Disagree with me? Take it up with him in his comments! (I think I like this guest blogging thing!)

Much to my delight, I’ve had several opportunities to chat with Mr. Lowell and can confirm that he is as easy to talk to as he appears to be. With that being the case, I asked him if he would mind answering a few questions for this blog and he graciously excepted.

So, without further ado, here’s Nathan talking food, coffee, writing, Ish, recording, publishing and life in general.

I hope you enjoy.

1. What software/non-software tools do you use to write? What does you’re writing environment look like?

Usually I write in OpenOffice Writer. I tried DarkRoom for this book and I liked it a lot but the navigation is so difficult that I’m not sure I’ll use that again. My normal pattern is to save the file with the day’s date at the end of the day so I have a collection of files at the end when I’m done. As I complete each chapter, I put it on a password protected wiki and my alpha readers can have access to it and offer commentary on how well it works (or not).

2. It all started with Quarter Share. I’ve heard bits of this story before, but what inspired you to try to write an entire book? Was this something you’d known you would do eventually or did the story/inspiration take you by surprise?

In January, 2007, I sat down to see if I could write a novel. I’d tried in the past but the looming spectre of years of delay and mountainous slush piles (yes, there were still slushpiles when I first started) kept me from finishing anything. Podiobooks changed that. With Podiobooks, I had a ready market for my stories and after listening to the likes of Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty, JC Hutchins, Christiana Ellis, and the rest, I thought they were having a lot of fun and I wanted to play, too. All I needed was a book, and a microphone.

I had no idea or expectation about what would happen. Only that I thought it might be fun, a good test of this new technology, and it might give me the excuse to actually finish a book. I promised myself not to start podcasting until I got the book done. So that was real incentive.

3. How much of the Share series did you have in mind when you began writing Quarter Share – was there an end in sight? If so, was that end Owner’s Share? How much of what you had planned changed as the series progressed?

I had the basic idea of the six pay scales from writing the Spacer’s Handbook pieces. I started at the bottom, but didn’t know if I could even finish that one. Looking ahead to six books was a mind boggling mountain. Beyond that, when I sat down, I had only the idea that I wanted to look at a universe that had been settled by an airline and not an air force, that the main character couldn’t be anybody special, and that the story had to center around how to get by from day-to-day. I wanted to see if I could write a compelling story where the biggest issues centered around how to make a living.

That changed a bit when Ishmael went to the Academy at the end of Full Share, but I tried to keep the stories small. I think there’s a truth in the immediacy of these stories. Everybody can relate to “how do I pay my bills?” “how do I find companionship?” and “If I’m not going to save the universe, can I at least save myself?” The last book went a little beyond and left him in a place that most of us can’t understand. I’ll see what I can do about relieving him of his money in the next book.

4. Can you tell us a bit how you and Ridan found each other and the change having a publisher has meant to you and your work flow?

By 2009 I got tired of trying to explain that the books weren’t available in text form. At that point I had about 10,000 followers and I was getting as many as a dozen requests a week for copies they could give to friends and family who didn’t do audio. The problem was that I was afraid if I gave them out in text, I’d be jeopardizing the First North American Print Rights. I wasn’t convinced anybody would buy them, but I didn’t know they wouldn’t so I erred on the side of caution by never giving them out in text.

I did a brief agent search in the Summer of 2009 and when I had some positive feedback, I gave it a long think about what I wanted to do. Assuming I got an agent that summer, the best estimates I had for getting one book out was spring 2011—about now. That seemed too long to ask people to wait. I also didn’t like the terms I was looking ahead to – all related works tied down, royalty rates in the 10% range, and no guarantees that anybody would want book two, let alone book four, or five, or six. After a few days of thinking, I decided to pursue self-publication.

I got active in a self-publishing forum and started arguing the business case against hiring an external editor before self-publication. For debut authors in genre fiction, it seemed to me that spending thousands of dollars to create a work that you might sell 500 copies of meant that you had to add $4 to each cover just to offset the price of the editor. That was unacceptable to me. While I had a fan base of 10,000, I didn’t think I could get more than 5% penetration into that niche so 500 seemed a reasonable number – and many more than the average self-pubbed author was making at the time. One of Ridan’s interns was lurking on the board and convinced me to talk with them. She’d never seen a writer argue for the business case and thought I’d be a good fit for what they were trying to do.

She was right.

The change has added a “edit for text” task to my work – along with a “fret over sales” period that I go through every day. So in addition to creating the works for podcast, instead of being done, then I have to polish them for text based release. We’re aiming at two a year until they’re all done. Currently we’re looking at ten titles so I still have two more to write and podcast before we get to the end of 2013.

5. What did an average work day look like for you when you were recording Owner’s Share?

4:00am get up, clear comments and emails, get coffee, start editing the audio recorded the previous day.

5:30 wake kid
7:00 wake other kid and spouse – get breakfast
when I finish editing the audio, mix and render, tag, upload for my internal QC team to audit. When they pass it (or not… I had to fix stuff more than once) move it up to the podiobooks media host for Evo to release.
1:00PM record the next day’s episode so it would be ready for the morning session.
2:30PM pick up kids from school
4:00PM fix dinner and deal with family stuff
10pm Bed.

6. Ishmael Horatio Wang is a character that has impacted many of us in profound ways. I personally believe that this is partly due to the fact that he has so many idiosyncrasies that he is completely human. Do you share any of these idiosyncrasies with Ish? Can you make a cup of coffee to die for?

I’m a foodie of the first order. Elton Brown is my Yoda. Yes, I make a darn fine cup of coffee and my tea isn’t bad either. I’d like to think I was as wise as Ishmael, but really? He just has better writers than I do.

7. Besides Ish, which characters that you have brought to life would you say you have had the most fun writing, and alternatively, the most difficulty?

All of them are fun. The most difficult was Tanyth Fairport. She needed to be as real as Ishmael. He was relatively easy because I used to be a young man and worked on a ship. I had something to draw on. I’ve never been a pre-menopausal woman in a pseudo medieval fantasy world. My biggest worry was treating her with the correct level of respect.

I’ve heard from a lot of women that I did pretty well for a old guy.

8. I know some author’s that write exclusively from an outline, and some that write completely organically, which I’ve taken to mean “wherever the story takes me”. Which more typifies your writing style?

I have almost no idea when I sit down to write. I have a few characters, a world, and something happening. I just write what comes next until the story’s over.

Then I stop.

I generally have very little in the way of plan going in.

9. In Owner’s Share, we learn briefly about the terraforming of planets. Do you have a “deep dark bible” that guides the way the universe works? Is this perhaps how South Coast came to be?

Not yet. I have the Spacer’s Handbook which is really just excerpts, and I also have the paper explaining the Great Diaspora, but no, I haven’t got the bible of the Deep Dark yet. I need to write that – or at least parts of it – before I get to the next book.

10. What are a few of your favorite stories? What speaks to you in other’s writings?

Dune, Heinlein, the Liadan Universe of Lee and Miller, L.E. Modesitt’s Chaos/Order series, David Weber’s Honorverse and also his Prince Roger stories, Asimov’s Foundation, Bujold’s Vorkosigan stories, Piers Anthony’s Diary of a Space Tyrant, the alternate histories of Eric Flint and S.M.Sterling … it’s a long list that spans forty years of reading.

Mostly I like strong character-driven stories with logical world building, stories that take me somewhere else.

11. And finally, greatest and worst moments in your writing journey to this point?

The greatest had to be getting the book in my hands. It’s one thing to see the cover art and know that it’s coming, but when you get the book, and hold it – it gets very real. It was a wonderful moment.

The worst – I don’t know that I can share that in public. Ask me the next time you see me at a Con. Buy me a coffee and we’ll talk.

–

Until next time, cheers!

You can survive it!
Honestly, it is still a little surreal to see it out there, and to know people are buying it. The most surreal was seeing it featured on the iBook store, with the likes of Jim Butcher and Ian Banks. I had to take a screen shot of that for my digital scrapbook. I’ve learnt some marketing type things that I wouldn’t have known about had I not had this experience. These lessons learned will be used as the releases of Spectyr and Phoenix Rising loom closer. I hope I am getting smarter at all this!

I still see people commenting daily about Geist. I’ve yet to see anything negative. What has been your favorite comment to date from a review and where can we find it?

Well, when Felicia Day said she loved Geist, and couldn’t wait for the sequel I just about fainted… but my favourite review has to be from My Imagination Run Amok

Ballantine not only weaved a perfect magical world, she filled it with complex characters and monsters you might find in an Urban Fantasy novel. It deserves 5 stars for originality, 5 stars plot, and 5 stars for characters who start off a bit rough but end up shining like diamonds.  These things combined make it one of
the top Fantasy books I’ve read this year!

Spectyr can’t get here fast enough.
Oh and your lovely review too! [ed. HA!]

Two book deal turned into a four book deal! I know how happy this made me and can only imagine how happy this makes you. We all know that this deal was predicated on sales of Geist, but you had to have had ideas for where this world would take you. Did the publisher request outlines for book three and four or is that left up to the author to make it happen?

I was hoping for another book from Ace, and had a vague outline of where that would take place and what would happen. When they asked for a fourth, I knew I could
round out the plot more to the eventual climax I had in mind. Of course, if they should come back for more after four, I have plansthere too. So the plot for Wrayth was a basic one page outline, while book four (which may or may not be called Harbinger) is more nebulous. I know the final scene, and the final outcomes for all
the characters.

Were there any subplots that you had to throw out of Geist early on that have refused to let go of your psyche?

Honestly there are so many places I want to go in the Empire, and so many areas of the characters psyche I want to explore that some will probably not be covered in four books. I have hinted at Merrick’s past, touched on Raed’s, but left Sorcha’s unexplored. Spectyr will give readers more of an insight into our Sensitive’s past, and round out more of the Young Pretenders. Sorcha’s will play a large part in the third book. Also, in the tradition of my books, one of the background characters will play an increasing part. Zofiya the sister of the Emperor, has turned out to be such fun to write, and her role will only get larger as the series continues. Still I know large
portions of the world will remain unexplored. So there will be plenty of room for sequels and spin-offs if the readers demand them. (I hope they do!)

I love your characters. There hasn’t been a published story you’ve written where I couldn’t relate to them in an almost visceral way. This is one of the reasons you’re at the top of my list of authors. What aspects of your own personality do you see cropping up in each of the three main characters in Geist?

Oh, the revealing question! Well, I guess I can be stubborn like Sorcha-though I hope I am a little more open to change than she is. Merrick lives in his head quite a bit, which I do as well; a danger when you are a writer or a Sensitive. And I think I have Raed’s sense of the ridiculous. Despite all the challenges in his life, he can still laugh and enjoy his friends. (Well, at least in Geist- no promises on the rest of the series…)

Looking back, how big an impact would you say finding an agent that believed in your talent has been? (Yes, I realize this is quite a leading question, but I want you’re take on it.)

Apart from the business aspect (which is huge, getting my work onto desks it would never have seen) it was also a massive bump in my confidence. In the first place telling me that my work was of an acceptable, professional standard. Secondly, I knew that no matter what happened my wonderful agent Laurie McLean would have my back. Just knowing that we are in this together as a team is a huge boost.

Would Sorcha ever try a pipe or is she strictly a cigar girl?

I think no one would want her to smoke a pipe, she’d be far too likely to hurl it at someone if she got particularly annoyed.

Looking back now, is there any story you’ve put out that you would really like back? If so, why? What would you do to it to satisfy your creative demons?

My demon/Muse is pretty sated right now. I’ve been happy with what I have put out there at the time it was put out. I could go back, but then part of me loves the challenge of the new. The only project I want to go back to (and I am going to do this) is Weather Child. I want to polish that up and get it on track for publication as well. [ed. Put me down for multiple copies now!]

Which character from Geist has surprised you the most in where they’ve gone or are going?

Merrick. He was originally the side-kick, the foil to Sorcha’s brash, prickly nature. But as Geist, and then Spectyr went along he began to come into his own. I see him as the quiet but determined guy. The kind that you might not notice as a party, but the one you’d want at your back in a fight. In Spectyr he has turned a corner, becoming more the person he wants to be, rather than just Sorcha’s partner. From the reviews I am seeing I can tell people are enjoying him as much as I am. He started off a good kid, and
he’s going to be quite the power to reckon with in future books.

I know that I personally am very happy that you are currently residing in the U.S. Has there been any shocks or have your many visits prepared you for our insanity?

After so many trips here I am pretty buffered against culture shock. However the one thing I will never understand, no matter how many visits I make is marshmallows on sweet potatoes. That will always leave me scratching my head.

Bonus Question: Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences – Eliza and Wellington have our collective imaginations piqued. Can you provide a brief character sketch for Eliza that you kept in mind while writing her?

Eliza is fun. She loves her job as an agent of the Ministry as it means she can have all the adventure, handsome men and intrigue she craves. She’s always ready to share her sense of humour with others, and with certain stuffy archivists this doesn’t go down well. Yet, through all this she has a good soul, a keen sense of justice and an eagle eye for a good time.

VFV: What is a “geist” and how did this story come about? What was your motivation?

PB: A geist is a creature of the Otherside, but is also used to describe the soul of a human that after death has been corrupted by the Otherside. There are many different kinds—some who like to try and influence humanity, others who just want to exist. Basically anything that goes bump in the night would be considered a geist.

The inspiration for the story… well that is always the hardest question. I don’t recall any particular dream, but gradually and organically I began to think of a fantasy story that revolved around a buddy cop relationship. The Order of the Eye and the Fist evolved from that. I knew they were tasked with protecting the world. And I knew I wanted to incorporate some of the supernatural, bone chilling stories—but make them very grounded and accepted. It’s not like our world—the supernatural is simply an accepted fact.

My other idea was to write a fantasy story where the characters have the same difficulties we do. Relationships in Geist are complicated, just as they are in our world. Deacon Sorcha Faris has the problems; dead marriage, issues at work, and stuck with a younger partner—but then she also has these geists to deal with also. I had just read too many fantasies where the lovers in a fantasy world, got together, ride off into the sunset and are happy forever. For some people they are lucky enough for that to happen, but for most of us things are more tangled than that. I wanted to write a book that reflected that.

VFV: We’ve heard about (and some of us have joined) the order. Can you give us a snapshot into what the order is, how it is structured and where you would want to be placed in this world?

PB: The Order of the Eye and the Fist started off as a religious order in the dark days, but like many things it turned away from religion when the supernatural began to break through. After all if your world was invaded by otherworldly creatures, and no matter how much you prayed they still kept coming—many would think reconsider religion. Though there are still some that do hold on.

The Order does keep the organization, buildings and many of the strictures of a religious order. There are Deacons, Priors and Abbotts.

Every Deacon partnership is made up of a pair, and Active (who wields runes of destruction) and a Sensitive (who sees and directs their Active.)

VFV: You’ve written books that are all over the speculative fiction market and that can be placed in a variety of genres. What is your favorite genre to read? To write?

PB: I pretty much write what I like to read. Mostly what I have written are forms of historical fantasy—with Digital Magic being the only real exception. The steampunk Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series I co-wrote with Tee Morris, is steampunk, but is deep in the history of the Victorian period. Even Geist, which is supernatural fantasy has its roots in history—the Empire of Arykam is similar to Tsarist Russia, and I drew a lot of inspiration from there.

So I guess you could say my love of history is a consistent thread in my writing.

VFV: Geist is the first book you will have published with a large New York publishing house. Can you share a little about the road you’ve taken to get here? You’ve been a successful podcasting author and small press novelist for some time, but what do you believe made the difference in getting Geist picked up?

PB: In two words. Laurie McLean. OK two more. My agent. I feel almost guilty about how I landed on my feet getting her to pick me up. The manuscript I sent her was a good story, but in no way as polished as it should have been. I was just damn lucky she was able to see through that, and gave me a chance.

I feel like with her we are business partners—and our business is getting my work sold.

As for the road to New York. Well, the story Laurie picked me up for didn’t sell (though in the future that might change) but she still believed in me enough to keep plugging away for eighteen months. Then when I handed Geist to her, things really began to move. She had the contacts to get it in the right hands, and six months after I gave it to Laurie, it had sold to Ace.

VFV: In your writing, do you find yourself basing characters off of individuals in your life, or are they amalgamations or completely original creations?

PB: I have both, but I mostly tend towards amalgamation. Even those who are based on people I know, are never exactly the same. I tend to tweak everyone.

VFV: We’ve seen you tweet about Sorcha, Raed and Merrick. Why do we want to know them? What about them might make us want to befriend them? Or, alternatively, why would we really love to hate them?

PB: I’m not one to drop people’s name into fiction—mostly because I write fantasy! But I do like to put in little hat tips to people, usually special people. Mostly people don’t notice them, but they make me chuckle a little.

Sorcha is a little prickly. Bought up solely in the Order she’s never really had to develop many of the social skills that smooth everyone else’s path in life. However, when you are her friend she is intensely loyal and brave, and she will follow you to the end of the world—or even into the Otherside. She’s also rather funny in her own slightly snarky way.

Merrick is a natural observor—which he uses in his role of Sensitive—but works wonderfully as a friend took. His sense of humor is a little lighter than Sorcha’s. He’s a kind person, but in his own way as stubborn and strong willed as his partner.

Raed is the kind of person you feel immediately drawn to. He loves a good drink and spending time with his friends. He’s the most sociable of the three, but because of the particular curse he bears, and the things that happened in his past, he actually manages to keep people at bay with that jovial, joking nature. He’d share a beer with you, but he would take a long time to tell you his secrets.

My aim is for you to love all three—certainly not hate them. Of course that doesn’t mean that they won’t make mistakes…

VFV: Not long ago (or maybe an eternity), you gave up your day job as a librarian to become a full time writer. How has this made a difference in your productivity?

PB: Gosh, it does feels like an eternity! But I also know it was the right choice—though it felt terribly scary at the time. And it sure has made a difference. I just would not have been able to write a new novel, edit another, and market Geist and have a full time job. There just wouldn’t have been enough time in the day.

It also feels right. In January 2009 I went part-time at my library job, and then in May I signed with Ace. This year I gave up completely in April and then this May, Tee and I signed with HarperCollins. So far it’s working out—but I am curious to see what May 2011 has in store!

VFV: You’re not nice to your characters. In fact, I think it would be safe to say you can be downright punitive. Which character would you least enjoy being in one of your novels?

PB: Without a doubt I would hate to be my main female characters. I usually feel a little sorry for the hero, but the women I keep pounding. But that is how you get conflict and interest into your story. If I let them have a life where they are sitting on a balcony eating grapes and enjoying the view it wouldn’t be very interesting, now would it!

However I do like to have hope in the story, and some of my heroines do get what they want. I like to believe they appreciate it more because they had to run through the fire to get it!

VFV: You have two more novels that you have written or co-written being released within the next 12 months. Other than Geist, what are they and when are they scheduled to be released? How do you have time to fit in anything else?

PB: The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising is the one I co-wrote with Tee and we sold to Eos. We’re expecting that one in early summer 2011—the exact date has yet to be confirmed. Depends a little on how the edits pan out. The 2^nd book of that series hasn’t got a confirmed date yet, but I would imagine it would be 12 months later.

The sequel to Geist, Spectyr should be coming in July 2011, and I am hoping to write another 2 books in the Geist universe after that. (Depending on how the 1^st two go of course)

As for fitting anything else in… no, I think until July 2011 I should be kept busy and out of trouble. Though that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few other ideas knocking around in the back of my head. Still three books in one year is quite sufficient for now.

VFV: Even with this schedule, you’re still incredibly giving of yourself and of your time. Have you had to say “no” to anything that you would have preferred to say yes to?

PB: You know, I can’t think of anything. I really do believe in community, and whatever I can do to help fellow podcasters and writers I like to do. That being said, I know until July 2011 I will have to watch myself like a hawk so not as to be overcommitted—but damn it is hard.

VFV: There are many podcasts out there and you’ve been in more than a few. If you were going to recommend a story for a brand new podiofiction subscriber, what would recommend? (Regardless of genre or personal involvement.)

PB: If they were into fantasy, I would go for the Gearheart—something I have no involvement with, but all the same a great production

If you want something to make you think and you don’t mind the adult subject matter ‘Down From Ten’.

And if you want something fun, and science fiction ‘Space Casey’ can’t be beat.

VFV: Published or non published, which of your books or stories mean something special to you? Why?

PB: Hrmmm Odin… I think this might be a leading question! It is of course Weather Child, not only because it is totally set in New Zealand, but also because it is embroidered with my family’s history. It is currently unpublished, but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way….

VFV: Jason Chan. First time you saw your cover for Geist. What went through your head?

PB: I have to admit those were a tense few seconds before I opened the attachment. My first relieved thoughts were ‘Oh thank goodness—she looks like I imagined her!’ He got the details of Sorcha down, and not just the physical ones—the look in her eye. Then I noticed the cat (not going to tell you about that particular character) and the background cathedral ruins could have leapt from a particular scene in the book. You can buy the print for your wall ( I did!) http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/jason_chan/geist/

VFV: What has been one life experience that you have been able to draw on as a writer?

PB: I have to say coming from a family of strong (in New Zealand we might call them stroppy) women has affected how I write female characters. The heroine of Weather Child was based on my Great-Aunt Ruth who has passed on now, but remains one of the people I want to be. Her strength was not that of a sword-wielder, but of an intense kindness and generosity that the world needs more of.

VFV: What little known fact about yourself do you still consider to be one of your defining characteristics or a part of your character makeup?

PB: I am pretty stubborn. This is a vital characteristic for a writer. It can make the rest of life difficult sometimes, but is very, very useful in a career that can take years to come to fruition and is surrounded by rejection.

I can only speak for myself, but I am more than a little excited for the release of this book. In fact, I’ve been waiting since the first time I heard mention of it, which has now been over a year. If you are a fan of Pip’s work, call up your local brick and mortar book store to verify they will be stocking it on the release date, and then go buy a copy. Or five.

[update] The official Geist Trailer has been uploaded to YouTube, but you don’t need to go that far! Click below and experience the world of Geist!dv

For more information concerning the Geist blog tour, including datesgo, to http://www.pjballantine.com/about/appearances/

For more information concerning the world of Geist and it’s sequel(s) go to http://booksoftheorder.com

1. Before you begin writing, do you script out the general outline of plot and characters, or do you let these situations evolve as you write?
It really depends on how the inspiration strikes me.  I don’t have any hard and fast rule as to how I plot out the story.  For instance, Codename: Starkeeper was one of those where I wrote it in script format from start to finish.  It was a true explorative writing experience.  With The Last Guardians, it developed over a decade of trying different things and developing my craft, and the final version is nothing like that first version, but ultimately, it follows a similar plot outline as the beginning, as far as the big picture.  I have another novel series that I plotted out as I wrote the character sketches.

2. I’ve heard repetitively that writers should deal with writing as any other job. Do you have a scheduled or structured writing routine? Please detail.
I wish I did.  It really varies depending on the day, and of course I am easily distracted.  It’s certainly sound advice, though.  I will get more done if I set aside a specific time to do it.  I’ve also discovered that now, as I’ve been writing for a while, I’m so full of different ideas that if I sit down, something will get on paper (or screen).  I have also learned that it’s not so frightening to sit down and force yourself to work on a project.  There really is no such thing as writer’s block if you’re serious about the writing.  For me, it’s simply letting stuff get in my way: my brain, my emotions, my preconceptions, my self-doubts–all of that crap–once you’re serious about the writing, all that stuff will fade away because you know you have to get it done.  It’s become a priority in your life.

3. What is your writing environment like? (cats, music, computer etc.) How has this evolved/changed?
Depends on my mood.  I used to, occasionally, get off the computer and write on a yellow legal pad, especially on lunches and breaks in a work environment.  As far as music is concerened, sometimes I want it, sometimes I want silence.  My cat’s always around, but she just lays on the bed.  I don’t take any great measures to “get in the mood” to write or anything like that.  Focus too much on music or lighting, or “finding the right environment,” and you’ll become dependent.  The less you do, the more capable you will be of writing in any environment, and I think once you’ve made writing a priority, you need to be prepared to write no matter where you are, or what’s going on around you.

4. Do you write anything, or have you, that is solely for yourself? (no intention of sharing with a large audience)
Not any more.  When I first really got the writing bug in college, a lot of it was just putting ideas on paper because they were there.  I got started online in the role play chatrooms, and it was usually all fantasy-oriented, so I put myself into the whole Aragorn persona, and plot ideas just developed out of that.  Eventually I started working on stories, and different things would inspire novel ideas, for example, the track listing of Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, believe it or not, inspired the plot of The Last Guardians way back when.  Now, when I conceive an idea, I immediately begin thinking about how it will be received, and how to make it worthy of public consumption.

5. How has social media played a role in your writing?
Not so much the writing, but certainly the promotion of it.  I’ve just simply tried to make a network of friends, rather than “contacts.”  Because a friend will invest themselves in what you do, if you invest yourself in the things they do.  Someone who only wants you as a “contact” that they can take advantage of, really has little concern with your own projects, but simply how they can leverage their support in your return of that support.  It sounds like the same thing, but if you support people without expecting something in return, people can see whether you’re sincere, or just out to get reciprocation.

I’ve made a lot of friends using Twitter, simply finding like-minded people in the podcasting community, and then having gone to Balticon just once, made so many more friends.  Once you’ve met people face to face, the friendship becomes that much stronger.  I’ve developed relationships with Tee Morris, Chris Lester, P.G. Holyfield and Christiana Ellis, just as an example, and at times we can bounce ideas off of each other, and just learn from what each other is doing.

Podcasting Questions

1. What type of OS do you prefer? Linux? Mac? Win? What are your machine’s specs?
I would *prefer* a Mac and ProTools, but that’s only in my dreams.  Finances necessitate a PC with as much free software as possible.  It’s just a Dell 3Ghz processor with 1GB of Ram and a 250GB Free Agent HDD for all my project files.

2. Would you please describe your current studio? How has this changed? (What did you start with?)
I have a cheap desk in my bedroom.  I have a down blanket hung on the wall behind the monitor, with a little bit of eggshell foam on a dresser beside the desk.  A TAPCO (by Mackie) Mix.60 mixer, an MXL 990 microphone and a pop filter.

3. If you were able to build your dream studio, what would it include? Be as specific as you wish.
Again, a Mac with ProTools first, a compressor/limiter/gate, an EQ, a Heil PR/40 with the desk boom, a suitably insulated and soundproofed room, and most especially, a soundproofed computer.  Also an off-board recorder.

The Heil PR40 is something I’ve discovered of late, and it’s a dynamic mic as opposed to a condenser.  Basically that means it doesn’t require Phantom Power, but the other part of that is that condenser mics take in a lot more background noise.  The Heil PR40 has a tight sound field so that it almost can’t pick you up if you move your mouth six inches in one direction.  It’s an expensive mic at $325 retail, but it’s probably the absolute best microphone for recording voice.

4. Other than a computer, what piece of HARDWARE would you recommend to a new podcaster?
If you use Skype at all, I’d recommend a second sound card.  But for everyone, I’d suggest a Zoom H2 or later, or some sort of portable recorder that gives you .wav or .mp3 capability.  It’s the aforementioned off-board recorder.  What I mean by that is something that is not plugged into everything else.  This is something I’ve learned sort of by experience.  When I first started podcasting, I discovered that if my laptop were plugged in, there was a lot of noise on the recording, but on the battery, it was quiet.  So when the laptop HDD went bad and we lucked into a couple desktops, I found that there is always a latent hum.  If you can get a power conditioner, that might eliminate most of it, but a battery-powered recorder gives you a lot of versatility.  Also, if you don’t have your signal bouncing back in through your mixer into the PC, it’s a lot easier to get clean recordings.  When doing panel discussions or Skype interviews, anything requiring multiple voices, it becomes easier to manage the unity gain of your output signal.  If you’re just recording your voice, then you’ll have a clean .wav or .mp3 of your voice you can dump down into Audacity or whatever and edit away.

5. What have you had to learn for yourself that you wish someone could have warned you about?
To go with “The Adventures of Indiana Jim” as my show title when I first thought of it.  I initially thought it was pretentious so I didn’t use it at first.  Really, it’s the branding.  You have to have a plan, and you have to know who you are.  When I started out I wasn’t sure what I was doing, and over time, I have developed a groove for it I suppose.

6. What would you consider a “beginner’s mistake” you’ve either experienced or hear others making?
Oh gosh, a lot of things.

#1, a failure to have an appealing website.  It’s so cheap and so easy, especially for my generation being so tech savvy, to look at other podcast websites and find a clean, inviting format for your website.  A .net domain you can buy for like $10 a year, and hosting for about $3 a month, and WordPress is free.  I am fortunate to be hosted by Farpoint Media, but you can buy a 100MB per month Libsyn account for file storage for $5 a month.  So for $8 a month and $10 a year, you can put up a website as nice as any other you can think of.  Take the time to learn a little CSS, and you can make that puppy sing.

#2, a failure to USE RSS.  I see so many beginners, believe it or not, or people who just haven’t taken the time to care, to have an RSS feed for their products, and still expect people to download things manually.  It’s so simple to set it up, so people can subscribe in iTunes or any feed reader.  You’re simply serving your audience by doing it.  In one place, with one application, I can download my favorite stuff.  I sounds so simple.

#3, a failure to use social media.  I have friends with Twitter accounts who simply forget to announce when a new project comes out.  When I mention this, I’m met with “well it was all over my website.”  Look, if you expect your friends and colleagues to casually browse by your website every so often and “discover” that you have a new product out, you’re doing them a disservice, and ultimately yourself.  The idea is to be heard, and you, as the creator, must do the work, not demand it of your audience.  If you aren’t using every tool at your disposal, you’re not doing enough.  Now that’s not to say you need to be on every social network under the sun, but if you are on Twitter and Facebook, and you’re not doing the simple thing of just posting a link saying, “here’s my new thing,” then what’s the point?

#4, a horrible sound.  Sometimes beginners use whatever it is they have at their disposal, and I guess that’s fine when starting out, but people really need to be more conscious of how they sound.  Soundproofing is the very first thing one can do, and Nathan Lowell is a good example.  When he started podcasting his novels, he recorded them in his car.  A car interior provides quite a bit of soundproofing and isolation, and that worked wonders, despite having a cheap microphone.  Another example of using the things at your disposal is Scott Sigler.  He recorded a lot of his stuff in his closet, because he cared about his sound.

If someone is serious about podcasting, then they need to be serious about what they’re putting into people’s ears.  It takes maybe $130 in mic and mixer to get a decent sound, maybe $35 for a cheap mic stand and a pop filter.  It’s not a ton of investment if you’re serious.  Also, paying attention to distance from the mic, clipping, and simple public speaking.  These little things make a huge difference when starting out.

7. How much time does it take, once you have all the elements, for YOU to put together a 30 minute podcast? (please describe your production technique)
I would love to record “live to tape” as it were, but I lack the equipment to do it right.  So what I do is insert my intro file, then do the requisite recording, whatever that entails.  Most of the time I’ll record 10 minutes of whatever I want to talk about at first, then I stop to add the bumper for my little news headline segment, then when that section is done, I’ll usually aim for that 13 minute mark to hit the break for the promo.  I’ll take my bump-out file and match it up with wherever I break the talking, then paste the promo, then paste the bump-in file, and record from there.  I will record to the end and stop.  Before I put in the outro, I do the editing.  I run noise reduction, then compression.  I usually record with my levels hovering around the -12 mark to leave headroom so I don’t clip.  That usually ensures I get a nice clean sound after compression.  I’ll edit certain flubs and long uhmms to make sure I don’t sound too much like an idiot.  Sometimes I leave a flub or uhmm in if it will make the audio sound chopped up and unnatural.   I’ll match the outro up with the finished voice and then export to MP3.  That whole process may take a couple hours if everything goes smoothly.  I think for the ratio of finished recording to  production time, 1:4 is probably a safe estimate.

Casting Questions (answer if you can)

1.  What is the hardest part of putting together a casted podcast?
I think the first thing is making sure the actors get their voices in on time.  It’s unavoidable, but you will always get delays from someone in your cast.  Real life always strikes in the middle of a production, and I guess the hardest part for me is having to tell a cast member you have to move on with another actor.

It’s the nature of what we do to use volunteer voice actors, and no one wants to be “that guy” who “fired” a volunteer from a project.  You have to believe strongly enough in your project and your own schedule to take that step if it’s not working out.    You have to be very nice and gracious about it, and usually the other person understands.  They are, after all, the one to whom life is happening.  It’s still difficult, especially if you know their voice would be great.

The second hardest part is the differences you have in actor audio.  They’re all using different mics in different rooms, and sometimes it’s difficult to make sure they all go together.  I usually have a particular sound I like, so I’ll EQ or do noise reduction to get each one as close to the same as possible.  Sometimes I’ll run a low pass or high pass filter to get certain frequency ranges out of a particularly bassy or hissy sound.

2. Do you provide the entire chapter to your talent, or just their lines?
I will usually leave in a paragraph or two around the part in order for the actor to get a feel for the scene, but I provide the scene only.  Enough to let them see the dialogue and work with it, but not so much they get distracted.  My belief is that even with my leads, it’s fun to keep things hidden from them.  I find that if after the recording they get to listen to it along with the general audience, it will make them that much more excited about the work.  They will get just as much into the story, and they’ll want to see how their character fits into the story.

3.  Is instruction given to your talent on how you prefer the line to be read?
In most cases, yes.  Each actor is different, though.  For instance, I did not do a very good job telling Mae Breakall how to play a certain character, and so she read it one way when I had intended it differently.  Once I was clear, she delivered some of the best audio I’ve ever received, and Chris Lester can attest to that with her work on Metamor City.  As a director, you have to make sure you are clear on exactly what you want, because you can’t expect people to read your mind.  Of course, in some cases you simply give the lines and the actor knows what you want.  I have that kind of synergy with a few people, such as Philippa Ballantine, P.G. Holyfield, Sarah Gilbertson and Joe Harrison.

4.  What do you do with all of that unused audio?
I still have all the original files from Codename: Starkeeper, and I don’t really want to delete them.  I plan on going back and pulling outtakes for a blooper reel, but that’s going to take a lot of time.  What I’ve taken to doing now is pulling the outtakes out as I go through each individual part to get the best takes.  I’ll go through each part and find the best takes, then do the noise reduction and compression then, so that all I have to do later is cut and paste into the final project file.

With Codename Starkeeper, I’m keeping the sound effects files that Joe Harrison made so I can pull from those whenever I do another Star Wars piece.  The music files I’m keeping later perhaps to show how I edited different musical pieces from different films together in certain scenes.

General Writing Questions

1. Before you begin writing, do you script out the general outline of plot and characters, or do you let these situations evolve as you write?
Before writing I do not outline. I “see” the story in my head, and then write it. The written scene evolves around the scene in my head.

2. I’ve heard repetitively that writers should deal with writing as any other job. Do you have a scheduled or structured writing routine? Please detail.
Writing for me is not a job. I do not need nor wish to create a money stream from it.(Although, I would not refuse any $$!) It is much more a love, a need to follow the thoughts in my head. I am new to this so I am still experimenting. My life is in a state of change right now, so the bit of regular writing time is not available as easily, but I hope to create a niche for it soon. However, when a thought strikes me for a short story or a poem, I can get it done very quickly. It is the researched novel that is time consuming.

3. What is your writing environment like? (cats, music, computer etc.) How has this evolved/changed?
I write in a comfortable chair and in a comfortable room surrounded by cats and coffee. I do have a laptop and at times, especially when working on my novel, I take my computer out on my front porch where I can see the mountains, or in my car to the beach and watch the waves.

4. Do you write anything, or have you, that is solely for yourself? (no intention of sharing with a large audience)
I wrote a notebook filled with my thoughts and what was happening around me when my father was killed in a car accident. I have not shared that with anyone. I also have notebooks filled with events around the disasters I worked on when I was with the Red Cross. I have not shared those.

5. How has social media played a role in your writing?
Social media has been important in my writing. I was a member of a writers’ forum while writing The Fox and enjoyed the support, critiques and support. I suppose I would have found that available, especially through my local library, however, to be able to do critiques and respond to them on my own time was valuable to me. Now, the media is my connection to the huge writing and recording community of the world.

Podcasting Questions

1. What type of OS do you prefer? Linux? Mac? Win? What are your machine’s specs?
I have recorded everything I in GarageBand on a MacBookPro, now with 500 Gs of memory as recording takes up so space until done.

2. Would you please describe your current studio? How has this changed? (What did you start with?)
Studio? LOL I worked in a corner of a bedroom with beds around me and carpet on the floor. I am thinking of making a screen of cardboard lined with egg-crate foam, but have as yet to do it.

3. If you were able to build your dream studio, what would it include? Be as specific as you wish.
Since I am a rank amateur, I would have to have some else design and build a dream studio.

4. Other than a computer, what piece of HARDWARE would you recommend to a new podcaster?
I recommend a good USB mic, mine is a Blue Snowball.

5. What have you had to learn for yourself that you wish someone could have warned you about?
I use levelator. I know some pros hate it, but for me, it works. I wish I known how to use it in the beginning. I also wish I had rerecorded the first 5 chapters before I released them, but it the product was not horrible so even though I did rerecord and release them, I was not too embarrassed by the first attempt.

6. What would you consider a “beginner’s mistake” you’ve either experienced or hear others making?
Editing while recording is very easy in GarageBand. I was able to go back and record over my mistakes. I have talked to those using Audacity and it is not as easy. I hear left in mistakes and duplicated sentences, at times even swear words left in because they were not identified in the editing process. One author has told me that she snaps her fingers or makes a cluck with her tongue to make a spiked wave so she can find her mistakes. Others don’t do this. I smile at the mistakes but there are some books with several in each chapter or episode and it gets old.

7. How much time does it take, once you have all the elements, for YOU to put together a 30 minute podcast? (please describe your production technique)For a 30 min, straight read recording, no sound effects ++ To set up the mic, music stand to hold my material and computer, to get the program ready to use, record for about 60 to 90 mins., listen through and make corrections two times, turn into AIFF and levelate, add intros and music, listen, turn into mp3 and listen one more time, takes about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Casting Questions

I have done only a bit of one or two short stories, casted. I also put a short promo together. Whew, talk about time consuming and intense! I have to decide what read sounds the best where, find it and then insert it. Add 2 hours on to the process, at least for a short story!  I do like the outcome, however. So far I have kept the outtakes along with the stories. However, they also take up memory space.

General Questions

1. If someone approached you with THEIR book, and asked you to podcast it for them for a fee, what would you consider a reasonable rate per episode? (The way YOU do it)
How much to charge for doing a podcast for someone else? Whew, that is tough. It takes so much time that I would be severely limited in the time I would have for my projects. I do volunteer to do recording for free for some shorts but I don’t know if I would do a novel for someone. I would have to think deeply about the fee and why I would even think of doing it.

2. Do you podcast as part of a larger plan, or because getting your content out in some manner IS your plan?
Getting my story out and read/listened to was and is the larger plan. I started by distributing it for free on sites that allowed free PDFs and then ventured into recording. Podiobooks.com is the vehicle that allowed me access the listening audience.   I always plan on writing and recording my content and there are many ways to get it out to the world in these forms.

3. What is the nicest compliment you’ve been paid or what keeps you coming back?
I have two that stand out in the flood of compliments. I get them often. The first is that the reader/listener cried and the second is that my research shows and is accurate.  I get many more compliments but my heart beats a bit faster with these.

4. How important are numbers of downloads/subscribers to you? Do you keep track?
I do keep track of how many downloads I have. I think it is a bit of a pat on the back. I know many others are doing it to attract offers from publishers, however, since my book is free in most places, I do it for myself. And I like to know where it is being seen.

5. How important are reviews left on Podiobooks/iTunes/other venues to you?
Reviews are the authors pat on the back or a kick in the butt, which ever way they go. We all like to know our work is being enjoyed and need to know if there is a problem. Reviews are very important to me.

6. If not answered previously, how do you read your manuscript while recording (hard copy, teleprompter, etc)?
I have a music stand to prop my large-font printed pages on to read from and stop recording as I move or drop a page.

As many of you are aware, and quite possibly participated in, there was an auction event earlier this year with the proceeds to benefit the daughter of podcasting legend and all around good guy, Tee Morris. The auction, known as The Boom Effect, named after the young lady known as Sonic Boom went off without a hitch. More money was raised than could have been hoped and has been reported to be in Trust for her. It truly was nice to see the community come together and in such a wonderful way.

As part of the auction, Richard Asplund Jr. (of Random Pimpage) and I submitted a lot where the lucky (courageous) bidder would be simultaneously ripped to shreds, I mean discussed, on both of our blogs. The Nifty Tech Blog was the winning bidder and both Rich and myself appreciate the generosity shown in taking a chance on us and helping in this cause.

Unfortunately, what happened next was a fumble. Yup, believe it or not, two vikings do not a genius make. We both ended up with issues that prevented us from providing the intentioned smashing of the winner’s content. So, you will get my take on it here, and Rich will be providing his “over there” when time allows.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: The Nifty Tech Blog is all about, you guessed it, nifty tech! Even before the auction I was a fan of the site, so it was easy for me to get excited about the prospect of reviewing the site.

Production: The production over at Nifty Tech is very nice. The red and cream colors and stenciled borders are particularly appealing. I have also always been a fan of “seriffed” fonts. Thankfully, Nifty Tech has foregone the use of a The Story So Far devise. On a blog, that would really be a mess.

Cast: The cast over at the Nifty Tech is a mixture of a one man show and an all star lineup! And what a lineup it is: Dropbox, the iPhone, Gelaskins, BluBridge Auto – Talk, Crash Plan, Google Voice,  Omnifocus, iPad, Grocery Gadget, and iTunes.

Story: At Nifty Tech, the story is the cast. Without fail I can say that all of these stars are top notch in their fields and I employ six of the ten myself. I especially adore Dropbox which I use daily. Another notable fact is Nifty Tech’s willingness to employ newbies and unknowns. As a matter of fact, the BluBridge Auto-Talk was written by some guy that goes by Odin. While the product is stellar, the writing style was rather subpar for the site [ed note - yes, that review was written by me].

Verdict: All kidding aside, The Nifty Tech Blog is a fantastic site and a great resource for all your technical interests. I highly recommend it and suggest you check it out. Not only that, but Nifty Tech is always looking for new products and willing guest reviewers are happily considered. Please run by there and see what they have to offer.

Disclosure: As mentioned above, this review is being provided in an effort to make good on payment rendered. I would like to state however, that I truly endorse The Nifty Tech Blog and label them as required reading.

Ms. Huchton has been writing off and on since she was itty bitty, but completed The Dreamer’s Thread in late 2008 under the insane pressure of National Novel Writing Month to propel her. With the encouragement of her family and friends, she pushed forward with her obsession with sharing her stories with the world.

Previous to her present situation, Starla was enlisted in the United States Navy as a Lithographer (a glorified name for someone who runs a Xerox machine all day). She lived in Keflavik, Iceland for four years where she discovered her passion for design, and Sasebo, Japan for two, where she actually had a real job as a designer. After returning to the United States, she resided near Seattle, Washington where she discovered a love of pad thai and an unnatural abhorrence to PTA meetings. Despite all this moving, however, she calls Grapevine, Texas her home. HOOK ‘EM HORNS! [ED note: stolen from her site, I have no particular affiliation with any Texas team] [Go Cowboy Joe! (look it up)]

General Writing Questions

1. Before you begin writing, do you script out the general outline of plot and characters, or do you let these situations evolve as you write?
Outlines are for sissies!

Only kidding. But no, I plot develop as I write. There’s something I love about discovering the story as the characters do. I find that once I’ve written down notes about where the story’s going and decided how it ends I’m not really inclined to do the actual writing anymore. Creating a new world is an adventure that is best enjoyed through the eyes of the people in it. I can put myself right there with the characters and feel what they feel as the events unfold. That’s one of the magical qualities of the written word.

2. I’ve heard repetitively that writers should deal with writing as any other job. Do you have a scheduled or structured writing routine? Please detail.
Pardon me for a moment. I’m too busy laughing to answer this question seriously.

(Ahem) If I were getting paid to write, maybe. As it is, at the moment I’m typing with one hand and holding a baby with the other. So, really, I just squeeze in time when and where I can.

3. What is your writing environment like? (cats, music, computer etc.) How has this evolved/changed?
Ideally, peace and quiet and my laptop are the only ingredients I need to get some words out. But with the scarcity of peace and quiet, I substitute tea and chocolate instead. If I need audio distractions, I’ll put on something instrumental that’s appropriate to the scene/project. Nothing with lyrics, because I’ll just start singing along and nothing gets done. It’s like musically induced ADD. My time as a dedicated writer has been pretty short-lived, so there’s not been much in the way of evolution of that setup. The key is to be flexible as I also move every couple of years.

4. Do you write anything, or have you, that is solely for yourself? (no intention of sharing with a large audience)
I’ve got piles of bad poetry from when I was an angsty teenager that I don’t generally inflict on other people, but aside from that, there are no finished bits of writing hiding out that I’m keeping for myself. I’ve got notebooks and files of unfinished projects I may someday use or finish. Those go unshared because they’re more or less dead projects.

5. How has social media played a role in your writing?
Social media has furthered my writing in ways I never thought. Before, it was just my lonesome self dabbling in creating stories, but with the introduction of Twitter and podcasting and SecondLife and all the rest, I’ve come to know other writers who do it “for real”. This has changed my views and dedication to writing a hundred fold. Being able to bounce ideas off other authors and getting feedback from them makes all the difference. Without social media, I wouldn’t have the pleasure to know half of the people I’ve met in the last year. It also would have resulted in a much different cast for TDT, or no cast at all. So there’s that too.

Podcasting Questions

1. What type of OS do you prefer? Linux? Mac? Win? What are your machine’s specs?
It’s Mac or nothing for me. I’m currently running Snow Leopard on my Intel duo core MacBook, but it’s several years old so I’m planning an upgrade this summer… to a new Mac, of course.

2. Would you please describe your current studio? How has this changed? (What did you start with?)
My “studio” as you could loosely call it, also doubles as a baby nursery. I don’t have the luxury of setting up anywhere else in the house, so this is it. My own little corner. Literally, a corner. And for anyone who’s heard the blooper reel of The Dreamer’s Thread podcast, they’ll know that I have no insulation from outside traffic/airplane/woodpecker noise and I curse this regularly. My equipment consists of an Alesis 8-track mixing board (though this is overkill as I only use 1 track), a Shure PG58-XLR microphone, a boom mic stand, pop filter and my MacBook. I do my recording in GarageBand (please no throwing tomatoes!). After trying a few other programs, it was just the easiest to use and does everything I need it to. I hit record and begin reading from whatever script I’m working on that day. Easy peasy.

3. If you were able to build your dream studio, what would it include? Be as specific as you wish.
For what I do, my current equipment is just fine, but it would be lovely to have a soundproof booth to hide in. External noise is the bane of my existence. No dream studio would be complete without a built-in audio engineer to do the editing for me! Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have a good friend, Jamie Jordan, do the production for The Dreamer’s Thread, so I guess I’m halfway there!

4. Other than a computer, what piece of HARDWARE would you recommend to a new podcaster?
There are so many options out there, and I don’t know too much about them to make that call. I like what I’ve got, so I’d recommend that, but other than that I’d tell them to do lots of research and figure out what’s going to work best into their budget and audio needs.

5. What have you had to learn for yourself that you wish someone could have warned you about?
Actually, I feel like I was pretty well-informed about everything. There weren’t any huge issues that blindsided me. Maybe I was just lucky, but I think that’s due mostly to all the great advice other folks gave me before I started and working with someone that had done podcasting before (Jamie produced Mur Lafferty’s Playing for Keeps podcast as well). The community is surprisingly supportive of newcomers, which, I suppose could take you by surprise. Warning! Helpful people ahead! Shocking, I know.

6. What would you consider a “beginner’s mistake” you’ve either experienced or hear others making?
Audio quality! Listen to other podcasts and see how they sound. Listen to LOTS of them! When you’ve done this you can easily judge where your audio falls on the quality scale. This is much more difficult to be consistent with when doing a full-cast production as other people’s equipment isn’t necessarily the same or as good as yours. Ah! There’s something you can put under the last question! All mics are not created equal!

7. How much time does it take, once you have all the elements, for YOU to put together a 30 minute podcast? (please describe your production technique)
With a full cast production, it takes much, much longer to put together a thirty minute podcast than it does when only one person is doing the speaking. It takes me roughly two hours to do the recording for the main narration, but then it went on to production where Jamie had to clean up not only my audio, but cast lines as well before integrating them into the main track. And then there’s inserting the music and building the intro and outtro… well, depending on how many character lines there are that week, it can take two or three days to complete. And that’s for a week with no missing audio files or other issues. It’s pretty time intensive.

Casting Questions (answer if you can)

1. What is the hardest part of putting together a casted podcast?
I wouldn’t say there’s a hardest part, as it’s all pretty challenging. First you have to find the right voice for each character (and pray you didn’t miss any!), then you have to send out the “throwing myself upon your mercy” emails to each individual (I hated that part. I don’t like asking people for things, especially strangers.), you have to portion out all the scripts and highlight each character’s lines, send out said scripts, hope you get all the audio in time (lucky for me I had a bunch of people who preferred to be early!), then there’s the sound quality issue sometimes, and files get lost. It’s all a HUGE undertaking and a big hassle, but the end product is so very very worth it. I can’t imagine my story any other way now. As a bonus to the great end product, I got to know some fantastic people too.

2. Do you provide the entire chapter to your talent, or just their lines?
I provide each person with the scenes their character appears in, but not the entire episode text. There are a few reasons for this. The first being practical purposes, as it’s just easier for the reader to not have to search through pages and pages of text if they only have a few lines in that episode. The other reason is so that even the cast members don’t know the whole story before the episode goes live. I’d like them to be able to enjoy the adventure as well. No spoilers!

3. Is instruction given to your talent on how you prefer the line to be read?
Yes and no. Mostly no. When they first sign on to do a part, I give them a character run down so they have an idea of how to play it, but after that, I let them have at it. Many of my cast members expressed surprise at this lack of direction, but I enjoy hearing how others see and interpret my characters. Each little bit of audio I get is like a new insight into the fictional people I created. It’s a fascinating process. Maybe I was just really lucky, but all the compliments I’ve gotten about what a great job (insert cast member name here) did speaks volumes for the talent of my voice actors. As many of them were writers themselves, I think that helps.

4. What do you do with all of that unused audio?
What unused audio?

Just kidding. Really, there wasn’t too much audio I didn’t use for TDT, but what oopsies I had went into the blooper reel that released at the completion of the podcast. Some of the talent opted to cut out their bad bits and only send us the usable lines, but I did get a few gems that made me chuckle.

5. What is the hardest part of putting together a “straight read” podcast?
Not entirely sure what is meant by “straight read”, so I’m opting not to answer.

6. As far as cast goes, what would you like to try, but haven’t so far?
After the TDT cast list was filled, I heard a whole gaggle of new voices I wish I could have used for that project. Also, there were some folks I would have liked to use more extensively, but as it was my first foray into podcasting/novelling, I didn’t feel comfortable asking some of the busier people to voice larger parts. Next time around I don’t think that will be as much of an issue, so prepare to hear more of some familiar voices (yeah, I’m talking about you, Mr. Morris. ;P).

General Questions

1. If someone approached you with THEIR book, and asked you to podcast it for them for a fee, what would you consider a reasonable rate per episode? (The way YOU do it)
As I didn’t put TDT together myself (that Jamie Jordan magic touch really made it shine), it wouldn’t really be right of me to put a price tag on his services. He says it would vary from project to project, and I think that’s a good answer. Also, as my cast members all donated their time and talent, I couldn’t really ask them to do so again if I was getting paid. So, when you add up voice talent + audio production costs… well, it might get pricey.

2. Do you podcast as part of a larger plan, or because getting your content out in some manner IS your plan?
Getting it out was really the plan for this book. Would I like to be picked up for publishing? Of course. That’s a given, but for me it was more about sharing the story with others. What’s the point of writing fiction if it just sits there and no one ever gets to enjoy it? The Dreamer’s Thread will eventually be available in print on demand and ebook versions, as some have requested it, and I’ll be querying agents and publishers as well. You’ll never know what can happen if you don’t try.

3. What is the nicest compliment you’ve been paid or what keeps you coming back?
The compliments that really make my day are the ones I get from other writers I admire. Of course, it’s always a treat to hear good things about TDT from anyone and I don’t want to belittle those other comments. Just knowing that more than my mother is listening to the podcast makes my day. And I’m not gonna lie, I’m an attention whore. Podcast feedback feeds my “LOOK AT ME!” addiction. LOL

4. How important are numbers of downloads/subscribers to you? Do you keep track?
Any podcaster that tells you he/she doesn’t keep track of downloads/subscribers in a general sense is lying to you. Having proof that people are listening is what keeps you in the game. If the podcast is a work of fiction and really successful (or even moderately so), it can be a good point to include in a query letter to publishers. It might not translate directly to sales, but it’s proof that the content is marketable.

Huge numbers aren’t my all-encompassing goal, but I do check in at least once a week to see my stats. I like to have a general sense of how things are going. My definition of success may not be the same as another podcaster’s, but I’m quite satisfied with how I’ve done to date.

5. How important are reviews left on Podiobooks/iTunes/other venues to you?
It’s more important than people think. I’ve started listening to podcasts because the description sounded good, but abandoned them soon thereafter because something about it put me off; started slow, narrator’s voice was too annoying, sound volume was inconsistent, etc. If there were reviews to check out before I downloaded, I might have known about those issues and been prepared or not wasted my time if it was a bad podcast. That’s as a listener. As a podcaster, good reviews are a huge ego boost, and bad reviews a challenge to do better next time. Whatever they are, I try to take them positively, and not too seriously. Perspective is important.

6. If not answered previously, how do you read your manuscript while recording (hard copy, teleprompter, etc)?
If you’ve listened to the blooper reel on The Dreamer’s Thread, you’ll know I read off of a Microsoft Word document on screen as I record. I curse it routinely, but for the most part it works just fine.

General Writing Questions

1. Before you begin writing, do you script out the general outline of plot and characters, or do you let these situations evolve as you write?
The majority of the time, I let things evolve. I spend a lot of my downtime thinking about what I’m working on, so there’s a fair amount of informal story development and outlining that takes place in the back of my head. But that’s more like rehearsal than outlining.But the story is in charge. No matter how much planning I’ve done, I invariably find that the story needs to go in a different direction, characters are doing things I hadn’t expected . . . and those discoveries are always better than what I’d planned. Also, it’s much more fun. I’ve been a playwright for about twenty years now. Writing prose is a lot like working with a director and actors. The script serves as a blueprint, all sorts of dimensions to the story get discovered when you have other minds coming together to build it out. When writing, for instance, “Assam & Darjeeling” I had my own ideas about the story. But it didn’t take long for the characters to take me much further and in different directions than I’d expected. Even to the point where characters I hadn’t anticipated showed up, leaving me to wait and see who they were and what their role would be. I didn’t know who Juniper was until the first draft was nearly finished. Looking back through the text I found lots of little clues that someone had left there, but it certainly wasn’t me (at least, not my conscious mind). Once I put them all together, it was obvious.When I’m writing — and I mean this sincerely — it truly feels like there’s more than just me working on the story. Imposing my own outline on that (on them?) doesn’t just seem a bit selfish, it also has a hint of sacrilege to it. And the results are rarely satisfying.

2. I’ve heard repetitively that writers should deal with writing as any other job. Do you have a scheduled or structured writing routine? Please detail.
I’ve spent most of my professional life writing during my day job. And then most of the rest of my free time is spent, well, writing. With a pretty busy life, kids and family, it can be tough to nail down a routine . . . but that’s certainly what I try. I write every day, but it might not always be according to a routine. Sometimes I steal little scraps of time here and there when I can — slow time at work, on my lunch break, sitting in my car outside my daughter’s ballet lesson, etc. I work in Advertising and we track out time in fifteen minute increments for billing purposes. I think that focus on productivity has helped me in my writing by making the best use of the time I’ve been given, even if it’s brief.But most days I do have a set writing time, once the house has calmed down and everyone’s gone to bed. Usually that’s around 10:30 in the evening (sometimes it might be a bit later before I can get started). I try to go for as long as I can. Because I write most of my first drafts in longhand, there’s always a point in the process where I come back to those pages and I can see myself drifting off in mid-sentence. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I could stay up until three o’clock in the morning without feeling it too much the next day. Once I got to forty, it seemed like midnight was the shut off point. Recently though, I’ve been trying to moderate my diet and schedule to get back into shape. Right now I’m edging back up around one o’clock and I’m hopeful i can get back to two o’clock.

3. What is your writing environment like? (cats, music, computer etc.) How has this evolved/changed?
When I first started writing back in junior high, I had an old Royal typewriter I’d found in a junk store. I used to pound the hell out of that thing until my dad would come in and tell me to keep it down. Eventually I inherited an electric typewriter from somewhere, which increased my speed and noise at night. It must have sounded like a tommy gun. Fortunately, my parents were pretty patient.In college, there were these things called computers that you could write on, but they were clunky things that somehow got in the way of the writing itself. Once I discovered the Macintosh, however, I was hooked.These days, I find myself using different tools depending on what the project is. For formatting reasons, I find my plays flow much better if I stay on the computer. Poetry is always pen and paper, and I’ll go through draft after draft until it feels like it’s right. Once I get the final one done, then that gets entered on the computer.With prose, the first draft is almost always done in longhand. I’ve been writing with a fountain pen for a number of years now, and that has become a big part of how I work. Longhand has it’s own rhythms that work well for me. And I enjoy the tactile action of the pen against the paper much more than the keyboard/screen. I like the subliminal effect of the ink drying behind me as I’m writing. And the ink I use (Private Reserve) has a faint, unique odor to it as well. Those things might be more than a bit fetishized for me, but they help get me there. I don’t need them to write, of course. I can quit anytime. Ahem.Music has always been a big part of what I’m writing as well as the process itself. There might be a song that stays with me or an album that serves as the perfect background for what I’m working on. On longer projects, I’ll sometimes put together a playlist. (For what it’s worth, the playlist for my novel “Assam & Darjeeling” is online here http://www.tmcamp.com/2007/03/the-music-of-chance/).Years ago I wrote a play over a period of a few months, listening to one song over and over again the whole time: Artie Shaw’s “Stardust”. A few years back, I started lighting a candle at the start of a writing session. Also incense is often burning. My writing is very much tied to my spiritual life and beliefs, so these things just feel right somehow. We have cats and I like having them sitting there, sleeping while I work. But despite what they seem to think, their editorial opinions on anything in progress are not welcome.

4. Do you write anything, or have you, that is solely for yourself? (no intention of sharing with a large audience)
Not to be disingenuous, but I feel that way about most of my work. Everything I write, first and foremost, is for myself. That other people are nice enough to show some interest and read it — well, that makes me very happy.But there are other things that aren’t likely to ever be shared with anyone else. I keep a semi-regular journal of my dreams, going back fifteen years or so. No one sees that but me, although I often find elements and images from them creeping into my writing. Sometimes one of those things is the trigger for a story, as with “Matters of Mortology”.And over the past twenty years, I’ve been adding little memories and reflections to a document on my computer. It’s very incomplete, just a collection of scattered scraps of memory from my past. It might stand dormant for months and then I’ll add a few more entries. Moments from childhood, mostly. I don’t expect it will ever be seen by anyone else, it isn’t being written for anyone else at least.

5. How has social media played a role in your writing?
When I was young, I would stay up late and write and look out my window at the night. It was a pretty lonely time but I enjoyed the quiet house, the stillness around me. And I always felt like there were others out there, doing the same. Now I know I’m not alone.I originally started exploring social media/networking with the purely crass intention that it would prove to be a good way to share and market my work. I saw these things — Facebook, Twitter — as odd little blips and fads, just more online novelties for people to waste their lives on. I’m not proud of that attitude, but it’s the truth. It’s where I started.But as anyone who knows me — online or off — can attest, my experience dramatically changed my opinion. The depth of a relationship that somehow forms in 140 character interactions astounds me. There are people on Twitter and Plurk (for instance) that I feel a real kinship with. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, but I’m very grateful for it.As I am for the community of writers out there, working late into the night just like me. The invocation of Seshat on Twitter just blows my mind, for instance. It’s like prisoners tapping out their little morse code, building solidarity and sharing tidbits of information under the nose of the warden. And it’s entirely true to say that any credit for a following or platform I enjoy as a writer is completely due to very, very nice people on social networking sites showing their support and enthusiasm for my writing and spreading the word even further. Oddly enough, that’s the by-product now and not the objective. I’m pretty glad for that shift in my own thinking as well.

Podcasting Questions

1. What type of OS do you prefer? Linux? Mac? Win? What are your machine’s specs?
I’m on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard and Garage Band.

2. Would you please describe your current studio? How has this changed? (What did you start with?)
My first recordings were done using an old Belkin mic. Eventually I rigged up a makeshift guard out of an old nylon stocking and a cunningly twisted coathanger. All of my recording was done in an open room, which is painfully obvious from the relatively low quality of the sound on my first recordings. Last year I finally got serious and bought a proper mic — a Blue Snowball and stand, with a professional pop guard. After looking around online, I built a recording box for myself using a plastic storage crate and some high density acoustic foam. The mic stays in the box and, I’m pretty happy with the quality overall. I got the idea from reading up on how reporters record voiceovers while on the road.I record in my office in the basement, so I still need to be aware of ambient noise. Most of my recording takes place when everyone’s gone or very late at night. Also, the water meter is in the corner of the room — so if anyone uses any water in the house, it sounds like a giant hamster is getting a drink. I’ve had to do a lot of retakes because of a toilet flushing somewhere.

3. If you were able to build your dream studio, what would it include? Be as specific as you wish.
I’m pretty happy with my setup overall. I wouldn’t might having an actual booth to record in, but that’s just a luxury. I wouldn’t mind adding another mic to the setup, though. I’m getting ready to record a few scenes from my plays, and the logistics of having another performer/reader is tougher than I expected.

4. Other than a computer, what piece of HARDWARE would you recommend to a new podcaster?
As I’ve discovered, a professional grade mic is crucial. And every amateur ought to build a soundproof box. The difference is so great that I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I have to go back and re-record “Assam & Darjeeling” this spring. The original just doesn’t hold up.

5. What have you had to learn for yourself that you wish someone could have warned you about?
Again, it’s all about the quality of the recording. I think there’s such a broad variance, that people’s standards can be pretty low. But when you hear something well done, it pushes you to want to do better. I settled for the lower hurdle early on and I regret it now.

6. What would you consider a “beginner’s mistake” you’ve either experienced or hear others making?
Apart from the quality issues I’ve been whining about, one of the big mistakes I made on my first podasted novel (“Assam & Darjeeling”) was separating each chapter into a separate episode. A fair number of those chapters are actually briefer than the intro/outro which is something else I plan to remedy with a new recording. No one’s really complained, but I imagine it’s irritating.

7. How much time does it take, once you have all the elements, for YOU to put together a 30 minute podcast? (please describe your production technique)
While I’m working on my next novel, I’m podcasting a new anthology show called “The Gospel of Thomas” which consists of different shorter pieces, mostly stories and poems that have been sitting on my hard drive or in my file cabinet for a while. It’s a way to share some of those smaller pieces that might ordinarily get lost in between the longer works.

Each episode includes a free downloadable PDF of the text pieces from the show. So my first step in preparing a new episode is to select which piece I want to use and get it laid out and ready for the PDF. Once that’s done, I spend some time sorting through what else I want to say about the piece.

I’ll usually run through that a few times before I’m comfortable enough to record it. I’ve got a long commute and I spend about two hours on the road every day, which gives me plenty of time to rehearse and polish what I want to say. I made a decision not to try and script anything for the intro pieces, preferring the spontaneous and natural approach.

It’s usually on that commute that I try to nail down what I want the bumper music to be. There’s a local music group called GeniusCar that’s given me permission to use their work, which is about 15 different albums of material at this point. So I’ve got a lot of variety to work with.

When I feel like I’ve got all the components lined up, I wait for a time when I’ll have a quiet house and get everything set up to record. The Snowball mic goes in the box and the box goes on the table in my office. I sit down in front of it and start recording. I’ll typically start and stop once or twice during a session, but I save all of it just in case I want to piece things together later. Once I’ve got the intro recorded, I move right into a reading of the story or poem for that episode. I print out the story or poem for that episode ahead of time, reading off of the paper resting on a small document stand to the left of the mic.

Everything is organized and edited in Garage Band, with each component recorded on its own track (intro, music, story, closing). I spend a fair amount of time tweaking timing and cutting out dead air. Once I’ve got a fairly strong rough cut, I’ll leave it alone for a while. Usually this means overnight and I’ll give it a listen on the way to work the next morning. If I hear anything that needs fixing, I’ll take care of that over my lunch break so I can post everything later in the evening.

I kick out a couple of different file formats (MV4 for iTunes and MP3 for RSS subscribers) and upload those to the server along with the PDF. I manually manage the XML file for the podcast, so I spend a little time adding a new listing and description for the latest episode. Once I get the files out there, I update the www.gospelofthomasonline.com website with the new listing and hit the iTunes ping address to refresh the feed.

And then I pour myself a drink.

But to answer your actual question, I probably spend two to three hours on every 30 minutes of finished recording.

Casting Questions (answer if you can)

6. As far as cast goes, what would you like to try, but haven’t so far?
I haven’t done a casted show yet, but I’m planning to do some scenes from a few of my plays in The Gospel of Thomas. I have some opinions and ideas that i’m looking forward to trying out, but I can’t really answer these from experience at this point.

General Questions

1. If someone approached you with THEIR book, and asked you to podcast it for them for a fee, what would you consider a reasonable rate per episode? (The way YOU do it)
First of all, I’d be so honored that I’d probably forget to charge them. If they insisted on payment, I’d probably ask somewhere around twenty dollars an hour. Part of that depends on how long the piece is and how much time I’d need to devote to it. It would have to be worth my while to do it, since I’d be taking time away from my own work in progress.

2. Do you podcast as part of a larger plan, or because getting your content out in some manner IS your plan?
I started with the “just get it out there” idea, but over time I’ve developed a formal strategic plan for sharing my work through a variety of formats/media. My approach to podcasting has evolved to fall more in line with that broader plan.

3. What is the nicest compliment you’ve been paid or what keeps you coming back?
I think one of the nicest things I hear is people asking where they can buy a copy of the book. That’s a real validation of all of the work I do.

I get a handful of e-mails from listeners each month. That someone took the time to listen to the entirety of “Assam & Darjeeling” (for instance) and then took the time to let me know how much they liked it, that makes my day.

4. How important are numbers of downloads/subscribers to you? Do you keep track?
I use Feedburner to monitor the activity. It’s hard to know how accurate those numbers are, but I try not to read too much into them. I think that it’s easy to make stats the only measurement of success, putting quantity over quality.

5. How important are reviews left on Podiobooks/iTunes/other venues to you?
Again, I really appreciate that someone took the time to listen and then went that extra steps to review or rate it as well. Even if they don’t express undying love and devotion for my creative genius, I always appreciate them circling back to participate in the process as a reader. I think it’s great.

6. If not answered previously, how do you read your manuscript while recording (hard copy, teleprompter, etc)?
For “The Gospel of Thomas” I rely on a hardcopy, but that’s a pretty short format. For the novels, I open up the document and read it off of the screen. One of the big discoveries I made getting “Assam & Darjeeling” ready for printing/publishing was that I’d broken up the text a great deal during the recording process — which made it optimized for reading aloud but rather difficult and disjointed to read on the printed page. I ended up having to tighten everything up again in the final draft.