Saturday, May 3, 2014

Night of the Harvestmen: An Announcement

Last fall I submitted one of my stories, Night of the Harvestmen, to the Writer's Workshop competition at Horror Addicts.net. I had almost forgotten about that submission when, early this past March, I received word from a Horror Addicts.net staff member that I had been named Writer's Workshop Winner for the class of 2013. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. After all, I've read some of the material created by others involved with that organization and I consider it pretty darn good.

Anyway, the staff person informed me that my work had been reviewed by four pros and that I had the opportunity to make changes to my story based upon their critiques. Considering the exposure my story would receive, I'd have been crazy not to take her up on the suggestion. Although it took me an additional 15 hours or so to decide when and where I wanted to incorporate their suggestions into my story, I feel as though the effort was really worth it and I truly believe that the critiques have made me a better writer.

So what does the winning the workshop mean? Well, Night of the Harvestmen has now been produced as a podcast complete with voice actors. It Episode 99 of Season 9 on the Horror Addicts' list of podcasts. It will sit at the top of their playlist for two weeks until the 100th episode replaces it on May 17. The overall production will also involve other features however, which include music and various other announcements. Night of the Harvestmen begins about 32 minutes into the podcast. Still, I'm quite proud of the fact that my piece of horror fiction is now a feature on their bi-weekly podcast.

It's easy to access the podcast. All you have to do is follow this link to Horror Addicts.net
and the player should start up within a few seconds. For the first two weeks it should begin with Episode 99. If you want to listen in after that, simply go to the player, which sits at the top right of the web page, and click on Episode 99. I invite you all to give the production a listen.

Horror Addicts.net also conducted an interview with me, the summary of which you can read by following this link.
So, until next time then...
Top photo source unknown

Horror Addicts.Net website

Interview summery

         

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations, that wonderful!!! I'm going to listen as soon as I have the chance. Looking forward to it! :-)

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    1. Thank you, Lucretia! I hope you'll enjoy it.

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  2. Congratulations Nightwind, that's fantastic! I'm really looking forward to listening to it - you must be thrilled! Off to read your interview now :)

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    1. Thanks GothicFlamingo! I am quite thrilled and actually listened to it last night. Hearing my own story done by voice actors was an interesting experience.

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  3. Congratulations lets hope this is the start of something big. I will listen to that.

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    1. Thank you, App'y! While I can't say whether or not this is the start of something big, I do know that the extra exposure certainly can't hurt me.

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  4. Arggghhhh! I can't get it to play properly on this silly little tablet. I've got three different voices going at the same time! :P

    In the meantime though, excellent interview and awesome picture of you at the cemetery, Nightwind! I think I can even see a raven in the sky behind you! How did you manage that one? ;)

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    1. While I can't find the raven in the sky that you seem to have spotted, I wouldn't doubt for a minute that one might have been there. There are ravens, or more specifically crows, all over the place around the cemeteries--and there are two different types of them.

      My son can't listen to the podcast with his table either, Insomniac. Maybe if you're so inclined, you'll be able to stop in to a local library's computer lab with a set of headphones one day. That should work for you. Thanks for trying though.

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    2. You have to expand the picture to it's very largest size ... at the top left of the gate, he's there. An auspicious omen, methinks.

      You know, I think I'll hold off and wait until some dark and stormy night when we're finally in our home to listen to it. It's all about the proper ambiance! :)

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    3. Ah yes! I did indeed find the mysterious bird above the gate. Considering how its wings are extended however, I would venture to guess that it's a hawk and not a raven. But who knows. We can pretend that it's a raven--and maybe it is!

      I understand your sentiments about the proper ambiance, Insomniac. I'm already finding myself waiting for the darkness to fall on these bright, sunny days of May. After all, who wants to watch horror films when the sun is still shinning? The wait is getting longer and longer as the season progresses though.

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  5. Congratulations! I hope you win many more contests to come.

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  6. Oh my goodness!! I just listened to your story on Sunday. That was totally WILD!!! I have to say, the narrator's voice wasn't nearly as terrifying as your character! I sure hope no one ever gets THAT mad at ME... ;-)

    I had no idea what "harvestmen" actually were; I decided not to Google it so that I would be totally creeped out and surprised, which I was, as I've never heard that name for them. My mom has seasonal problems with daddy-long-legs, so as I was listening I was imagining it happening at HER house. Probably not a good thing to do, as I have to go up again this weekend and stay there alone, as she is still not out of the nursing center. You and your character were VERY nice to them, putting them outside. There are too many of them for me to do that; I warn them once, but after that, they either get squashed or vacuumed up! Hopefully I won't dream of them! ;-)

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    1. I just found your comment here, Lucretia and it's been a few weeks since you mentioned reading my story. I'm really glad that you liked it and found it creepy. That was the intention of course and I'm happy that it came across that way. Thanks so much for listening!

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