Hello, this is Jim Bihyeh, the author, dropping in to say I have finally listened to my story, “Love Like Thunder,” as produced by Pseudopod. And I must say it was worth the tortuous wait. I like to wait at least a week before listening to the story, to detach myself from the tale, before I hear someone create it wholly anew.
And Pseudopod has done just that.
I sing Cayenne Chris Conroy's praises. The man has taught me things about my characters that I'd either forgotten or had always wanted to know. His tone of subtle, forceful brutality was truly beautiful. I've written him to tell him so, and I hope some of you might do the same.
I was working on one of the Coyote Tales last night and kept hearing his voice as Coyote. I’ve never had that happen before – having another person’s voice work itself into my imagination – but it’s a powerful and enriching thing.
Ben Phillips has been an imaginative, open, but firm, creative force as editor of Pseudopod. He and his invaluable associate editor, Gary Lee, guided this story to the best tale it could become. I cannot thank them enough.
And a double-armed thanks goes to Alasdair for his flattering into and outro commentary. It really helped me understand what others could take from "Love Like Thunder." And what I've taken by writing it.
I’ve been reading your comments and I’m so grateful that you’ve enjoyed Dondo’s story, overall.
Some of you have even expressed further interest in the Coyote Tales, a collection of interweaving short stories set on the middle of the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.
I've been working more and more at the Coyote Tales. I've got about seven written thus far, and I'm hoping to put out four or five more. Some are 3,000 word stories, some more than 10,000. There's a novella in the mix that's nearing its final draft form.
The novella, "The Speed of Lightning," takes place immediately after “Love Like Thunder” (let’s just say that final lightning strike from Dondo has some unforeseen consequences) and follows Coyote's attempts to recruit a champion high school cross-country runner to be his latest microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan.
I'm not quite sure what to do with them. Anybody have any ideas. I know a smidgen about writing stories. But as far as podcast / internet writing publishing goes, I know – sadly – absolute dick.
Once again, thanks so much for listening. And if you’ve liked what you heard with “Love Like Thunder,” you might also enjoy “Reservation Monsters,” narrated in good haunting fashion by Ben Phillips himself.
I’ll be watching the forum this week. If you have any questions about the story, the language, the inner workings of the Navajo lore, or if anything else piqued your interest about The Coyote Tales, let me know. I’ll be sure to respond.
Hagoonee’
Jim Bihyeh
