Podcast / feed author: Carol E. Meacham
description: Original sci-fi and other stuff from Atrocious Adventure Publishing.
Recent Episodes:
Reports of my demise are greatly exagerated.
Checking in, and making an unsolicited plug for Iron Man.
A metacast regarding the writing of "Tantalus and Sweet Charity".
Also the entirety of Victor Stellar's excellent song "Station II", included under the Creative Commons license. Enjoy!
Part 2 of Tantalus and Sweet Charity.
With music by Victor Stellar.
Part 1 of Tantalus and Sweet Charity.
With music by Victor Stellar.
Another Extra podcast, this time expounding upon the mythic structure in Star Wars and my own novel Machina Obscura.
Keywords if'n you want to look stuff up:
monomyth
Joseph Campbell
Christopher Vogler
the Hero's Journey
THIS IS IT, FOLKS! LAST SECTION!
Part 16 of The Fall of Avalon.
After this, a hiatus while I write "Tantalus and Sweet Charity". Plus a shout out for Loreena McKinnett.
Here's all the URLs associated with the show:
Atrocious Adventure on CafePress
Thanks for listening, folks, it's been a blast!
Part 15 of Avalon.
And yes, I am quite proud of that scene with Morgaine.
With news, Christmas post-mortem, and still more news.
A call for a hiatus until the first of the year.
Show 54, Part 14 of The Fall of Avalon.
Also explanation for not doing the show last week, etc.
Enjoy!
E-mail Carol and express your ire!
Show 53, Part 13 of The Fall of Avalon.
See the infosite for info about the mailing list for the Simulated Reality story.
Show 51, Part 11 of Avalon.
Show 50!
Part 10 of The Fall of Avalon.
Show 49, Part 9 of The Fall of Avalon.
Show 48, Part 8 of The Fall of Avalon.
With editorial notes in the credits regarding Zulu-5 in print.
Show 48, Part 8 of The Fall of Avalon.
The immediate cause and beginning of the quest.
Enjoy!
Show 46, Part 6 of The Fall of Avalon.
New intro music courtesy of Javier Sabadell via the Creative Commons license. Nice, huh?
Zulu-5 is in the offing.
Promo for The Fall of Avalon.
Audacity + Creative Commons Music = Promo Goodness!
It's been almost a year. Don't you think I need a promo?
Show 45, Part 5 of The Fall of Avalon.
Arthur and Gwynyver's handfasting goes off without a hitch, but the reception is another matter. Myrdwyn goes poking about for answers, and Morgaine's wedding gifts are just one more way to cause trouble.
Also news about the new story "Zulu-5".
Show 44, Part 4 of The Fall of Avalon.
I hope. I'm still having upload problems with the FTP, but I'll try it through the HTML upload.
Anyway, Willow shows up in this one, and yes that's a reference to the Magic 8-Ball.
It seems Libsyn is having some technical problems and I may have to wait until the morning to upload tonight's show. Sorry, folks! It'll be up as soon as I can get it there.
Carol
I misquoted the URL for my Myspace page on the podcast today. Here's the corrected link.
http://www.myspace.com/auntyproton
That is all.
Show #42, Part 2 of The Fall of Avalon.
Gwynyver arrives at Caerlyon and Camlann, escorted by Lucian, Gawain, Tristan and her own company of knights. The game's afoot!
News about a new story-generating technique, a rant about an apparent collective cognitive dissonance, and the advent of Myspace in my tranquil life. Enjoy!
Back from Hiatus! And Bouncing!
Show #41, Fall of Avalon, Part 1
THIS IS IT, FOLKS! THE LAST CHAPTER!
Thanks to everyone for listening.
Tune in for the next show after the hiatus on August 26th, 2007.
Here's the URLs, and while I'm gone I'll post any and all info pertaining to the next project on the Blogspot infosite.
E-mail me at hb88@bellsouth.net
The infosite at www.atrociousadventure.blogspot.com
A preview of the next project, the Arthurian fantasy novel The Fall of Avalon.
To go to the info site:
www.atrociousadventure.blogspot.com
To e-mail Carol:
Enjoy!
Show #39, Chapter 24.
Too much to mention goes on this week, but look for all the easter eggs!
One chapter to go, and then it's hiatus time!
Got your scorecard? Good.
Let's see here, we've got combat robots, maintenance robots, Xyl and Spryte finally getting into NetSpace, Pepper and the gang finally get somewhere with their raid. Pepper finds a hidden server vault and upsignals into it and finds something he didn't expect. Jodo sneaks off to go get his own answers and if Kham had any hair it would be going gray by now. And Xyl really should know better than to flip to MuSpace in enemy territory.
As advertised on the box, Chapter 22.
Xyl and Spryte share a bowl of tempura, Gwen and Pepper go shopping, Johnny is flying a heli-taxi to make a little money on the side, Jodo is having a minor identity crisis, Kham reassures him he's really himself, and then they have an operations briefing. Really, just another day at the office.
Show #35, Chapter 20.
The gang is in transit to Tokyo. Road Trip! Jodo and Kham's "meet cute" was definitely not a case of two guys meeting over a double mocha latte and the last cherry danish; Pepper wonders if maybe trusting a robot is the last thing he should do, especially with an antique telescope and a crate full of 250 year old science books; Xyl tells Gracie they may be looking for Bottled Teen; and Xyl has a religious experience involving a Japanese girl in a synthex bodysuit.
Enjoy!
Chapter 19
Uh, let's see. Mostly just a bit of a three-way showdown between Pepper, Gracie and Gelnick. Guess who wins. Wally cops a line or two from "Wargames". Xyl and Jodo stop ignoring the five hundred pound gorilla. And Pepper decides it's time they all went back to the world.
News: the resolution of the Great Car Debacle of 2007, and yet another week of good times with Ubuntu. 'Nuff said.
Show #33, Chapter 18 of Aquaria.
Wherein Pepper proves that his claims that the global government is one big conspiracy theory and speculates on the correlation between weapons technology and human nature. Then there's a big fight with the black helicopter and Jodo gets his elephant -- or rather ELF -- gun.
News about the New Car Saga and Ubuntu follow.
Show #32, Aquaria, Chapter 17. Wherein both Kham and the twins and Gracie, Rhain and Nyx continue through the Wastelands, and end up both being chased themselves by a mysterious black helicopter and a band of Jackals.
Also, why this came out on Monday and other vaguely annoyed rantings.
Rather long at about 1 hr. 45 minutes.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, Episode IV -- A New Hope.
Enjoy!
2 For 1 Sale today, Chapters 15 and 16...
Car News: No Joy Yet.
Enjoy!
Show 27, Chapter 11 of Aquaria.
Warning: Some of this chapter may be offensive to some and very well may squick you into the middle of next week if you have a thing for snakes. Or really fat people. Or heights.
Show #26, Chapter 10 of Aquaria.
Afterward, some random notes about actors who could play various characters in the story, and soundtrack suggestions.
An extra podcast wherein I talk about Creative Commons, the new media, and fandom.
Enjoy!
Show #25, Aquaria, Chapter 9.
A small technical note:
At the risk of sounding completely full of myself, I get my own podcast and listen to it on my iPod at work. I recently learned that the weird problems I was having with it were not just me or my wonky IPod. If you have been having trouble pausing and returning to the spot where you stopped, or watching in horror as your paused show exed out back to the menu or any other such frustrating things, you're not alone. I have consulted the technical forums on the website for my MP3 encoder, WAV2MP3 (an excellent program!), and implemented a change this week that I hope will fix the problem. If the problem persists for you, please make sure your iPod's firmware is updated properly. I shall be doing the same.
Even more technical note: They told me to use Constant bitrate for the encoding, as Average bitrate or Variable bitrate may confuse the iPod's hamster-like mind. That may be the crux of the problem, that it can't figure out where it's supposed to be because it can't handle the constantly changing bitrates. I switched to Constant. I hope it works.
Today's pondering: Why it's taken 2000 years for the Church(s) to realize Easter eggs and bunnies are pagan symbols, as brought to you by CNN.
Ignore what I say on the 'cast, this is SHOW #24! Chapter 8 of Aquaria.
Plus a pondering on new cars, old cars, computers, technology and obsolescence.
Show #23. We're having a 4 for 1 sale! 4 chapters for the price of 1! For the low, low price of FREE!
News about an impending acquisition by Your Humble Writer. Otherwise, not much else cookin' here.
As listed on the box, Show #22, Chapter 3 of Aquaria.
This week's rant/opinion: visual culture and other things we have to look forward to in the future.
Here's the link for the One Laptop Per Child project, if anyone's curious.
Chapter 2 of Aquaria.
Plus a bit of a rant and/or speculation on the future of textbooks and computers in schools.
As promised, the first chapter of my second novel Aquaria.
Sequel to Machina Obscura, and if you've been listening for a while you know all about that.
Greetings, everyone, I'm back!
Proving the adage "good things come to those who wait", here's nearly thirty meg of Atrocious goodness!
And starting Sunday... Aquaria.
Enjoy!
Hello folks. This is Newton, the computer that produces the Atrocious Adventure Podcast. I am sorry to report that my user Carol Meacham has caught one of your organic viruses and is currently attempting to fight off this virus using your primitive human immune system and a lot of very expensive cold medicines. One of the symptoms of this virus is a sore throat. Having just caught this virus on Thursday, by the time she gets around to recording Sunday's show she will probably not be able to talk.
So she has programmed me to give you her flimsy human excuse.
Thus, she asks that you accept her apologies for the delay in getting out the next show. We will get around to it as soon as my user can talk without sounding like a cross between Yoda and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Thank you.
This is Newton signing off.
End of File
THIS IS IT, FOLKS! THE LAST CHAPTER!
Yes, this is it. The very last chapter of Machina Obscura. I'm not going to spoil it for you, just go listen to the chapter.
And for those of you wanting visuals, keep this name in mind: Steven Seagal. You'll know who I'm talking about when the time comes.
Program note: I'll be taking next week off, so go listen to Escape Pod. The week after that, I'll be doing an Extra podcast. The week after that, we start on what could be the biggest, messiest debacle of all time -- the podcasting of Aquaria.
Thanks to everyone who has made it this far. As long as people keep listening, I'll keep 'casting.
Carol
Atrocious Adventure Publishing
Show #18, Machina Obscura Chapters 14 and 15.
Why two chapters? Because 14 is really short and I'd be fearing the packs of rabid frogs some frustrated listeners would send my way.
Some trivia re: these chapters:
If you're looking for a soundtrack for Ch. 14, try "Duel of the Fates" from the soundtrack of Star Wars - The Phantom Menace. I set it on loop and wrote the chapter listening to that song over and over and over and over...
And the parts of Shiva and Kali were written with the actor who made that sequence of Phantom Menace so memorable -- martial artist Ray Park. At the time I was writing MO, he was my eye candy. Go here to see me making an utter fool of myself.
One more chapter to go...
Chapter 13 of Machina Obscura wherein Xyl and Gracie find themselves inside the gigantinormous netspace. As Xyl says, "It's kinda pretty in a post-holocaust kind of way."
Also a report on ChattaCon.
The Atrocious Adventure Infosite
In which Agent Searles gets an unwelcome dinner companion, and Xyl and Gracie get up close and personal with the biggest netspace Xyl has ever seen. They even manage to have a Moment. Stop that. I know what you're thinking, but this is a family show.
Chapter Eleven - Workmates and Yellow Submarines and Tyranosaurs, oh my! Xyl confronts Gracie about the unidentifiable netweapon from the end of Chapter Ten. They're still chasing the link that leads to the netspace behind that passcode, and the trail is getting hotter all the time.
Also a polite rant on the subjects of fandom, books, and the state of education in America.
Enjoy!
Show #14, wherein Xyl ponders beginnings and endings and the future of bots and AIs in her thoughts to Pepper, and she and Gracie chase a broken and corrupted link through MuSpace trying to find the netspace that matches the passcode key from the invisible maze.
An extra about Publishing on Demand, the joys, the expenses, the angst.
Enjoy!
Back from a brief Christmas hiatus!
In this week's chapter, Wally and Xyl try to figure out if Gracie really is who and what she says she is. After hooking up with Gracie again, they get attacked by an Aivatar and figure out the real focus of the run. Let's just say, Searles handed Xyl at least two different lines of hooey. A lot of other stuff goes on too.
A how-to on how I publish my books may be forthcoming in the next couple of days, so watch this space.
Atrocious Adventure Publishing
Show # 12, wherein Xyl has to sneak her way into a "tank farm". Xyl has a bad feeling about this, but unlike in Star Wars this does not immediately result in anything bad happening. But hey, the night is still young.
Due to the proximity to Christmas, I may or may not be able to post an episode next weekend. But if not on Sunday I will endeavor to do so as quickly afterward as possible.
E-mail your Humble Writer/Publisher
The Atrocious Adventure Infosite
The excerpt of Aquaria I've been promising for a couple of weeks now.
Enjoy!
Mayhem ensues when Xyl sneaks into a Walking Dead netspace. Gracie is still annoying, but they have a bit of a heart-to-heart and they haven't killed each other yet, so it's all good.
Show #10, wherein we fight some more Runners (real ones this time) and meet an annoying irresistable force -- Gracie.
For those of you of a visual persuasion, if MO were a movie the part of Gracie would be played by Lexa Doig, who used to play Romi in Gene Roddenberry's "Andromeda" and now plays Dr. Lam on Stargate SG-1 and is married to Michael Shanks who plays Daniel Jackson on same. Just imagine her in a short blue tube dress with animated cloud patterns moving across it, with a big fragging particle cannon. 'Nuff Said.
Just like it says on the box.
The sequel to MO, Aquaria, is now available on CafePress, but if you wait until the paperwork goes through with my distributor you can order it at a substantial discount through Amazon or through any major bookstore. So while $18.70 is a damned good price for a book of this length, if you're a real tightfisted Scrooge you'll be able to get it for a little over $12 by ChattaCon from those outlets mentioned above.
I may do an Extra with an excerpt in the coming weeks, provided I can figure out which of the action-packed, emotionally-charged scenes to depict.
Show #8, wherein we finally get into NetSpace.
Also, if you're interested in attending ChattaCon...
Chapter 3 of MO, wherein you will meet Wally the Workmate, who really and truly is the star of the show. Really. He is.
Have decided to streamline the administrivia and move it to the end of the show.
For those of you just dying to know who I am ... all 2 of you...
Know Your Author.
This is why you should never be bored when you have Audacity, a microphone, and the urge to show off.
'Nuff Said.
Show #6, Machina Obscura, Chapter 2.
The on-air administrivia is getting a bit cumbersome. I shall endeavor to find a way to streamline it.
Enjoy!
E-mail Ye Olde Writer-Publisher
Well, here we are at Show #5, the first chapter of my cyberpunk novel Machina Obscura.
If you're wondering ...
Although I never mention it in this book, it's late summer of the year 2230.
The protagonist's name is spelled "Xyl".
A WorkMate is what I imagine PDAs will be in two hundred and thirty years. Imagine a PalmPilot with a personality and an attitude.
When the story opens, Xyl is in a prison in South Atlantica. Those of you who have lived or are living in the South may suspect she is in the Atlanta metro area. You'd be right.
I'm aiming to put out a chapter each week until we're done. The Christmas season may scuttle that from time to time, but that's my goal.
Enjoy!
Atrocious Adventure Publishing on CafePress
Well, here's the second half of "The Shepherds of M15", which concludes the book The Curve of Shadow. Personally I think this one is the best of my short stories. Or at least the one I wouldn't cringe about if I had the chance to show some of my work to Arthur C. Clarke or George Lucas.
Pretty much self-explanatory, though I do a fair amount of talking on this one too. I think I'm getting into this now, so I'm getting chatty.
I might do an extra short episode of nothing but me talking about MO and Aquaria before I start in on MO, so watch this space.
Enjoy!
Atrocious Adventure Publishing
This is the first half of "The Shepherds of M15", my first attempt at doing hard sci-fi though technically it's not. If you've got aliens in it it's not "hard" sci-fi -- go figure that, I can't. As I understand it, hard sci-fi incorporates only those elements that are currently provable by real-world science. Aliens? Aren't. So until we find a colony of microbes on Mars or Europa or Titan... And really, how much trouble can a colony of microbes get into anyway?
I have also taken a few astronomical liberties.
Second half will be posted within a few days.
Oh, and how 'bout that new microphone?
After "Shepherds" is done I'm planning on doing my first novel, "Machina Obscura". That one will be a chapter or two a week. At a total of 58,000 words, it won't take long to do. It's the sequel that's going to take a while -- "Aquaria" clocked in at 181,300 words and 25 or 26 chapters.
Should you be interested in purchasing the actual printed versions of these stories, here's the info.
"The Curve of Shadow" -- available only on my CafePress shopsite at www.cafepress.com/lilsputnik or by buying directly from me at a convention. Next con is ChattaCon in January.
"Machina Obscura" -- available on CafePress but also through most major booksellers including Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Borders, etc. if you ask them to order it for you. The ISBN number is 0977773302. It is easiest to look it up that way since somebody somewhere misspelled my last name wrong. Usually available for about $10, which is cheaper than on the CafePress site. Also available from me at conventions.
"Aquaria" -- not available yet, but will be the same deal as with MO, available through most major booksellers.
So here we are at the second story, "Khamaira's Journey". Again, you can find it in printed form in the anthology "The Curve of Shadow", available through the Atrocious Adventure Publishing shopsite at CafePress (www.cafepress.com/lilsputnik).
A technical note: I was still getting the hang of Audacity and fiddling with the knobs a bit, so the sound quality is BAD. Worse than the first time, if possible. However, if you are listening to this on an IPod you can make it a whole lot better by going to the Equalizer function and hitting the Treble Reducer. I've done this with my own IPod Mini and it works wonders.
As explained on the 'cast, this one was an experiment in gender neutral pronouns. I still don't know if this one works or not. Oh well.
For more info regarding Atrocious Adventure, go to www.atrociousadventure.blogspot.com.
Enjoy!
Greetings everyone, this is the very first Atrocious Adventure podcast, a short story called "Public Assitance" Yes, it was recorded with a cheap $10 clip-on microphone from Radio Shack. Yes, the sound quality will get better. I promise.
My name is Carol E. Meacham, I am the author and proprietor of Atrocious Adventure Publishing. The stories you will hear on this podcast appear in printed form in the anthology "The Curve of Shadow". You can find the book on my shopsite on CafePress (www.cafepress.com/lilsputnik) or if you happen to attend certain sci-fi conventions in the Southeast you can buy it directly from me. (Next chance will be at ChattaCon in January, look for me in the dealer's room.) CoS has three stories total. If I get a good response I intend to go on to doing my two novels "Machina Obscura" and "Aquaria" a chapter a week until they're all done. More about those as time goes on.
To see more info regarding all this stuff, go to www.atrociousadventure.blogspot.com.
Hope you like the show. And I promise it will get better.
