Where things are tonight.

I just uploaded a rough preview of the new Neil McInnes short novel, "A Simple Prop".  This intends to be an action/adventure story set prior the rise of the undead, back when McInnes was a Flight Lieutenant on the business end of an RAF officer's shit-stick.  +Ayoub Khote reads the novel and, just as with "The Diary of Jill Woodbine" there are music cues by +Kevin MacLeod and expert engineering by Michael L Stokes.  If you're subscribed the HGW on iTunes, you'll automatically receive new episodes.   It's nice to hear Ayoub back as McInnes.  I know a lot of listeners will agree with me. 

If you had to pause at the whole "prior to the rise of the undead" you probably listen to HG World as a zombie horror show and are, therefore, concerned this one might not be for you.  True, this is not a zombie tale.  It's more of a James Bond/Dirk Gently sort of adventure.  That's not to say there won't be weirdness and there will be plenty of smartarses, sardonic dialogue, gunplay, sex, drinking, brawling and pop culture references that make McInnes fun to listen to.  While Major Grant is still in the future, McInnes has his own cast of characters to play with this time around.  

As you might have noticed at the end of the most recent Jill Woodbine Chapter (11b) I outed my first major character.  There are others in the story, but it hasn't been important to call attention to that aspect of their character.  With Jill, it seemed important to make a personal connection with someone.  Red Molly is definitely a femme fatale character and this story is intended to be a turn on the noir detective dramas.  It was nice to hear a favorable comparison between Jill and Buffy Summers.  I hope I'm representing the character's sexuality fairly.  Jill hasn't really explored that aspect of herself, so I hope this journey is as interesting to you as it was for me to research and write.  Jill is a fun character to write.  I'm looking at two friends of mine who are about that age to draw from in terms of how they speak and act.  Of course, +Veronica Giguere gives her this whole extra life that makes her fun to listen to in the mix. 

As I wrote earlier, I had a chance to listen to Googies #5.  In it, +Jim Patton reads this monologue (I'm big on those, aren't I?) about his childhood in the city and witnessing a tragedy that says with him even through the end of the world.  Like Veronica, Jim has this preternatural way of not only reading my words, but reading the beats, the cadence of the character's delivery and delivers something amazing.  I'm looking forward to hearing the final mix in the next few weeks.

So while we won't have an episode this month, I hope the glut of Jill Woodbine and McInnes goodness is sufficient to hold you over.  I've hear the rough cut of JW Chapter 12 and if you're a good lot, Jill might have it ready for you all in a week or two.   

Show Update from Jay Smith

A final revision on the HG World timeline is complete with most of the show's history and its three written seasons and the Jill Woodbine story.  I needed to write it all out because, I've lost track of a few details in the three years of production.  (Fun Fact: To be legible, the timeline would have to be printed at 18" x 135") I listened to most of the episodes again, reviewed the scripts and took some notes for Season 2.  I wish I could show it to you, but there are a lot of spoilers from un-produced episodes and notes about Season 2.

I also received the first chapter of +Ayoub Khote's McInnes audio story which sounded excellent.  There's a file glitch he's correcting, but I'm loving it all so far.  I'm very pleased with the latest Jill Woodbine chapter where +Veronica Giguere actually beats the living shit out of one of the longest sentences I've ever written.  As the kids say, Like A Boss.  In reviewing Googies Chapter 5, I cannot stress enough how well +Jim Patton and +Bryan Lincoln  sell this story.  Jim's performance as Ken (old and young) has been nothing short of psychic.  In listening, you can tell not only how the show has improved with the addition of talented engineers, but how those talented engineers have improved over the episodes.  When HG World ends, you AD peoples should get ready to fight for this talent.  I've been incredibly lucky.

As far as the PARSECs go this year, we've decided not to submit a reel for consideration this year.  We think our material is good, but after reviewing the rules we think we have a strong case to revisit in 2013 when Woodbine, McInnes, and Googies are complete.  In 2014, we'll see how the final season of HGW resonates with judges.  Thanks to everyone who nominated us for believing in the show and supporting us.  We'll plan to hit DragonCon 2013 to buy whoever beats us a round of drinks.

I hope that you enjoy listening to to this show.  It may not be the greatest story ever written, but I believe it's a good show with memorable characters, mystery and horror in an action-driven theme.  Yeah, there are zombies in it, too.  I promise all these threads will make more sense in the end than "Lost". And Season 2 will begin and end with explosive action.  Everything will come together in the last season and you'll hear from Ken Peters, Jill Woodbine and some other lost voices.  I am saddened that I'll be culling the herd in this season as well.  I promise my actors good deaths...wait.  CHARACTERS. I promise their characters good deaths.

With Holden Smith working on the wiki to update the summaries and information there, I think listeners will find an easier time navigating the story.  If the show needs anything right now, it's someone to help with the social media and networking.  But you'd have to be a real fan to want to do that.   Know anyone?

+Michael Stokes  and Bryan are working hard on Googies Part 5 which will reunite listeners with some old United Nations friends and then the blood will start flowing dark and deep.  I hope you enjoy and thank you for sticking with us.

Part 2: Welcome to the Blog

I'm told we need to communicate more.  Facebook is an okay place to post, but I thought this might be a little more comfortable and roomy for us to have a conversation.  You may want to subscribe so that my irregular updates show up and I'd appreciate a little interaction.  We spend a lot of time putting together a free show for your consumption.  It would be a truckload of awesome to hear from you, your thoughts on the show and characters, where you listen and how...it helps us improve.  If you're not keen on some parts (or all of it) you're welcome to the booth, too.  It's just nice to hear more than the chime of "like" on Facebook and the occasional attaboy!

The Googies are here!

http://thirtyfifteennorth.podbean.com/2012/01/21/the-googies-chapter-1/

Ken Peters never had a successful, comfortable or happy life, but it was a life that he made.  He didn't have much, but he didn't want much, either.  He lived modestly, earned an honest living and kept out of trouble.  In the terrible days before the outbreak causes a total collapse of modern civilization, Ken didn't lose as much as most others. In fact, he was more prepared for the eater uprisings than most.  He was used to fighting for what he earned, for work, for pay, for a safe place to sleep.  If he wasn't always a "good" man, he was loyal and would be ruthless in the pursuit of his objectives.  

This is the story of how Ken Peters united Group Captain McInnes with General Ying's camp, uncovered the plot of the mysterious Googies and set the stage for the a battle that would determine the fate of military relocation center #2210, otherwise known as "HG World"

Oops.

We accidentally reissued the original preview of "Googies Part 1" to the podbean feed.  Mike is still upgrading and fixing the episode to be consistent with subsequent episodes, so we pulled it down again.  Sorry for the confusion.

Life on the mountain

December in this part of the world is unpredictable.  I've lived in the Algonquin Valley for over all of my life (minus the eternal two years I spent in southeast Asia) and I can't remember being able to predict when the first lake effect snows would hit or how many mild days we'd have.  We tend to flood in the fall and spring hereabouts.  The dam that FDR built in the 1930s pretty much kept the valley from becoming a giant lake every spring which lead to a lot of development -- farms and mills and such -- through til this last big depression. Since things broke down, the dam has all but given up the ghost.  We had the sense to open the overflow and the pressure valves, but that just brings more water when the Forsythe and Algonquin rivers try to run the snowmelt and rains off the mountains to the north.

I used to live with my wife down on Main Street in Wishwell.  That's about 5 miles from where I live now.  That part of Main Street avoided the fires, but ended up getting flooded, then collapsed in one of the fifty storms we've had in the last year since the eaters took over.  It was a nice little brownstone where my childhood dentist used to live.  My original WRAG studio was set up there in 1976 in the exam room.  When people started getting the hell out of town and the eaters started squatting, I moved my remote equipment up the mountain to my family hunting cabin and transmitter center.  It's up a steep grade and fenced off.  Eaters can't get me and most folks can't find me.  Ironically, if people stumble on me from a direction I can't monitor, the eaters along the fences will get them. 

Go I live here on God's own acre, looking out over the valley and playing records to the few people in a 100 mile radius who are alive and have a powered AM radio. 

Good Morning, Survivors!

Todd Rage here from the top of Kulshruk Mountain along the rim of the BEAUTIFUL Algonquin Valley.  I am writing to you across what's left of the IRIS-MILnet, recording my thoughts and feelings from what has become my retirement home. 

By way of introduction, I am owner, operator and head platter-jockey at one of the oldest AM radio stations on the planet and probably one of the last still in operation.  WRAG-AM radio is the beacon of hope and freedom and light and whatever the hell else you want for survivors of what has to be the most unexpected end to modern civilization in the Western World Dead Pool.

About a year ago, the dead stopped staying that way and before we could get our shit together and put down the problem, the resurrected dead ate their way across the world, though our grocery stores and our farms and our malls and our Starbucks and our casinos and our massage parlors and strip clubs.

More later. I have to feed the cat.