Posts tagged spy like me

Download EpiCast #009

Hi everyone! We have a fresh batch of webseries/webfiction news, recaps, and discussion, not to mention revolting self-promotion on the part of one of our hosts, all ready for you to enjoy in EpiCast #009. Your co-hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael, the latter back after a break, offer up a few quick news items ranging from simple schedule changes to a site redesign (and our opinions thereof), a call for serial submissions from a renowned publisher, and a social media webseries in the making.

There are also the aforementioned storyline recaps, all but one submitted courtesy of some generous writers — and the lone instance of one of our hosts going rogue was Michael, who very generously decided to recap About Schuyler Falls, another series that reached its fifteenth birthday this year like his own Footprints, which we spotlighted last month. He then proceeds to embarrass his co-host by going on about it for a bit.

And finally, once that’s done, we get to a debate/discussion, which focuses on the nature of how writers treat their webserials: should these be fixed works that stand or fall proudly on their own, or fluid entities that can be revised after publication?

Listen on and decide for yourself!

Episode Notes:

As ever, sound quality remains a cruel beast who won’t be tamed. One of us sounds like she’s in a tin can, the other is apparently in an echo canyon. We apologize, as always, for the weirdness.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on November 24, 2012.

Episode timeline and links to sites mentioned can be found at http://epiguide.podbean.com: and the EpiGuide community. Enjoy!

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast opening theme), “The Big Boom” (News intro), “Not About You” (Recaps intro), “So Far, So Good” (Recaps submission theme), “You Ruined Everything” (Intro to Fixed or Fluid discussion), “Bills, Bills, Bills” (EpiCast sponsor theme), and “I Feel Fantastic” (Closing theme), all written and performed by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton (except “Bills, Bills, Bills,” which is his cover of the Destiny’s Child song). These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Download EpiCast #008

The latest EpiCast is here and it’s a special one indeed: in addition to our regular webserial recaps and webseries/webfiction news, we have an in-depth tribute to Footprints, a webserial that’s reached its remarkable 15th anniversary this month! Our co-hosts are Kira Lerner and Ira Madison III (subbing for Michael, who in addition to being busy happens to be the author of the serial we’re honoring so we figured we’d let him sit back and enjoy the applause), two longstanding members of the EpiGuide community who share their thoughts on the serial’s place in webserial history, its strengths and weaknesses, their personal likes and dislikes and generally go crazy over this amazing milestone as well they should, because, c’mon, fifteen years, people!

But before the party begins, we have the aforementioned webserial storyline recaps (current as of October 17, when this episode was recorded) and news of recent or upcoming text and video serial premieres, as well as a highly useful resource for anyone who loves the online serial format.

Dig in and enjoy the celebration!

Episode Notes:

• Again, we apologize for some sound quality issues. One of our hosts, who shall remain nameless but let’s just say she couldn’t get her microphone to work correctly no matter how much it was thrown across the room in disgust.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on October 17, 2012.

Episode timeline and links to sites mentioned can be found at http://epiguide.podbean.com: and the EpiGuide community. Enjoy!

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast opening and closing theme), “Not About You” (Recaps intro), “So Far, So Good” (Recaps submission theme), “I’m Having a Party” (Intro and exit theme for “Footprints” Anniversary discussion), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Download EpiCast #007

The EpiCast is back — with a special episode looking forward to our annual writing marathon, Web Serial Writing Month (WeSeWriMo). In our seventh episode, we take a break from the past and focus on the future: webserial previews for the rest of the summer, where you’ll get some hints and teasers for some exciting storylines in the weeks ahead.

But the lion’s share of the podcast is devoted to WeSeWriMo, the only marathon dedicated to the unique world of web-based writing, from webserials to video and audio webseries to serialized novels, webcomics and beyond. And as far as we know, it’s also the only writing challenge that lets the writers choose their own goal. With registration open through August 1, that leaves just over a week as of this writing for you to take part.

For this supersized edition, co-host Kira Lerner interviewed six very different writers of very different forms of web entertainment series, and in our discussion about WeSeWriMo with them you’ll learn about the project itself, how the writers choose their ambitious goals, what obstacles they’ve faced over the years, how successful they’ve been, and their own tips on how to cross the finish line with your all your goals triumphantly met. Kira and fellow co-host Michael also discuss the history of how WeSeWriMo came about, and share their own thoughts on what this challenge means to them—and the entire webserial writing community.

Episode Notes:

Over the next couple of days we’ll be posting the full versions of these interviews, which contain much more information and let you hear some fascinating tidbits we couldn’t include due to time or content constraints (Kira, being the inquisitive type, asked the authors questions about their serials and other aspects of their writing process that didn’t involve WeSeWriMo; those didn’t make it into the podcast, but were so interesting we wanted you to get a chance to listen in).

Recording date: This episode was recorded on July 19, 2012; the interviews were conducted from July 9 - 15.

Episode timeline and links to sites mentioned can be found at http://epiguide.podbean.com: and the EpiGuide community. Enjoy!

Welcome to the latest (in every way) EpiCast. For our sixth episode, “Crossing Over,” we focus on the usual web entertainment news and recaps, as well as answer a pair of interesting questions courtesy of our listeners. Topics range from your hosts’ promotional pet peeves to a bunch of new webseries launches to our advice on learning HTML to the merits, challenges and technical considerations of webserial crossovers — when two or more series exchange or share storylines and characters.

Episode Notes:

• Sorry for the delay in posting the episode! Some technical issues were causing us great agita this time around. On the plus side, this is our longest episode yet; on the downside, this means the new deadline for submitting any news or recaps is only a week away (May 20th).
• Michael also apologizes in advance for his bullfrog impression, but the poor dear was dealing with a cold, so excuse his increasingly hoarse voice throughout the ‘cast.
• Finally, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Bart Kahn, one of Kira’s closest friends from elementary school through college and beyond, who passed away suddenly on April 21, 2012, at far, far too young an age. He is missed by all the people whose lives he touched with his humor, talent and support.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on April 24, 2012.

Episode timeline and links to sites mentioned can be found at http://epiguide.podbean.com: and the EpiGuide community. Enjoy!

Download EpiCast #002

Happy holidays, everyone! And a little late in arriving but no worse for the delay is our second episode of the EpiCast,#002: Finales. As always, we focus on discussion, news and recaps from the world of original web entertainment, and more specifically, the EpiGuide.com community. This month’s installment is chock-full of recaps in particular from a variety of serials in a variety of genres, which is just how we like ‘em. From sci-fi to fantasy to melodrama, there’s surely something for everyone. We also take a look at the end of one highly popular serial, answer a related question from a listener that allowed us to reminisce about serials gone by, and finally offer some discussion topics and news tidbits for everyone. For more info and links to all sites mentioned on the show, vist http://epigude.podbean.com .