“SHOT BY SNIPER,” by Bartholomew von Klick.
Read by Christopher Osborn. (9 min)

A shot kicked up dirt in front of Grale’s face. He pulled himself backward, back to the dubious protection of the fallen sign.

A sniper.

Across the street from the fallen billboard, Grale’s men looked at him, pasty-faced and wide-eyed. One of the men — Simmons — signed for him to stay put. No shit.

They all knew Grale would die here. God damn that machine.

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Bartholomew von Klick lives beneath a bridge in Missouri, emerging only to collect a toll from passers-by. He sometimes mutters about all the things he would like to eat, but has not yet been able to kill. He has thirty-six cats, and a beautiful wife who rises from the grave every night to hunt and bring him snacks from the orphanage.

Christopher Osborn is a web developer by day, and asleep by night. He is the author of the short story collection Easily-Distracted Tales and several stageplays, including Lumberknight: The Francophone Protocol.

In the book, “SHOT BY SNIPER” is illustrated by John Keogh. This podcast episode was edited by Matt Schwartz.

Robynne has been blogging about some of her favorite pieces of mail we’ve received, but we’ve gotten so much more great stuff than we’d ever be able to feature here — so she’s also been adding pictures to a Flickr set! For example.

Bearstache Books presents: Machine of Death Mail-In Program Results

There’s a lot more to come, but these first hundred pictures or so can be a taste. A nourishing taste akin to a full meal. Thanks, everyone, for all the kind mail, and feel free to keep it coming!

TWO MORE IMPORTANT BITS OF NEWS:

NUMBER ONE – If you live or will be in the Los Angeles area, please save the date for the evening of October 26 November 17. We have plans.

NUMBER TWO – Please click below.

Just a reminder that Strange Horizons, one of the best science-fiction magazines still publishing today, is giving away a hardcover edition of Machine of Death as part of their annual fund drive. This isn’t just any hardcover either: It’s one of only two known to exist that’s signed by all three of the editors!

You can view the full fund drive prize list and make a donation on their site. Machine of Death is listed all the way down at the bottom of the prize list. They included an image of the more recognizable trade paperback cover, but the book being given away is in fact a hardcover. (Shameless self-promotion time: Right below Machine of Death you’ll see another book that I had a hand in this year: The Time Traveler’s Pocket Guide. Both are great prizes!)

There are only two weeks remaining to support this very worthy, very excellent and totally non-profit science-fiction magazine. It’s my understanding that the staff at Strange Horizons are all volunteers and that donations are primarily used to fund paying writers and artists, and for the cost of keeping the site up and running. And since Strange Horizons was the first professional market to publish one of my stories (all the way back in 2003), it’s obvious that they have excellent taste and extraordinary foresight in picking the work they publish.

It’s always fun to see drawings that different people have sent us in exchange for death predictions. All of these original, unique works have been bestowed upon us, and we are their humble keepers. (Click the images for bigger versions.)

This drawing came with a note on the back, saying,

This is Mr. Winston (the turtle) and his friend. I hope you are having a pleasant day today. Thank you,

Lauren Coffin

P.S. – That is really my last name! I love it.

So polite! Thanks for the opportunity to get to know Mr. Winston and his yellow-beclad friend. And “Coffin” is a sweet last name.

This drawing is like an action scene at the opening of a movie. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m intrigued enough to want to find out, and in the meantime there’s plenty for me to look at.

I don’t know who this lady is, but I like her. I’m not sure if her name is Death Card, like she’s a super hero or a wrestler or something else that requires a unique pseudonym, or if the artist was just really excited about getting a death card. These are the sorts of mysteries that we encounter every day here at MOD. Anyway, check out the calligraphy on the envelope this woman arrived in. Fancy!

Would you like to draw us something, or just mail us an old drawing you have sitting around? We’d love to hear from you! Don’t be shy. We’re nice people. Honest.

“AFTER MANY YEARS, STOPS BREATHING, WHILE ASLEEP, WITH SMILE ON FACE,” by William Grallo. Read by Bradley McLaughlin. (19 min)

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” says one of Jill’s friends, leaning forward to get a better look at my shirt.

On Toe Tag Night no one wears tags on their toes. What we do is use a template on our PCs and print a graphic of a toe tag, which we then wear attached to our clothing somewhere, like on a t-shirt. The graphic looks like the toe tags you see on dead bodies — or at least on dead bodies in movies — and yes, sometimes people also include a cartoony image of a toe, or a even a whole foot. Often bloody. Printed on the tag is your Name, and How You Are Going to Die.

For mine, I had to use a smaller font size.

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Direct podcast feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/machineofpodcast

William Grallo is the son of Lou. He was the winner of the Will Inman Award for Poetry and a runner-up for the Ursula K. LeGuin Award for Imaginative Fiction. He has had fiction published in Rosebud magazine and online at alwaysblack.com.

Bradley McLaughlin is a musician and film editor from Seattle. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he works on feature films.

In the book, “AFTER MANY YEARS, STOPS BREATHING, WHILE ASLEEP, WITH SMILE ON FACE” is illustrated by Scott C. This podcast episode was edited by Matt Schwartz.

At our Talent Show on April 26, 2011, Brad also performed an original song that he wrote based on this story!

Machine of Death Talent Show – Brad McLaughlin from Vimeo.