TDT: You wanna help?

You would think by now I would have the entire story cast, yes?

Well, if you do think so, you'd be very wrong.

The thing is, I worry about all the big parts first, as they are the most difficult to cast. They can be time consuming if the characters appear in every episode, and maybe that person you think has THE perfect voice just doesn't have that kind of time available. It's also finding the right voice that's difficult. I spent many hours listening to other podcasts to find just the right person for a major character. For some it was easy. I knew immediately with Cheyenne Wright and Philippa Ballantine. If either of them had said no I'm not sure what I'd have done. ^^;

But now I'm looking at the scripts for the second half of the book/podcast and I've compiled a list of small parts that I don't know what to do with. Since episode 1 debuted, I've gotten a few requests from folks asking if I had any parts left. So last night, as I portioned out the scripts for episode 19, I started making a list of all those little parts that I could really use filled. These are all in later episodes (think late October on), so there's no rush on time if you can't do it right this second. If you're at all interested with being listed amongst podcasting greats like Tee Morris or Mur Lafferty, here's your opportunity. As they say in theater, there are no small parts, only small players. Here's your chance to show us what you got! And you never know, if I really like you, you may get called back for another story...or even a sequel! Well, that doesn't sound at all egotistical. LOL at myself. :P

So take a look at the following list and see if anything strikes you. Remember, these parts will only appear in 1 or 2 episodes. Only a few lines unless otherwise noted.


Vigo - A small (sometimes large) golden dragon very reminiscent of Sir Didymus in Labyrinth. You know, the little terrier that rides around on the shaggy dog? Fake accents totally acceptable. Over the top welcome! His part spans two episodes and has more lines than the others listed here.

Wan - A nature spirit. Looks like a little hippy gnome. I'm interested in hearing what folks think he sounds like. LOL

Lichshire Elder - Your basic grumpy old man. The "get off my lawn" type.

Old, one-eyed woman - Could be grandmotherly with a "get off my lawn" streak.

Dremblaat - council member representing the swamplands. He's kinda gross. Has a burbling voice. Might do some voice filters on him if needed.

General Krom - Centaur general. Deep and manly, maybe growly. Up for interpretation.

General Mu - Air calvary general. Hey, guess what! He's a talking crow. Can you sound like a crow?

General Gertz - Nervous man with great tactical skills. Makes me think of the king's go-to guy in Disney's Cinderella movie.

General Cross - a round, blustery man with mutton chops. A human general.

Mysterious Old Man - He appears only in the last episode. More nice grandfather than "get off my lawn" type. Think Dumbledore crossed with an old Appalachian backwoods guy in a rocking chair. Only without an accent.


I think that's the whole list. Hopefully I haven't botched things and left out a character for episode 6 or something. Would be like me. LOL

Don't limit yourself to just one part if you think you can change your voice enough to do another one or two. There's a lot of male characters on this list, so don't hold back! Like, if you can be a croaky crow AND a get off my lawn geezer AND a blustery general, by all means. The character roles are great for flexing those dramatic muscles. If you want one of these roles, drop me an email at threaded(dot)dreamer(at)gmail(dot)com or DM me on Twitter. Instructions will follow.

One other note, make sure if you play the promo for The Dreamer's Thread you let me know so I can tweet and blog all about it! Episode 6 of Trapping a Duchess over at michbek.com went live this morning and includes a TDT promo! Thanks much, Michele! Cast members get first crack at TDT episode promos, but I am more than happy to play promos for people who pimp me! Hehehe. Everyone wants to be a pimp, right? One hand washes the other, etc etc.

Big thanks again to everyone for making this week INCREDIBLE for me! Stay tuned!

xxx

More breaking news!

Okay, some of you (you know who you are @alruff lol), can't keep your horses in the barn so here's the news you really want to know.

The Dreamer's Thread will be available on iTunes some time today!

LOL. What do you mean, that's not the news you were expecting? I thought it was exciting!

Alright, alright. Here it is.

TEE MORRIS HAS JOINED THE CAST OF THE DREAMER'S THREAD!

Oh yes, the godfather of podcasting (he literally wrote the book) has made me a happy woman in deed. Granted, you folks won't hear him until the end of October according to my release schedule, but that's more greatness you have to look forward to. Also in that same episode, Philippa Ballantine will make her debut performance in TDT. I've already heard that audio, and let me tell you guys, you are in for a SERIOUS treat. Tee and Philippa are a fantastic one-two combo that can knock your audio socks off with their mad voice acting skillz.

Speaking of audio, I am listening to the final draft of episode three and SQUEE! This is the first time you'll get to hear Mur Lafferty in TDT, but not the last. Also, a fan favorite character makes his small, but powerful, entrance. That's all I'm saying for now. Apparently Jamie got some great outtake material from him. It will be another week and a half before you get to hear all this awesome though. Try to contain yourselves.

So that's your newsflash for today. You may commence your celebrations.

xxx

More WIN!

Okay, I can officially officially say it now! Dr. James D. Priest, author and narrator of Kirins: The Spell of No'an is a part of The Dreamer's Thread cast! I have thusly added him to the links list to the left there, under CAST WEBSITES. Some of the folks involved here don't have websites as yet, but when they do, rest assured, they will also be included here.

I am so thankful for the wonderful people who are stepping up to help me out. I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Let the excited squeals begin!

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

*ahem*

So yes, I twittered yesterday about the great news I had about TDT, and said I would blog about it today. I hate to be called a liar, so here's my news of WIN:

MIGHTY MUR LAFFERTY HAS JOINED TDT CAST!

Did I say OMG already? Cuz I cannot express that sentiment enough as I restrain myself from running around the room in hysterical circles.

If you are unfamiliar with Mur's work, there's a link to the Murverse on the left side of the page here. I both admire and envy her for what she does every day. Her story-telling and podcasting skills are the stuff of awesome. The first podiobook I ever heard was Mur's Playing For Keeps and it was what sold me on Jamie's idea for The Dreamer's Thread. I couldn't help thinking how fantastic it must be to share your stories with the world, AND get picked up for publishing. I will be happy if people just listen to mine.

One thing that Mur expressed to me yesterday, is the need for solidarity amongst the female podcasters out there. This is mostly due to it being a male-dominated world as far as podcasts are concerned. Just talking to her yesterday was such a huge boost for me, I hope she knows that. Not to sound like a kid with stars in her eyes or anything, but she's kind of my hero. I know she doesn't see herself that way, but she should. Getting the chance to work with someone as uniquely creative and ingenious as Mur Lafferty...well, there are no words to describe how much that really means to me.

She said that she wasn't so sure having heavy hitters involved would make a podcast successful, but that's okay. Just having her on board means more to me than she can know. It makes me feel like I might have a real shot at making this work. It helps me forget the setbacks and outright arrogance of some others I've dealt with. One day, I hope I can help her in the way that she's helped me here. Her name on my podcast won't guarantee success, true, but it sure makes me feel a whole lot better.

But anyway, that is my big news. Scripts are still being portioned out and distributed, and actual production is in a holding pattern. It's time for me to start throwing my promo at people and getting some PR going. I also need to whip some art out in GIMP. *sigh* I miss PhotoShop.

Visible Progress

First, the biggest news...

THE DREAMER'S THREAD PROMO IS LIVE!

That's right, the first ever promo is hot and ready for your consumption on the novel website. Grab it, play it, share it, make everyone you know listen to it.

And in more news still, I mentioned before something being in the works, and well, here it is. The Dreamer's Thread is on its way to becoming a full cast production! Among the awesome people you will hear are Cheyenne Wright with his buttery man voice (lol) and Chris Snelgrove from the House of Grey podcast. Can I just say how holy (expletive deleted) amazing and exciting that is? It's all I can do to keep from running around the room in crazy circles giggling my dang fool head off. There are still some parts that need filing, so if anyone out there wants to have some geek fun and be part of a great story, hit me up and we'll talk.

Well, I've got more scripts to set up so go check out the website!

Frazzled nerves

One bad thing about being a procrastinating overachiever is that your ideas often are much, much larger than what you are actually capable of doing. This is especially true when you have grand ideas of a collaborative project that requires the compliance of other people. The hardest thing to do is ask someone who knows nothing about you for help in furthering your dreams. More so when those strangers are already leagues ahead of you on the road to success. You want their name attached to your project to help promote it, but since you're nobody, it's very very hard to convince them they should acquiesce to your request. Thus, you end up feeling like it's a very private club that they won't let you in. Sort of like high school, only actually important.

Another problem with trying to get these folks to help is that they tend to be very busy, and simply cannot, even if they want to. Being a newcomer, it is also very easy to make a social gaff and feel hugely embarrassed when they call you out on it. And then there are those who will help, but the price for that assistance is much higher than you are willing to pay...especially when there is no guarantee for payoff for you.

This is a tricky game, especially when no one tells you the rules. It's like trying to tunnel through rock with a very small hammer and chisel, and there's miles of stone between you and your goal. Even if the others would just chip at the rock a tiny bit with you, that would further you along, even if just by the tiniest bit.

So, what to do? Nothing for it but to keep trying I guess. It's been a slightly discouraging day, but it's not all bad. I did decide on music for TDT. The song I found is beautiful and perfectly suited to my tale. I'm not going to spoil the surprise of which one it is right now, but I think people will agree with me when they hear it.

Anyway, now I wait for email replies and hope for the best. Finding just the right voice isn't easy, especially when you can so clearly hear a character in your head. And it isn't as though I can get some voices and not others. The male characters are proving the most difficult.I can pull off a gay man easily enough with a little voice filtering, but that's about the extent of my talent there. Doesn't help that moving a lot also means my pool of nearby friends is very very limiting as each time you move, you're just less enthused about having to make friends all over again. Thus, my options for using my friends voices on my equipment is probably a harder thing to accomplish since most of my friends are nowhere near me. At least other podcasters have the right equipment for recording audio.

Maybe I should just throw a kegger and make people audition at the door. Then I can just plop them in front of my mic, give them their lines, and be done with it. LOL

This could be a really fun project. I just wish more people wanted to have geek fun with me. *sigh*