: storytelling - audio
Please click below to listen to stories.
"No Tricks. Just Magic"
European fairy tales that captured my heart and my imagination the first time I encountered them...and one new groundhog story. The thing I love about folk literature is that folks of all ages respond to it. I've seen audiences that span four generations -- kids, parents, grandparents, great grandparents -- lose themselves in the same fairy tale. That's why these stories have endured.
Sample: "The Shoemaker and the Elves"
“What Was Civil About that War…”
“There are few times in a reviewer’s experience when the hairs on the back of his neck rise at the end of a story.
…(H)er performance so engages the listener that it pushes the boundaries beyond a simple telling of a historical episode in a horrific battle and enters into the realm of nightmare.”
“Groundhogs Meet Grimm”
"The characters in these updated tales have theatrical agents, ...are completing their practicum for fairy godmother school, and know that Prince Charming just received another DUI on a suspended license.... Hicks's...pacing and timing are impeccable. ... (S)elf-rated PG 'for three mild oaths, two instances of ingesting garden pests, and the use of the word "boogers" (twice). However, anyone who is not put off by that sort of thing will revel in these tales."
Mike Brown, School Library Journal
Sample - "3 Little Groundhogs and a Wolf."
"The Janitor's Closet :: Occupied"
The janitor's closet sits in a shed behind the abandoned high school -- a place where students learned that attending extra-curricular activities could bring about grave consequences. "Occupied" is a personal story. You might not believe in ghosts right now. But after you've met Eulalie Stinchcomb (1875-1894) of Jonesborough, Tennessee, you might reconsider. These stories are not recommended for young children. Seriously. (Signed and numbered limited edition; $10 includes postage & handling; to order, contact me.)
"The Bob Mapplethorpe Memorial Condom Wallet: A Love Story"
Sorry, Mom, but sometimes you have to take off your little white gloves and adopt a bare-knuckle approach to courtship and romance. Desperate times call for desperate measures.(Signed and numbered limited edition; $10 includes postage & handling; to order, contact me.)
