Season Three: Episode 73 (9 May 2023)

Family Reflections is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/family-reflections

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I wrote Family Reflections (originally titled Morning Reflections) for the Australian Writer’s Centre’s April 2023 Furious Fiction writing challenge. The brief for April was:

• The 500-word short story had to have something that CHANGES COLOUR
• Include the words ACCEPT, POINT, RIDDLE, INKLING and LABEL (did you hear them?)
• And the story had to have an ENGAGING OPENING SENTENCE that would make readers want to read on.

My first idea was a dark piece on domestic violence, opening with a woman staring at her bruised face in a mirror. However, I decided I couldn’t tell that story, so I abandoned it. But I kept the mirror … and gave it the narrator’s voice.

I enjoyed exploring the possibilities of a bathroom mirror, *reflecting* on the family. As an older dad, I recognised its melancholy, recalling Tilly and Zane’s younger days and worry over the effects of ageing on Mum and Dad. And I’m sure the family and I are not alone in confiding confidences and concerns to our reflections with no inkling that the mirror may be listening to us.

April 2023 marked the third anniversary of my first Furious Fiction, A Song on the Radio  (Episode 4 of Tall And True Short Reads), written on the first weekend of the COVID lockdown in Australia in April 2020. And Family Reflections was my twenty-seventh short story submitted to the challenge.

And [drum roll, please], after three years, it was the first of my short stories showcased on the Writers’ Centre’s website (as Morning Reflections) — the perfect anniversary gift!

It was also one of my most time-squeezed stories, with weekend family and footy commitments meaning I could only fit in short bursts of writing. But three years of Furious Fiction gave me confidence in my process and ability to write and submit the story by the Sunday midnight deadline.

I hope you enjoyed Family Reflections. You can read this and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing — including my writing about dogs — at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three, including a Song on the Radio.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do this podcast a favour by telling your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Door Closing: https://freesound.org/people/soundmary/sounds/117614/
• Washing Face: https://freesound.org/people/lolux/sounds/181355/
• Hairdryer: https://freesound.org/people/ryanharding95/sounds/272446/
• Footsteps in Hall: https://freesound.org/people/Anthousai/sounds/398782/
• Toilet Flushing: https://freesound.org/people/lorenzgillner/sounds/274448/
• Tap Running: https://freesound.org/people/14G_Panska_Kaminkova_A/sounds/419990/
• Banging on Door: https://freesound.org/people/splatbot/sounds/337528/
• Kids Laughing: https://freesound.org/people/Iamgiorgio/sounds/371342/
• Drum Roll: https://freesound.org/people/bigjoedrummer/sounds/77305/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Season Three: Episode 72 (19 April 2023)

My Good Dog and Muse is a blog post from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/good-dog-muse

Robert’s other articles on dogs: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/nonfiction/animals

The Dog Collective: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/the-dog-collective

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I shared My Good Dog and Muse on Tall and True in September 2018, approaching the seventh anniversary of dear old Harry’s passing. By then, I had also shared the other articles he inspired me to write about dogs, along with photos of Harry.

In 2022, I contributed a piece to The Dog Collective, a collection of short stories and photographs by dog owners featuring our “loveable pups”. My story was titled, My Three Labradors and drew on several articles I’d written about my dogs, including My Good Dog and Muse, Harry. 

In an email to the publisher, I confessed that even eleven years after his death, I shed tears when writing about my last moments with Harry. And I still feel teary every October on the anniversary of his passing. As Agnes Sligh Turnbull said, “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”

I hope you enjoyed listening to My Good Dog and Muse. You can read this piece and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing — including my writing about dogs — at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Dogs Barking: https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/676407/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Season Three: Episode 71 (5 April 2023)

Decisions is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/decisions

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I wrote Decisions for the Australian Writer’s Centre’s March 2023 Furious Fiction writing competition. The brief was:

• The 500-word short story had to include a CHAIR of some sort
• The words ALBUM, BRIGHT and CLICK (or longer variations)
• And a character who makes a CHOICE between two things.

I toyed with making my protagonist, Jennifer, the CHAIR of a corporation or department or CHAIRing a meeting but settled on her swivelling on an office CHAIR to stare at the city lights.

I knew the story would feature a family photo ALBUM, but instead of opting for BRIGHT lights outside the office window, I had Jennifer reflecting on marrying Stephen when they were BRIGHT young things.

As for the CLICK, I saved that until the end, when Jennifer resolves that after twenty years of marriage and Stephen’s unilateral decision-making and demands, she has a CHOICE, even if it’s between a rock and a hard place.

A fellow writer whose Furious Fiction entry (like mine) was not showcased or long-listed on the Writers’ Centre’s website for March observed that the judges seemed to want the chair to have a dominant role in the story. And for it to have something to do with the choice.

I replied that I didn’t think about “winning formulas” when writing, and this may explain why my short stories don’t win or get short or long-listed. But I still enjoy writing and sharing them, and hope you enjoyed listening to this one on Tall And True Short Reads.

You can read Decisions and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, a small favour, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Office Chair: https://freesound.org/people/elonen/sounds/15475/
• Children Laughing: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675105/
• Door Slammed: https://freesound.org/people/altfuture/sounds/174643/
• Light Switch: https://freesound.org/people/EricsSoundschmiede/sounds/457410/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Season Three: Episode 70 (16 March 2023)

Two Visits to the Berlin Wall is a travel memoir from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the piece on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/nonfiction/travel/two-visits-to-the-berlin-wall

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I shared the Two Visits to the Berlin Wall travel memoir on Tall And True in September 2021. In Part One of this two-part podcast episode, I explained the inspiration for writing the piece: finding a secondhand copy of the 2006 book The Berlin Wall by Frederick Taylor and listening to the 2021 audiobook version of Tunnel 29, narrated by the author Helena Merriman. And Part One recounts the travel journal entries from my first visit to Berlin in 1987 when the Wall divided the city and West and East Germany.

Part Two contains the journal entry from my second fleeting visit to reunified Berlin and Germany in 1995. And my observations on my two trips after almost three decades, paraphrasing a question I’d asked myself about my 1990s travels to Dahab, Egypt, is it wrong to want places (and tourist sites) to stay the same? In the case of the divided Germany and Berlin and the Berlin Wall of 1987, yes.

Sidenote: Once again, apologies for mangling German place names. It’s over 30 years since I’ve spoken conversational German phrases beyond “Zwei bier, bitte”!

I hope you enjoyed listening to Parts One and Two of Two Visits to the Berlin Wall. You can read this travel memoir and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do me and the podcast a big favour: Tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Bicycle Bell: https://freesound.org/people/13gkopeckak/sounds/378912/
• Clock Ticking: https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/522119/
• Train Station PA: https://freesound.org/people/polymorpheva/sounds/645697/
• City Ambience (Cologne): https://freesound.org/people/Pfannkuchn/sounds/384353/
• Construction Site: https://freesound.org/people/ivolipa/sounds/335963/
• Cathedral Bells (Cologne): https://freesound.org/people/polymorpheva/sounds/511546/
• Train Whistle: https://freesound.org/people/euroblues/sounds/20065/
• Gunfire: https://freesound.org/people/C-V/sounds/523404/
• Siren: https://freesound.org/people/lluiset7/sounds/367442/
• Ping Sound: https://freesound.org/people/edsward/sounds/341871/
• Bottles Chinking: https://freesound.org/people/jawbutch/sounds/344401/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Season Three: Episode 69 (3 March 2023)

Two Visits to the Berlin Wall is a travel memoir from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the piece on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/nonfiction/travel/two-visits-to-the-berlin-wall

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I shared the Two Visits to the Berlin Wall travel memoir on Tall And True in September 2021. Part One of this two-part podcast episode explains the inspiration for writing the piece, a secondhand copy of the 2006 book, The Berlin Wall by Frederick Taylor, and the 2021 book, Tunnel 29, which I listened to as an audiobook narrated by the author Helena Merriman.

Part One also includes the travel journal entries from my first visit to Berlin in 1987, when the Wall divided the city and West and East Germany. Part Two covers my second visit to the Berlin Wall and reunified Germany in 1995. And my observations on my two trips almost three decades after my last visit to Berlin.

Sidenote: Apologies for mangling German place names in this episode. Although I studied German in my mid-twenties and could once proudly pronounce words and phrases in Deutsche beyond “Zwei bier, bitte”, that was over 30 years ago!

I hope you enjoyed listening to Part One of Two Visits to the Berlin Wall. You can read this travel memoir and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads (Part Two) will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my stories with other listeners.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do this podcast a big favour: Tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Shop Bell:  https://freesound.org/people/775noise/sounds/494565/
• Gunfire: https://freesound.org/people/C-V/sounds/523404/
• Ping Sound: https://freesound.org/people/edsward/sounds/341871/
• Plane: https://freesound.org/people/bigpickle51/sounds/262753/
• Clock Ticking: https://freesound.org/people/Julien%20Matthey/sounds/457651/
• Van Horn: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/479995/
• City Ambience (Cologne): https://freesound.org/people/Pfannkuchn/sounds/384353/
• Siren: https://freesound.org/people/lluiset7/sounds/367442/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Season Three: Episode 68 (13 February 2023)

The Magical Lamp is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/the-magical-lamp

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Writer’s Insight

I wrote The Magical Lamp for the Australian Writer’s Centre’s quarterly Furious Fiction writing competition in December 2022. The brief was:

• The 500-word short story had to begin with a 12-word sentence.
• Include the sale of a secondhand item.
• And contain at least five different words ending in the letters “–ICE”.

The Furious Fiction brief arrives on the first Friday of the quarter at 5 PM, and writers have 55 hours to write and submit their stories before the Sunday midnight deadline.

I like to quarantine the weekend for devising, writing and editing my short stories. However, on this quarterly weekend, I had a lunch date with a friend on Saturday and an all-day family event on Sunday. And the Socceroos played Argentina in a do-or-die World Cup game at 5 AM on Sunday.

Consequently, I wrote my Furious Fiction entry more furiously than usual, with even less time for reflection and proofreading. And the short story I shared on Tall And True is a reworked version of the original.

For instance, the 12-word first sentence in December 2022 was:

“Sitting handcuffed on my sofa, I wish I’d walked past the lamp.”

But I reworded it to introduce the magical element of the lamp and its consequences from the start of the story:

“Handcuffed in the police car, I wished the lamp hadn’t been magical.” 

There are other subtle differences between the versions, but I’ve respected the brief. And I hope you enjoyed this Furious Fiction-inspired short story.

You can read The Magical Lamp and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my stories with other listeners.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Police Siren: https://freesound.org/people/conleec/sounds/159744/
• Secondhand Market: https://freesound.org/people/e0fd96/sounds/659634/
• Cash Register Ka-Ching: https://freesound.org/people/Zott820/sounds/209578/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.