My tale, “The Anatomy of Seahorses” is out now in audio format in episode 69 of the excellent Tales to Terrify podcast.
As for the narration, I think it’s brilliant. Jedidiah Kalanu Shepler recounts the story in a performance not unlike Ray Winstone or even a young Michael Caine – the English bad boy character is perfectly crafted by Jed.
When the story first appeared in The Horror Express magazine a few years back, it attracted this review by Peter Tennant (of Black Static magazine) on the Whispers of Wickedness website:
“With the possible exception of the [Dear R] Koontz, The Anatomy of Seahorses by John Dodds is the finest story THE has to offer, the tale of professional tough guy and contract killer Wilbur, who is in the Far East to retrieve a valuable package for his employer. Dodds does everything right here, succeeding in the difficult task of creating a credible killer and then making him sympathetic by invoking terrors even more fundamental to the human condition. His evocation of the foreign setting is perfect too, with the spirit life woven seamlessly into the physical world, and the people given attitudes and traits convincingly at odds with our own Western world view. And Dodds’ writing grips from the very start, bringing an intriguing plot to life, providing the essential colour and sound and fury, with phrases that ring in the mind, such as the simply wonderful, ‘The corpse looked like four gallons of snot spread on a log,’ which I so wish I’d come up with myself.”
On the podcast, too, you’ll find a really nasty story called “It’s Just Tearing Me All Apart” by O.D. Hegre, narrated by Stephen Kilpatrick, a fact article, “Horror 101” with Kevin Lucia and a poem, “The Taemor” by Alexei Collier.
Tales would value your comments on their website, and star ratings on itunes. The podcast is always free, though donations are welcomed to keep the podcast alive. I do hope you will consider giving Tales to Terrify your support.
Bone Machines 