Texas Grit Audio Stories

Today’s story is a little different.The young girl at the center of this story is my granddaughter. I originally wrote it for her, taking something very personal to me, someone I love, and turning it into a story she can keep long after I’m gone. She loves longhorn cattle, so I wrote her a little story with a young calf at the center of it. I have seven grandchildren and will soon have a personal little story for each one of them.As I was putting together the video you’re about to watch, something occurred to me - every family has stories. Over the past year I’ve done a few commision jobs where I’ve written the story and produced a video production set to music, sound effects, and narration either they supplied or I supplied. I’ve done a few videos for individuals, churches, nursing homes, and garden clubs. Through the end of the year I have a little capacity to help you tell a story if you have one that needs told.Maybe it’s the story of your parents and how they met or something your father did when he was young that your children have heard a hundred times around the dinner table. Maybe it’s the life of a grandparent whose grandchildren are still too young to understand what an extraordinary person he or she was. Or perhaps there is simply someone you love whom you would like to give something more lasting than another thing wrapped in a box.So, I’m going to open a small number of commissions to readers who would like me to help turn one of their own stories into a short film like the ones I make here. Check out my HouseofLytton YouTube channel here to see some of the commision videos I’ve done as well as video versions of the stories I’ve published here at the The House of Lytton. By mid next year, I hope to have nearly one hundred my short stories converted into videos!You can bring me an idea and tell me about the people involved, and I can write the story for you. Or, if you already have a story written, I can help edit and shape it.From there, I’ll turn it into a finished video with narration, music and visuals. I can narrate the story, or, if you would rather tell it in your own voice, or have a child, spouse, parent or grandparent tell it, we can build the film around that recording instead. You own the story - it is yours. Think of it as a story for someone you love. A birthday. An anniversary. A wedding. Christmas. Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. A retirement. The story of someone who has passed away. Or perhaps no occasion at all beyond wanting to preserve something that matters before time carries it away.Email me at [email protected] if you have some interest and we can discuss your project, pricing, and timing. The video below will hopefully give you some ideas. I’m doing a special story video for all my grandchildren and children so they know how much their grandfather loves them. I hope you enjoy the story! Let me know if you have a story you’d like me to help you tell! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Here’s a little story I recently completed that I’ve posted here as an audio podcast for you. It’s a short, sweet, little tale about an old man who loves to tell stories. I hope you enjoy it! I’ve got several other things I’d like to update you on as well.In my last post I mentioned that I’ve been working on several projects. I’ve been collaborating with my friend Tom Bulling on a science fiction novel that' we’ve been working on for the better part of six months. We’re over 120,000 words in and our plan is to have it finished and ready to publish by the end of the year. I’ve had a blast working on this with Tom and I think we’ll have a very good book for you to see when it comes out. Tom is an engineering and creative genius and I’ve really enjoyed working on this with him. He came up with some fascinating technology and world building ideas that we explore in the novel that I’ll think you’ll really enjoy. I also started a new novel called the First Men back in February. I work on it in between writing sessions with Tom and that book explores the time frame From Adam in the bible up through the birth of Noah. That’s a fascinating period of time and I’ve used story lines from Genesis, The Book of Enoch, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost to build a world that involves not only the bible characters you may have learned about in sunday school, but also the Nephalim and the Watchers, those fallen angels that were cast out of heaven. I’m trying to give it the feel of a western, and I’ve enjoyed working on it. That period of time from the bible and humanity is full of great story potential and I’m trying my best to tap into that! I’m at about 140,000 words and I hope to have it done by early next year.I’ve also launched a new Youtube Channel called the House of Lytton. Lytton is the original spelling of our family name from England. I thought it looked pretty cool and I wanted to start to branch out a bit and try to broaden the audience to a wider group of folks. I’m taking all my stories and creating video’s with me narrating and with music where it makes sense. You can find the channel here: @lyttonhouse. I’ll continue to post here under the Texasgrit brand and I’m so appreciative to all of you for taking the time to read and listen to my work. The House of Lytton channel already has about a dozen videos up so take a look if you like and please subscribe! I’ve hired an assistant who is helping me expand our reach into all the social media platforms and we’ll post links to those as well once they’re ready.I’ll continue to publish short stories and I may even put out a few chapters of the First Men novel in the coming months her on Texasgrit. I need to talk to Tom as well, perhaps we’ll do the same for the Sci-Fi novel. I was telling my wife the other day that I have nearly one hundred short stories stored in my computer at various stages of completion. Some of them will get finished, and some will just sit there. But I will continue to produce these stories that are mostly Christian/Spiritual themed that involve everyday people thrust into unique situations that challenges the way they see the world. I want to thank you all again for coming on this journey with me here at Texasgrit! I look forward to writing and producing stories in the years to come and sharing them with you here as well as the new platforms that we’re expanding into. I hope you enjoy the story! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A neighbor asks a broken down old cowboy to move a herd of cattle just hours before the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 strikes. Can the old man and the herd survive? This is a story of grit, determination, and mercy found in the hellish depths of a storm. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A man living on the Texas frontier is attacked by Comanche Indians and his daughter is kidnapped. How far will he go to get her back? WARNING: This novel contains a fair amount of graphic violence and light use of profanity. The violence depicted is not gratutitous in any way - it highlights the REALITY of life in Texas in the early 19th century. The historical fact of the matter is that daily life in Texas from the 1820’s through the 1850’s was absolutely brutal. The horrors the Comanche indians inflicted upon settlers is a matter of historical record and the horrors that those same settlers inflicted upon the Comanche’s as well as war crimes committed by the Mexican army as well as the Texian army are also well known. This book is not meant as any kind of political statement - it explores the theme of just how evil mankind can be when devoid of the transcendent and how war brings out the worst in all of us. It explores how far a man and his family will go in search of his missing daughter. And it explores what it really means to carry your own cross and that of your neighbor’s.I used the same narration voice in this novel as the one used for my novel, The Wager at the Pantheon. While my voice works for most of my short stories, my voice simply doesn’t hold up for longer works such as this. While the narrator I use occasionally mispronounces some words, trust me, it’s still FAR better than my voice.I greatly appreciate all the kind feedback, emails, and notes that I’v received from the audio verision of The Wager at the Pantheon. There has been nearly ten-thousand downloads of that novel since I posted it here last month. I’m happy that so many people found value in and enjoyed that book. I would ask you to consider purchasing a copy and sharing the book with as many people as you can if you liked it. Please consider the same thing for The Holy Fire of the Comanche Moon. I’m proud to make these audio versions free on here in order to get them in front of as many people as I can.I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read and engage with my work. I hope you enjoy the story! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Moses is the luckiest man to ever live and his brother-in-law secretly despises him for it. But he get's an idea, one designed to humiliate Moses in front of the world. This light hearted tale shows that envy can often backfire in spectacular ways. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

After the Alamo and Goliad, General Santa Anna comes across a Texas rancher living along the Brazos River who has aided the Texas Army. Santa Anna gives the man a chance to save himself - the play a game of cards to decide his fate. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

In a case of mistaken identity, a Texas woman's husband is killed by a band of Texas Rangers. The man the Rangers were really after hears of her husband's fate and pays the woman a visit. Will she seek revenge? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

In the shadow of the Pantheon, Satan wagers God that if Jesus were to return as a man today, mankind would kill him in less than thirty days. So God sends him back, this time as a cowboy named Joshua who works on a west Texas ranch. Who will win the wager? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

I published this story several years back but just now got around to creating an audio version that is included here. This story was inspired by the song “Boots of Spanish Leather” by Bob Dylan. I hope you enjoy the story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A doctor in Houston loses his wife, leaving him depressed. So he moves to a small west Texas town where he becomes the house physician at elder care facility. While there, he meets a cat who has a strange ability that helps him navigate his way back and restore his faith in people again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Townes Van Zandt walks into a veterinarian's office with a sick chicken. The encounter changes the vet's life forever. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

I did something a little bit different with this story. I took an excerpt from a novel that I’m working on and turned it into a little short story I’m sharing with you today. What’s different is that I wanted to experiment with producing a video using my story that I integrated with various technologies to produce this piece. If you find the video or audio not to your liking, that’s 100% my fault - I created this entire piece on my own without using any other contractors. I’d like to produce more of these type of pieces if you enjoy them. If you do, please share the video and let me know that you liked it. In this story, I try to imagine what King David’s final thoughts were, and how those thoughts may have played out. I hope you enjoy this story - I did enjoy putting it together. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A teenage boy fishes with his father when he spies a man walking along the far bank of the Brazos river. Years later the boy sees him again and realizes that he is a ghost. This story was inspired by the song The Long Black Veil. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A heartwarming tale of a grandfather taking his grand daughter on her first fishing trip in Galveston Bay. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Inspired by the Judge character from Cormac Mccarthy's Blood Meridian, a woman has been hired by the Texas government to hunt down the Judge and bring him to justice dead or alive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

A tale of young love set in the 1980's in Texas. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Two men who don't know each other are experiencing the worst day of their lives. They happen to cross paths later that afternoon on the Brazos river and when they meet, their lives are forever changed. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

Here’s the video/audio podcast of the Old School Texas Tough - Never Beaten story I published late last year. I have a new story I’m planning on releasing this week. You can also see the video on the Texasgrit youtube channel as well. We’ll be working to make all the stories available in video and audio formats over the next several weeks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com

This is my first attempt at an audio version of one of my stories. I originally published this story in December of 2023. I have to warn you - it’s my voice doing the narration so I apologize in advance if it sounds goofy at all. We’ll have a video version of this available in the next couple days as well. I have a GREAT editor who did an amazing job with the audio and the video. He used AI to generate the images that will be part of the video and he enhanced the audio version here as well. His name is Francisco Cabrera and I highly recommend him if any of you ever need an editor for this type of work. My plan is to turn all of these stories into audio and video versions and I think I’ll get better over time doing these. I do ask for your patience and forbearance on this first attempt. I hope you enjoy the story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit texasgrit.substack.com