And Purgatory is actually part of the reason for this blog post. Those of you who listen to a lot of podiobooks and are involved with the podcasting community are well familiar with the story I’m going to relay in the next couple of paragraphs, so feel free to skip ahead. However, some of you know this site only because you know me or because a friend gave you a CD of either Acts of Desperation or Purgatory, so this is fresh news to you.

Most of us in the podcast fiction community owe a debt in one way or another to Tee Morris, the guy who first podcasted a novel he had previously published. Tee has written two novels in the Morevi series — Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana and Legacy of Morevi. As Dragon Moon Press was readying Legacy of Morevi for publication, Tee discovered podcasting and decided to give away a free, serialized podcast of the first book as a way to promote the second (to paraphrase Tee, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”) He recorded an abridged version of the 534 page book and blazed a trail for me and dozens of other aspiring authors. Soon, Scott Sigler and Mark Jeffrey jumped in with podcasts of their unpublished novels, and the podiobook was born.

Tee subsequently co-founded Podiobooks.com, launched an immensely helpful podcast for writers called The Survival Guide To Writing Fantasy, produced a Parsec Award winning unabridged podcast of his print novel Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword with a full cast of actors performing the voices, re-recorded Morevi (this time unabridged and with a full voice cast), guest starred in more podcast novels than I have time to count, and generally helped out virtually everyone who asked him. He also co-authored Podcasting for Dummies, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies, and wrote All a Twitter, Sam’s Teach Yourself Twitter in 10 Minutes, and The Case of the Pitcher’s Pendant: A Billibub Baddings Mystery (a sequel to The Case of the Singing Sword.) During all this, he grappled with a prolonged search for permanent employment while still very generously giving his time to other podcast authors. When I first released Acts of Desperation as a podcast and was fretting about the low audience numbers I was getting, Tee chatted with me on Skype and talked me off the window ledge. I had the pleasure of spending time with him at Balticon last year and on one of my business trips to Washington.

On January 5 of this year, Tee’s wife Natalie died very suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving him as the single father of a five year-old girl who’d just lost her mom. The response of the podcasting community, led by the amazing Pip Ballantine, has made me proud to call myself a part of it. Pip organized a very successful Chipin fundraiser to help Tee cover the funeral costs, but she didn’t stop there. She dreamed of an internet-based auction where people could bid on all sorts of treasures donated by anyone with an interest, and raise money to start a trust fund for Tee’s daughter, who goes by the code name “Sonic Boom” (to protect her privacy, he avoids using her real name on the ‘Net.)

The result of Pip’s efforts will occur on Saturday, February 27 starting at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time, when The Boom Effect goes live. As of right now, the auction includes 76 lots, though more could come in before starting time. One of them is a rare (that is to say, the only) print copy of Purgatory. It will be autographed by me and by J.R. Blackwell, who took the cover photograph and who has so much talent in so many areas that it’s kind of unfair to us mere mortals. I arranged for Lulu.com to publish the book, and I must say they did an amazing job. If my writing career ever moves beyond the self-publishing stage, I hope the end product looks as good as the one I got from Lulu.

If you enjoyed Purgatory and would like to own the only print copy, please consider bidding on it during The Boom Effect on February 27. Every nickle of your purchase price will go to Sonic Boom’s trust fund; I’m picking up the printing and shipping costs (for shipping within the continental U.S.). And please, take a look at the other auction lots. There is an awful lot of good stuff going up for sale that day; my contribution is one very small part of it.

No amount of money can replace SB’s mom or fill the emotional void left by a wife and mother. It can, however, ease the financial worries that accompany such a traumatic event. To the extent you are able and inclined to buy something next Saturday, I heartily urge you to do so. I know that 2010 has started poorly and that all our concerns have rightly focused on the devastation experienced by some of God’s most vulnerable people in Haiti. None of us involved in The Boom Effect want to take away from anyone’s efforts to help the people there. But if you have the cash to spare and you see something you like for sale in the auction, you would be helping make a little girl’s future a little bit brighter.

Thank you.

The conclusion. What happens in Vegas…Poe knows how to handle a liquor bottle…The gang gets receives a visitor…Homecoming.

Promo

Geek Cred

Sound Effects

Laughter by RobinHood76, courtesy of The Freesound Project

Music

Loop-o-plane, Waltz for the broken hearted, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
The Light (Part II) by Justin Bianco
Leaving the Theatre by Ehren Starks
Prelude No. 22 in C Major by Jan Hanford
Abby’s Theme written, performed and produced by Tim Dodge

Terry decodes the message; Billy gives Terry his orders; Terry sets up Abby’s murder and Ellen’s double-cross; Poe falters, and things grow tense between Charles and him.

Promo

Movie Mantras

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, Tristan and Isolde, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Prelude No. 22 in C Major by Jan Hanford

Charles spends Christmas with Abby; Terry gets into the Christmas spirits; Billy wins at blackjack and takes Poe’s advice about money.

Promo

Technorama

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Mano Reza
Lights of Winter by Eddie Biggins
We Three Kings by Derek K. Miller
Auld Lang Syne by Kati Mac

Summary

Poe goes Christmas shopping at a mall with Charles and learns some unsettling news. They bump into someone they don’t expect on a Las Vegas street.

Promo

Geek Radio Daily

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Deck The Halls with We Wish You A Merry Christmas by Doug Boldt
Carol of the Bells by Mano Reza

Charles watches football with a very enthusiastic Abby. Terry looks for a way out of his financial problems. Ellen has dog trouble.

Promo

Heaven Season 5: War

Sound effects courtesy of the Free Sound Project

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
reading the leaves (by moonlight) by Falling You

Everyone flies to Las Vegas. Ellen gets discovered. Charles has dinner with Abby and learns about spicy Indian food.

Promo

The Command Line Podcast

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Meant To Be by Rob Costlow
The Light (Part II) by Justin Bianco
Abby’s Theme written, performed and produced by Tim Dodge

Ellen meets a guy at the party and ends up in a place she didn’t expect. Charles deals with some upsetting news.

Promo

The Dreamer’s Thread

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
The Light (Part II) by Justin Bianco
Leaving the Theatre by Ehren Starks

The story flashes back to 1998. Charles lands a new client with the help of his second-in-command (and mistress) Ellen. Charles makes a decision about his relationship with Ellen, causing her to face some hard facts about her own future.

Promo

Into the Blender

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl

Charles has a phone conversation with his daughter. The mystery woman finds out that derailing his plans will be harder than she expected.

Promo

FETIDUS

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Abby’s Theme written, performed and produced by Tim Dodge

Charles and Poe arrive to find that earth has changed a lot since they left. Charles does an internet search for his daughter. An enemy begins to follow them.

Promo

The Seanachai

Music

Loop-o-plane, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Prelude No. 22 in C Major by Jan Hanford

Charles searches the mountain and finds the gateway to earth in the home of a fun-lovin’ deadbeat. Poe has second thoughts about going to earth.

Promo

P.G. Holyfield’s Land of Caern: Tales of the Children

Music

Loop-o-plane, Waltz for the broken hearted, Kicked in the head by a horse, and Root beer meteor shower by Jeff Wahl
Prelude No. 22 in C Major by Jan Hanford