Hey! Who Asked About Us at Balticon? Was It You?

Hi.

I wasn't able to make it to this year's edition of Balticon, the Baltimore-Washington area's premier s-f blowout, but through the generosity of one of my partners-in-crime (yes, you, Sharon Van Blarcom, thank you!), a bunch of Times lanyards and fliers did make the show, as did the show's biggest supporter, my wife Cindy, as she was producing a live gig there for the Prometheus bunch.

So Cindy gets home from the con last night, and she tells me that:
- Out of the 125 or so Times lanyards I gave Sharon on Friday, five were left;
- There were "a few" Times fliers left for the flier table;
- One person remarked that the concept was one he hadn't heard of before for superhero stories; and
- Someone we didn't know at all actually asked Steve Wilson, "When's the next SuperHuman Times episode coming on?"

Figures that the cons I miss are the ones where people talk about the show.

Anyway, if you took a lanyard/flier/both at Balticon, and/or were curious enough to hit the website or MySpace page for more information: Welcome! And in case you were the one who asked: the next episode, "Servant Problem," should hit the 'net in a few short weeks (and I'm overestimating because I want to help Steve maintain his rep as a miracle worker; he's probably already finished it).

Next: I'm set on finishing a one-shot by July 4th, followed by a vacation in August, then proceeding to the next multi-parter -- one I've been waiting to write literally since the beginning of Times.

Hope your summer's just as much fun, and that you'll spend part of it listening to our show.

-- L.

Yay! "Servant Problem" Begins Production!

Hi.

Thursday night, we started production on the third Times story, the one-shot titled "Servant Problem." If you like old-fashioned screwball comedies like "My Man Godfrey" and "Bringing Up Baby" (ask your parents or grandparents if you don't know those movies), you'll enjoy this when it's done.

I don't say this because I wrote it, but because after hearing John Weber record the lead role of Cabot -- a butler with a rather large problem courtesy of his former employer -- I have every confidence that it will play better on audio than it does on the page. Of course, the fact that he has a hell of a supporting cast will just make it more entertaining.

(Okay, there is one ham in our cast who chews the scenery like it's penny candy when his supervillain character is visited by Cabot in prison, but I'll let you judge that performance on its own merits/flaws.)

When it’s ready (which should be pretty soon), you’ll hear about it here. And, of course, here (where you'll find our pilot, "True North" and the three-parter, "Risk Management") and on MySpace.

Be there, and be sure to tell your friends: Fun Times are ahead!

-- L.

HOLY CRAP! "RISK MANAGEMENT" IS DONE!

Hi.

I just listened to the third and final installment of our second SuperHuman Times story, "Risk Management." (You haven't heard it? Don't you read my MySpace bulletins? Shame!) With that, all three episodes are now available for free download. You can grab them via the podcast page of the Times website.

And with that, we did something I never thought we'd actually do.
We moved forward with SuperHuman Times.
We moved beyond the pilot, "True North," and we actually took our second step into the Times universe.
Wow.

Not that I ever doubted the ability of Steve Wilson and the Prometheus crew to pull all this together, but given the other commitments everyone was facing -- both with respect to producing other Prometheus shows, and with respect to dealing with real life (we don't do this for a living, ya know) -- I think it's pretty impressive. At least, I'm impressed by them. I've had so many ideas and best-laid plans crash and burn for so many different reasons over the years that seeing all this happen is a real thrill.

Hopefully, Steve and the gang will be ready for what I throw at them next because, between the podcasts of "True North" and "Risk Management," I finished two more scripts -- a one-shot and another three-parter (the latter of which Steve's probably gonna roll up and jam down my windpipe for its technical challenges).

But that's my problem. That and figuring out which voices in my head get to tell their story next. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

-- L.

"Risk Management" is Online NOW!

Hi.
Since my last post had the next Times story in production, it's only fitting that I fell behind with this blog long enough for it to be close to finished, which it is.

"Risk Management" Parts 1 & 2 are now available for FREE download from libsyn.com! I'm pretty excited because it means we're actually taking the series beyond "True North."

Here are the links:
Part 1
Part 2

You also get some nifty commentary and celebrity interviews (Ron Glass!) from Prometheus Radio Theatre founder Steve Wilson ... mainly because I wrote short scripts. Hey, I'm learning here.

But our fine cast does quite well with the few words I gave them, especially Renee Wilson as Nataliya Tzone. (Yep, Cindy was right; see last post.) Guys, when you hear her talking to the professor in Part 2, you'll wish it were you sitting across that desk from her.

You can also subscribe to Prometheus' podcasts for FREE and automatically receive them via iTunes.

However you get them, I hope you like them. Let me know one way or the other, here or at MySpace .

Thanks.
-- L.

"Risk Management" Production Underway!

Hi.

At long last, the second Times story, the three-part Risk Management," began production this past Wednesday in the opulent studios of Prometheus Radio Theatre. My sources (it helps when the series producer is your wife) tell me that all of the principal dialogue was recorded in one evening, and that everyone had fun performing it.

Although she praised the entire cast, Cindy had particular kudos for Renee Wilson (lovely and talented wife of Prometheus god Steve Wilson), who mastered a tricky Roma accent for her lead role as Nataliya Tzone (pron. like "tsar"), the Times Universe's most powerful sorceress/security expert. I think it's especially nice of Cindy to say something like that, considering she knows I created Nataliya for her. But, Steve wanted Cindy for Beyondra in "True North"; what's a guy to do?

I haven't heard any of the recorded dialogue at this writing, but Cindy's assessment already has me thinking we have another good show coming up. Now if only we could get people to listen to it... if only we could get them to stop reading or writing blogs for just a little while... except this one, of course.

More as production, and promotion, continue.

-- L.

The Times Comes to MySpace

Just a note to inform anyone who might be reading this that, in addition to Ye Blog and the website, you can now find me begging for listeners somewhere else: MySpace.

Stop by and make friends with me at http://www.myspace.com/superhumantimes. Bring your friends along. At this writing, I have only the mercy friend from MySpace on my page, so there's plenty of room. Or space. MySpace.

Yeah, yeah, I should go write things now.

-- L.

Post-Farpoint

Hi.

Well, I set out fliers and lanyards at Farpoint last weekend. As always, the con was well-managed and intimate, and the fellow podcasters I mentioned in the last post were extremely interesting. Their command of the technology and the scope of what they're doing absolutely staggered me. I felt supremely outclassed (not because of any attitudes toward me on their parts).

Nevertheless, I put out the fliers and the lanyards. For a good chunk of the weekend, most of the lanyards were being worn by friends. and those were seen by strangers, and they were curious, and they wanted their own. They stopped by and I gave them a lanyard and a flier, and I told them about the show. Hope it helps get us a few more downloads.

Next? Well, I have lanyards left, so I'm hoping to hit a couple of more conventions, preferably some with a bigger comic-reading contingent. The Baltimore Comic Con is a given, but I'd also like to see if I can get anything going at Wizard World Philadelphia in June or Dragon Con in Atlanta in September. Money will probably be the biggest hurdle to attempting that kind of mini-campaign, though. Ads on the con's websites may be all I can do.

But I have all these people screaming in my head, telling me their stories. I'd like for someone to hear them. And, maybe, read this, too, someday.

-- L.

Farpoint: Preparations & Plugs

Things are usually hectic around here before Farpoint because Cindy's getting ready for the convention's Art Show (which she runs), while we simultaneously celebrate our son Greg's birthday (he's 7 years old today, and seems to add a year every February around this time). This year is even more hectic because I've been making the promotional materials for the podcast.

One of the linchpins of the whole "campaign" arrived today: the lanyards. Gorgeous yellow lanyards with the logos of the show and Prometheus on them. They cost a good chunk of change. I'm giving them away to spread the word about the show. I'm an idiot. I'm also desperate. Between those, the fliers, the stickers and the podcast panels, the word should be adequately spread. We'll know one way or the other if it works if listenership to the pilot increases after the con.

No matter how the lanyards fare, I urge you to check out www.lowcostlanyards.com if you have similar needs. Warning: The lanyards are made in China, so if you need them in a hurry or have political leanings against doing business with that nation (I didn't know that's where they were being made until they shipped), go elsewhere. Otherwise, their sales reps (located in this country) are first-rate, so on that basis I recommend their service highly.

Speaking of the con, let me toss in a couple of courtesy plugs here for some fellow podcasters I'll be hanging with this weekend. I've just been introduced to their work and it's worth sharing.

- Jared Axelrod is the highly impressive master of The Voice of Free Planet X on libsyn.com, which also hosts Prometheus' shows. To call what he presents dramatic readings would be an understatement and disservice. Using words and music and precious little time, he creates -- no, becomes -- complete characters and worlds. I've heard only two stories from his site so far -- "What Mechanics Do" and "Saturn Swallows Its Children Whole" (performed by his equally talented partner in crime JR Blackwell, of Voices of Tomorrow). I get to open the podcasting panel with him at 10:00 on Saturday morning. I doubt I'll be as impressive. Hell, I doubt I'll be awake.

- Tee Morris is an accomplished podcaster, writer and actor whose talents are constantly on display at his nifty website, TeeMorris.com. When I heard the prologue from one of his major works, MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana, it conjured images of Captain Blood as if it were painted by the Brothers Hildebrandt. Your visions may differ, but the important thing is: it conjures images, which is always the sign of a good storyteller. I'll be staffing the podcasters' table with Tee on Saturday morning, but if you go, you'll probably see him there throughout the weekend. Steve tells me he's a tireless self-promoter in the best possible way. Stop by and find out.

One last Farpoint-related callout: my thanks to my pal Marc B. Lee for singling me out to potential attendees as a convention guest (or, to use his questionable estimation, "writer extraordinaire"). I knew I had a purpose in life.

While I try to figure out what it is, I'll go back to work. Lanyards, lanyards, lanyards...

-- L.

Back to the Present

Hi. This post officially brings us back into "real time."

I'll explain: If you look at the prior three posts, each one starts with a parenthetical stating "(Originally posted on...)" That's because my first posts to this blog were on Blogger before it was absorbed by Google. What you're reading now, after trials and tribulations I'd rather not go into, is the "Google Edition" of the blog. Unlike the preceding posts, today really is February 4, 2007, and that's when this is being posted. Welcome back.

That said, you haven't missed much. I'm preparing for the Farpoint convention in nearby Cockeysville, MD, which will be held two weeks from now. (Well, two weeks from this moment, it will be over; you know what I mean.) In addition to ordering 250 lanyards with the Times and Prometheus Radio Theatre logos, I've worked up a sign to promote them at our podcasting table (which we're sharing with several esteemed fellow podcasters), printed a ton of color fliers to introduce the series, cranked out some business cards to pass out, and created a couple of stickers to slap onto my photojournalist vest (I don't think they're gonna work out, but I can't afford embroidery, so I try). I don't expect the masses will storm "True North" to check it out after they get their lanyards and read their fliers, but ya have to start somewhere.

In the meantime, I've been informed that good ol' Mr. Wilson is going to submit "True North" to this year's Mark Time Awards. As you may recall, Prometheus took a Silver Medal in this competition with the three-part Arbiter Chronicles episode, "A Man Walks into a Bar." If you've never heard it, check it out, along with the other Arbiter episodes. I hope you'll be as impressed by my friends as I am.

As for Times, I'll let you know what happens. Better yet, if you pick up a lanyard or a flier and you visited the site to get here, you let me know, okay? I'll be here.

-- LW

Yup. Still Here. Still Writing.

(Originally posted on January 20, 2007)

Howdy.

A friend of mine recently told me on good authority that people were actually reading this blog, and that it might be wise/nice to update it once in a while, even if nothing special was happening with the series.

Well, I did promise a "behind-the-scenes" perspective on the show, even if it is just my own. So, in that vein, here's what I've been up to since the last post:

"Risk Management" - The second story of the series, a three-parter, goes into the studio this month. We're hoping to post it in March.

"Dashing" - I'm in the middle of writing this one, another three-parter. Part One's done, and the wife likes it, so that's a good sign. I have to start Part Two after having taken a few weeks off for holiday recuperation and home improvements. With luck, this will hit during the summer months. Since it's a riff on Bond movies, that would be appropriate.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on the outline of what I think will be the fourth and final story of Season 1, "Servant Problem." I want this two-parter to be a lot of fun for whoever ends up acting in it, because I want it to have the feel of a 1930s screwball comedy. With superhumans.

And on top of that, I came up with two stories for what I hope will be future seasons. Both are love stories of different kinds. I don't know which one I'll attempt first, but when an idea hits, I always try to flesh it out immediately, so I can come back to it later with a lot of the initial details already worked out. But it's usually rolling through my head while I'm working on other stories.

It's just that I started this whole thing with ideas for about 15 stories. Now I have more than 20, I think.

When you figure that the Prometheus gang is also working on The Arbiter Chronicles and its series of folk tales, and we're going to try and post the Times episodes on a quarterly schedule, that translates into requiring about five years to tell all the stories I want to tell (Steve and the gang willing).

Two of my all-time favorite shows -- The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone -- each ran for five years. If we could attain that goal, we'd be in good company.

But first, I have to write the episodes. And plug the hell out of them. (I'm trying to find good comic-book venues for online ads, ideal conventions for program book ad/flier placement, etc. Any suggestions?) And in between all of this, I'll update you as to what's going on. I hope to have much to report.

Thanks for reading, and listening. Back to work.

-- LW