The Tale of August Hayling

By: Kim Fielding

Narrated by: K.C. Kelly

Length: 56 mins

Publisher's summary

August Hayling went west following the discovery of gold in California. While most prospectors were hoping to strike it rich, August was more interested in a place big enough to let him get lost. Sitting alone in a saloon, he is approached by a peculiar man named Georgios Cappadocia, who offers August a fortune in gold if August will come along and help him fetch it.

August soon learns that his strange new employer is engaged in some kind of ancient dispute. And when they arrive at their destination, both men will realize that not all treasures are golden - and sometimes destinies can be changed.

©2016 Kim Fielding (P)2017 Kim Fielding

A delightful twist on an old tale...

I love the different worlds and imperfect characters that Kim Fielding creates. The Tale of August Hayling is a perfectly-crafted short fantasy story of only thirty-five pages. It’s historical in the sense that it’s set in California at the beginning of the Gold Rush, yet it’s anything but historical as it draws on legend and mixes in some paranormal elements to give an old story a very new twist. It’s like a tall tale a character could be telling in one of the Wild West saloon bars. There are splashes of humour that will make you chuckle and an uplifting hint of a HEA.

I think Kim Fielding and K.C. Kelly are a match made in heaven. He narrates her stories superbly and only enhances this already enjoyable tale. A highly recommended short listen.

And what’s more, all the royalties from the sale of this story will go to the charity, Doctors Without Borders.

Very Surprising and Wonderful!

This is very surprising! I always expect wonderful writing, unique story lines and muti-faceted charachers from Kim Fielding, so I don’t know why I was so surprised by this story.

From the blurb I wasn’t sure what to expect but I figured maybe there’d be some romance in the new town. Well, I’m not going to give this away with a spoiler – but what I thought was right and wrong…

In any case, by the time I got to the end I got a really big laugh and I could really appreciate him Fielding‘s sense of humor and sense of irony. I loved how she handled the physical part of their relationship! So funny and sweet too.

(The only thing that would have made this story better is if we could have spent more time with our guys once they get together…)
I love KC Kelly I think he is a fantastic narrator. His voice - obviously - doesn’t always go with every story but it absolutely goes with the story. It has the old California-gold-dust-cowboy-prospector tone of voice. Old fashioned. And he’s really good with any sort of emotions and the comedic timing.

This is a really surprising and a really interesting, totally unique story. I would definitely recommend this to people who are interested in something new and different, who appreciate humor and history, and who are willing to look at things from a different perspective.

4.5 of 5 stars

Great short story

Very short historical fantasy. I loved what we were able to see of the characters and the universe. The audio at times felt very fast if a bit jarring. Almost like one big run on sentance in certain places. I had to slow it down quite a bit to 0.9x speed. KC does great voices though as usual and I loved the writing style

Sweet little fairy tale retelling of, well

I'm not going to tell you specifically because I enjoyed figuring it out myself. but it is set in the time of the gold rush which added extra dimensions and interest. the narrator did an awesome job, I thoroughly enjoyed this little tale!

Quite a Hoot

thank you for a pleasant time spent with August and George. I am glad I have it.