Now available in audio

[naomikritzer]

So first, I will apologize for my recent lack of posting. I had this nifty post all written up about my favorite books of 2008, which I still needed to edit, except I kept not getting around to editing and it just sat in my LJ client, taking up space and preventing me from writing about anything else until I did something with it. As a result, you didn't hear me whine about the fact that the beginning of 2009 for me featured a round of stomach flu, a cracked windshield, a dead battery, and a flat tire, among other hassles, because there was this stupid book post in the way.

I finally cleared it out (actually, I posted it private, so I could go back, retrieve it, and edit it for public consumption if it weren't for the fact that January is almost over and a "best books of 2008" post seems kind of pathetic at this point) so that I could post about this:

Last year I had a story published in Realms of Fantasy, "Honest Man." It got picked up by PodCastle and is now available in audio. Woot!

I originally wrote "Honest Man" as an 80th birthday gift for my grandmother. While the central action of the story is made up, the protagonist is my Grammie, the backdrop information (like her working for the FBI during WWII) is all drawn from her life, and her family members are all real people. (Amelia, her daughter, is my mother, and I'm mentioned briefly near the end of the story.) It was a really fun story to write, and my grandmother was thrilled with her present, and thrilled all over again when it got published. I have no idea how I'm going to explain the whole PodCast thing to her, though; she barely understands books on tape.

It is both very cool and profoundly weird to hear someone else reading my short story.

Comments

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

That's a great story :)

[naomikritzer]

Thank you!

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

Are you going to write stories about any other relatives?

[naomikritzer]

Well, I'm not currently planning to. But who knows?

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I have emailed the PodCastle link to my mom, who I'm sure will be charmed as she knows your mom. Congrats!

[naomikritzer]

Cool! I hope she enjoys it.

[dtm]

I suppose you could tell her that there's this weekly thing on the computer that's kind of like a short radio show where they read a story once a week.

I mean, radio shows are a reference she'd get, yes?

You could even give her a small-capacity mp3 player (these days, this should be under $10) with just one mp3 loaded onto it, though the headphone issue might be tough to work out.

[naomikritzer]

Ooooh yeah, radio shows! Good thought.

I don't think she could use headphones, alas.

[http://users.livejournal.com/aseop_/]

I really enjoyed listening to "Honest Man", that was a great short story. Thanks for introducing me to PodCastle.

[naomikritzer]

Thanks!

[tesseracting.livejournal.com]

Yay PodCastle.

I'm having a bizarre moment, as I remember this story (and feel like I've listened to it before), but cannot ever remember reading Realms of Fantasy. Better my mind leave out that detail than omit your writing, though. :)

Even though I'm not usually the type of person to get emotional at mentions of soldiers and men at war, I got tears in my eyes a few times as my husband left last week to go to USMC boot camp.

Hope your year improves!

[naomikritzer]

I read this story at a reading at Dreamhaven Books, years ago. I may also have read it (or part of it) at a con, though I can't remember which/when.

Podcastle forums

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, you should drop by the forums and read the comments and chat. We really appreciate when the authors respond to our feedback.

I have a question over there, and I'll repost it here. Was the 2 C Notes bit intentional?

Zathras

[marshaldillon.livejournal.com]

I just listened to this story on PodCastle. I enjoyed it very much. I'll have to keep an eye open for your stories there and elsewhere. Wish the best to you and your grandmother.