Episodes 3-5 are up!

Episodes 3-5 of Murder at Avedon Hill, my podcast novel, are available at http://pgholyfield.com/maah

I'm especially happy with Episode 5, which features guest voices Christiana Ellis and Matthew Wayne Selznick.

Tag in the Seam Pimps Murder at Avedon Hill, and vice versa :)

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm a big fan of Leann Mabry's pocast "Tag in the Seam." She provides insight on being a 'real woman,' and she shows great comedic talent just 'being herself.'

I did a promo for her podcast last month, cobbling together some sound bites and adding a voiceover to tie it together. Not high comedy, but she liked it enough to post it on her site.

In her most recent episode she mentions me and plugged the fact that I have my podcast starting soon. For those of you that are coming over after hearing her podcast, my first T-Minus podcast leading up to the start of the novel will be posted after the first of the year, after we move to another hosting company and I convert this site to WordPress/Podpress.

But before that I hope to be announcing that a short story I wrote will be appearing on a popular podcast... I'm just waiting to hear if/when it might go up before releasing any details. :)

I took the day off today to continue the final edits of my novel. So it's time to get back to it... Later guys!

Nanowrimo is over...

I didn't quite make it, but I have 30,000 words to work with once I finish editing my first novel. :)

Congratulations to everyone that participated and especially to those that made it.

I for one am really proud of the work we did over at the Nanomonkeys podcast. It started as a suggestion I made over at the HHM website (first to do a support group there, and then to combine forces with the ISBW website). Chris Miller, K.J. Johnson, and Mur ran with it and prodcue something pretty special. 34 podcasts in 30 days. You can't beat that with a stick.

As for the novel edit, I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I've got around 95 pages left, plus I've got a map that's around 60% complete.

First Nanomonkeys podcast is up!

The first episode is up on the Nanomonkeys podcast site! Chris talks about getting started, and Mur and Chris interview Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo! Great stuff.

NaNoWriMo Podcast - The NaNoMonkeys

I am breaking into podcasting in a great way... on the coattails of others, of course! I helped organize a NaNoWriMo support group at the House of the Harping Monkey website (or at least started a thread on the forums :) ) and when Mur Lafferty stated she wanted to do something for NaNo on her I Should Be Writing podcast, I suggested to both podcasts that they join forces (since they already know each other) and do something for the month of November.

The result is a NaNoWriMo podcast called "The NaNoMonkeys" Throughout the month of November we'll be posting daily 5 minute episodes meant to support those going through NaNoWriMo. In adition I am doing interviews with NaNoWriMo participants, including J.C. Hutchins and Lonnie Ezell, to discuss their NaNo plans an their methods of coping with a 50,000 word deadline!

I'm just thrilled to be working with Mur, Chris Miller and K.J. Johnson. I'm still learning all this stuff (how to do interviews, editing sound files, etc.), and you'll just love hearing my flu-affected voice on some of the interviews I've done so far.

You don't need an iPod music video

Here is a short music video by Canadian band Uncle Seth, mainly meant to break the myth that you need an iPod to listen to a podcast.



I want to make sure no one will get scared when I start releasing podcast content. :)

Tag in the Seam Podcast

One of the great pleasures of Dragon*Con was learning about Tag in the Seam. Billed as the "Don\’t Believe the Hype! A Podcast for Women" podcast, Leann sells herself and her podcast woefully short. Her marketing tagline should be "Women had better appreciate this podcast. Men sure will."

Leann, like my wife, is the type of woman that George Hrab is singing about in "Brains Body Both." She has a great sense of humor, is intelligent as hell, and as she explains in one of her podcasts (about how geeks don't really know how to flirt), "I think she's perty." (Clair (Leann's fiancee), feel free to punch me on the arm when I see you next year at D*C. I'm sure my wife Liza will once she reads this). Her take on topics such as the Bride gene, PMS, laser treatments, the lost art of the pick-up line may masquerade as "podcast content for women," but in actuality she is speaking to the men of the world-- to men like me, who see a lot of her in their own spouse/significant other; to men who just don't understand certain things about women and will stop say "Oh, now I understand" several times during her podcasts; and to men that will simply fall for the cool girl that likes geeky goodness.

All you have to do is listen to the episode called "The Survival Guide to Cohabitating with the Modern Day Geek" to understand that she may be trying to help the women of the world 'recognize' and 'learn to love' the geek in all men, but in reality she is speaking to the men in the world, confirming that there is hope for the geekiest of us all. (Ok, that was over the top, I know. But this episode is freaking hilarious, and if nothing else, it is the first podcast my wife ever listened to that made her laugh... for that alone I will be eternally grateful to Leann-- I can now prove that listening to podcasts isn't a complete waste of my time).

If you don't have 40 minutes for that podcast, just listen to the first 5 minutes of Tag In the Seam Episode 10: Welcome to Hormone Hell - if that doesn't hook you, nothing will.

Great content and great production values can be found in every episode, and both have improved with each new episode. Give it a try.

Short Story on the Misfit Brew podcast, Episode 16

I recorded a character study for Mick Bradley's Vegas After Midnight RPG setting and it was played on his Misfit Brew podcast in September. I forgot to post about it here (which was stupid of me). After all, it is the first of many steps that I will have to take in order to take over the podcasting world... muwahahahaha (evil laughter).

The story gave me a chance to work on my vocals (in preparation of doing Murder at Avedon Hill as a podcast novel), to work with music files from the great website Magnatune.com, and to continue learning how to edit and lay down tracks in Adobe Audition.

I'm a Survivalist... Yep.

P.G. Holyfield
Originally uploaded by TeeMonster.

Tee posted this pic on his flickr account. Has a year gone by yet? Can we go back to Atlanta yet? Puh-lease?!

First Foray into Podcasting... sort of

I've mentioned The Dragon's Landing Inn website and podcast. I feel it is the best RPG podcast out there.

Recently they asked listeners to record their own version of the DLI closing credits (where they give out their email, website address, ask people to vote for their podcast, etc.) and they started playing the listener contributions in episode 49.

Since I want to get into podcasting (for my book and maybe someday do a podcast on virtual table gaming?) I recorded a parody on the movie Poltergeist that included the DLI closing credits and some inside jokes that those not familiar with the podcast might not 'get.'

It was my first foray into using Adobe Audition to mix different vocal tracks, add effects to do different voices, etc. I sent in a sample for them to review so I could get feedback (I knew it was too long and I didn't have enough variety between the three female voices in the clip), but they ended up using it 'as is.'

The link to the podcast (Podcast #51) is on the left side of this screen:

http://www.dragonslanding.com/mambo/

The parody is the last five minutes of the podcast, if anyone gets the chance to listen to it. It was fun... I'm hooked on this podcasting stuff.

Updating the Blog

Added a bunch of template info on my blog... links to podcasts and podiobooks mostly. More later tonight.

My first podcast mention!

The guys at the Round Table mentioned the website on their podcast earlier this week! As I've stated before, I'm really enjoying the gaming, writing, fantasy and sci-fi podcasts I've found so far. They help me pass the day at work, and I still get my work done (I promise!).

Three Podcasts

Like I mentioned in another post I've gotten into podcasts lately. I have found several great gaming related podcasts:

Dragon's Landing - Discussion of role-playing games by gamers. They have a lively forums where they discuss role-playing, gaming, rules, etc. They are working on a generic, modular role-playing system called CHUPA that I may one day convert for use with Fantasy Grounds.

They have a segment in their podcast called The Frugal Gamer, which points out free websites that support role-playing games and inexpensive rpg products that one might look at as a frugal gamer.

In one podcast they briefly discussed virtual table apps such as openrpg and mentioned Fantasy Grounds and Battlegrounds:RPG Edition. I posted a brief response in their forums about FG. When the time came I posted about our webcomic at Four Ugly Monsters. The comic and FUM was mentioned in their latest podcast. It was great to see the first mention of our small gaming company in a well-respected podcast.

The House of the Harping Monkey - This is a podcast that deals more with the subject of mythology and philosophy and how it is used in gaming, movies, literature, etc. But the podcast is made up of gamers and the topics on the podcast and the forums deal with these subjects extensively.

They are beginning to build out a MUX that I want to check out. They also have a play by post game starting up. I have never gotten involved in a pbp game... it looks interesting.

Gamer: The Podcasting - Gamer the Podcasting is a show dedicated to talking about games of all sorts, specializing in roleplaying games and live-action roleplaying games.

They focus on the art of role-playing, more often on LARPing than table-top gaming, but their forums take on both sides of that fence.

Plus they've got a female perspective you don't find very often (and she's good looking to boot, not that you can see someone on an audio podcast, but hey, does that really matter?).

I am going to attend a couple of cons this summer and will be concentrating on the podcasting tracks going on there. I plan on doing a podiobook of my novel after it is done, and if I continue to listen to six plus hours a day of gaming/sci-fi/fantasy/writing podcasts that are out there, I might just have to throw my hat in the ring at some point.

Murder at Avedon Hill Podiocast - Teaser

This post is simply a placeholder for now. I am working on a teaser for the upcoming podiobook that will be released at the same time as the print version of the novel. I'm creating the .rss feed for this, a prerequisite for obtaining access to the podsafe music network.

More to come... soon.

5/9 Update - Music Search 'Catch-22'

Diary of a Self-Published Author Word Count

14,401 / 60,000 (24.9%)

Murder at Avedon Hill

135,098 / 100,000 (135.1%)

Had to watch House tonight. Wrote for an hour or so afterwards.

Trying to learn how to do the .xml feed for my future podcast. Working with a 'catch-22' of a system at music.podshow.com. The Podsafe Music Network allows people to download royalty-free music that can be used within podcasts (for a small fee and I assume a follow-up communication with the music owner to seal the deal). I don't have a podcast yet, but I want to start collecting music that I will use as loops within my planned podiobook. The problem is you cannot register at the site until you have an existing feed for a podcast. :(

The workaround is to set up a dummy feed, which is what I am doing now. Anybody that has music, medieval mood music, mystery music, etc., please let me know!

I'll be out a few days. I've got some elective surgery Thursday... no more babies for me :) I still hope to write some this weekend though as I sit on my fat duff recovering.

5/8 Update - 'Brave Men' Run Review

Diary of a Self-Published Author Word Count

14,401 / 60,000 (24.9%)

Murder at Avedon Hill

134,948 / 100,000 (134.9%)

Thought I'd add my word count for my How-To book / Diary that I'm writing while I'm working through the process of publishing my first novel.

Just finished the Brave Men Run podiocast. Great job by Matthew Wayne Selznick. I posted a review of the podiobook / novel on Amazon. It goes as follows:

A Great Visit to a 'brave new world'

You don't see many examples of "super-hero" stories in novel form (unless you are speaking of graphic novels, of course). But 'Brave Men Run' begins its existence in a non-graphic form, both written and as an audiobook (actually, the better term is podiobook in this case). I could definitely see 'Brave Men Run' as a graphic novel, but for now I am very happy to have experienced it in its current form.

As with most good novels, when you peel back the layers of 'Brave Men Run' you find more depth. On the surface it is a coming of age novel. The main character endures high-school during an alternate-Earth Reagan era. He falls in love and is transformed by the events that take place around him.

'Brave Men Run' is also an origin story, in comic-book terms. It introduces what character William Donner calls 'The Sovereign,' similar to the 'mutants' of X-Men stories. The twist here is that the story is told through the eyes of main character Nate Charters, a boy with definite differences that has no idea if he is one of these 'Sovereign' that have announced themselves to the world.

The tone of the story is that of an outsider seeking normalcy in an 80s world. But if being a misfit in high school wasn't enough, this 'Sovereign Declaration' produces a new form of alienation for Nate Charters.

'Brave Men Run' has been called "The Breakfast Club meets the X-Men", and "Spiderman as directed by John Hughes." The 80s feel is realistic across the board, and the voice the author gives to Nate Charters (especially in the podiobook) is on the mark. Children of the 80s will enjoy the references, comic book readers will enjoy the references to the 'silver age' of comics, and the story is enjoyable to boot.

If you are unsure about purchasing the book, please take some time to listen to the free podiobook version that you can obtain from the author's website or through I-Tunes. As stated before, the voice of Matthew Wayne Selznick is perfect for the main character, and the production value of the podiobook is great for those that are hesitant to try this form of media.

A strong recommendation for this book and its companion podiobook!

Podcasts are cool...

I feel like my eyes have been opened. I've found several podcasts that I simply love so far:

Dragon Page Cover to Cover
Dragonhearth - a podcast by Tracy and Laura Hickman
The Survivor Guide to Fantasy Writing

There are more, and I'll post them and talk more about content another time.

Podcasting and a book you should check out... Brave Men Run

I've recently discovered podcasting. I got an iPod for my birthday (actually it was a gift for both my wife and myself, but I really don't think she is going to see much of it ). I've downloaded a lot of podcasts that I have really enjoyed, some from ESPN, some from 1UP and CGW, others from Penny Arcade... and lastly some podcasts done by Lulu.com, the company I'm using to help self-publish my novels.

One of Lulu's podcasts was an interview with Matthew Wayne Selznick, author of Brave Men Run. (yes, men with three names usually indicates a proclivity for serial killing, but he seems like a cool guy). I checked out his site and he has a free audiobook version of his novel on his site. I have already decided to tackle this myself with my own novel... for him it has been a great marketing tool. Time to start researching how to do sound editing!

Check out his site if you get the chance. Brave Men Run is a sort of "X-Men meets The Breakfast Club." As a child of the 80s, I'm enjoying what I've listened to thus far.

I'm hoping he will be willing to share his experiences as a self-publisher that has used Lulu.com; I need all the help I can get.