This is the final episode of the first series of The Short Story Cast. This episode features two stories, one from me, James Winterbottom and a guest author called Thomas McColl.
Both stories, though different, are about outsiders and dealing with people in positions of power. One is set in the literary world, the other in the not-so-glamorous world of the stock photography model.
The Agent by James Winterbottom
A story about the lengths authors are willing to go to in order to get the attention of a literary agent. This story was inspired by a friend that is currently trying to find an agent for her novel and the process authors are expected to follow. It’s also been influenced by the book Kill Your Friends by John Niven about an A&R man at a major record label. I don’t think it was intentional, but my literary agent has a lot in common with the record company executive in that story.
Keys to the House by Thomas McColl
This is a story about an average looking man who is on a stock photography shoot with a woman that is out of his league in the real world, but they’re happily married in the “stock photography world”.
You can connect with Tom on Twitter. You can also read more from him in his book of poetry and flash fiction “Being With Me Will Help You Learn” (Amazon UK link) or read the anthology Stories for Homes, which The Keys to the House first appeared in, it’s a charity book to raise money for Shelter. The follow-up anthology, Stories for Homes 2 is due to be released shortly.
Music credits
Thanks to Nicolai Heidlas for the background music. You can find his work on Soundcloud.
Second series of The Short Story Cast
This is the final episode of first season of The Short Story Cast. We’ll be back later in 2017, most probably in the summer time. If you’d like to have a story of yours featured in the next series please go to the contribute page of the site and let us know more about you.
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