To whet your appetite…

So, I might’ve told you about this little book I’ve got coming out mid-year? Maybe once or twice? *Eyes drift to the right-hand sidebar…* Oh yeah, thought so.

Well, anyway, unlike many collections, Bluegrass Symphony is largely comprised of short stories that haven’t appeared elsewhere (which is really quite exciting), which means that few of you have had a chance to read any of these pieces yet. And since even fewer of you have heard me reading my work I thought I’d tantalise you with an audio snippet from one of these new stories.

‘The Short Go: A Future in Eight Seconds’ appears in the second half of the book, but I thought I’d share it first because it’s really quite fun to read aloud. The passage I’ve read here is only the opening section of the story — it’s not the whole thing. Caveats: I don’t really sound like this. And not in an “I hate the sound of my voice on tape” kind of way, but in an “I don’t have a Southern accent” kind of way. I’m Canadian-Australian with an accent heavy on the former, softened by the latter. But for some reason, every time I read these pieces aloud, this is how my voice comes out. I can’t control it; I open my mouth to shape these words and the sound it makes is a little bit country. Also, I stuffed up in a few places. But in the spirit of being candid (and because I’ve spent waaaaaaaaay too much time playing with youtube and Windows Movie Maker and stuff like that today) I’ve decided to post this version, warts and all.

Enjoy! (And if you do enjoy, you can pre-order Bluegrass Symphony here.)