started his PhD on the theatre of Victor Hugo and was a lecturer at Aberdeen University from 1968 to 1989.

He’s also been a voice-over artist, TV presenter and have extensive experience of acting and directing. His directing credits include many French language plays as well as works by Shakespeare, Orton, Beckett and Ionesco. He spent a sabbatical year at the University of Rhode Island Theater Department, which commissioned translations of 3 Molière plays from me, one of which he directed himself. The script also won third prize in the British Comparative Literature Association’s Annual Translation competition, 1999.

Bill wrote and performed songs and sketches in revues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, stage plays, two of which were commissioned by Aberdeen Children’s Theatre, and radio plays for the BBC, two of which were also broadcast in Australia.

Since the late 1990s, his writing has concentrated on prose fiction. He has written many short stories and ten novels, two of which have won awards, with a third being long-listed for the Rubery International Book Award.

Bill has held posts as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews and, since 2015, have been organiser of a Scotland-wide scheme which places professional writers in schools to help students with the transition to writing at university. He still give workshops in schools from Orkney to Dundee as part of the scheme and he’s written five books in Pearson Educational’s ‘Brilliant’ series on study, writing and workplace skills. Bill also co-authored ‘Just Write’ for Routledge.

Website (and blog): http://www.billkirton.com

Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=620980849
https://www.facebook.com/bill.kirton/

Maria Haskins – “Fräulein Maria”

Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and translator. She writes speculative fiction and currently lives just outside Vancouver with a husband, two kids, and a very large black dog. (For the record, she loves dogs, wolves, and werewolves.)

Website: https://mariahaskins.com

Twitter: @mariahaskins

Todd Keisling – “Human Resources”

TODD KEISLING is the author of A Life Transparent, The Liminal Man, and the critically-acclaimed novella, The Final Reconciliation (Crystal Lake Publishing). His horror series, Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors, will be available in print and ebook September 2017 (Crystal Lake Publishing) and he is currently working on two new novels, Spiders in the Lattice and Devil’s Creek.

In his spare time, he hosts Awkward Conversations with Geeky Writers and Beneath the Lake on YouTube. He lives somewhere in the wilds of Pennsylvania with his wife, son, and trio of unruly cats.

Website: http://toddkeisling.com/tk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/todd.keisling/

Twitter: @todd_keisling

Oh. And Porno Batman shows up for NO reason whatsoever.