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A Novel in Two Parts

Submitted by mike on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 10:08

underwood & flinch

Okay, here comes a blow. I've mentioned in the past that Underwood and Flinch is going to have to be cut into sections due to my needing to write the rest of it to my satisfaction. The first part of Underwood and Flinch (which you're currently listening to) is written up in its second draft and only needs to be re-written maybe another two times before it's podcast. I do this as I enter the audio recording process for each episode. However, the rest of the book is only in first draft and needs a lot of attention. Also, since originally completing the book I've had new ideas and twists - entire scenes even - that I want to add. This means an inavoidable break in the podcast. Think of it as the end of one season of a TV show and the necessary break while the next season is written, performed and filmed. This is basically what's happening, only I'm the entire production team.

The break will come at the natural climax of Underwood and Flinch part one. You may remember in One Among the Sleepless, the end of part one came with a certain someone moving into someone else's apartment? Well U&F will break at this sort of time; the first part of the story will be told and the second part will be poised to begin. There will be a break of about 6 weeks while I write it. Then I will resume the podcast when the manuscript is ready. This has to be done as I spend so much time writing and recording one episode that I make no progress into the chapters that populate the middle and end.

pt2

Will this be the only break of this kind? Probably yes. I hope to work on it exclusively as I'll have no podcasting distractions, no deadlines for episode releases etc, just writing all the way through to the end. Then part two, or season two if you prefer, will kick off and run to the end.

I have a holiday coming up at the end of August for two or three weeks and if I can, I'll get a lot of the work done then - and yes, that means another hiatus, but I'm taking my laptop with me so I'll get work done on the story every day of my holiday... hopefully. If I get enough done this will shorten the main podcast break between parts one and two.

I know you're thinking 'Argggg!', but this is just the perils of podcasting: we podcasters aren't production companies, we're just plucky amateurs (at least 99% of us are anyway) giving it all for free. So there is such a thing as a free lunch, it just doesn't come all in one course.

P.S. Part One will end at about Episode 20 or 21... ages away yet :-)

Underwood and Flinch: Episode 14

Submitted by mike on Sat, 07/11/2009 - 06:44

underwood & flinch

Episode 14: Can David get Gavin away from Casa Underwood, or will Lydia convince him that murder really isn't such a bad thing after all?

Click the image below to connect to the MP3

Back online - at last

Submitted by mike on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 11:27

As if by magic - I'm back online. Just when it was looking like the end of the world - with NTL telling us today that they couldn't connect us because we're not in their area - Eircom realised that this house has a previously unpaid bill on its records which is why the phone is blocked (by them). They lifted it, BT contacted us and told us we were good to go, and so here I am, writing from home for the first time in about two months. I'm delighted, I feel like I've been picked up by a helicopter after 6 weeks of floating around in the sea on the wreckage of my podcasting career - if I can call giving stuff away online a career (arf!)

Anyway, normal service has been resumed. Joy to the world, peace on Earth and drinks all round - the Milky Bars are on me! (Milky Bars aren't a drink, but they're on me nonetheless. Perhaps I should seek medical help?)

Underwood and Flinch Episode 13

Submitted by mike on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 09:08

underwood & flinch

My longest podcast episode ever: Episode 13 of Underwood and Flinch awaits you at the other end of the linked image below (in other words, click the pic to listen).

Telecoms No-Show

Submitted by mike on Fri, 06/26/2009 - 07:14

Eircom came yesterday without telling us they were coming, so no one was home. BT didn't come this morning either. They left a message on my wife's mobile last night to say that they didn't have an available engineer. My wife contacted them this morning but the person she needs to speak to is 'unavailable'. At this stage, I'm past being disappointed. We're now thinking of going with O2 wireless and just forgetting the phone line all together.

This means I won't be able to get a bulletin up this weekend, but I'll work through the weekend to get the whole episode done for Monday. I'll then bring the episode in to work on a disc and upload it from here. So there's a deadline: Monday for Episode 13 - the whole thing.

Here's a preview of what you can expect:

Cynthia and Gerald are hungover and craving blood...y Marys on the terrace at La Reina de Corazones. Meanwhile at Casa Underwood, David and Lydia lock horns and some unpleasant truths are revealed.

Have a good weekend

Update: U&F 13, Internet connection etc

Submitted by mike on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 07:51

Hello all

Just a quick update concerning Episode 13, my Internet connection and things in general.

First the episode: the master recording is currently two hours in length and needs a lot of editing to get it down to the finished size, which I think will be about 45-50 minutes. I've already done a lot of editing and nearly got the first complete scene edited. What I may do in order to keep you good people happy is release the finished first scene on a BulletinCast that I'll then delete as soon as the full episode is completed and posted. Hey, I'll even open up my new fridge for inspection. Thoughts?

So how's the Internet connection? Well the line was connected last week, but it could only receive incoming calls - not make outgoing calls (good job Eircom). After a week of 'maybe it's your phone' nonsense, we've managed (after threatening action with the telecoms regulator) to coax British Telecom to come out and repair the line tomorrow morning. So, fingers crossed, we'll be ONLINE TOMORROW! Yaaaay

Thanks to all for the support, feedback and patience, and special thanks to Trillianne and Angel for their enjoyable banter and ongoing enthusiasm in the chatrooms. You're keeping the site's blood flowing just nicely

Still Offline

Submitted by mike on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 05:00

Just in case you're wondering, I'm still offline. Eircom, the Irish telecom company, didn't come last week to connect us. They haven't contacted us, and seemingly have no plans to either. We contacted the company whose phone / Internet services we want to use and they say Eircom do this all the time: they just don't turn up for the competitors. The only alternative seems to be to use Eircom, which is obviously what they want to happen. However, their charges are higher and they offer less in terms of 'free calls to... ' etc. I intend to hang on for the competitors to win the day. Until then, I'll have to use other people's computers. It's a hassle, but I'm working out a system for my bandwidth scrounging. I'll keep you posted on developments.

Underwood and Flinch: Episode 12

Submitted by mike on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 05:58

underwood & flinch

Just a quick post as I'm writing on the run...

Episode 12 is now live: Keith tells Michelle that he has been, sort of, 'involved' with Segei, while David and Ana share condolences, memories and serious doubts. Click to download / listen

fly

More detailed post to follow on Monday (I'm away this weekend). Hope you enjoy the episode

Still Offline

Submitted by mike on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 05:40

Hello Listeners

I'm horribly sorry to report that I'm still offline and unable to podcast or update anything effectively. We had to wait over a week for the Irish telecom company (Eircom) to come out and connect us. They were supposed to come yesterday between 2 and 4.30 pm. They didn't, nor did they apologise or explain. This is because they are state monopoly and have no competition (I'm talking about the company that do the connecting and line maintenance here, not the Internet service providers - needless to say, we aren't using them for this, which is maybe why they are treating us like we don't matter). Anyway - blah-blah-bitch-bitch - since we can't be in every day from 2 - 4.30pm to wait for them whenever they do feel like turning up, I don't know when we will be online again Oh the torment.

Meanwhile, on the plus side, my new house is in order and I've been working on Episode 12 of U&F. I've written and recorded it, and at the moment I'm editing the sound file every evening with the hope of getting it online by the weekend. I'll most likely bring my laptop to work and use their wireless connection, though wireless signals in Ireland have a nasty habit of breaking and re-connecting without warning. If you're surfing, you may not notice this, but if you're uploading a podcast, trust me, you notice.

Anyway, one way or another, It'll be online by the weekend. Sorry for the wait and thanks as always for your patience.

Also, I've had some emails from people having trouble downloading One Among the Sleepless episode 1. This problem exists with Podiobooks only and I will fix it (wait for it....) as soon as I'm back online. Meanwhile, use the U&F itunes feed to access all my stuff, present and past all the way back to Sleepless #1. And if you don't use iTunes, just hit this link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/mikebennett/Sleepless-01.mp3 to get OAtS 1 until the Podiobooks file is repaired.

Cheers for now

Mike

Moving House

Submitted by mike on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 02:28

Groan. The day I have been trying to ignore on the calendar has come: I'm moving house. Only a few miles down the road, but still, moving is moving. Last time I did this I managed to give myself a hernia carrying boxes / TV etc down 7 flights of stairs when the lift was out of order in our old building. This morning we've just discovered we don't have enough boxes. Wonderful. The moving guy (a man-with-a-van) gets here at 6pm. That means I have to stop doing this immediately and go to the supermarket to get some more. After today I'll be offline until our new place gets an Internet connection, so if you post / email and I don't reply, forgive me, I'm probably lying on my back a few miles down the road nursing a fresh hernia calamity :-)