I was pleasantly surprised when I got an email yesterday from Jim Phillips, the editor at Nil Desperandum, telling me the podcast of my story “Memories of Childhood” was now available.  This story, which original appeared in OG’s Speculative Fiction waaaaaay back in 2009, is the first time I’ve had one of my pieces made into an audio production.

I must admit, I listened to the podcast last night with a some trepidation.  I simply didn’t know what to expect for two reason.  First, I’m used to seeing my words on the page, so I was curious how the “read” word would translate to the “heard” word.  I think some parts of “Memories of Childhood” translated well, whereas others did not.  I’ll have to keep that in mind in the future.  Second, when I write a story, it gets read over and over in my head (I even read it aloud to myself), so I have already heard the story aloud many times, but in my own “mental” voice.  I know I read in a certain way, and that’s the only way I’ve ever “heard” my stories, so I didn’t know what it would sound like read by someone else.  After listening to it—and ignoring my extremely out-of-date and cringe-worthy bio—I’m pleased with the job Nil Desperandum has done with my story.

While reader Riki Robinson’s voice doesn’t match my mental voice—Mr. Robinson reads much faster than I do and has different vocal inflections—I think he did a good job with the story.  It’s with no disrespect to him, however, that I confess to liking my own reading of it better, but I guess that’s to be expected. 

So head over to Nil Desperandum and give “Memories of Childhood” a listen, and if the inspiration strikes you, leave a comment.