Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories you've never heard. If you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com

John Bell is our narrator, and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/   

John also hosts a weekly show for the Mutual Audio Network, titled "Tales from the Mutual Basement."  Each Sunday, it's a different story and can be found on the Mutual Audio Network podcast. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

God's Meow was written by C. Mack Lewis. You can find C. Mack's books at https://cmacklewis.com/

C.Mack's audiobooks can be found on audible.com

You can request C. Mack's books and audiobooks from your local library. 

John Bell is our wonderful narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at thebatfry 

Listen to John Bell's newest venture at https://mutualaudionetwork.com/

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and you can find my books at cmacklewis.com

Don't forget to rate our podcast and share it with other lovers of short fiction. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Algernon Blackwood's novella "The Willows" was published in 1907 in "The Listener and Other Stories." H.P. Lovecraft considered it "one of the finest supernatural tales in English literature." Enjoy!

John Bell is our  was our wonderful narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at thebatfry

Listen to John Bell's newest venture at https://mutualaudionetwork.com/

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and you can find my books at cmacklewis.com 

Don't forget to rate our podcast and share it with other lovers of short fiction. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

For more about this and other hauntings, listen to "The Cost of Seeing Ghosts" at Midnight Balloon.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories you've never heard. If you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com

John Bell is our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/   

John is also now doing a new weekly show for the Mutual Audio Network called "Tales from the Mutual Basement."  Each Sunday, it's a different story and can be found on the Mutual Audio Network podcast. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Bill Adler is an American writer living in Japan. He writes speculative fiction: science fiction, magical realism, horror, and fantasy, though he dabbles in literary fiction now and then. You can read his stories on Substack at billadler.substack.com

John Bell is our  was our wonderful narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

Check out Writing on a  Train, written by Bob Wallass and Nathan Douglas Hansen on Amazon.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. You can find my books at https://cmacklewis.com/

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

For more information, check out this article by David Barber:

Who Was Kipling? A sampling of writing from The Atlantic's past offers a range of views on the many contradictions of Rudyard Kipling.https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/12/who-was-kipling/306588/

John Bell is our  was our wonderful narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. You can find my books at https://cmacklewis.com/

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Hector Hugh Monru (1870-1916) chose his pseudonym "Saki" after a fictional character who was a cupbearer who was on a "joyous errand" to serve wine to guests in Omar Khayyám's Rubáiyát. 

For more information about Saki, check out these articles:

Untameable Saki - One hundred years after Saki's death in the Great War, his stories are still wickedly funny. Written by Fatema Ahmed, Nov 16, 2016  https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/43602/untameable-saki

Saki: My Hero, written by Naomi Alderman.  September 14, 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/sep/14/saki-my-hero-naomi-alderman

Saki. By Elizabeth Drew. The Atlantic, July 1940 Issue. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1940/07/saki/654050/

John Bell is our  was our wonderful narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. You can find my books at https://cmacklewis.com/

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Rick Levinson's Artist Statment:

Stories. Real and Imagined. With Pictures.

At the basis of all of my art there are stories. They combine my actual life experiences, voluntarily imagined ones, and sometimes simply my unfiltered dreams.
I have never believed that a person can and must do only one thing in life.
I have led parallel careers.
The first is pulmonary/critical care medicine. Formally trained, totally truth-based, tangible, and real.
The second: making art. Totally imaginary, made up, but most self-revealing when it combines with what has been real in my life and what has escaped from my subconscious.
Although often asked, I never felt the need to prioritize or even separate these lives.

You can find more information about Rick Levinson's art at https://ricklevinsonart.com/

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathydpm@gmail.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathydpm@gmail.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you would request that your local library order my books, The Fallen Angels trilogy, written by C. Mack Lewis. Many thanks!!

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne was best known for his novels 'The Scarlet Letter' in 1850 and 'The House of Seven Gables' in 1851. Talk about a writer with family drama! He changed his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne to try to distance  himself from his great-great-grandfather's guilt and involvement in the infamous Salem Witch Trial persecutions. Find out more at https://electricliterature.com/move-over-poe-the-real-godfather-of-gothic-horror-was-nathaniel-hawthorne/

John Bell is our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

My name is Cathy McCarthy and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. You can request my books from your local library and I would greatly appreciate your opinion in an honest online review of The Fallen Angels Detective Series, written by C. Mack Lewis. For more information about me, go to https://cmacklewis.com/

You can read the Kirkus Review of my latest book, The Angel Wore Black at  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/c-mack-lewis/the-angel-wore-black/

If you enjoy our podcast, we would love it if you would rate, review, and share our podcast with other lovers of short fiction. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join Cathy McCarthy as she features the short story, Spring Break, written by Lorraine Murphy.  Lorraine was raised in Jamaica Queens and has been living in Northport Long Island for over thirty with her family. She has completed a fictional novel and is currently working on a screenplay for that body of work. 

John Bell is the narrator and he is also known for being the Producer/Writer/voice of the family-friendly The Bell's In the Batfry Podcast, which has previously won the Parsec award, which is a juried award for podcasts centered around speculative fiction. You can listen at http://thebatfry.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Your host is C. Mack Lewis, author of The Fallen Angels Detective Series, which is available on Kindle, and Audible, and can be requested through your local library. For more information, you can visit https://cmacklewis.com/

Until next time, keep writing, keep listening, and keep dreaming!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's writer, Leeland Kirwan, is involved in programming, higher math, and pet rats, cats, and dogs. He lives in a house in the woods in Oregon. Lee has written a few guides on gamefaqs.com.  He likes to write short stories, too.

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

I'm your host, C. Mack Lewis, and you can visit my website for more information about my books at https://cmacklewis.com/

You can also find my books, The Fallen Angels Detective Series, on Kindle and Audible and I would love it if you would leave an online review. Don't forget to request that your local library order my books! 

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you would request that your local library order my books, The Fallen Angels trilogy, written by C. Mack Lewis. Many thanks!!

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join Cathy McCarthy as she features the short story, The Subway Lady, written by Lorraine Murphy.  Lorraine was raised in Jamaica Queens and has been living in Northport Long Island for over thirty with her family. She has completed a fictional novel and is currently working on a screenplay for that body of work. Lorraine had been attending a weekly session at the Cold Spring Harbor Library writers group of prolific and established writers.  

John Bell is the narrator and he is also known for being the Producer/Writer/voice of the family-friendly The Bell's In the Batfry Podcast, which has previously won the Parsec award, which is a juried award for podcasts centered around speculative fiction. You can listen at http://thebatfry.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

For more information on my fiction, The Fallen Angels Detective Series, you can visit https://cmacklewis.com/

Until next time, keep writing, keep listening, and keep dreaming!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Edgar Allan Poe is said to be the first American writer who earned a living from his writings, and he is also said to be the "inventor of the detective fiction genre" as well as an important contributor to early science fiction.  He is the grandson of an Irish immigrant and was born in Boston in 1809 to the parents of actors. His father abandoned his mother when he was one-year-old and his mother dies one year after that of tuberculosis. He was taken in by John Allan who was a successful merchant in Virginia and had the strange habit of excessively spoiling his foster son one day and then aggressively disciplining him the next. 

Poe went to the University of Virginia in 1826 to study ancient and modern languages and, during that time, he became estranged from his foster father over his gambling debts and not receiving enough money to pay for his school costs. He moved to Richmond where he worked a variety of odd jobs, including working as a clerk and a newspaper writer. Finding that he was unable to support himself, he joined the US Army and published his first volume of poetry, which sold 50 copies. 

After several years, he left the Army and went to West Point. At this time, he married his cousin, who was 13 years old. He argiued with his foster father, John Allan, over his extramarital affairs and his illegitimate children and then Poe went so far as to purposely get court-marshaled so that he could leave West Point. 

Poe continued to write and, as his wife slowly succumbed to tuberculosis, he began drinking more heavily. In 1849, Poe was found in the streets of Baltimore, severely ill, wearing another man's clothing, delirious, and calling out for a mystery man named 'Reyolds' who was never identified. You can read more about his mysterious death in the excellent Smithsonian article below. 

***

The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe 

Was the famous author killed from a beating? From carbon monoxide poisoning? From alcohol withdrawal? Here are the top nine theories, written by Natasha Geiling  October 7, 2014

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/still-mysterious-death-edgar-allan-poe-180952936/

***

For Creepy Magazine's graphic black-and-white magazine version of The Cask of Amontillado, check out https://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2014/12/poe-1965-pt-8.html

***

The Simpon's version of The Cask of Amontillado:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjSjYSH4Xsc

***

John Bell is our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

***

My name is Cathy McCarthy and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. You can get my latest novel, which pays homage to Poe's classic tale The Cask of Amontillado at https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Black-Fallen-Angels-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B096SP6R6W/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+angel+wore+black&qid=1624373536&s=amazon-devices&sr=1-1

***

Thank you for listening! And don't forget to rate and share with other lovers of short fiction. 

C. Mack Lewis 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Philip K.Dick  was born in 1928 in Chicago, but he grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. Throughout his career, he wrote 33 novels and 121 short stories and he had almost no commercial success during his lifetime. In the science fiction world, he was considered a genius, but he struggled to make a living with low-paying science fiction publishers.  He was so broke at one point that the writer Robert A. Heinlein, who was a great admirer of his work, lent him money to bail him out of IRS troubles and he purchased him an electric typewriter.  

The writer’s life was deeply troubled: he married five times, had a lifetime of financial stress, struggled with substance addiction, severe depression, including a failed suicide attempt and he had a series of mystical experiences where he believed that he had been taken over by the spirit of the prophet of Elijah.  

He died in 1982 after suffering a stroke and his greatest successes then occurred posthumously. Films based on his fiction include Blade Runner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, The Adjustment Bureau, and The Man in the High Castle.   

I personally think that Philip K. Dick was a writer who was ahead of his time. He was writing about alternate realities, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and the true nature of a person’s identity, which are all very modern and relevant subjects. 

John Bell is our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

My name is Cathy McCarthy and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis. For more information about me, go to https://cmacklewis.com/

You can read the Kirkus Review of my latest book, The Angel Wore Black at  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/c-mack-lewis/the-angel-wore-black/

If you enjoy our podcast, we would love it if you would rate, review, and share our podcast with other lovers of short fiction. 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join Cathy McCarthy as she features the short stories, Mise En Place, written by Nathan Douglas Hansen. Nathan began his writing career in the Southwest, working as a feature writer and columnist for regional newspapers and magazines before attending Antioch University in Los Angeles where he received his MFA.  After university, Hansen became a literature and creative writing instructor and he continued writing a column for various literary magazines until focusing on short stories and an upcoming novel.  Nate is a full-time artist and veteran of the U.S. Army, and he now lives in Arizona. 

Nathan is also an amazing artist and, in his own words, “The inspiration behind all of my art is a combination of the insatiable desire to express myself coupled with embracing the few things in my life that have been giving me purpose as of late, namely time in nature, the pursuit of fuller conscious moments, the healing of personal traumas, and the retelling of visceral personal experiences through abstract imagery which I hope can one day translate into broader stories for my family and friends."

You can view Nathan's artwork at: https://www.natehansenart.com/  

John Bell is the narrator and he is also known for being the Producer/Writer/voice of the family-friendly The Bell's In the Batfry Podcast, which has previously won the Parsec award, which is a juried award for podcasts centered around speculative fiction. You can listen at http://thebatfry.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

For more information on my fiction, The Fallen Angels Detective Series, you can visit https://cmacklewis.com/

Until next time, keep writing, keep listening, and keep dreaming!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" and published in 1924 in The Saturday Evening Post and was adapted into a film of the same name in 1932, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, and Leslie Banks. He began his writing career when he was 13 years old when he covered a local murder trial for his father’s newspaper in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1906. By the age of 15, he was a seasoned crime and sports reporter. His father became a Congressman and Richard then attended Harvard and went on to serve a year in France during World War One where he edited a camp newspaper called “Gas Attack.” When he came back to America, he got married and moved to Hollywood where he worked on many projects, his most notable being “Meet John Doe” in 1941.    

John Bell is our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Looking for your next book? Check out this review of the 1st book in the C. Mack Lewis's Fallen Angels Series, Gunning for Angels:  

Top reviews from the United States

William E. Wallace

5.0 out of 5 stars C. Mack Lewis is on the Side of the Angels in Her Debut Novel

Private eye Jack Fox has a problem. He just can’t seem to keep his business end inside his pants, and winds up flopping into the sack with just about every female he meets.

But his overactive libido isn’t Jack’s real challenge. The thing that is turning his life inside out is the fact that Enid, the daughter that resulted from one of those one-night stands sixteen years earlier, has run away from her alcoholic mother and taken the Greyhound to Phoenix looking for the father she only recently learned she had.

For his part, Jack didn't even know Enid existed.

This is the situation at the beginning of “Gunning for Angels,” a fast-moving detective yarn by Lewis, a New Jersey native transplanted to Scottsdale, Arizona, who deftly juggles plot twists, humor and mayhem in this enjoyable debut novel.
The story involves unwanted children and a few that are wanted far too much for comfort.

Lewis's character, Jack Fox, is a solo operator working out of a hole-in-the-wall office staffed only by his secretary receptionist.

A Lothario from the get-go, Fox is described by Lewis as "not handsome enough for Hollywood but too handsome for his own good." Practically the only women in the story he doesn't get between his sheets are his daughter and the receptionist.

This lust-struck peeper is between clients when Enid, the result of his blast in the past, walks into his office, coat-tailing on a woman who wants to hire him to identify her birth mom.

Eventually the two enter into an uneasy alliance. Jack, who was rejected by his own birth father, a cop and bigamist, can’t seem to work past his guilt at having a teenage daughter he’s never met. Enid, who is used to cleaning up her drunken mother’s messes, is distraught by her abandonment.

Despite their mutual distrust and fear, they join forces and struggle to come to grips with what seems to be a simple parental abandonment case but turns out to involve trafficking in child prostitutes, pedophilia and fraud.

Oh, yes: and murder; lots of murder.

The basic plot of Lewis’s book is pretty grim stuff, but she manages to serve it up with dashes of wit that leaven the violent and gruesome nature of the story. Just when you are beginning to think that Fox is a competent investigator and all-around cool guy, he hits a banana peel and does a pratfall – usually with his newly-acquired daughter looking on.

Case in point: in one scene Jack is boffing a client while Enid who has managed to sneak into the bedroom before him, hides in the closet, trying to keep from blowing her lunch. Good times!

And unlike the female partners in many detective yarns, Enid doesn’t exist just to be menaced by the villains. She is manhandled, abused and subjected to violence in the novel, but manages to escape on her own. In fact, she does at least as much to solve the mystery and obtain justice as her gumshoe dad does.

The characters in the book are all colorful and neatly rendered, particularly Jack and Enid. Unfortunately, as is the case with many novels these days, this one could have benefitted by a final editing pass to eliminate some of its tendency toward repetition. For example, at the beginning of the book, a death scene is described in which a “baby’s fist spasmodically beat[s] against the dead woman’s face, splattering rips and reams of blood in every direction of the tiny kitchen.”

Nearly three quarters of the way through the book, Jack finds the corpse described in the initial passage and picks up the infant, whose “tiny fists beat against him, splattering rips and reams of blood across his face as she wailed at full volume.”

I like the phrasing, but that’s a few too many rips and reams of blood being splattered for my comfort.

These are minor points, however. Offsetting them is the fact that Lewis has laced her novel with really fine writing that shows her eye for the telling detail and a facility for original language. It would have been easy to sketch the plot in a series of clichés, using tired metaphors hundreds of other authors have used before. Instead, Lewis opted for originality and flare.

For instance, only a couple of sentences into her novel she gives us:

“Eyes full of empty stared upward as she lay sprawled out like some grotesque pin-up girl. An all-American beauty served up on cheap linoleum, a Jackson Pollock canvas of bullet holes and blood spatter.”

“Eyes full of empty;” “A Jackson Pollock canvas of bullet holes and blood splatter;” Now that’s writing. An author capable of turning two phrases like that in a single paragraph knows what she’s doing. What’s more, Lewis does it over and over again in spinning out her story.

She’s on top of things from the very beginning. I’m looking forward to her next novel already.

Read a sample of Gunning for Angels now (also available on Audible):

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00I84NSE0&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_PW1M5AAVMJ81S3AEJ4X9&tag=podiat_ad2-20

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

For a Free Audible book (The Fallen Angels Detective Series, written by C. Mack Lewis) or a Free Kindle ebook, please email a request to me at cathy@widowmakerindustries.com  

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

For a Free Audible book, Gunning For Angels (Book 1 of The Fallen Angels Detective Series, written by C. Mack Lewis) or a Free Kindle ebook, please email a request to me at cathy@widowmakerindustries.com  and make sure to specify what format you would prefer. 

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

For a Free Audible book, Gunning For Angels (Book 1 of The Fallen Angels Detective Series, written by C. Mack Lewis) or a Free Kindle ebook, please email a request to me at cathy@widowmakerindustries.com  and make sure to specify what format you would prefer. 

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

John Bell is also the producer, writer, and talent on his own podcast, which is called Bell’s in the Batfry, which can be found online. It is a delightful and family-friendly mix of -  in the words of John Bell, “comedy, satire, oddness, songs, and just plain wackiness.” I can promise you that you won’t find anything more original or just plain fun anywhere else online!  To listen online, go to https://thebatfry.com/

John Bell has been working in radio since 1977 and he’s won many local, regional, and national awards for his various radio ads over the years. He’s active and performs in community theater. He also appears in other audio dramas on the Mutual Audio Drama Network, which is the prime online curator for modern audio drama and podcast fiction. They offer a wide variety of stories in the audio dramatic and podcast fiction universe. When you go to Mutual Audio Network, check out the “Friday Follies” section where you can find John's latest episode of Bell's in the Batfy. Listen at  https://www.mutualaudionetwork.com/

I was fortunate enough to meet John through Amazon Creation Exchange and was even luckier that he has been the narrator of my Fallen Angels detective series. If you would like a free copy of one of my audiobooks featuring John as the narrator, send me an email requesting the free audiobook to: cathy@widowmakerindustries.com  

We are always looking for our next writer of short fiction to feature on the podcast! Head on over to www.thehiddengemspodcast.com to submit your short story of 5,000 words or less and see what magic John can create with your story!     

For more information on my books, check at my website at https://cmacklewis.com/

Thank you so much for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast!

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's writing at https://cmacklewis.com/

For a Free Audible book, Gunning For Angels (Book 1 of The Fallen Angels Detective Series, written by C. Mack Lewis), please email a request to me at cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Margaret McCarthy is a retired Registered Nurse living in Scottsdale, Arizona. She earned a BA in school nursing and health education and an MBA. One of the goals of this paper is  to "appreciate and better understand the values of other peoples' backgrounds and lifestyles as compared with our own personal history. " She also strove to "find some logic for the folk practices as evidenced by current medical knowledge." 

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathydpm@gmail.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathydpm@gmail.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Anton Chekhov has been described as the master of the short story. The School Mistress explores the stark difference between the daily realities that we face versus our inner dreams and hopes.  

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathydpm@gmail.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy (aka C. Mack Lewis). the owner of the "mind of mayhem," and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

The Devil and Daniel Webster  was written by Stephen Vincent Benét and first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on October 24, 1936. The following year, it won the prestigious O. Henry Award. 

A special thank you to Project Gutenberg Australia, which allowed us to share this story with you.  For more information, please refer to http://gutenberg.net.au/

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Breath of Beelzebub first appeared in Planet Stories, which was an American pulp sci-fi magazine from the Winter of 1946. Larry Sternig was a writer of short fiction in the 1940s and went on to create The Larry Sternig Literary Agency, which is now the Sternig & Byrne Literary Agency. Larry Sternig passed away in 1999.  

A special thank you to Project Gutenberg, which is an online library of over 60,000 free ebooks that are curated by volunteers who are dedicated to giving more accessibility to great works of fiction. For more information, you can go to https://www.gutenberg.org/

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's featured short story is "Cold Places," written by your host, Cathy McCarthy, aka C. Mack Lewis. 

John Bell was our narrator and he is the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's featured short story is a classic English supernatural tale written by W. W. Jacobs in 1902. I'd like to thank Project Gutenberg for making this cultural work available to the public for use. I highly recommend you check out their website which offers over 60,000 free ebooks at https://www.gutenberg.org/

If you liked this episode and want to hear more short stories, please go to our website at https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/

My name is Cathy McCarthy and I write fiction under the name C. Mack Lewis. You can find more information about me at https://cmacklewis.com/

We would love it if you would rate, recommend, and share our podcast with other lovers of short fiction. 

Thank you for listening! 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join Cathy McCarthy as she features the short stories, Evolution, written by Bob Wallass who currently resides in Sedona, Arizona with his lovely wife, Linda. Bob is a former morning drive deejay turned RN and camp counselor and he has written a book of creative nonfiction, entitled Flying With Scissors: A Different Perspective on Childhood Cancer, which was the publishing house’s bestseller in 2005 and a finalist in USA Book News’ “Best Books Awards” in 2006. His first novel, Yabo, was a quarter-finalist in Amazon’s Break Through Novel Awards and is available for digital download. Wallass’ current novel, Low-Down, AZ, is complete and looking for a publisher. For more information on Bob's fiction, check out his website at
www.bobwallass.com.

John Bell is the narrator and he is also known for being the Producer/Writer/voice of The Bell's In the Batfry Podcast, which won the Parsec award - which is a juried award for podcasts centered around speculative fiction. http://thebatfry.com/

I'm always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing your short story of fewer than 5,000 words, please send me your work at https://www.facebook.com/TheHiddenGemsPodcast/

For more information on my fiction, please check out my website at https://cmacklewis.com/

Until next time, keep writing, keep listening, and keep dreaming!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's featured short story is "Game Time," written by Samuel H. Johnson. Samuel is also the author of the historical novel, "The Cherokee and the Slave," which can be found at: (www.thecherokeeandtheslave.com). He is also the writer of an online sports magazine "The Sports Column" that features off-beat and sometimes humorous articles about sports figures from the past.

John Bell was our narrator and he is the writer, producer, and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, your host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join us for Episode 9 of The Hidden Gems Podcast, which features the short story "The Christmas Tree" which was written by C. Mack Lewis. For more information and writing from C. Mack Lewis, go to https://cmacklewis.com/

Narrated by John Bell who is also the writer, actor and producer of The Bell's in The Batfry podcast, which can be found at https://thebatfry.com/.

Submit your own short story of 5,000 words or less for a chance to be featured on The Hidden Gems Podcast at: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/

If you like this podcast, check out the Midnight Balloon podcast, which  is a limited-series podcast of topics you were told you'd go to Hell for discussing. https://www.midnightballoon.com/

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's short story was written by Raymond King Shurtz who is a Director, Designer, Playwright, Teacher, Actor, and Musician. He was the Founder and Artistic Director of Playwright's Workshop Theatre in 1988 and he produced over 80 plays during his 12-year tenure.

From 1998 to 2008, Raymond was the director of theatre at Metro Arts Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona, while simultaneously producing new plays with Theatre 4S. After leaving Metro Arts in 2008, Raymond wrote, acted, and produced his one-man show, Bohemian Cowboy which was selected as the 'pick of the week' in the LA Weekly in Los Angeles. He also performed the show in San Francisco, Southern Utah, and Austin Texas, and is currently on hiatus before he tours the show again. As a playwright, Raymond has written thirty plays, all of them produced in various parts of the country. Three of his plays are published, one with Samuel French, and two plays with Dramatic Publishing/Anchorage Press. Raymond is the recipient of the 2002 fellowship for playwriting from The Arizona Commission on the Arts and, during the last 2 years, he is becoming known for producing plays in obscure places in his home turf of Boulder, Utah. His play, Under the Desert is produced on a high mesa to capacity audiences, who had to hike or four-wheel to the desert site to see the play. Raymond is also a singer/songwriter, and puts together bands to play old honky-tonk music and his music can be found on SoundCloud.

Currently, Raymond has embarked on a tour with his new one person show, Lounge, which is his personal riff on playing lounges for two years. Raymond plans to produce a full season of experimental theatre, with some classic theatre to give a different challenge to the company.

Follow Raymond on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/rkshurtz

Listen to Raymond's music on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/raymond-king-shurtz

Check out Raymond's book "Seven Plays of the American West" at:
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Plays-American-Raymond-Shurtz/dp/0997045736

A big THANK YOU to John Bell for his stellar narration! For more of John's creative genius, check out his family friendly podcast at:
https://thebatfry.com/

For more information on The Hidden Gems Podcast or to submit your own short story for the opprotunity to be featured on this podcast, go to:
https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

For more information on the podcast or to submit your short story for the opportunity to be featured on the podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/

To listen to John Bell's podcast, please go to: https://thebatfry.com/

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Thank you for listening to The Hidden Gems Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you the best short stories that you've never heard. For more short stories on The Hidden Gems Podcast, please go to: https://www.thehiddengemspodcast.com/podcast 

If you liked what you liked this story, you can find more of C. Mack Lewis's fiction at https://cmacklewis.com/

John Bell is our  was our narrator and he is also the writer, producer, and actor on the award-winning "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/

We are always looking forward to discovering our next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us your short story of fewer than 5,000 words to cathy@widowmakerindustries.com

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

For a chance to have YOUR story featured, please submit your short story of 5,000 words or less to
www.TheHiddenGemsPodcast.com

If you liked this podcast, check out the Midnight Balloon podcast at www.MidnightBalloon.com where two friends of questionable humor make unspeakable confessions! Join Rodney Hom and Dr. Cathleen McCarthy as they take a disarming journey through the mysteries of psychopaths vs. sociopaths, getting rid of the body, homicidal kids, ghosts and avoiding demon possession.

If you enjoyed The Hidden Gems Podcast, we would love it if you would subscribe, rate and recommend to your friends and family.

A special thank you to the talented John Bell for sound design! You can find John's podcast, The Bell's in The Batfry at https://thebatfry.com/

*Thank you for listening! *

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Cathy McCarthy is your host today as John Bell narrates the short story Pig Eye Poem, which she wrote under the pseudonym C. Mack Lewis.

You can read more of Cathy's fiction at www.CMackLewis.com.

You can find John Bell's podcast "Bells in the Batfry" on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/uz/podcast/bells-in-the-batfry/id283969442

*Submit your own short story of 5,000 words or less for a chance to be featured on the podcast at:
[www.thehiddengemspodcast.com *

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Today's featured short story is "Hark! The Herald Angels Still Sing," written by Samuel H. Johnson. Samuel is also the author of the historical novel, "The Cherokee and the Slave," which can be found at: (www.thecherokeeandtheslave.com).

Samuel is also the writer of an online sports magazine "The Sports Column" that features off-beat and sometimes humorous articles about sports figures from the past.

John Bell was our narrator and he is the writer, producer and actor on "Bell's in the Batfry" podcast, which can be found at:
[http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/]

We are always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing, please send us you short story of less than 5,000 words to:
cathy@thehiddengemspodcast.com

I am Cathy McCarthy, you host, and I write under the name of C. Mack Lewis and my books can be found at:
[https://cmacklewis.com/]

Thank you for listening!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

I'm your host, Cathy McCarthy, but I also write fiction under the pseudonym C. Mack Lewis and this is my short story. I was born in South Jersey, the land of Silk City diners, nuclear plants, corn fields and the Jersey Devil. My youth was spent reading voraciously, everything from Trixie Belden's (in the vain hope that Jim would slip Trixie the tongue) to my Aunt Mary Ellen's steamy bodice-ripping novels to anything in the stack of books my dad brought home from the library every Saturday, which got me hooked on the novels of Robert Ludlum and Donald E. Westlake.

After earning a degree in Marketing at Auburn University, I spent the next five years in the business world, which is a polite way of saying that I had eleven jobs in a five year period, including door to door sales, skip tracing people who didn't want to be found, repossessing cars and collecting on defaulted student loans. During this five-year period, I did an in-depth study of abnormal psychology and sociopathic behavior - and then I divorced him.

I didn't have enough money for therapy, so I decided to go to medical school where I earned a degree as a doctor of podiatric medicine. That kept me occupied for the first two years and then I had what I refer to as a 'walking nervous breakdown'. The school psychologist, Terry Murphy (thank you!) helped put me back together and I finished the last two years with weekly therapy and a healthy dose of legal pharmaceuticals.

My two-year surgical residency in Buffalo, New York introduced me to a new world of human behavior, including junkies, addicts, criminals, punks, S&M beauty queens and angry housewives with ice picks.

Upon graduation, I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where I moved into my parent's guest room (my standard of living sky-rocketed!) and I took a loan to open a private practice so I could (finally!) be my own boss. I've been in practice since 2000 and I've made Phoenix magazine's 'Top Doc' list in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016. I am passionate about podiatry and helping people who suffer from foot pain. I write the blog 'Podiatry Shoe Review', which is dedicated to helping people find good-looking shoes that are good for your feet and are pathology specific.

With the money from my loan to start the practice, I hired and an old-fashioned matchmaker to find me a decent man with a career. She did find me a lovely man whom I dated for a year and a half - and then I met my husband, whom I adore.

I love being a podiatrist and I am not ready to quit my day gig to become a full-time writer - mostly because I think I would go bat-shit crazy without the grounding (and humbling) force of dealing with the complex, subtle and fascinating world of feet. No, I do not have a foot fetish, but one does become fond of feet when they start paying for your mortgage and vacations.

My screenplay OH BROTHER won the Phoenix Film Festival screen writing competition in 2005 and was optioned by Gold Circle Films in 2008. I'm the author of GUNNING FOR ANGELS and BLACK MARKET ANGELS, which are the first two books in THE FALLEN ANGELS TRILOGY and I am currently working on the third and final edition, THE ANGEL WORE BLACK. I've recently published THE FIX & OTHER SHORT STORIES on Kindle because I decided that an ebook online was a better place to store my short stories than in a box in the basement.

I hope you enjoy my stories! They were born from my passion for storytelling and my demented sense of what constitutes a grand ole time.

For more information on my books, click on https://cmacklewis.com/

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com

Join Cathy McCarthy as she features one of her favorite short stories, In Giganticus Headicus We Trust (Just Give Me A Sign), written by Bob Wallass who currently resides in Sedona, Arizona with his lovely wife, Linda. Bob is a former morning drive deejay turned RN and camp counselor and he has written a book of creative nonfiction, entitled Flying With Scissors: A Different Perspective on Childhood Cancer, which was the publishing house’s bestseller in 2005 and a finalist in USA Book News’ “Best Books Awards” in 2006. His first novel, Yabo, was a quarter-finalist in Amazon’s Break Through Novel Awards and is available for digital download. Wallass’ current novel, Low-Down, AZ, is complete and looking for a publisher. For more information on Bob's fiction, check out his website at
www.bobwallass.com.

John Bell is the narrator and he is also known for being the Producer/Writer/voice of The Bell's In the Batfry Podcast, which won the Parsec award - which is a juried award for podcasts centered around speculative fiction. http://thebatfry.com/

I'm always looking forward to discovering out next writer, so if you are interested in contributing your short story of fewer than 5,000 words, please send me your work through The Hidden Gems Podcast page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TheHiddenGemsPodcast/

For more information on my fiction, please check out my website at https://cmacklewis.com/

Until next time, keep writing, keep listening and keep dreaming!

EPISODE CREDITS:

Hosted by C. Mack Lewis.

Narrated, Edited, and Mixed by John Bell. 

LINKS: https://cmacklewis.com/

Be sure to follow and tag The Hidden Gems Podcast on Facebook. 

More information about your host at CMackLewis.com