I have discovered through much pain and misery, that it takes a great deal of time to reclaim your life after a major crisis. A lot more time than I ever thought. The road back has been difficult but I always knew that I had to accomplish certain personal goals, or I would be right back “in the ditch” as they say.
While its been a rough couple of years, my life finally seems to be stable again. A new job and a new address in an old city has allowed me to reclaim the ability to make my own decisions. Now that all my personal goals have been met, I can finally return my attention to the Listening Post and the world of audio drama on the internet.
I will be spending time “catching up” on things again, simply listening to a lot of shows and episodes I missed while on hiatus. I will also be working to finalize a whole new format for the Listening Post and making various “back-end”, almost unnoticeable changes to the site. Fortunately I have been able to do a fair bit of work already. For instance, I have painstakingly re-tagged and re-categorized every post on the site and I am slowly re-cataloging old reviews. Even with all these changes there’s still a lot more to do.
I have a rare opportunity to correct problems I noticed when I first opened this website. Long time followers can expect lots of changes and new followers will hopefully see an easy to follow website, that will introduce them to current audio drama in a magazine-like format. Fans and followers of our website can expect interviews and print articles from the listener’s point of view, with less emphasis on “tech talk” and more emphasis on personalities and the creative process behind the shows. The Listening Post will have a special focus on new audio dramas just being released or still in production. In addition, I hope to put out occasional audio podcasts featuring interviews with writers, editors, voice actors and others involved in these shows. I also hope to rebuild our staff here on the web site, and have guest writers as well. The Listening Post’s target audience are folks who have never heard audio drama before, or folks who think audio drama is “just not done anymore”. I hope to create a fun and informative “Blog-cast” about all the great shows that are out there on the internet just waiting to be heard. With a lot of work and a little luck, that’s exactly what the Listening Post will become.
A great deal has happened since the Listening Post last published. We’ve seen a number of new shows begin and a few older ones end or celebrate milestones. We’ve even seen a few shows change course and break into other mediums such as comic books or novels. Interest levels in audio drama overall remain about what it was when I last left this little endeavor; though as usual, the mainstream is still uninformed or under-informed that folks are currently producing audio drama in the United States.
If your just discovering the world of modern audio drama and new to this website, I recommend checking out our Twitter feed and Facebook page which have both become active again and will likely be play big part in the future to come around here. While there is no formal date for relaunch, things are definitely ramping up. Until then, give me some time to put a new ribbon in the typewriter, put on a fresh pot of coffee and warm up the printing press.
After all, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do…
Stay Tuned!
