Episode 22: The Herdman Interviews

Episode 22: The Herdman Interviews. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "The Herdman Interviews."



Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (10.37 mins, 7.4 mb)
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Get your copy of Winter of Different Directions at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Powells or from any independent bookstore. ISBN: 9780615142807

Send your comments to steve AT stevenmcdermott DOT com.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 21: Risk Factors

Episode 21: Risk Factors. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Risk Factors."



Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (47:56 mins, 33 mb)
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Get your copy of Winter of Different Directions at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Powells or from any independent bookstore. ISBN: 9780615142807

I'd love to get your feedback. Send your comments to steve AT stevenmcdermott DOT com.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 20: Cleanliness Is Next to Emptiness

Episode 20: Cleanliness Is Next to Emptiness. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Cleanliness Is Next to Emptiness."



Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (49:19 mins, 33.9 mb)
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Get your copy of Winter of Different Directions at Amazon.com

Send your comments to steve AT stevenmcdermott DOT com.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 19: Fresh Sludge

Episode 19: Fresh Sludge. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Fresh Sludge."



Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (28:48 mins, 19.8 mb)
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Winter of Different Directions is now in print, so spread the word and post a review on Amazon.

I have a limited number of autographed copies available to send out. All you have to do is tell me what your three favorite stories from the podcast are and why. Copies are going fast so get one before they are gone. Send your comments to steve AT stevenmcdermott DOT com.

Thanks for listening!

My Odeo Channel (odeo/b6f8197b6032404f)

Episode 18: Four Flash Fictions

Episode 18: Four Flash Fictions. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week it's four flash fictions."



Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (25:19 mins, 17.5 mb)
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And Winter of Different Directions is now in print!

So spread the word and post a on review on Amazon.

For all of you that have sent me feedback on the podcast I can't thank you enough. And if you haven't written yet, let me hear from you. Send your comments to steve AT stevenmcdermott DOT com. I'll add you to the mailing list and let you know when I'm podcasting new material.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 17: Delisted

Episode 17: Delisted. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Delisted."



"The all-employee meeting had been scheduled on short notice. Conversation buzzed anxiously among the employees as they boarded the rented buses. Some employees were optimistic because software downloads from the media website were way up. Other employees were alarmed by the arrival of a huge truckload of cardboard moving boxes. Martin paused in front of the elevators and looked down the hall where the guards from the private security firm were taking up their positions. Two plain-clothes secret-service types statued in front of his office door, and several uniformed guards, guns and nightsticks visible on their belts, were cordoning off the executive wing. . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (65:10 mins, 44.8 mb)

In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Delisted"

That's a wrap on the podcast—for now. I'll be back later in the year with more stories and a longer project that is in work. In the meantime, head on over to Storyglossia for the audio blog where I discuss short stories, the craft of writing, and other things literary.

And Winter of Different Directions is now in print!



So spread the word and post a on review on Amazon.

To all of you who have sent me feedback on the podcast, I can't thank you enough. And if you haven't written yet, let me hear from you. Send your comments to winter AT stevenmcdermott DOT com. Join the mailing list by sending me an email and I'll let you know when I'm podcasting new material.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 16: Winter of Different Directions

Episode 16: Winter of Different Directions. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Winter of Different Directions."



"Skip Krylewski learned of his former teammate Cleve Jimson's death from a sports-page headline: AMATEUR CHAMP DIES IN HEAD-ON. Skip's first thought while reading the article was, shit, he didn't even know Jimson was back in town. Then he thought, well, that saves a bunch of them boys on tour a career of losing. And wasn't a dead Jimson a bogey off Skip's back? Ah, Jessica. Maybe he'd be playing in that game again. Well, he'd see her at the funeral, wouldn't he?. . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (31.40 mins 21.8 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Winter of Different Directions"

Next up, in episode 17, I'll be reading "Delisted."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 15: Gas Money

Episode 15: Gas Money. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Gas Money."



"Radcliffe sat at the picnic table stabbing the middle finger of his left hand at the portable typewriter—tatch tatch tick titch tatch brrring tatch titch tatch—imprinting words one letter at a time on the stock-white page, words which he hoped would create the illusion that he was still in business. He spat the husk of a sunflower seed towards the grass overrun with lawn daisies, buttercups, and dandelions. He flicked the carriage return, ratcheted the paper up a line, blew into the notch where the keys struck the page, and began again his one finger assault—tatch tatch tatch.. . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (28:59 mins 20.0 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Gas Money."

Next up, in episode 16, I'll be reading "Winter of Different Directions."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 14: The Bridge Back to Home

Episode 14: The Bridge Back to Home. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "The Bridge Back to Home."



"The events that precipitated my return to Boston involved acts of cowardice I can scarcely admit to myself. I had just turned twenty that summer and left Boston for Craigspittle, a small Scottish village on the cusp of the highlands, from where I hoped to escape my family’s traditional occupation. A year later, my decision to return home was made while standing on an old stone bridge. The same bridge the men of Craigspittle—who also were facing an uncertain future—had marched over in 1314 as they left town to join Robert The Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn. . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (22:35 mins 15.5 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "The Bridge Back to Home."

Next up, in episode 15, I'll be reading "Gas Money."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 13: Eiderdown

Episode 13: Eiderdown. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Eiderdown."



"Lori accompanied Kevin when he went shopping for a new sleeping bag at the recreational equipment co-op. She couldn’t help shopping for herself, however, and paused him to sort through a rack of fleece sweatshirts. Finding one she liked, she handed Kevin her purse and snuggled her left arm into the sleeve and pulled up the zipper. She pirouetted in front of Kevin and cycled through several poses as if in a catalog shoot.
   —Is it me? she asked him.
   —Makes your boobs look bigger, he said . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (23:56 mins 16.5 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Eiderdown."

Next up, in episode 14, I'll be reading "The Bridge Back To Home."

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Episode 12: Go

Episode 12: Go. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Go."



"Mike Carter, fueled by anger and self-disgust, pushed up the dusty trail connecting the seventeenth green to the eighteenth tee. The path crested in a thick stand of Hemlock and Cedar and fed onto the tight mown turf. Carter took a deep breath and expelled it as a heavy sigh. He stood his clubs and looked down the fairway, hands on hips. Garth Gibbons and Tommy Oh, his main competition for the Boeing company championship, were only forty yards down the fairway and still walking toward their balls. He could see the next group ahead just on the other side of the lake. Looked like a long wait. That’s fine, he thought. He needed to get himself together. Needed to stop thinking about Susan's job interview down in San Francisco and get his mind back on the golf.. . ."

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (28:43 mins 19.8 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Go."

Next up, in episode 13, I'll be reading "Eiderdown."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 11: Enter Wheelchair Man

Episode 11: Enter Wheelchair Man. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Enter Wheelchair Man."



"Randy grips the outer wheel, elbows flared out, wrists angled back, finger-less gloves tightening on the chrome. The front wheels and the footrest bump the curb, and he pulls back and leans into the wheelie, hanging momentarily on the fulcrum of the tire's friction. Panic hits as his balance shifts and he feels himself going over backward. He jerks hard on the chrome, biceps straining, and snaps his head and shoulders forward. The footrest clanks into the concrete curb. Maryanne, already on the sidewalk and knowing better than to offer help, tries to hide her laughter behind her hand. . ."

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (26:48 mins 18.4 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Enter Wheelchair Man."

Next up, in episode 12, I'll be reading "Go."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 10: Oxygen

Episode 10: Oxygen. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Oxygen."



"The place I've picked is off Burrows Island, along Rosario Strait. It's not the ocean, but I'm sure he'd understand. He used to pass by there on his way from Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle to La Push, Neah Bay, Alaska.
   —There's a lighthouse there, I say to the skipper of the island ferry, a barge shuttling around the San Juan Islands.
   —I know the place, he says.
   He's only a few years older than me, blond and bearded like a viking. I'd expected someone older, someone who'd devoted a life to the sea, someone who would understand.
   —Would it be possible for you to stop there, offshore, so I can— "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (21:17 mins 14.7 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Oxygen."

Next up, in Episode 11, I'll be reading "Enter Wheelchair Man."

Subscribe and spread the word!

Episode 9: Seven Blocks North, Two Miles East

Episode 9: Seven Blocks North, Two Miles East. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Seven Blocks North, Two Miles East."



"I spent my first three weeks at Thoreau trying to punch everyone who teased me about my speech impediments. Bostick, the vice-principal and disciplinarian, weary from seeing me in his office, attempted to solve my problems by sentencing me to three months of speech therapy with Miss Edwards. But first I had to get out of Miss Jenkins class. She was our fifth grade teacher. Everyone called her the Bowling Ball because she was so short and fat. My speech sessions were on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during morning recess. The sessions lasted a half-hour. Recess only lasted fifteen minutes. That meant Miss Jenkins had to interrupt her history lesson to dismiss me. . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (50:15 mins 34.6 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Seven Blocks North, Two Miles East."

Next up, in Episode 10, I'll be reading Oxygen."

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Episode 8: Nothingness

Episode 8: Nothingness. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Nothingness."



"I decked the lad from St. Andrews with a head butt, sent him reeling backwards until he hit the pool table and spread across the faded green felt like a spilled pitcher of beer. He twitched, as if zapped by a cattle prod, and his right arm cocked at the elbow, released, crisply backhanded the thirteen ball, which banked off the end cushion and neatly cut the eight ball toward the corner pocket, where it teetered, fell, rolled down the interior chute, clack-click, stopped. Everyone turned to stare at me. Someone clapped, everyone clapped, followed by whistles and whoops . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (28:15 mins 19.5 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Nothingness."

Next up, in episode 9, I'll be reading seven Blocks North, Two Miles East."

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Episode 7: My Summer Vacation

Episode 7: My Summer Vacation. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "My Summer Vacation."



"I run the compiler for the twenty-third time, setting the break point in the debugger so it stops at every line. It’s a sixty-line program and I’ve been trying to compile it for three hours now. I start clicking through the lines of code one at a time. Again the program blows up at line forty-seven. I resist the urge to heave the monitor against the wall. I've scrutinized each character over and over and I can’t find anything wrong. I shake my head trying to clear it. I squeeze my temples. I’ve been working fourteen hours straight, trying to meet the deadline for this week’s build, and I feel done in by this program that should have taken me fifteen minutes to complete . . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (36:48 mins 25.3 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "My Summer Vacation."

Next up, in episode 8, I'll be reading "Nothingness."

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Episode 6: Single Malts of the Olympic Peninsula

Episode 6: Single Malts of the Olympic Peninsula. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Single Malts of the Olympic Peninsula"



"Ralph, Danny, Shay Lynne, his father—each had their slogans with which to prod him. Crock of platitudes, Gregory Anderson thought as he drove his van out of the liquor store parking lot and onto highway 101 heading for the coast with a bottle of Bowmore squeezed between his thighs and a bottle of Glenrothes on the passenger seat. What had Danny called it? Getting laid by blame, finding someone to take the fall. Of course he could take the blame himself. No, that's getting reamed. Twelve million steps with no end. Forget that. He'd confront his demons. Go back to Forks, to the old homestead, to the scene of the crime. Slay the fucking dragon in its lair . . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (33:40 mins 23.2 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Single Malts of the Olympic Peninsula."

Next up, in episode 7, I'll be reading "My Summer Vacation."

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Episode 5: Crane Man

Episode 5: Crane Man. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Crane Man."



"Inside my high-rise studio apartment there are only three locations where Crane Man can't see me. The bathroom is one—although he watches me go in and he watches me come out. Crane Man does a lot of watching. Sometimes it seems he spends more time looking through his binoculars than he does operating his crane . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (11:34 mins 8 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Crane Man."

Next up, in episode 6, I'll be reading "Single Malts of the Olympic Peninsula."

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Episode 4: Blue Jeans and Black Leather

Episode 4: Blue Jeans and Black Leather. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Blue Jeans and Black Leather."



"I lock the last of the beer and wine doors and head back to the cash register. Our clocks are not on bar time so I only have a few minutes. I check the till. A stack of ones and three fives. Enough to break a twenty, but looking bare. The parking lot's empty. The air conditioner rattles until the fan picks up speed and evens out . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (12:49 mins 8.9 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Blue Jeans and Black Leather."

Next up, in episode 5, I'll be reading "Crane Man."

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Episode 3: Tools

Episode 3: Tools. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Tools."



"Corey watched Leann's ass wiggle while she buttered the toast; it reminded him of why he was there. The little bastards were out of control, as usual. Her two boys, Tommy and Timmy, seven and eight, couldn't eat without slopping cereal on themselves and the table. They fidgeted and squirmed as they ate, hyper. Tommy kneeled on the chair, trying to get a spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth, spilling it, finally, down his t-shirt. He clamped the spoon between his teeth while he wiped his hands on his shirt, laughing. Timmy, bent over, face practically in the bowl, was clanking the spoon against the glass and slurping and giggling. Leann seemed content with this cacophony as she prattled on about something that didn't quite register with Corey as he simmered . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (23:14 mins 16 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Tools."

Next up, in episode 4, I'll be reading "Blue Jeans and Black Leather."

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Episode 2: Swept Aside

Episode 2: Swept Aside. It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Swept Aside."



"I packed my two duffel bags and got the hell out of the house before I did something I’d regret. Sitting on the front porch waiting for the cab to arrive reminded me of when I got out of the army: everything I owned in two green canvas bags and thinking, now what the fuck do I do? . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (19:02 mins 13.1 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Swept Aside."

Next up, in episode 3, I'll be reading "Tools."

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Episode 1: Tough Act

It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast. This week's story is "Tough Act."



"I flinch and swerve as a snowball flattens on the door window, sticks like paint. I work the steering wheel, keep the car from sliding into the aluminum lamppost as another snowball hits the hood. Glancing back I see the kids out in the open, defiantly refusing to hide behind the shrubs . . . "

Listen to the episode: download the mp3 (7:27 mins 5.3 mb)
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In addition to the podcast, I've posted commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So check it out after you listen to "Tough Act."

Next up, in episode 2, I'll be reading "Swept Aside."

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Intro to The Winter of Different Podcast

It's Steven J. McDermott coming to you from the Panic Room with the Winter of Different Directions podcast.



Listen to the intro: download the mp3 (1:15 mins .96mb)
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Each week I will be reading a story from my short story collection Winter of Different Directions and bringing it to you free as an mp3 you can listen to from your browser or download into your iPod or other mp3 player.

In addition to the podcast, each week I will also be posting commentary on the story over in the Storyglossia litblog. In a feature I'm calling "The Story Behind the Story" I'll give you some history on where the story came from, why I wrote it, how it changed in its various revisions, as well as discuss—in true Storyglossia fashion—some of the craft issues I was working on in the story. So look for that commentary each week as a companion to my reading of the story on the podcast.

Next up, in the first episode, I'll be reading "Tough Act."

Subscribe and spread the word!