What's Today, My Fine Fellow?

Probably the horror film that made the biggest impact on teenaged me was DAWN OF THE DEAD.  The concept fascinated me, not just of the dead coming back to life, but the end of civilization with all the trappings of civilization still being there.  Some of the first stories I wrote as a teen were of me and my friends hunkered down at our school or in a shuttered spook alley (sorry) or the barn near Steven's house, while the zombies took over the world outside.

I have written a couple since then, such as one set when I worked in a call center, one set in a Toys R Us, and this one, "Christmas Day of the Dead," set in a sporting goods store.*  It's another of those tales where the POV character is a girl, which pretty much guarantees I'll never narrate it for my podcast, but I did sit down and record it for inclusion in my first Christmas story collection.

If you're inexplicably interested, check it out HERE.

*It's the one with the name that best describes the drivers of Cybertrucks, though I never spell it out in the story.

Rish Outcast 300: Episode 300 Show

A hodgepodge of items come together to celebrate the Rish Outcast's 300th episode: 

Fake Sean gets spun round, Rish narrates E. Nesbit's "Uncle Abraham's Romance," a scary Disney promo, a tale of eBay Horror, Rish talks about his security job, and Sam Apple's "The Saddest Toilet In The World."

If you'd like to download the episode, Right-Click HERE.

Come support me on Patreon HERE.

Logo by Gino "Episode Zero" Moretto.

Reply Hazy, Try Again

Back in 1999, I wrote the script to a short film called "Reply Hazy," about a college student with a Magic 8 Ball that was always correct, no matter what you asked it.  The proposed film was never made (big surprise), but a decade later, I dusted it off and rewrote it into a short story, presumably for use on the then-new Dunesteef podcast.  We never ran it, though.

Cut to 2025, and I've finally put it out, even though it seems super dated now (both in time period and sophistication).  Should it have stayed buried?  Ask again later.

Check out the short story HERE.

Rish Outcast 299: In Security Volume 1

Rish presents three vignettes from his time working security at the public library. Hopefully, the first of many.

Part 1 - New job, bad smell, toddler on stairs
Part 2 - Roger and the attic
Part 3 - People saying Thank You, cleaning vomit and Joe, lady in wheelchair lady adventure

If you'd like to download the episode, Right-Click HERE.

Come support me on Patreon HERE.

Logo by Gino "The Answer Man" Moretto.

Big and Rish on the Anklecast: Italian Style

Last month, Big spent a few days in Italy, and sacrificed a couple of hours' sleep telling Rish about it in between  presenting chunks (the technical term) of his novella "The Elephant In The Room."  What resulted was the world's longest podcast episode (of the Anklecast, anyway), as they chatted about the wonders of Venice, and the least-enjoyable way to visit Europe.

Oh, and the elephant in the room?  That one of them has never read the story being presented on the show.  You can--and will--check it out HERE.

Podcast That Dares 55: Honeysuckle Cottage

Rish performs the P.G. Wodhouse's 1925 ghost story "Honeysuckle Cottage."

Crime writer James Rodman's luck changes when he inherits his aunt's haunted house . . . but so does his writing.

Download the episode by Right-Clicking HERE.

Support me on Patreon HERE.

Logo by Gino "Coneysuckle Hottage" Moretto.

My Voice on "Vega" By Jonathan Wilson

Not too long ago, a friend of the Dunesteef, Jonathan Wilson, contacted me, asking if I had any lines in stories for him to voice, since he missed those old days where we would have folks send us lines for characters in full-cast stories.  I don't tend to use any other voices in my stories (though I'm occasionally tempted with female characters), but I told him Big might have a slot or two for him on his show.

Not to be deterred, Jonathan has made his own show, written his own stories, and has been releasing them over on YouTube.  And now the worm has turned, as I'm voicing a couple of characters in Jonathan's story "Vega."  It's about a military listening post that gets a message from outer space, originating in the Vega star system.

I just watched it and . . . holy Aerosmith video-era Alicia Silverstone, he seems to have made some kind of animated motion comic, using uncanny valley A.I. character images that move their mouths when there's dialogue.  It's not like anything I've seen . . . and to my horror, I realized that Specialist Donaldson kind of looks like me, facial hair and everything! 

The future is here, kids. 

Check it out AT THIS LINK, if you dare. 

Rish Outcast 298: Balms, Sears, & Publishing

Rish talks about his longest work, the newly-released book "Balms & Sears." He talks about the idea behind it, the reason it got so long, and the many challenges of producing the audio.

You may buy the text HERE, and you may buy the audio version HERE!

If you want to download the episode, Right-Click HERE.

If you want to support me on Patreon, click HERE.

Logo by Gino "Balms & Jeers" Moretto.

A Balm For What Ails You

Already up on Amazon, the audiobook version of my novel "Balms & Sears" is finally available on Audible.  

As you know (Diane), B&S tells the tale of Alec Ewell, who is a Balm, and has the ability to heal people who are injured, or sick, or suffering.  Alec just can't help using his power, prompting his grandfather to move him to a new town, like the one  in Colorado they just arrived in.  Gramps wants the boy to keep it a secret, to leave well enough alone, and just try to be a normal boy...something Alec finds impossible to do.

I do the narration/performance, and it's the longest work I've ever managed.  It took me a while to get it out there, trying to get it perfect . . . when I was fully aware it could never ever be.

To my delight (and hopefully yours as well), the final edit ended up at a very unusual/pleasing number:

Anyhow, art is never finished, it simply escapes, and you can buy it HERE!

Rish Outcast 297: You're In Good Hands 4

So, here we are, the last segment of the 2019 "Lara & The Witch" novella.

Lara Demming has been targeted by a supernatural enemy, and what's worse, he now knows where she is.

Here's a link to the Collection Volume 1 audiobook, now available!

If you want to download the episode, Right-Click HERE.

If you want to support me on Patreon, click HERE.

Logo by Gino "You're In Wood Stands" Moretto.

2024 Goals - How Did I Do?

Well, we're a month into 2025, and I had this post just hanging around . . . I might as well release it.

So, a year ago, I created my list of goals/New Year's Resolutions for 2024.  I did a couple of blog posts looking at how I was doing, but I should've done it more often (because out of sight is out of mind, and I am completely out of mind).  But the year is done, and so, let's see how I did.

1.  Exercise 222 Days
Hmm.  I managed to exercise 301 days in 2024.  By my math, that is 135% of my goal.  Not bad, kid.

2.  Put out 5th audio collection

Sure, that one's done.  And it's available to purchase AT THIS LINK. 

I got the introduction from Big, so that means it's all on me.

3.  Release "Balms & Sears" novel

Yes, and it was more work than I've ever done, both in the writing and the recording/editing, on a book.

You could buy it HERE.  If you wanna.

4.  Clear out my room . . . a bit
Epic fail.

5.  Finish "Melancholy Christmas Night" story
Yep, finished it in February. 

6.  Write "Sins of a Sidekick" novella
Yep, that one too.

7.  Write 10 stories (and finish them)

1.  Melancholy Christmas Night

2.  I Got A Secret

3.  The Day Before The Day Before Christmas

4.  Your Partner On The Road

5.  Happy Birthday Mister Cundy

6.  Witchcraft Fair Story

7.  Slightly Used/Slightly Cursed

8.  The Second Biggest Star Wars Fan In The World

9.  Faithfully 

10.  Family Christmas Story 2024

11.  The Grand Tour

12.  The Last Christmas

8.  Put out 10 episodes of The Podcast That Dares Not Speak Its Name
Yes, I did get ten episodes out in 2024.  On my Patreon.  All the more reason you should go HERE.

9.  Sell Trypticon

Nope.  I only went to four or so toy sales the whole year, and the one I took the big Transformer to, nobody was interested.

10.  Avoid retail price, wait for clearance
I didn't avoid it completely, but wow, way more than had been my track record.  Except for at Ross toward the end of the year, I'd say I bought fifty to sixty percent fewer toys in '24 than in '23 or '22.  Oh, and even though it was my goal last year and not this year, I bought so few G.I. Joes in 2024 that the number could be rounded down to zero.

11.  Do 3 things that scare me
a.  Putting out physical copies of my books scares me, so I think this qualifies.
b.  Applying for a new job, even though I didn't think I was qualified for it ABSOLUTELY counts.
c.  And along those lines, having to be an authority figure, having to tell homeless people not to lie on the floor, having to confront troublemakers, that has been scary to me, and it still scares me, but it's going to get easier the more that I do it.