TALL TALE TV - Sci-Fi and Fantasy Short Stories

Blind Pig  ep.510 The place had changed since the turn of the century. Chicago, the great melting pot. It was the yards really—the great Stockyards. Give them work and they'll come. It was no surprise that the Vamps were drawn to the place. Jay Caselberg is an Australian author and poet whose work has appeared around the world and been translated into several languages. From time to time, it gets...

Curtains for Louie  ep.509 Time-traveling tourists gather to witness a 1927 mob hit, but their presence threatens to alter history and wipe themselves from existence. Raised in New Jersey, Steve has a background in computer hardware and software engineering. His short stories have appeared in the Mensa Bulletin and in Calliope (the Writers' SIG publication). His latest, "Here's Your Lunch, Human,"...

Last Dance on Earth  ep.508 Alone and fleeing a burning forest, can he find his people? Toshiya Kamei is a fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in  Frozen Wavelets,  SmokeLong en Español, and various indie anthologies. For more information, visit  https://toshiyakameiwrites.wordpress.com   ---- Listen Elsewhere ---- YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/TallTaleTV Website: http://www. Ta...

Of Portals and Portents, Ch. 7 (book 4)  ep.507 The art of disguise 10% acting, 90% dumb luck. Listen to the book four playlist here https://talltaletv.com/series-of-portals-and-portents/ or listen to book one http://talltaletv.com/series-monsters-mushrooms/ listen to book two http://talltaletv.com/series-of-tyrants-and-teakettles/ Listen to book three http://talltaletv.com/series-of-bandits-and-b...

The Surgical Option  ep.506 When your entire species is considered vermin, having lawyers on the payroll only makes it worse. Gustavo Bondoni is novelist and short story writer with over three hundred stories published in fifteen countries, in seven languages.  His latest novel is Lost Island Rampage (2021). He has also published three other monster books: Ice Station: Death (2019), Jungle Lab Ter...

The Tattoo Artist  ep.505 At his wit's end, a veteran turns to an off flyer promising to cure his nightmares. Chris Riley lives near Sacramento, California, vowing one day to move back to the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, he teaches special education, writes cool stories, and hides from the blasting heat for six months of the year. He has had over 100 short stories published in various magaz...

Close Your Eyes  ep.504 In a world of shadow and pain, can a little girl survive by following her father's rules? Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. His stories can be found in anthologies from Scare Street, Black Hare Press, Devil's Rock Publishing, Black Ink Fiction, Ghost Orchid Press, and Eerie River Publishing, in publications such as Dark Matte...

Fountain of Youth  ep.503 What would you be willing to sacrifice for eternal life? David Clarkson has a BA in English Literature. He has written ten novels (5 of which are published on Amazon) along with numerous short stories, which have been published in online magazines as well as local newspapers. He currently lives in the North if England with his wife, Katie.  Amazon Author Page:  https://ww...

Rewound  ep.502 You can go back - your future may depend on it. Paul Stansbury is a lifelong native of Kentucky. He is the author of  Inversion - Not Your Ordinary Stories; Inversion II   - Creatures, Fairies, and Haints, Oh My!; Inversion III – The Lighter Shades of Greys; _and  Down By the Creek – Ripples and Reflections. _His speculative fiction stories have appeared in a number of print anthol...

The Cure for Everything  ep.501 A new cure for depression leads to a true panacea for humanity, but at what cost? Daniel Charles Wild, otherwise known on reddit's writing forums as user BecauseISaidSoToo, is a long time contributor to Tall Tale TV. The short story 'The Cure for Everything' is one of the many wild tales included in his brand new short story collection, 'Stories For Imaginary Friend...

Of Portals and Portents, Ch. 6 (book 4) ep.500 Sometimes trying to do the right thing simply isn't worth the headache. Listen to the book four playlist here https://talltaletv.com/series-of-portals-and-portents/ or listen to book one http://talltaletv.com/series-monsters-mushrooms/ listen to book two http://talltaletv.com/series-of-tyrants-and-teakettles/ Listen to book three http://talltaletv.com...

Chorus Line ep.499 The desert wanted something from him, the ultimate sacrifice... Harris Coverley has had short fiction published in Curiosities, Hypnos, The Periodical, Forlorn*, Horla, The Centropic Oracle, Pulp Modern Flash, and many, many others. He is also a Rhysling Award-nominated poet with over 160 individual verse published around the world. He lives in Manchester, England. ---- Story Su...

An Incident in Marrow ep.498 On a dark night in California in 1971, private detective William Jann and his client Maggie Belton learn the terrible truth about what happened to her missing brother. They never could have anticipated what they found. Jason M. Tucker is a full-time writer working in Southern California in the genres of fantasy, horror, crime, and all manner of pulp. He's the author of...

The Terror of the Care Center ep.497 A tough old lady code breaker learns how to speak dog, and helps the animal out of an abusive situation. Emmie Christie's work tends to hover around the topics of feminism, mental health, cats, and the speculative such as unicorns and affordable healthcare. She has been published in Flash Fiction Online, Zooscape Magazine and in Three-Lobed Burning Eye and she...

Demons ep.496 Some demons have horns, others look just like us. C.S. Fuqua's books include the upcoming collection  Father's Day  ~  Poems of Parenthood _from Stairwell Publishers, _White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems, The Swing ~ Poems of Fatherhood, Walking after Midnight ~ Collected Stories ,  Big Daddy's Fast-Past Gadget, _and _Native American Flute ~ A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Cra...

Mind Melding With My Dog ep.495 Sometimes man's best friend has more on his mind than treats and tennis balls. Hollywood writer/producer/director John Klawitter has directed actors and personalities from Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury and Orson Welles to Marie Osmond and Disney's Goofy. His stories have appeared in J.Richard Jacobs classic Twisted Tails Anthologies and right here on our own Tall Tale T...

The Zolo Hound of the Newly Found World ep.494 The Bohemian Emperor's menagerie manager meets a strange dog from the New World. Allison Thurman was raised on a diet of Monty Python, Star Wars, and In Search Of, and these have all influenced her fiction about unexplained historical events. She's currently working on her first novel about the Elizabethan alchemist Edward Kelley. She lives in a galax...

The Hole in the Top of the World ep.493 A hole opens up in the top of the world and nobody seems to care, except for the guy living underneath it. J. Brandon Lowry is a former academic scientist with a PhD in Molecular Biology. In 2017, disillusioned with life and yearning for something more, he and his wife quit their jobs, sold their possessions, and began traveling full time. They have since ex...

Of Portals and Portents, Ch. 5 (book4) ep.492 Great minds don't always think alike. Listen to the book four playlist here https://talltaletv.com/series-of-portals-and-portents/ or listen to book one http://talltaletv.com/series-monsters-mushrooms/ listen to book two http://talltaletv.com/series-of-tyrants-and-teakettles/ Listen to book three http://talltaletv.com/series-of-bandits-and-bad-magic/ L...

Moving On ep.491 Death is not the end and life is not what we think it is. Daniel Charles Wild, otherwise known on reddit's writing forums as user BecauseISaidSoToo, is a long time contributor to Tall Tale TV. The short story 'Moving On' is one of the many wild tales included in his brand new short story collection, 'Stories For Imaginary Friends' Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Charles...

Hope ep.490 Mother earth will fight back, even if it's subtle. Jane Jago is an eccentric genre hopping pensioner, who writes and paints for enjoyment  and gets in terrible trouble because of her attitude. To find out more about her, check the links in the description. Find out more about Jane Jago: Website tinyurl.com/t9pkll3 Amazon author.to/janejago Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Jane-Jagos-G...

Say Cheese ep.489 Human's innocent fascination with our own images has a much more sinister origin. James Tucker is a writer from Charleston, SC. His works have appeared in Adelaide Magazine, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Mystery Tribune and others. He will be featured in the upcoming anthology: Universe of Attractions, from Dead Fish Books Publishing. ---- Story Submission ---- Got a short story you'd...

Of Portals and Portents, Ch. 4 (book 4) ep.488 Who knew a floating city could be a bad idea? Listen to the book four playlist here https://talltaletv.com/series-of-portals-and-portents/ or listen to book one http://talltaletv.com/series-monsters-mushrooms/ listen to book two http://talltaletv.com/series-of-tyrants-and-teakettles/ Listen to book three http://talltaletv.com/series-of-bandits-and-bad...

The Stepdaughter ep.487 Cinderella's stepmother has some complaints of her own. Rachel Ayers lives in Alaska, where she writes and hosts shows for Sweet Cheeks Cabaret, daydreams, and looks at mountains a lot. She has a degree in Library and Information Science, which comes in handy at odd hours, and she obsesses over fairy tales and shares speculative poetry and flash fiction (and cat pictures) a...

When I Met a Barbarian ep.486 Some heroes go out in a blaze of glory, others go out and find themselves. "When I Met a Barbarian" by Liam G. Martin This story is taken from Scrapbook of Dreams. _Scrapbook of _Dreams is a collection of stories and poems. There is a poem about robots reading poetry and a story about a ghost ferret called Alfonso. There is a barbarian that lives in a quaint cottage a...