So, I've got another audiobook out there, this one "Not the Same," written and narrated by me.
This is the story I wrote about the identical twin sisters, Layla and Shayla, who spend every day together. But when Shayla goes on a school trip, separating them for a weekend, she comes back . . . somehow changed. Nobody else seems to see it. Is it just in Shayla's mind?
No, of course it isn't. Jeez.
So, last year, Emerian over at the HorrorAddicts podcast had me voice a bunch of male characters on various audio dramas on her show (if you recall, she is somehow able to get out a long podcast, brimming with new content every week or so), and it looks like this year will be no different.
I lend my "talents" to Judith Pancoast's story "Cacophony." I voice Bob, the douchey husband. As you do. Check it out HERE.
Well, I'm as surprised about this as anyone. After several months without an episode, Marshal Latham and I got together to talk about "The Mandalorian" for the Delusions of Grandeur podcast.
We're onto Season 3 now (the first three episodes, anyway), and we talk all about it HERE.
In an episode (mostly) from 2020, Rish presents the "Dead & Breakfast" story "Never Let Him Go." Or, the first half anyway.
Brought to you by Dengardaroo Life.
Note: A lot of times, I will include extra bits in the episode for my Patreon supporters . . . in this one, I went ahead and released the Patreon version for you too. You're welcome.
To download the episode, simply Right-Click HERE.
Over on Biggie Anklevich's Anklecast, he's presenting a ghost story he wrote called "Sepia Tone Prison," about an old man who is unable to move to the next plain of existence, but isn't sure why. I voice Chingaso Boludo, a guy with a nasal voice.*
So, the story was long enough he split it in two, so you'll get two episodes out of it instead of just one. Check out Part One HERE.
And is it "see-pia" or "seh-pia?" Listen in to never find out!
*Okay, turns out his name is Ryan, but you can understand my confusion.
I'm not usually very political on my blog. Sure, I make exceptions, but there's just so much of that stuff out there that I have nothing unique or particularly savvy to say about our political landscape. But that much-delayed Trump indictment came out today (presumably the first of many), and the ex-President did his usual scream-tweeting about how this is an attack on our country the likes of which have never been seen before (his words, not mine*).
So, I guess this is noteworthy enough to say something political. But what?
I guess I'll just mention that, Donald Trump is the most blatantly corrupt person ever to hold high office in the United States, and while it's pretty fun to see supervillains in comic books get away with their crimes in issue after issue (or episode after episode), if someone made a movie about this guy a hundred years from now, nobody would ever believe it.
*He also said he had been "indicated" instead of indicted, but ah well.
Hey, I managed to put out another novella, if you're interested.
"The Company You Keep" is another Lara & the Witch story*, this one set in Lara's first year of high school**. Early in the year, she discovers that another girl, a Senior named Waverly Calderwood, is well-known to be a witch. I know that I said I'd put these out years ago, but I'm finally doing it, little by little (the audio versions take longer, way longer).
Maybe you'll like this story. It includes a reference to a Death Metal band known as the Gin Blossoms, so I can't help but be a little fond of it.
 |
| My brother gave me this shirt years ago. I still wear it when doing painting. |
Next up, I'll probably put out my 2020 short story "Winter Break," and after that, maybe the Lara & the Witch novella "Bundling Made Easy" (but that one's gonna take some work--I opened the file last week, and Lara tells some "I love you" virtually every other chapter). I'll set some more publishing goals for April, and with luck, I'll achieve one or two.
Thanks again to Big Anklevich for making a cover for me that didn't suck (I'm going to try to interview him in April about the various covers he keeps making, but I may choose to take a nap instead), and if you want to buy a copy, just go to THIS LINK.
Oh, and to my horror, I discovered that there's a show on ABC called "The Company You Keep." That was last night, and I published the book the night before. Sigh.
 |
| This is an image Big made for me after I took two white mushrooms and altered them to look blue, then he took that same blue and made text with it. |
*I've decided to use an ampersand in the series title, as well as Dead & Breakfast's and Lost & Found's.
**Lara's high school, like my own was, is Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth grades, with eighth and ninth making up junior high.
I was going through a couple of childhood boxes when we were cleaning out my mom's storage unit (a lengthy process that was dirty and unpleasant, and reminded me that one day, we'll be emptying out that stuff for real), and I found a photo album that had gotten wet at some point, ruining a lot of pictures inside.
One of those was of me as an infant, with disturbing discoloration on it, equal parts upsetting and sad. Only a maniac would want to share something like that on his blog.
"The Cormorant" by Abigail Hilton is the largest audio project I've ever taken on. Unfortunately, I've fallen behind (I've pretty much been behind the whole month of March), and will probably only be halfway done by the first of April (the deadline was March 11th).
We all have tasks that become daunting and start to feel overwhelming. We have to pace ourselves, and do what we can to avoid getting burned out. Something that I've done recently is open a second audio project at the same time as "Cormorant" (such as an Outcast episode or one of my own stories) and alternate the work between them--a five minute segment from one, then a five minute segment from the other. It's not a perfect system, but I'm able to sit for an hour or so without screaming, and that's something.
She has already started releasing the audiobook on her Patreon feed (you can check out the first chapter RIGHT HERE), so that gives me a second ticking clock, which I probably need, to be frank.
I want to write, I want to publish, and I want to start doing the "Delusions of Grandeur" podcast again, but man, I really only have time to record, and edit, and re-record, and look up pictures of the sister in the SHAZAM! movie. So, I'm going to keep pressing on, and maybe, just maybe, one day I'll look up and there will be light up ahead. I'll let you know.
So, I went to my usual February writers conference . . . except my pal Marshal Latham came along. And he joins me in talking about it, as well as various panels. What else do you want, a child cop?
To download the episode, just Right-Click HERE.
