Hello Listeners

Following some gentle nudging by a few of you, I'm putting together an episode of Sometimes for Halloween. It'll feature a classic tale (I won't say what it is yet, but I've already started recording it), a trip to the fridge (the contents of which have changed dramatically since I've become a healthy-eater), some music, and some other stuff which I'll need you to help me create.

I'll be roping my wife into doing another Q&A session with me, so if you have any questions about U&F (that don't require me to spoil the plot in any way), questions about my work process, my fridge, or anything else (within reason ;-) please post them here as a response to this post, or email them via this site, my email (which follows shortly) Facebook or Twitter (@4eversleepless ).

Also, I have another thing I'd like to start doing from time to time on the U&F podcast itself, and that is 'Planet U&F'. Since U&F has a global audience, I thought it might be nice if listeners around the world could actually record a brief message where they say hi to the rest of the audience. It'll be your opportunity to actually hear your voice on the U&F podcast. All you need to do is record yourself using a phone or anything else that can make MP3s, saying something along the lines of "Hi Planet U&F, this is Mike Bennett in Dublin!" That's it. Obviously you can say a bit more to make it personal, but not much, or I'll have to cut it. Try to keep it under fifteen seconds. I want to mix the messages up so we can hear lots of voices, male and female from all over the world. So don't be shy, record your shout for Planet U&F and send them to me at (and this email is all one word): the mike bennett at g mail dot com (I spelled that out to deter spambots). So come on Planet U&F, let's hear you! And send me those questions too.

The Halloween Sometimes will go live on Halloween, and U&F 29 should be live before the end of this week.

A blog entry - I haven't done one of these for a long time. It occurred to me as I currently record, re-record, cut and paste the audio of episode 28, that people are often asking to hear what sort of thing gets chucked into the cutting room trash can. I tell them it's just duff takes and re-writes, but an interest persists. So, to give you an insight into why it takes me such a long time to record an episode, I've taken the out-takes and re-workings of the first 3 minutes of U&F 28 out of the trash and spliced them together for you to hear. Don't expect anything interesting, this only serves to illustrate the mania I have for getting the right words, the right enunciation and finally the right take. When you listen to the final MP3 of the episode, it should slip around your ear-holes like warm olive oil, but before it sounds like that, it sounds like this ...

click the pic to hear the cuts

U&F 26 goes live in a mad blur of hurry. I have to go to Spain tomorrow to sell my house in Almacena. Yes, the house in Andalucia where I had the idea for U&F has found a buyer and tomorrow morning at 4am we fly out to clear our stuff out and sign the papers. This means that the episode hasn't gone through the usual level of endless fuss and nit-picking. I spent 12 hours making it, but none checking it for gaffes because I ran out of time; there may be repeat lines in it, there may be burps, coughs, even tea slurpings - I don't know. For the first time ever, I haven't had time to check my final edit. I had to get it online before I go away, and that means getting it live tonight.

And so, with or without burps, Episode 26: It's Eighties Night at La Reina de Corazones. Underwood is keen to try contemporary dancing, but Keith isn't happy to see him trying it with Michelle.

Click the pic to hit the MP3

Links:

New Fiction Writers.Com

Enemy Lines by John Mierau

U&F 25 is now live. Sorry about the delay, I had to go to England for two weeks and it really set me back. That, and I got a job, which is another great time-eater. Anyway, the episode is now recorded and available for listen / download by clicking the image. Here's a blurb of the episode contents ... (skip it if you want to have no idea as to what to expect).

Episode 25: In which Underwood and Flinch dispose of a body, David learns more about vampires, Lydia's outfit is hard to place, Keith and Billy Boy squabble over pop, and Michelle experiences a strange attraction.

click the explosion to listen / download direct

Links:

Mike's video short, "The Parent Vac" (made with a few chums on the spur of moment - so don't get all critical on my ass ;-)

"What's in My Fridge?" Video update.

Enough of my home movies, listener Stever Archer is involved in a real movie - an independent horror called The Zombies are Coming to Town. The film is in it's production stage at the moment and they are looking for volunteer dead and fund donors. So if you live nearby (I presume it's in the Maine USA region), and would like to join the undead, there's a link on the site. Best of luck, Steve.