Escape Artists
Chamber of Secrets (Promotions and exclusives) => Past promotions => The Alphabet Quartet => Topic started by: eytanz on June 21, 2011, 01:09:10 PM
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From Dave Thompson, co-editor of Podcastle:
In late 2007, I took a trip down to San Diego’s Conjecture convention. I’d been listening to Escape Pod for a couple of years (PodCastle hadn’t even started yet) and so I was thrilled that the very first panel I got to see featured Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout. Tim had just won a Hugo for his story “Impossible Dreams” (which I first heard at Escape Pod, yo!) and proceeded to do a collaborative reading of ABC flash fiction. Essentially, they divvied up the alphabet, wrote flash fiction stories for each letter, such as “E is for Excrement” and “N is for Nevermore Nevermore Land.” It was a fantastic reading – hilarious, poignant, thrilling, and most of all – they knew how to have fun. I left the convention knowing, just knowing, that one day – this ABC book was going to be big.
But nothing happened. Several years passed, and still – nothing happened.
And then, toward the end of last year – I realized, I’m at Escape Artists, co-editing PodCastle, and that awesome book I remember? Is out there still, and nobody’s heard it. So, I talked to Ben Phillips, and then I talked to Tim, Heather, Greg, and Jenn Reese – who came aboard to help them finish up the collection – and we came up with a plan. I decided it’d be awesome to send the Alphabet Quartet out to listeners who’d been kind enough to sign up as paid subscribers or make a one-time donation to us of $50 or more since January 1, 2011. Times are tough, we know, and not everyone can donate, so all the Escape Artists podcasts are going to be sharing a few of these stories with everyone who wants them (and also at the Drabblecast). Additionally, all the stories are available to read there for free at Daily Science Fiction (http://dailysciencefiction.com/), a great new online magazine that emails you free SF/F stories daily, so everyone wins. Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy the extra stories.
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Hey all,
Dave here.
Just wanted to let everyone know that the Alphabet Quartet is coming, but it looks like it's going to be coming a little bit later than we'd originally hoped, and it won't be sent to you in time for the holiday.
I am sincerely sorry for the delay - we'd hoped to get it to you by the weekend. That said, I've put a lot of time into it, as has Wilson Fowlie (who is working as the sound producer), and we don't want to give something unless we're completely happy with it.
As I said, it is coming, and it should be coming soon. I'll definitely keep you all updated as to when you can expect it.
Thanks for your patience. I'm looking forward to sharing all these stories with you.
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Thanks for the update :)
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A quick notice - the drabblecast just released their preview, which is available for download at www.drabblecast.org (http://www.drabblecast.org) and all the usual podcatchers. It includes:
P is for Parade
F is for Forever
C is for Crate
If you don't listen to the drabblecast but want to hear a couple more stories from the series (two of the three they played did not appear on any of the EA podcasts), you should get that episode. Though you might want to skip through the story that precedes them, "In Search of the Brain-Eating Nandi Bear Part II", which is part of an ongoing series and potentially offensive to people who don't approve of racism used ironically.
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In case you aren't subscribed to the podcastle feed but want to know the current situations, Dave posted a short audio message that can be heard by following this link (http://podcastle.org/2011/07/23/an-alphabet-quartet-update-this-time-in-audio/) and clicking on the player.
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i i donate now, do i get a copy?
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i i donate now, do i get a copy?
Yes you will, but not yet. There's a delay with the files and they haven't been distributed yet. Steve had a little to say about it at the end of Escape Pod #304.
As soon as they are available, you'll be notified how to get your copy.
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Have listened to EP and PC, but never got over to Drabblecast. Saw the post here about the alphabet quartet preview on Drabblecast. Went over, downloaded that show, and a few others to give it a shot. Thanks for the info!
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Um, did it go out? The last episode I listened to (on Escapepod maybe?) seemed to imply that they had. But, alas, my email cupboard was bare.... I don't expect any reward except the rockin good tales I usually get from Podcastle and Escapepod (sorry Pseudopod- if I ever need to resurrect the nightmare filled nights of my youth, I know where to find you) but if you're givin' stuff out....I want a piece.
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No, it hasn't gone out yet. And this is incredibly frustrating.
I'm hopeful that we'll have an update as to when it'll go out in the next couple of days.
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Sorry, didn't mean to twist the Knife of Frustration sticking in your gut.
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No, it's cool. No need to apologize. It was just to say, I know people are frustrated, and I'm right there too.
Hopefully I'll have better news in the next day or two :)
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Sorry, didn't mean to twist the Knife of Frustration sticking in your gut.
Didn't you take that out yet, Dave? Seriously man, a knife in your gut is bad news.
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Sorry, didn't mean to twist the Knife of Frustration sticking in your gut.
Didn't you take that out yet, Dave? Seriously man, a knife in your gut is bad news.
First he should make sure he's in the High Irritation Ward of a licensed Aggravation Assault Center, because otherwise pulling the Knife of Frustration out could lead to death due to bile loss.
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Hey all - I'm pleased to say that at long last, the Alphabet Quartet has finally arrived. Hope you all enjoy the stories!
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tEH aWESOME!!
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So... I've been contributing for a couple of years or more, but I didn't get a notice in my email (possibly the spam catchers were over-vigilant), so how can I get the stories???
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icegirl - have you had a response yet from someone in the editorial staff? If not, I'd recommend sending a private message to Dave (DKT on the forums).