In 2014 the alternative press newspaper, Creative Loafing, ran a short story contest. The prompt was “I forgot to pay my heat bill”. That was the genesis for this tale. It didn’t win then. It needed lots of work.

Over the past 8 years, I edited and edited the story, one adjustment was to make it “media res”….so when the story opens it’s Ed discovering that the snakes he was planning to sell to regional churches had frozen because someone didn’t pay the heat bill.

I had a brother who was a naturalist and was smitten by snakes. Thanks to big brother Mike, serpents show up in lots of my stories. I remember him coming home with 4 rattlers in a pillow case, much to our mother’s chagrin. This background helped me shape the character of Eddie, who as a youngster lobbied to take care of his church’s snakes.

It was fascinating to learn about the world of snake handling and incorporate that into the story. How snakes were, and in some places still are, a big part of religious traditions.

Gordon Smith, a fellow Charlotte Writer’s Clubber, introduced me to a voice actor, Neil Boone. He recorded the story “Snakes On Demand” that you’re about to hear.