{"id":1344,"date":"2016-02-21T16:14:30","date_gmt":"2016-02-21T16:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2022-12-19T15:49:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T20:49:48","slug":"chocolate-thorns-and-lust-the-word-count-podcast-episode-54","status":"publish","type":"wc-podcast","link":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wc-podcast\/chocolate-thorns-and-lust-the-word-count-podcast-episode-54\/","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate, Thorns and Lust &#8211; The Word Count Podcast episode 54"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1345\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1345\" src=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"lust\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust-183x300.jpg 183w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust-600x983.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust-768x1258.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust-625x1024.jpg 625w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/lust.jpg 1217w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/a>Welcome to Episode 54 of The Word Count Podcast!<\/p>\n<p>We return to our \u201cthree word prompt\u201d format, a little late for Valentine\u2019s Day, with four stories based on:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chocolate, thorns <\/strong>and<strong> lust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Should have just said \u201cwrite about RB\u2019s favorite things.\u201d Would have been quicker.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, before we introduce our cadre of writers and their most excellent stories, a bit about the show:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>What is The Word Count Podcast?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It is a free broadcast by writers for writers. Simply put, a theme for each show is announced via this site, Twitter and Facebook and writers are given a week or two to write AND RECORD their stories based on said theme.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Why?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Why not, says I. It\u2019s a great way to practice writing and public speaking. It\u2019s another way for writers to get their work \u201cout there.\u201d And I love to meet fellow authors and have a blast putting the show together. It\u2019s just that simple.<\/p>\n<p><em>Okay. Where can I find it?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You can listen to the latest podcast below, subscribe via iTunes or listen at the show\u2019s site.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/4163405\/height\/180\/width\/480\/theme\/standard\/autoplay\/no\/autonext\/no\/thumbnail\/yes\/preload\/no\/no_addthis\/no\/direction\/backward\/no-cache\/true\/\" height=\"180\" width=\"480\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"456\"><strong>Direct: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/thewordcount.libsyn.com\/webpage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>http:\/\/thewordcount.libsyn.com\/webpage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>iTunes (and remember, iTunes takes their sweet time in posting. \u00a0If you don&#8217;t see it yet, keep trying!): <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/the-word-count\/id392550989\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/the-word-count\/id392550989<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Our guests this week:<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1054\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1054\" src=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"eden at benmcnally\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/eden-at-benmcnally-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Eden Baylee <\/strong><em>\u201cThe Letter\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Eden Baylee left a twenty-year banking career to become a full-time writer. She incorporates many of her favorite things into her writing such as: travel; humor; music; poetry; art; and much more.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stranger at Sunset<\/em>\u00a0is her first mystery novel, on the heels of several books of erotic anthologies and short stories. She writes in multiple genres.<\/p>\n<p>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!<\/p>\n<p>To stay apprised of Eden\u2019s book-related news, please add your name to her\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/UKP8P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mailing list<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Connect with her via her\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/edenbaylee.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.edenbaylee.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blog<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/edenbaylee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">twitter @edenbaylee<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/edenbaylee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1075\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1075\" src=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"CThomasSmith2\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CThomasSmith2-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>C.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Thomas Smith <\/strong><em>\u201dTake Me\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It has been brought to my attention that my bios are not\u00a0\u201cgood\u201d, that they are in fact, \u201csilly\u201d and I should do as the professionals\u00a0do and extol my values and my work. Ok. Here goes:<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>C.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<strong><em>Thomas Smith<\/em><\/strong> <em>is the author of hundreds of short stories (99% have\u00a0<\/em><em>never left his hard drive) and half a dozen unpublished novels (50%\u00a0<\/em><em>cowardice \/ 50% self-doubt). He is a fan of common sense, free speech,\u00a0<\/em><em>noticing the truth in the absurd and caffeine. He sort of likes cats. He\u00a0<\/em><em>lives in Ireland with his partner, two children, a mortgage and a cat he\u00a0<\/em><em>doesn\u2019t trust.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Wasn\u2019t that a hoot. Of course the point of a bio is to tell someone who\u00a0you are and what you are offering. I\u2019m a highly strung neurotic scribbler\u00a0who likes to write \u201csilly\u201d things in the hope that they make you smile, or\u00a0laugh or shake your head in confusion. Or at the very least take a moment\u00a0out of an otherwise challenging day to enjoy a little bit of the ridiculous\u00a0for no other reason than it&#8217;s on offer from someone who wants to thank you\u00a0for giving up some of your time. I\u2019m not a professional, though I am\u00a0working to change that. I\u2019m someone who knows that the words don\u2019t always work, but that once in a while when they do, they\u2019re golden. I thank you\u00a0for your time, I thank you for hearing and reading my words and I promise\u00a0to always try and creep you out or make you laugh. Because that is who I am and that is what I offer.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter = @KRSTVR<\/p>\n<p>Web = <a href=\"http:\/\/www.infinity-forge.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.infinity-forge.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1053\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1053\" src=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Billk\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-600x594.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-1024x1014.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Billk-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Bill Kirton <\/strong><em>\u201cGenesis\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Before taking early retirement to become a full-time writer, <strong><u>Bill Kirton<\/u> <\/strong>was a lecturer in French at the University of Aberdeen. He\u2019s 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,\u00a0<em>Material Evidence, Rough Justice, The Darkness, Shadow Selves <\/em>and\u00a0<em>Unsafe Acts<\/em>\u00a0are set in north east Scotland and his historical crime\/romance novel,\u00a0<em>The Figurehead<\/em>, is set in Aberdeen in 1840.\u00a0<em>The Darkness<\/em>\u00a0won the silver award in the mystery category of the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards and his spoof mystery,\u00a0<em>The Sparrow Conundrum<\/em>, was the winner in the humor category.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s published a novel for children called\u00a0<em>The Loch Ewe Mystery<\/em>, and his latest publication is a satirical novella about online gaming and the real and virtual worlds.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s had radio plays broadcast by the BBC and the Australian BC.\u00a0 His short stories have appeared in many anthologies, including three of the CWA\u2019s annual collections, and one was chosen by Maxim Jakubowski for his 2010 anthology of\u00a0<em>Best British Crime Stories<\/em>. It\u2019s also been optioned by a film company in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s been a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter: @carver22<\/p>\n<p>Website &amp; Blog: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bill-kirton.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.bill-kirton.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MariaHaskins.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1346\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1346\" src=\"http:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MariaHaskins-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"MariaHaskins\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MariaHaskins-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MariaHaskins-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Maria Haskins<\/strong> <em>\u201cThe Unicorn\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and translator with a\u00a0passion for science fiction and fantasy. She was born and grew up in\u00a0Sweden, but moved to Canada in the early 1990s and now lives just outside\u00a0Vancouver with a husband, two kids, and a large black dog.<\/p>\n<p>Maria debuted as\u00a0a writer in Sweden, and has had several books published there. Her English\u00a0language debut <em>Odin&#8217;s Eye<\/em> &#8211; a collection of science fiction short-stories\u00a0&#8211; was published in March, 2015. <em>Cuts &amp; Collected Poems 1989 &#8211; 2015<\/em> &#8211; a\u00a0collection of poetry &#8211; was released in November, 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/mariahaskins.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/mariahaskins.wordpress.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Facebook: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mariahaskinswriter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mariahaskinswriter\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Goodreads: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/13459869.Maria_Haskins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/13459869.Maria_Haskins<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amazon: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/-\/e\/B00UICDA2K\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/-\/e\/B00UICDA2K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Smashbooks: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/mariahaskins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/mariahaskins<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Twitter: @mariahaskins<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Episode 54 of The Word Count Podcast! We return to our \u201cthree word prompt\u201d format, a little late for Valentine\u2019s Day, with four stories based on: Chocolate, thorns [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1345,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,19],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-1344","wc-podcast","type-wc-podcast","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-s11-twcpage","category-c42-twc-cat","tag-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wc-podcast\/1344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wc-podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wc-podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wc-podcast\/1344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1348,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wc-podcast\/1344\/revisions\/1348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rbwood.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}