TAFCON

This is so deeply surreal to share, but Desperate Hollow, the queer romance western that I've been working on for the last eight years, is finally going to be something you can actually read. I'm trying a totally new-to-me thing - releasing it chapter by chapter on the @atypicalartists Patreon. Sign up for free now to read the first five chapters (which will be available for everyone) as they come out!

But more importantly, LOOK AT THIS ART BY NOAH DAO!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!! THEY'RE SO GORGEOUS!!!

If you don't see this art and immediately want to know who these men are, you are a stronger person than I but also I should tell you a bit about the story.

Seven years after a near-fatal argument, two former friends and outlaws find themselves face to face once again, forced to work together to hide from the law and confront their complicated feelings in the process. 

It's friends-to-enemies-to-lovers. It's second chance except the first chance ended in bloodshed. It's guard dog character vs. guy who didn't ask to hold his leash character. It's one bed. It's presumed dead. It's would-kill-for-you/would-die-for-you except that actually really sort of happens.

It's probably my favorite thing that I've ever written. And I can't WAIT to share it with you on my own terms.

🎼 Ohhhhh my gosh guys, The Reality Shaper. It's a D&D-based MUSICAL AUDIO DRAMA. About POLICE CORRUPTION. Like this show is honestly fantastic--I have listened to musical audio dramas before that work amazing and that were like, eh. This one is amazing. The music is super professional, and the singers are incredible. I love the characters too, a rakish bard, a stalwart guard (paladin?) and a bunch of other goofs. The last episode featured a new side character, Harrison, whose D&D superpower seems to be paperwork. I love him.

🗡️ I did not get a chance to meet Olivia of @parthenospodcast at TAFCon, but having listened to her show now, I'm kind of obsessed. (Do you want to be podcast friends?) Parthenos: Girls Like Us is a frustrated scream to the heavens, a hilarious night out with the girls, and a moment of true catharsis. The premise is great: Persephone, Queen of the Dead, gathers girls from throughout history (Levinia of Titus Andronicus fame, Ophelia from Hamlet, the Virgin Mary, and Joan of Arc), to find out what's wrong with teenage girls once and for all and what to do about it. It is incredibly good.

🚗 Aaaand @worldgonewrongpod is not a TAFCon find, but I love a roadtrip premis so much. I really admire the structure of this episode, the way it did voice notes and phone calls, and the mystery was low stakes while still having a strong Alice Isn't Dead spookiness to it. Yayyyyy the band is back together!

suffice it to say, it ruled to a truly unprecedented degree. I took basically no photos and almost all of them are bad, but oh my god, LOOK AT THE ATYPIPALS!!!! LOOK AT HOW PERFECT EVERYONE IS!!!

anyway, a massive massive thank you to @starplanes, Anne, and Wil for putting this together and pulling off the incredible feat of having a con's first year go smoothly and be a great time.

I haven't been quiet about how tough things have been over the last year and how hard I'm trying to keep @atypicalartists afloat and make a career in audio drama work. things are still hard, but TAFCon was the perfect reminder as to why I'm working so hard.

from creators I've know for a decade to folks who had never heard a show of mine, everyone was so kind, enthusiastic, and genuine. I've been in AD for as long as I have because the community is like that. it's such a special thing, what we've all built and continue to build together, and I'm so grateful that we got to experience a piece of that in person.

I think what struck me most is how hopeful everyone was - yes, the world is falling apart, creative industries are under siege from every corner, but that's just led to a kind of clarity that I think is great. we all know what we want to fight for. we know we want original, human, independent, inclusive art. and we're going to make it no matter what.

We’ve got a good few shows we’re excited about, but we want to reach out one last time to any smaller shows with under 10,000 downloads out there looking for a feed swap with either of our feeds. Just fill out the form below.