Author Archives

Melissahttp://www.missmeliss.com
251-Reginald via Flash Prompt

TBM-1808.14 – DDOP-014: Stranger than Fiction

by

251-Reginald via Flash Prompt

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic A little boy makes a friend and learns a family secret.

Excerpt:

In the first one, a little boy named Ronald befriended a creature that was half-leopard and half-snowy owl, taming it by giving up bits of his breakfast bacon each morning. Of course, the creature had befriended the boy, ultimately protecting him from the Stone Knights that came to life, literally, once in a blue moon.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:50 — 7.9MB)

TBM-1808.13 – DDOP-013: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic Dinner and a movie: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Excerpt:

It’s the perfect charming period romance for a rainy Saturday. Goes well with peasant’s pie.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:24 — 5.2MB)

0246 - Melpomene

TBM-1808.12 – DDOP-012: Melpomene at the Gates

by

0246 - Melpomene

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic Melpomene muses about her role in life.

Excerpt:

But over there – Mel shuddered and Summoned her agents to her side. For this disaster, they would be her escorts. Maybe it’s a hurricane, and she would help the suddenly homeless replace places and things with fond memories, or inspire a nurse to volunteer as an aid worker. Maybe it’s a great fire, and her winged Helpers could Whisper to those who would help save animals, provide shelter, build firebreaks for their neighbors.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:36 — 6.2MB)

0308 - The Lucy

TBM-1808.11 – DDOP-011: Fragment of a Diary from the Wreck of the Lucy

by

0308 - The Lucy

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic Bits of a diary found in a shipwreck.

Excerpt:

The sharks appear at dusk, ever circling, biding their time. I’ve bound the cut on my leg with one of my shirtsleeves, but I fear it’s beginning to fester. Can they scent my blood even though this dinghy is watertight, or are they tracking my fear?

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:17 — 10.0MB)

0241 - Inner Beast

TBM-1808.10 – DDOP-010: The Tiger Inside

by

0241 - Inner Beast

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic Every bunny has an inner tiger.

Excerpt:

“We all, every one of us, have our own inner vision, our own perception, of what we are. It’s sort of the reason Gran lies about her age. In her head, she’s still the dewy-eyed, smooth-skinned twenty-year-old Gramps fell in love with.”

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under some readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:23 — 3.0MB)

Jessie

TBM-01808.09 – DDOP-009: Something About Jessie

by

Jessie

 

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic Billy has always known that there’s something different about Jessie.

Excerpt:

Like, when you played Tea Party at her house, the tea in her doll’s cup would disappear a little at a time, even though you never saw her lift it to steal a sip.

And when you were playing Freeze Tag there were moments when you’d swear she’d frozen with her feet above the ground instead of on it.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:58 — 7.2MB)

FliptheSwitch

TBM-1808.08 – DDOP-008: Flip the Switch

by

FliptheSwitch

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic A young woman agonizes over a serious decision.

Excerpt:

She walks through the rain, holding the pink umbrella she’s has since childhood, imagining switches everywhere. On car doors, on mail boxes, on the sides of buildings.

Finally, her soggy feet carry her inside the tall building, to the private room at the end of the hall on the seventeenth floor.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:35 — 4.5MB)

Paved with Gold

TBM-1808.07 – DDOP-007: Streets Paved with Gold

by

Paved with Gold

Description:

#Audio. #FlashFic An old man criticizes paving choices in his village.

Excerpt:

But old Fritz knew better. Sure they looked pretty in the first glow of morning light, all soft amber and rosy pink, but that same glow reflected into every window, of a morning, and usually at least an hour before decent folk had tumbled out of bed.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:21 — 4.6MB)

ACL Post-Op 2 hours

TBM-1808.06 – DDOP-006: Mel-Babble ACL Surgery

by

ACL Post-Op 2 hours

Description:

#Audio. The bathtub mermaid babbles about her recent ACL surgery.

Excerpt:

On July 11th, I had the ACL and ALL replaced in my left knee, and my meniscus trimmed. In the time since then, I’ve had to deal with painkillers, immobility, staples, bathroom hacks, and being dependent on my husband.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:15 — 21.5MB)

TBM-1808.05 – DDOP-005: Body Positive

by

LoveYourBody30_sm by Nuchtchas

Description:

#Audio. A monologue about truth and art written for the 2018 28 Plays Later challenge.

Excerpt:

I mean, let’s be honest, I’m not in my twenties anymore. Hell, it’s been a while since I’ve seen thirty. Or forty. I’ve had a child – nursed her – I’ve never completely gotten over my love affair with carbs. I hate working out. I have dance training, but I’ve never been a natural dancer, and there’s a reason I play character parts.

My body shows all of that. My body is the reason.

But even without that…. Even without just one of those things, I’ve always been the girl – the woman – who was teased for being fat. Who had to wear a bra at the age of eight. Who is always too short and too loud and too hairy and too busty and too round.

(I mean, seriously, in the event of a water landing, my tits are built-in flotation devices).

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the BossJock iPad app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Music used for the opening and closing is a mix of Chris Zabriskie’s “The Oceans Continue to Rise” from the Free Music Archive and Kevoy’s clip of whales off the coast of French Polynesia from Freesound.
  • Chris Zabriskie’s song is also used under the readings.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:54 — 14.4MB)