Author: James Winterbottom

17 – Honk!

James Winterbottom

Written by James Winterbottom and performed by Ashe Russell

Would you be willing to have everything you ever wanted if it also came with an angry goose?

This episode is a real treat, as the story is performed by an actor, which adds an extra dimension to the storytelling. The story is about a man whose life is going about as badly as it possibly could be until he meets a man in a pub that offers to fix everything if he is willing to accept a huge price to have all his problems taken off his hands. The rest of the story examines what happens when you agree to something without thinking through the consequences.

I hope you enjoy this week’s story, as I talk about at the end of the episode, there are a lot of parallels in this story with my experience of parenting. I won’t discuss them in too much detail here as it would involve revealing spoilers of the story but I found writing this story helped me to better understand my philosophy towards raising my children – which is weird when I started out trying to write a silly story about an angry goose!

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

I’ll be back next Friday with another short story. In the meantime, please remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Goodbye!

James

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16 – The Child

James Winterbottom

A short story by James Winterbottom and HP Lovecraft.

This week’s Halloween special is a reimagining of a classic HP Lovecraft story which I’ve given my own twist to. The original story was called The Dunwich Horror and I’ve taken the basic ideas from that story but added a few extra bits and removed other bits. It’s probably about half original and half is taken from the source material. They do say that nothing is original anyway, but in this case there is a much clearer line between where the influences for this story come from.

I was inspired to write this story because a good friend of mine, Mathew Cooper, made a low-budget horror movie based on The Dunwich Horror. It’s called When The Earth Gives Up The Dead and is available on YouTube for free or you can watch it below.

You can find out more about Matt Cooper’s films and his other projects on his website, MatCoop.co.uk, including reading about the work he does as a scriptwriter for hire.

If you would like to read the original version of the story you can download an ebook for free from Project Gutenberg or listen to an audiobook version for free on Libravox.

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook (facebook.com/shortstorycast).

I’ll be back next Friday with another short story. In the meantime, please remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Goodbye!

James

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15 – I don’t do favours

James Winterbottom

A short story by James Winterbottom

This story was inspired by a man my dad met in a lift that refused to press a button for him because, as he told my father, “I don’t do favours”. I wondered what things would have to happen to you that would lead you to a point in your life where you wouldn’t even be willing to push the button on a lift for someone else and this story is the answer to that question.

If you’re interested in buying live locust in the UK you can find them in Pets at Home by following this link: https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/merch-groups/great-deals/live-food, listeners in other countries will have source out their own supplier. This podcast won’t take any responsibility for any consequences arising from anything that happens as a result of locust-based acts of revenge. I can confirm that no locusts were harmed in the making of this podcast! (This paragraph will make more sense once you’ve listened to the story, I promise.)

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter (twitter.com/shortstorycast) or on Facebook (facebook.com/shortstorycast).

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14 – Becoming a Seawitch

James Winterbottom

A short story by James Winterbottom

This story is about a young woman that attempts to become a seawitch by following the instructions she finds on a blog. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go to plan when the practicalities of her life get in the way and the vague instructions make it difficult for her to follow. She tries her best though and gets some unexpected results. 

This week’s story was read by my wife, Claire Winterbottom and was inspired by me receiving an invitation to a handfasting ceremony that was officiated by a seawitch. This story was written before I met the seawitch though and therefore isn’t a fair reflection of what actual seawitches are really like, it’s more about my preconceived ideas and prejudices about what the role involves.  

Here’s a link to the blogpost I mentioned in the episode: https://otherworldlyoracle.com/how-to-be-a-sea-witch/.

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

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13 – The World’s Greatest Serial Killer

James Winterbottom

A short story by James Winterbottom

This week’s story is about a man that has become the world’s most prolific serial killer but he’s never been caught for his crimes. He’s frustrated that he’s achieved his lifetime ambition but isn’t able to tell anyone about it or he would end up in prison. 

I mention in the episode a page on Wikipedia with a list of the world’s most prolific killers, listed by their number of victims. Here’s the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_by_number_of_victims.

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

I’ll be along next Friday with another story.

Thanks!

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12- Shrinking

James Winterbottom

A short story by James Winterbottom

This week’s story is about how being stuck in a job that you don’t like can have serious (and unexpected) implications for your health. 

If you enjoy the podcast please make sure you subscribe with your podcasting app of choice. If you really want to earn extra brownie points you could also leave a review or follow one of the social media accounts for The Short Story Cast.

I’ll be along with another story next Friday. Thanks for listening!

Thanks to ComaStudio for the background music on today’s episode. You can hear more of their melodic beats on Pixabay or, most likely, future episodes of my podcast.

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11 – The Leaving Speech & Just Stuff

James Winterbottom

It’s good to be back! After a long hiatus the podcast is finally back with two stories to tell you. The first is a leaving speech from a disgruntled employee and the second is a story of revenge that goes wrong. Enjoy!

The Leaving Speech

I wrote this story a while ago, just after I’d left my office job. I actually had lots of friends in teh office and was sad to go, but I was also pleased to be leaving behind some of my former colleagues and this story was aimed at them. There’s some of my genuine feelings mixed into the opinions of the man in the story, only they’ve been exaggerated a bit. I don’t think offices are the worst places in the world, but I’m genuinely not much of a fan of them either.

Just Stuff

This story is about a situation where someone is confronted by the person that stole all their possessions. It’s about revenge and the impact crime can have on a person. There are also some thoughts about violence and masculinity in here too if you look under the surface a little bit.

Contribute to a future episode!

I’ve got a few stories from other authors already lined up for upcoming episodes but there are plenty of slots available too. If you’re a writer and you’d like to submit a recording of one of your stories then please get in touch by email: contact@theshortstorycast.com

Thanks for listening!

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10 – The Agent & Keys to the House

James Winterbottom

This is the final episode of the first series of The Short Story Cast. This episode features two stories, one from me, James Winterbottom and a guest author called Thomas McColl.

Both stories, though different, are about outsiders and dealing with people in positions of power. One is set in the literary world, the other in the not-so-glamorous world of the stock photography model. Read More

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09 – A Punch In The Face, Persephone Speaks & Faithful Weeds

James Winterbottom

Welcome to the ninth episode of The Short Story Cast, the penultimate episode of the first series. This one is packed with stories, three to be precise. One by me, James Winterbottom, and two by guest contributors. I hope you enjoy them.

A Punch In The Face by James Winterbottom

A man receives a knock at the door, it’s his punch in the face. He’d voted for it months before but didn’t think it would lead to anything happening. This is a ham-fisted attempt at political satire. Apologies if you’re pro-Trump or pro-Brexit as it may offend your political leanings.

Persephone Speaks by Lynn Bauman-Milner

A fresh take on Greek mythology from Lynn Bauman-Milner. A tale of many headed beasts and family disputes.

You can find out more about Lynn on Facebook, Twitter on her website, darkdoors.co.uk. You can also read her collection of short stories, Dark Doors on Amazon (UK* / US*) or The Book Depository.

Faithful Weeds by Rachel Connor

This is a story about a flat block with feelings. Unfortunately things haven’t gone so well for this block of flats. Find out all about it by listening to the story.

Rachel Connor is a novelist, short story writer, comic book writer and money blogger. You can find her on Twitter or you can check out her blog at itsrachelconnor.com. She’s also written a few Regular Show graphic novels which you can buy on Amazon (UK* / US*), you can find more details on Rachel’s website.

*The links to Amazon are affiliate links, so I make a small percentage on any purchases made through these links.

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08 – Christmas special – EXCLUSIVE interview with Santa & The Round-Robin Letter

James Winterbottom

Welcome to the Christmas special of The Short Story Cast. A festive podcast for people that love short stories with a Christmassy twist. Hosted by James Winterbottom.

This episode features two stories that have a festive theme. The first is an exclusive interview with Father Christmas. Don’t think that he’ll get an easy ride just because he’s Santa though.

The second story is one of those round-robin letters that smug families have a tendency to send around this time of year, only this family don’t have that much to be smug about.

Language warning

I’d like to warn you that this podcast contains bad language and mature themes. It also plays around with the idea that Father Christmas may not be real. Or is real, but isn’t as nice a guy as you think. Anyway, probably not one to listen to with young children around.

EXCLUSIVE interview with Santa

Father Christmas appears on a hard hitting news show and is grilled about some of the criticisms that have been coming out of the North Pole lately. Are these accusations just disgruntled ex-elves whining to the media or is there a sinister side to old Saint Nick? Listen to the story and make up your own mind.

The Round-Robin Letter

This round-robin letter starts out like all the rest, full of self-congratulatory garbage, but beneath the surface, there are more sinister tones. Listen as the seemingly idyllic life of the author crumbles away as their recap of the year progresses.

Merry Christmas

Thank you for listening and Merry Christmas to all my listeners. I hope that you are all well, wherever you are and whatever Christmas means to you. I’m genuinely humbled by all the people that listen to these stories. I hope you’ve enjoyed them.

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