The Mind's Eye

Today we’re entering the mind’s eye, a place manipulated by recollection, imagination and fear. Somewhere that speaks to versions of the truth rather than cold hard facts. It’s time to put on your detective hats and decide what to believe and what to dismiss as falsehood. 

Featuring

‘The Follies’ by Martine Bailey, read by Nathan Chatelier (06.30). From Guilty Secrets, a collection created in collaboration with the Crime Writers Association, ‘The Follies’ is a story set in the aftermath of the First World War that follows a doctor as he recounts a case of shell shock that is much more strange than he initially thought. 

The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce, read by Richard McIver (32.41). Found in Supernatural Horror, a tale about how perception is fragile and fear can reshape what people think they have seen.

Biographies

Martine Bailey writes crime and historical mysteries. Her debut, An Appetite for Violets, was credited by Fay Weldon as inventing a new ‘culinary Gothic’ genre. Three more historical mysteries followed, including The Penny Heart, a Sunday Times Best Summer Read. Her latest books, Sharp Scratch and Isolation Ward, draw on her early NHS career and MSc research, to explore whether personality tests could catch a killer. Martine is also an award-winning amateur cook and lives in Cheshire with her husband.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–c. 1914)  was a famous journalist and author, best-known for writing The Devil’s Dictionary. His disappearance at the age of 71 on a trip to Mexico remains a great mystery and continues to spark speculation. 

Nathan Chatelier is a British voiceover artist with almost fifty audiobooks recorded alongside thousands of other projects, from videogames to the Mean Girls West End trailer. Check out his demos.

Originally from Reno, Nevada and now based in London, Richard McIver brings a rich transatlantic perspective to his work. He has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Theatr Clwyd, and Hull Truck Theatre, and has appeared on screen for ITV and Sky/HBO, alongside his work as an intimacy coordinator across film, television and theatre. In voiceover, his recent work includes audiodrama, feature film ADR, and video games. He most recently voiced multiple characters for a major upcoming video game releasing in 2026.

This episode was hosted by Olivia. 

‘The Follies’ is ©2026 Martine Bailey and appeared in Guilty Secrets (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

‘The Boarded Window’ by Ambrose Bierce was first published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1889, but more recently appeared in Supernatural Horror (Flame Tree Publishing, 2017)

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer). 

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here:  flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com 

Flame Tree Publishing, Best Indie Press 2024 & 2025 (British Fantasy Society). Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.