The House of Grey Blog

Chris and I were so excited about this project we thought we would give you all a little taste. ENJOY!

(more…)

Episode 38 is well on its way to going live. Collin and I ran through the chapter and he is adding some content that will make 38 absolutely killer!!! Hang in there, it’s coming!

Check out out pics from Dragon*Con 09 over at the forum. Crazy costumes, 2 weird guys that look vaguely familiar, and so much more.  While we didn’t come home with the Parsec Award, we met some wonderful podcasters, propagandized The House of Grey, and made some fantabulous connections with folks who can push the book. In short, the weekend was made of awesome!

AND… we have to give a HUGEapology to our fangirl Starla Huchton for us being such giant slackers and not promoting her book sooner.  Starla’s debut book, The Dreamer’s Thread, is up to its 4th episode. Having some  *ahem* personal experience with the book, it too is made of awesome! Be sure to grab the feed here, and catch the promo down below. Let’s show a sister some love and get the word out!!!

And we switched out the poll. Cyann creamed Taris and the monks. This poll is more of a pool…but since the book is free, it’s not like you win much if you guess right. The question is, who will be dead by the end of book one? You can select multiple answers, so have fun and we’ll see who is right in 3 more episodes! 

 Loading ...

One last thing…very soon you will be seeing some more promotional stuff coming out for The House of Grey, Tournament of Blades, and some other stuff we have simmering away. Oh just wait and see…incidentally…it will also be made of awesome!

The Dreamer’s Thread Promo: 

From day one, Collin and I have been saying that giving stuff away for free is the new way to do things. Get the content to the masses and let them eat cake… or in this case consume great audio. Well, the world renown band Coldplay agrees with us. Right now you can get their new live album… FREE. No iTunes gimmicks, no paid subscription, no strings attached… just plain free.

So when I have been talking to people about the book (and I talk to everyone about the book….do you?), most of them have the same question, “Why do you give it away for free?” They just don’t understand like our fans do.

Just in case you have been sleeping through our rants and raves, WE WILL ALWAYS GIVE AWAY OUR CONTENT FOR FREE!!!

• Will we have other stuff that you can purchase? Absolutely.

• Will the free stuff be of a lesser quality or a cheap imitation? No way Jose.  It will always be great content for anyone who is willing to give it a listen.

• Will you ever put DRM (DRM=file sharing restrictions) on your free content? NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO. Download our stuff and share it!!! Share it with your mom, your friend, your ex-girlfriend, your ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, your barber, your pedicurist, your dog groomer, your water meter reading guy, your ________(fill in an acquaintance here)….. ok I’ll step down from my little soapbox.

So to get your FREE copy of Coldplay‘s new live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, click here. Enjoy!!!

Now when I said love poll, I didn’t mean the kind that makes you insert a quarter to see where you rank. Nope, this love poll is around our hero, Monson Grey. Just for fun, Collin wanted to see how mad everyone would be if Monson became a monk and moved to the Himalayas. So check out the new poll and let us know your thoughts.

We mentioned our fellow Podiobook author Christiana Ellis a few days ago. Well, she up’d the ante on her print release of Nina Kimberly the Merciless by offering the FULL NOVEL FOR FREE. This is what we’ve been saying since the beginning. Get the content to the masses any way you can. You can download the entire novel for free just by clicking here. So grab the swag while it’s free and be sure to check out her printed version over at Dragon Moon Press.

So ALY, one of our first and most enthusiastic fans, has decided to resort to subterfuge and Al Capone style arm-twisting in regards to episode 32′s release.  Don’t get me wrong, I can hold my own with Collin, but when the threat of attacking little men is laid at your doorstep… well let’s just say I need that arm to finish producing this cast. So again… 32 will be here shortly, and maybe, JUST maybe I can slip in a bootleg of the first half without Collin noticing. If I was you, I’d check back here early and often…

 Loading ...

I will freely admit to feeding Collin’s… ahem addiction to Twitter. Notice the “tweet” button at the bottom of this post? Yep, now it’s easier than ever to RT (Retweet for all the non-Twitterified folks) updates. Just click on the button, sign in to Twitter, and the blog post fills in for you. Pretty snazzy huh?

So it’s really not French class, but we did want to reach out to all our non-English speaking fans and make life a little easier. I added a Translator widget that will convert the blog into 41 different languages. Like I said, pretty snazzy right?

Ok, ok, ok, on to the important stuff. Episode 32 will be out by the end of the week. I might have to call on the powers of Castle Gray Skull, but it will be there!

You’ve heard us mention the up and coming changes to Podiobooks.com, commonly referred to as Podiobooks 2.0.  And just because I am a glutton for punishment, I offered my vast knowledge in all things corporate-bureaucratic-red-tape, otherwise known as mad training manual writing skills, to the developers and they actually bought it.  So as those changes occur, I will be updating the tutorials and how-to’s for the new site and maybe possibly give you guys a sneak peek.

Lastly, Christiana Ellis, one of our fellow Podiobooks.com authors, has her book, Nina Kimberly the Merciless, coming to print through Dragon Moon Press on May 15th. I added her audio trailer below so you can check it out.

CS

I have some pictures that I will load up soon. I will let you know. 

I had a crazy day yesterday. First let me tell you I have finals in a week, a bar application due in two, and then graduation and studying for the bar exam. This is on top of trying to get you guys your content. I have to get you guys your content; wouldn’t want you to forget about me!! Anyways, when people get busy they can become pretty self-absorbed. It’s something that I feel is very human. I’m no exception. So what we did yesterday was great. Some good friends of mine at the law school put a WHOLE lot of work into a benefit concert for the Veterans’ Center here in town. This was something that hit home for me as I’ve got friends in the service and even considered putting in. Anyways, these friends organized the event, including a 3 mile run, a silent auction, and a concert where they had several up and coming country music bands play. It was a great opportunity to help serve those men and women that keep our country safe. I felt a little refreshed in a way. I’m way behind in my studying with a paper and presentation due today, but then again I’m ready to get back to it and I feel a little lighter inside. So I’m offering a challenge to everyone. Do a good deed and pay it forward. You will feel better, I know you will. That being said I left my glasses in one of the rooms. Now I can’t see a damn thing!

Shawn Mayer is actually a friend of mine who is doing her thing in Nashville. She’s a great singer and wonderful performer. Check out her MySpace page and you can also follow her on Twitter.

Hey folks, just a quick note to let you know Collin’s romp in Ms. Hilary’s class was mentioned in PodioRacket.com’s second Episode. Be sure to show your support for this great cast (all about up and coming stuff on Podiobooks.com) by visiting their site (site link over there on the right).

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a brand spanking new board on the forum. It’s a fan art board and it’s really sweet. Skalee, so far, is the only one to have posted. She has some great talent. I’m super jealous.  I also want to see what you got. If I like what I see maybe I will use it for the book someday. Here is the link. Sign up for the forum so you can see it.  The Fan Art Board

 The House of Grey Quiz Two; you all know the Drill. Take the test. See how you do and remember to let me know. 

  (more…)

To any of our local Denver fans, Strange Condition, the band that we are working with for music on the Tournament of Blades podcast, is playing on Friday February 20th at the Marquis Theatre with The Epilogues (another group of some of our close friends). For those of you who aren’t local to the Denver area, click on the link above and check out their myspace music page.  Be sure to vote in the poll about which song from Strange Condition you like the best.

 Loading ...

Joe and Miranda have a sweet cast all about Heroes, the hit series on NBC. This morning, Episode 92 dropped on their site and featured our promo. We could not be happier that the word is spreading about our little project.  So head on over to iTunes and get your Heroes fix and while you’re there, be sure to give The 9th Heroescast a five star rating!!!

I added the facebook badge to the blog which links to our page on facebook.  I just created it (and one for Collin as a writer that is still in the works),and it’s pretty sad with me as the only fan.  When you get a chance, click on the badge and become a fan.  I added our site and podcast feeds to the page so it will now be super EASY for you to share the book with all of your friends on facebook.

So here is an incredible article from TIME that really hits home for Collin and I.  This is what we are trying to do with our fans’ help. We can’t thank you enough for all the comments, forum posts, and emails. Keep ‘em coming. Remember to tell a friend, coworker, family member, stranger on the bus, lady who does your hair, your kid’s teacher, your pet’s groomer, and the mailman about The House of Grey.

Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature