When I was a kid, we only ever listened to one radio station. It was a local station that played round-the-clock country music.
Not a terrible thing, but also not something that gave me any real exposure to the broader pleasures radio could bring.
It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered radio plays. In fact, I think the first one I ever listened to was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (BBC – Douglas Adams). To this day, that story is one of my favorites and definitely defines my sense of humour.
Then I discovered (this time, only a scant few years ago) Decoder Ring Theatre. I reveled in the wonderful stories and excellent production values I found there. In fact, I still do. But above all, I realized how much I liked the serialized story form.
And so, I wrote GalaxyBillies as a serialized story/podcast. It went out every two weeks without fail and, while it was harder than I ever expected, I loved doing it.
When it was done, I wrote (and again, podcast) Boyscouts of the Apocalypse. You might accuse me of being lazier with that story because I didn’t do a full-cast podcast (which GalaxyBillies was) and you would probably be right. Still, I’m proud of the story and glad I will be releasing it in eBook form in the next several months.
And now, I’m working on Champ McKay, Texas Space Ranger, which is probably more true to the old-time serialized radio plays than anything else I’ve ever done. I had originally intended for Champ McKay to be the bonus material for my newsletter. Unfortunately, people don’t seem very interested in yet another author newsletter, so only a handful of people have ever signed up (and I love those of you who did).
That means, only a small number of people have ever read the first episode of Champ McKay and that made me sad. Sad because I came to really like the character that Champ is.
So, I’ve put the first episode up on Wattpad. But I also want to ensure that, those of you who haven’t experienced Wattpad before can find the story there. Wattpad is free to use and I am purposely making the episodes bite-sized for quick consumption.
I hope you will take a look. Champ is too good a guy not to share. 🙂
