If you stare into the darkness long enough...

The Darkness Stares Back


The podcast of the blog! Listen to me reading my work, and giving updates on the progress of my fledgling writing career in urban and contemporary gothic fantasy.

Sunday, 24 February 2008

Episode #008 - Greed is good...


Ah crap. You mention somebody just once in your shownotes, and they come over and give you a bitchslap for being a smartass...

Greed is good. In fact greed is very good, because at long last I have got through all seven of these little snippets that have hung around my neck like a millstone. I didn't think anything would take as long as it took to write them. Turns out I was wrong, recording them has been a five month process to the very day. Go back through the archive and check if you don't believe me. 24 September 2007 was the first one...

So at long last, they are recorded, uploaded, published, whatever. All? Maybe not - there is an alternative Lust story that I might put up as a bonus (wait, aren't bonuses supposed to be good?)

I'm still working out the little niggles in the recording. On the playback I'm working through headphones, so everything sounds at a good volume level to me, but I've been told that on the last couple everything between intro and outro is at a very low volume, so if there are problems, please let me know.

As ever, the full text of the story can be found here:

http://www.paulanderson.org.uk/2007_07_01_archive.htm#4635672677305753926

Ever wanted to see where the magic happens? Here's what the recording studio looks like:


The mixing desk - sound comes in, I screw it up, sound goes out...



Note absence of pop filter, so the "p" sounds are still a little harsh. The USB thingy behind the microphone takes the sound from the desk to my Powerbook. I started off using Apple's Garageband, but I now use Sound Studio 3 by Freeverse.



And this is the full studio. Laptop, mixing desk, microphone, headphones, USB connector, gargoyles at the back of the desk surrounding the coffee plant, and the remains of a very pruned back bonsai. Trust me, this is all essential stuff...



Also mentioned in this episode:

Scott Sigler owns my ass and I've pissed him off by taking his name in vain in the last episode - see the comments section for Episode #007.

Please, to ensure my continued existence when the Sigler Ascension hits, subscribe to his podcast and pre-order Nocturnal now! Seriously, why are you even listening to this when you could be listening to Sigler instead. Go, shoo, subscribe!

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posted by Paul at 17:24 | Permanent Link  
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008

Episode #007 - Glutton for punishment? Well, you are a listener...


Two! Two in one week! Not even Scott Sigler gives you that value for money!

Second to last of the Seven Deadly Sins (thank god), and my absolute least favourite. This one was a nightmare to come up with an idea for, it isn't particularly well executed, and it sort of flops in the telling. However, I do swear a bit in this one, so hey, there's something to get excited about...

As ever, the full text of the story can be found here:

http://www.paulanderson.org.uk/2007_07_01_archive.htm#467984494347181628

Also mentioned in this episode:

I'm taking part in the BUPA London 10,000, so please sponsor me! All money raised will be in aid of the British Red Cross (the British Red Cross is a registered charity, number 220949). Look out for the links to my sponsorship page coming soon!

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posted by Paul at 21:00 | Permanent Link  
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Sunday, 17 February 2008

Episode #006 - Lust. There, I said it. Now let us never speak of this again...


And here we are, late as ever, and on to the Sin I was least looking forward to recording. Given the subject matter, it's actually quite tame. The rudest word is "buttocks", so all in all this should be rated "PG" at most.

That being said, if parents, siblings, friends, godmothers, or indeed anyone who has ever met me happens to listen to this... let's pretend this episode never happened and move on, shall we?

I'll get back to what I'm best at soon. You know, wholesale slaughter of innocents and disturbing shit.

Got a new process for recording the shows, which has been a bitch to get used to today. I've abandoned Garageband in favour of Sound Studio (so had to learn how to use that) and I'm also using my brand spanking new recording equipment. I might get some photos up soon of my working area so you can see that.

The sound quality is far better than anything I've done before, and there have been less takes because of background noise interference. Hopefully this means podcasts will take less time to record, so I'll be more inclined to do them regularly.

That's the plan anyway...

As ever, the full text of the story can be found here:

http://www.paulanderson.org.uk/2007_06_01_archive.htm#2647600299381165337

Thanks for dropping by folks!

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posted by Paul at 19:54 | Permanent Link  
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Saturday, 2 February 2008

And now a message from our sponsor...

I am on the road again, this time taking a trip to see the benefactors and sponsors of the show (or my family, as they prefer to be known...)

And I have taken possession of the podcast equipment. Oh yes. It is a thing of beauty. A complicated, hard to understand, scarily technical thing of beauty.

Gonna need to read the instructions before I attempt to record another show...

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posted by Paul at 00:09 | Permanent Link  
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