KCR airing The Parlour Tales across Moray
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A series of short stories set in and around Moray will be broadcast on Keith Community Radio from Monday onwards.
Their author is the aptly named Steve Storey who, earlier this month, put out an appeal for people with authentic North East accents to read them on air.
This resulted in loads of people coming forward to volunteer their services, leaving Steve with the difficult task of selecting just four.
He's chosen Lesley Sim, a professional actress who's currently living in Huntly.
In addition, there's Colin Smith from Alves who's performed with several local groups, including Elgin Amateur Dramatic Society.
Also selected is Christine Duncan, who lives in Birnie and has appeared with Elgin Musical Theatre.
Completing the team, there's Moira Morrison, a healthcare volunteer from Fochabers.
Steve said: "I'm really excited that KCR are going to broadcast ten of my short stories in a series titled ‘The Parlour Tales’.
"They are all works of historical fiction – and the majority are sited in the North-East.
"I am grateful to KCR’s Sheila MacDonald who recently approached me asking if I could put a series of short stories together for broadcast.
"This is a marvellous opportunity, not only to reach a wider audience but to experience a series of my work in audio form.
"I'm sincerely appreciative of the help and support of local people."
Although he lives in Elgin and writes almost exclusively about the area, Steve was born near London and has still has the accent to prove it.
He says: "Due to illness I've ended up having to record the very first story myself in order to meet the broadcasting schedule
"It's called The Creelman and includes references to 'Seonaidh', which is the Gaelic name for a water spirit.
"I've done my best to get the pronunciation right but it wasn't easy.
"Thankfully, Scottish voices will be reading the rest of my stories."
The first story will air at 7.45pm on Monday, May 2, and will be repeated at 11.45am the following morning.
The Creelman is a dark 2000-word tale of "some truth and much fiction", and was the winner of the Elgin Writers’ Group 2019 summer competition.
It was also published online last year by The Northern Scot.
Keith Community Radio broadcasts across Moray on 107.7fm, and worldwide on the internet at www.kcr.fm
Here's a full list of the broadcast dates (readers' initials in brackets):
Ep1. The Creelman (SS): Mon May 2, repeated Tue May 3.
Ep2. The Cat an' the Pot (CS): Mon May 30, repeated Tue May 31.
Ep3. The Harmful Heirloom (LS): Mon June 27, repeated Tue June 28.
Ep4. Out of the Cold (CS): Mon July 25, repeated Tue July 26.
Ep5. William Gude an' the Fae (LS): Mon August 22, repeated Tue August 23
Ep6. The Harewitch an' the Bottle (and also) The Last 'King of the Sea': (CD): Mon September 26, repeated Tue September 27
Ep7. The Tale of Ailsa Johnstone (LS): Mon October 31, repeated Tue November 1
Ep8. Stotfield (MM): Mon November 28, repeated Tue November 29
Ep9. The Telling of a Winter Memory: (LS): Mon December 19, repeated Tue December 20.
