Great News! More Audio Books!

I am pleased to announce that not only am I working on Author Rae Lori's A Kiss Of Ashen Twilight audio book (Go Rae!) which is Book one in her Ashen Twilight Series ....

And not only have I been contracted to do the audio book of Marie Shore's lovely short story Master of My Heart ...

But I am officially doing the audio book of friend MJ McGalliard's first novel Beggar's Day, Book One: The Beggar Prince which I read selections of in Second Life (c) in May and June, the five sessions  available on the Seanchai Library YOU Tube Channel.  NOW we can here ALL the good parts and none of the introductory "ummmms"!

AND there are a couple of more promising projects in the offing.
HUGE thanks to MJ McGalliard, Shandon Loring, Jeff Lombardi and Lachy McCurdy for the continual support and encouragement!

"Sera's Punishment" An Original Short Story

A friend introduced me to the literature of author John Norman last Fall, and his "Gorean Chronicles."  It turned out to be the fodder for many interesting conversations.  I have to confess I find I can't read any of the work without reaching for a big red pen and a pair of sharp scissors.

None the less, this Spring I found myself struck with the notion of combining elements of his world with a favorite of mine, the work of C.S. Forrestor and his Horatio Hornblower series.  Sera's Punishment is the result. 

It is about punishment, yes.  But it also about what happens to a person in isolation: how they lose themselves in a kind of precursor to death.  It should be ambiguous what the protagonist's final words really mean.  What do you think?
CLICK HERE to listen.  Enjoy!

(c) Judith Cullen 2012

Drabble! Drabble! Drabble!



Photo Courtesy of Crap Mariner - 100W Story PoohBah

 Wikipedia defines it thus: "A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction of exactly one hundred words in length, not necessarily including the title. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space."

I have been dabbling with drabbling the last month or so through my friend Laurence Simon's 100 Word Story Podcast and his Sunday Weekly Challenge.  He doesn't get his knickers in a bunch about it being exactly 100 words.  But those of you who have been on the receiving end of one of my more epic emails know that brevity is a very good exercise for me.  I have enjoyed the creative economy of it.

Here are three of my Weekly Challenge submissions.  Click on the key word and follow the link to hear the audio clip.  Enjoy!

• CARD
• SPARKLE
• NOTHING

(c) Judith Cullen 2012

"The Sphinx" by Edgar Allan Poe



Virtual Storyteller, Caledonia Skytower

 A favorite short story of mine is Poe's The Sphinx.  In my Complete Works of ... it is classifed under "Humor and Satire."  It still bears the unmistakable tint of macabre.  An emotionally distraught man is filled with apprehensions of doom and death during the cholera epidemic in New York City of 1832.  The stress of this emotional state causes him to see omens and portents where they may not actually be and to, literally, blow them out of proportion.

Much thanks to my dear friend Shandon Loring for helping assemble this presentation.  It is posted on YOUTube under my virtual story self, Caledonia Skytower.

To enjoy, please CLICK HERE

The Letters of Abigail Adams, 1763 - 1776 (Selections)

Okay, I admit it ... I have longed to produce these letters since way before there were movies or specials on the A & E channel.  I always envisioned them as a theatrical presentation I would create, and never dreamed I would perform them myself.  Yet, I had the great pleasure of doing just that this week with one of my favorite reading partners in Second Life.

Today I am indulging myself by recording some of the selections I read earlier this week.  It is my own personal celebration of Independence Day, and a private tribute to a woman whom I have long admired.  So sit back and enjoy - as an indulgence I have not been quite as precise about editing as I might be.  I just enjoyed the language, thoughts, and heart of this remarkable woman.

CLICK HERE to listen to Selections (Updated Audio!)

Or go to the Seanchai Library YOU TUBE Channel and hear me (through my virtual storytelling self) reading selections from the correspondence of Abigail Adams and John Adams with my dear friend Shandon Loring on July 2nd. Skip to 4:00 to miss all the rambling introduction "ums" and get right to the letters.

"My Calliope" - An Original Short Story

A new, original short story based on a wee visitor who came whizzing into my office a few evenings ago.  Yes, yes ... I have replaced the window screen.  It was a great opportunity to wash the windows.

My Calliope by Judith Cullen
(c) Copyright 2012

CLICK HERE to enjoy! (Updated Audio!)

AND Part Three of Mj McGalliard's BEGGAR'S DAY is up on YOU Tube.  CLICK HERE.

BEGGAR'S DAY - Part 2 is up on YOU Tube!

More joy from MJ McGalliard's first novel Beggar's Day, Book One: The Beggar Prince.
We had a great time last night!

CLICK HERE to hear the selection from Monday, June 4, 2012

CLICK HERE to learn more about the author and his book!




FForward to 5:45 to skip the embarassingly "ummm" filled event introduction (I REALLY must script that!) and get right to the story. Remember: It was Live!