From Page to Podcast

Ever since I joined Vocal I have enjoyed a variety of great experiences. What started as an attempt to hone my fiction writing became a hugely successful hobby. I'm also now a poet. So there's that. And an award winner too. With nine Vocal first-place wins, numerous runner-up finishes and honourable mentions, plus several placements in unofficial challenges.

It's also helped me make a lot of friends with like-minded people and fellow writers.

Then there's my first poetry collection (which you can still purchase on Amazon in various formats).

All of this would not be possible without Vocal.

What the hell am I prattling on about aside from blowing my own trumpet?

I have experienced another first. I recently published a story for The Unhappy Ending challenge called The Note I Cannot Read which was given a Top Story.

Then I got a lovely message from a fellow creator, Karen Cave.

She said how much she loved it and would I like to have it read on her podcast, called Tag Till We're Dead. I was a little stunned and very flattered.

After a bit of back and forth I asked if she was okay waiting until the challenge results came through.

She was.

It won.

And she then recorded her reading and it went live last night (Sunday June 7th).

I am very happy with the results and think she captured the narrator perfectly and gave the story a voice I'd never quite heard before. It was strange, hearing my work read by someone else. I rarely personally read my work out loud, but sometimes Ruth might read my stories and poems out loud and that sounds a little strange too.

A good strange.

It allowed me to detach a little from a story I already felt enormously proud of and hear nuances and pacing that gave it a freshness I hadn't expected after so many readings during drafting, editing and publication.

Karen did an excellent job and while I waited for her to record my story, I listened to a few of her own from her podcast and highly recommend it. You can listen to the episode featuring my story below, but please do subscribe and listen to other episodes too.

It is available on Spotify and other places where you might listen to podcasts.

Thank you once again to Karen for the opportunity!